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Sunnyside Up (1929)
Dreadful - really, really dreadful.
You might be interested in watching one of those documentaries about how terrible some of the very early talkies were: no need, just watch this. It's utterly awful. This would put you off ever watching a black and white film ever again.
The only reason I can think you'd watch this is if you were sent to Hell for eternity - and only then if you'd have been a mass murderer. The acting, the direction, the acting is, the singing, the acting, the writing....and the acting is pitiful. Janet Gaynor, despite winning an Oscar the previous year seems to have never seen a camera before and has just learned how to speak English. She turns in one of the most amateurish performances I've ever seen. The other most amateurish performances are by everybody else in this - including Charles Farrell whom I think is actually a cardboard cutout.
Besides El Brendel who was perpetually atrocious in every single thing he ever did (seems weird to us today that in the culture of the 1920s, Swedes were seen as figures of fun) some of these so-called actors have actually been ok and even pretty entertaining in other stuff. To explain why everyone is so embarrassingly bad there's just two words: 'David' and 'Butler.' You might have seen his unimaginably dreadful JUST IMAGINE and thought he couldn't possibly have made anything worse - well think again! If only William Fox hadn't employed him, Mr Fox might have kept his studio. Butler was the iceberg of doom which sunk the Fox Film Titanic.
You'd think that since this is a rip-off of MGM's BROADWAY MELODY, Butler might at least have picked up some ideas from that properly made picture of how to make a musical but no. Even the big budget musical spectacular numbers are filmed from a single fixed camera located at the back of the cheap seats. When considering the abysmal choreography that's possibly not a bad decision. This guy had no idea. This is a bad, bad, bad film.
Surprisingly there are a couple of well known songs in this such as 'If I had a talking picture of you' but it's all handled so unimaginatively and without any skill at all making this quite unwatchable. If I had a talking picture of this, It'd burn it, encase the ashes in a lead lined coffin and hurl it into a volcano.
To make it worse it goes on for over two interminable tedious hours as well - a shame this wasn't made after the Wall Street Crash - to cut costs films were shorter after that.
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929)
Why is this as good as it is?
I've watched dozens of films from 1929, a year when the industry was trying to figure out how to make those talking picture things. I know what they're like so 1) cannot believe that this was made in 1929, 2) that this was Norma Shearer's first talkie and 3) this was MGM's first all-talking drama. Surely that's all impossible but if it is, it's more than impressive. There's absolutely none of that stilted, stagey delivery - ok, it all takes place in a court room set but its dialogue and natural pace of delivery makes this feel like it was made years, even decades later.
Possibly director Bayard Veiller's task was made easier by all the action taking place in the courtroom but possibly he was just an extremely talented filmmaker. Considering how good SUSAN LENNOX and NIGHT COURT (which he wrote rather than directed) were, I'm suggesting the latter is the reason. If you watch a lot of 1929/1930 movies you're always pleasantly surprised when either the acting isn't atrocious, when the dialogue doesn't sound like the first transatlantic is good or when the fluidity of the camera, uninhibited by the cumbersome sound recording equipment is actually not terrible. To get all three in one film like this is virtually a miracle especially considering that this was MGM's first non-musical talkie. Mr Thalberg and his team were a truly talented bunch of people.
Being Mrs Thalberg's first talkie, Mr T ensured that everything would be perfect for her to make a brilliant impression - and it is. She's absolutely fabulous in this. From the moment we see her in her sexy silky nightie to her outstanding emotional performance in the courtroom, you're transfixed. Watch this and you'll understand why she was so well respected as an actress. Why we therefore ask was she a million times better in this than in what she did immediately afterwards? In THE DIVORCE or LET US BE GAY for example she speaks very very slow ly and del ib er at ly as though she trying to make herself understand by a perplexed Spanish waiter punctuated by long wistful glances into the distance.
Similarly H B Warner's performance as the fast talking sharp prosecutor is nothing like the unbearably stilted performance he gives in say J F Dillon's THE RECKLESS HOUR. It's got to be down to the direction of Bayard Veiller which leads to another question - why was this the last film he directed?
There is therefore no explanation as to why this picture is so good - it just is so watch and enjoy.
The Valiant (1929)
Intriguing, original and fascinating - surprisingly good for 1929.
If ever you ever wanted a definition of melodrama then this is it but don't let that put you off - it's is also a unexpectedly intelligent, grown-up and by 1929 standards, a well-made little film. A man kills another man - we don't know why, we don't know who the killer is, we don't know whom he killed. He's sentenced to death - is he resigned to his fate, does he want to die, is he planning an escape? By not giving anything at all away your curiosity is instantly engaged. It's such a clever little device - and one you wouldn't expect from a 1929 Fox Film.
In 1929 a handful of directors hit the ground running when it came to switching from silents to talkies. Most however, as was amusingly shown in the Margot Robbie film BABYLON hadn't a clue resulting in so much unwatchable awfulness. Although William Howard wasn't one of those up there with the likes of De Mille, von Sternberg, Mamoulian or even Roland West, he wasn't one the worst either. There's nothing wrong with this at all it simply doesn't have the 'wow factor' some of his contemporaries managed to achieve. He clearly knew how to make a silent film and especially his 'film parts' as opposed to the main 'stage play part' at the end (this picture is an expanded version of a very popular one-act play) are excellent. His skill is shown in the first scenes where he perfectly captures an authentic feel of pre-depression America as Muni traipses down some tatty street past tatty kids born a hundred years ago playing out their ordinary lives. He gives us a real time-machine moment.
The acting is also miles better than a lot of the very early talkies but it's still far from natural.... except for Paul Muni. His portrayal of detachment, hopelessness and quiet resignation is outstanding. Although this gets crazily melodramatic, Muni's stoic performance is both intriguing and really rather moving. He easily makes up for the shortcomings of his fellow actors....apart from Johnny Mack Brown who cannot be forgiven on any grounds. Fortunately he's not in this too much. You almost feel embarrassed for him. Whereas MGM and Paramount targeted those who considered themselves sophisticated, Fox's audience were more blue collar. Presumably Mr Brown was picked to appeal to Fox Film's rural audience in middle America but I'd imagine even the humblest of farm hands back then must have found that patronising.
I know people looked older in the past but Edith York, playing the mother looks about two hundred years old. She must have given birth to her daughter when she was about 90 which can only be explained by her daughter Mary being some sort of miracle you read about in The Bible. That's actually feasible and confirmed when you look at Marguerite Churchill because if you had to imagine what an angel looked like, you'd imagine her. She's almost too pretty to be real! You can easily forgive her slightly uneasy performance doing something completely new to her simply because she's so pretty but even so she's not just a (very) pretty face - she really can act - her emotional longing, purity and positiveness actually blends really well with Paul Muni's mysterious self-sacrificing moodiness.
A Bill of Divorcement (1932)
Some posh people try to out-martyr each other.
This is a tedious and turgid tale which is as gripping as watching grass grow. It's unimaginatively directed with a script that's so archaic, affected and theatrical it sounds like it was written for a private performance for Queen Victoria - who'd not be amused!
Admittedly if this story was used for a current TV show I'd avoid it like the plague so maybe I'm not best suited to review this. Curiosity however got the better of me so I wasted an hour of my life watching this really badly filmed stage play of a really badly written story. The whole thing is just too slow and plodding and although it feels like it goes on for hours and hours, you don't get to know any of the characters enough to develop any empathy for them. Consequently you don't care anything for them - you're just a very bored fly on a wall.
If this was done at our little local amateur theatre I'd probably enjoy the live performance but as a motion picture: no. There's too much unbelievable unrelenting anguish and self-sacrifice to give it any sense of reality. Even as a melodrama, it's flat and emotionless. Were you to submit this script to even the worst soap on TV, you'd get unceremoniously booted out into the streets and told never, ever try to write anything again. Nobody says or does anything which suggests they are real people - they're simply mechanical devices used to relate the story. Coupled with the director's 'just switch the camera on and read your lines' approach, it's a real feat of endurance to sit through. A more innovative director might just have lifted this to something more relatable.
Despite the overall awfulness of this, John Barrymore (who really looks like his brother in this) gives a very authentic and sensitive performance as someone who's been confined to a mental asylum for fifteen years. His childlike optimism mixed with fear of the unknown engenders genuine sympathy in us. His admittedly outstanding performance however is not enough to compensate for the unengaging story.
Dynamite (1929)
The rarest of things - an excellent film from 1929
Utterly insane story but so phenomenally well made, even though it's from 1929, it's brilliantly entertaining. This experience completely changed my opinion of De Mille - ok, it seems he was a genius after all!
Maybe because of his pompous and pretentious vats of nauseating drivel such as SIGN OF THE CROSS, I instinctively avoid the self-professed great man's movies. But his excellent FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE and MADAM SATAN tempted me to give this ago. So glad I did - it's fantastic, honestly it's a million times better than I was expecting.
There's exceptions of course but I'd normally expect a 1929 talkie to be terrible. Early talkies are generally static and stagey with theatrical actors taking it in turns to enunciate their lines very, very slowly huddled around a hidden microphone. This displays absolutely none of those tell-tale traits. You'll not believe it's De Millie's first talkie! It's so dynamic and as far removed from a studio bound film as you can imagine. Clearly hours and hours of preparation went into this to get it just perfect. Like much more modern films, the camera doesn't simply point at whichever character is speaking. You get cut-always to bystanders showing and hearing their reactions. It's a proper film, not a filmed stage play.
These are people from the 1920s, real people from 1929 so don't expect them to be like us (which is part of the appeal of watching old pictures) but nevertheless the acting in this is natural with characters speaking normally and as in Mamoulian's APPLAUSE, sound is employed virtually another character. An example of that is the portentous beating of the hammer making 'Derk's' scaffold as he's waiting on death row which ominously returns in the dramatic climax.
This is not typical 1929 acting. You're drawn into believing that you're not watching actors but somehow glimpsing into the lives of real people. I've never really rated Charles Bickford before but under a skilful director he's a revelation. A pretty odd sort of guy but one who captivates your attention.
Being as I am, Mr Shallow, my inclination is to watch films with sexy ladies like Joan Blondell or Alice White so I wouldn't normally go out of my way to watch Kay Johnson but like with Charles Bickford she's thoroughly outstanding here. She's a sort of less sexy version of Norma Shearer but in my opinion a more modern and naturalistic actress - dare I say a better actress? I've already enjoyed her performance in MADAM SATAN but now that I've unexpectedly become a fan, I'm going to search out the rest of her work.
A great director, excellent acting and exceptionally high MGM production values make the maddest, silliest story into something quite amazing. Sorry Cecil for doubting you for all these years!
Being made in 1929 we even get the extended roaring of Leo the lion at the start.
The Letter (1929)
Jeanne Eagels - what a brilliant actress!
Jeanne Eagels demonstrates why she was considered one of the best stage actresses of the 1920s. Her performance is absolutely outstanding. She's mesmerising to watch. Despite this, even by the low standards of 1929, it's not a particularly good film.
Like so many very early talkies, this is essentially a filmed stage play. It's a good stage play and is very close to Somerset Maugham's story but you inevitably compare it to William Wyler's 1940 version and you appreciate the difference between a play and a film. Although because of the restrictive censorship code introduced in the mid thirties, the story in the "new" version was massively altered to conform, that version is so much more immersive. When you watch miserable old Bette Davis you become the judge and jury when considering the plight of Mrs Crosbie. You enter into what you think is the mind of Mrs Crosbie - or you think you do - Wyler has fun playing with your emotions. In this version however you're just watching the narrative unfold, you're not involved.
Although this is inferior in terms of what you'd expect from a motion picture, it's still worth watching just for Jeanne Eagels' magnificent portrayal of raw emotion especially in the last act. What's remarkable and indeed a testament to her acting is that although you're being told from the onset that her character, Mrs Crosbie is a bad person, you're on her side, you're supporting a murderer! Thus is the power of seduction which this actress strangely imposes on you ninety years after her death.
The film itself is certainly watchable and better than most films from 1929 but it has no innovative or imaginative direction. To be fair, it was Jean de Limur's first film - it seems an odd choice of Paramount to use a novice to direct such a high profile picture but his lack of experience is almost compensated for by Miss Eagels' skill and also by Herbert Marshall who is also fantastic - incredibly it's his first movie as well.
It's interesting to note that a decade later Herbert Marshall is alive again back in the remake - not as Mrs Crosbie's lover but as the wronged husband. Also in the "new" version her lover wasn't sharing a bed with a Chinese woman (a fact used in the trial to prove he was a disreputable and disgraceful human being!) but a respectable married man - married of course to a respectable white woman!
The Yellow Ticket (1931)
And down the road from Dr Zhivago's house....
The fact that this was made in 1931 is irrelevant because this is as virtually good as any adventure romance you'd get made now. Set amongst one of the many sorry episodes in Russian history it has a particular resonance today.
This might very well be the best film that beautiful Austrian actress Elissa Landi ever made. Allegedly the granddaughter of the famous celebrity Empress Sissi of Austria, she projects an almost regal purity and restrained emotion which is perfect for the innocent yet cynical role of Marya. One wonders how she felt when the script mentioned that her grandmother's husband, Franz Josef of Austria had just signed that memo to 'start' the First World War?
If there are any Lionel Barrymore fans left - which there should be - this picture is for them. Not sure whether his portrayal of the sinister head of Nikolai II's secret police is that accurate but who cares - he's a fantastic Hollywood villain. Although manically over the top, his less than subtle performance is simply explosive. Like all the best Hollywood villains, he creates the perfect character to instantly hate.
And there's also young Larry! In early thirties movies you often see soon to be 'great' actors struggling to learn the ropes but not with young Mr Olivier. It's not quite his first film and he's not the lead but somehow this guy already seems to be at the top of his game.
This isn't one of those old films which you think could have been better if it was made today - everyone and everything in this is as good as you can imagine. When they put their minds to it, Fox Films really could make something superb. Atmospheric set design and innovative cinematography (James Wong Howe again) make this a proper work of art. But not a stuffy, cold piece you'd find in a museum - this is dynamic, buzzing with life. Raoul Walsh's direction never lets the tension falter, he gives this a break-neck sense of intensity to ensure your interest doesn't wane.
And I didn't even mention the naked ladies!
Thunderbolt (1929)
Even Fay Wray can't spoil this!
Nobody would argue that 1929 was a year of classic movies. Amongst the flotsam and jetsam however there's APPLAUSE and a few other good ones..... and this as well - almost. What a difference a top director and screenwriter can make!
This isn't a gangster film, it's an intelligently written character study and in-depth look into the mind of a mobster. You find writer Jules Furthman's name on virtually every other classic Hollywood picture of the 20s, 30s and 40s. His style was quality and his skill was creating believable engaging stories with real genuine characters. His story was further adapted by H Mankiewicz - who wrote the scripts for the probably the other half of the classics from this period. Needless to say - this is well written with fascinating and deeply faceted characters.
Josef von Sternberg directed this which by the look of it was his fiftieth talkie. Surely it's impossible that this was his first sound film? Being made in 1929, it's still a little experimental, not quite everything works so this is not one of his best pictures. Nevertheless he creates a brooding almost surreal atmosphere with real tension. That style intensifies significantly in the latter part of the film on death row which has an almost dream like feel about it.
The story is tense, the characters are believable, the production is innovative but this is not a perfect film. To enable clear sound recording, some but not all of the actors speak very slowly which sounds especially weird when the actor they're talking with is speaking normally. Actors had their own individual vocal coaches then with different techniques thus the inconsistency and maybe not being a native English speaker, von Sternberg probably didn't notice the subtle differences.
As great a director as he was, von Sternberg was given the impossible task of trying to make Fay Wray seem like a proper actress. Not even he could do that and predictably she's absolutely dreadful. As always she just projects that limp, whining and insipid expression to convey whatever emotion she's trying to express.
Whether she's pretending to be a hard as nails gangster's moll or a reformed, sweet and vulnerable fragile young thing she's that same bland, shallow character. Not only can't she act but in this she doesn't appear to be able to speak English - what on earth is that accent! She's meant to be a girl from the streets so why is she doing history's worst impression of Queen Mary? That two men could be besotted with this dull sour-faced non-entity completely stretches all credibility.
High Voltage (1929)
The Hateful Five
Eighty six years before Tarantino made THE HATEFUL EIGHT, Pathé used a remarkably similar story to made this surprisingly modern claustrophobic study of what happens when five strangers take refuge together from a blizzard in an abandoned church.
OK, this is a very early talkie but it doesn't display the characteristic problems which a lot of 1929 pictures suffered from. The sound recording, the use of sound effects and the modern approach of hearing different people speaking at the same time and from different rooms makes this feel newer than most very early talkies. Similarly the acting, although still "old school" is so much more natural than you'd expect from a 1929 film. If you didn't know when this was made you might guess it was from the mid-thirties?
This isn't just something to watch out of academic interest. Whilst it's interesting to see what Pathé Exchange were doing before they were taken over by RKO, it's actually worth watching because it's entertaining. It's a little silly to compare this with THE HATEFUL EIGHT but the tension Tarantino created and the intensity and sense of immediacy is skilfully embroidered into this too. For such an old film it's refreshingly intelligent with a script that explores how real believable people (not lazy, one-dimensional stereotypes) interact. Imagine a 1929 version of the tv programme, Big Brother!
William Boyd gives a particularly impressive performance and had he not evolved into a cowboy actor, based on this, you could imagine him becoming a major star. Carol Lombard, although not quite there yet, isn't too bad either especially considering that this was her first talking role - however by 1929 standards, she's brilliant!
One Night at Susie's (1930)
Being 'old' is no excuse for bad filmmaking.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with this and why it doesn't work. Not all, but a lot of pictures made in 1929 seemed like they were made by people who had never made a sound film before - that's because they were. This feels like one of the worst examples yet inexplicably this was made towards the end of 1930 when most directors had figured it all out. They haven't even got the excuse of having to make it on the awful Vitaphone discs because this was made using state of the art sound recording yet somehow its stilted, slow and theatrical delivery is as bad as anything that came out in 1929.
J F Dillon had been directing silent movies for ages and perhaps he had just got so used to that style of acting that he thought it should be used in the talkies as well? Two years after making this he made the excellent CALL HER SAVAGE, so he did know how to direct a talking picture - unfortunately he doesn't demonstrate any of that skill with this. This is one of those films you get in documentaries showing how difficult it was for some directors to adapt to sound. It's glacially slow - each line is excruciatingly dragged out of the actors as though they are addressing an unfriendly political meeting. There's no natural pace, nobody acts like real people do - they're just actors walking to the middle of the stage where they then deliver their lines.
There's absolutely zero engagement with any of the characters, you couldn't care less about what happens to them because they're not real. Billie Dove, Howard Hughes' latest squeeze, is pleasant enough but she's not particularly memorable. Also making hardly any waves of interest is Douglas Fairbanks Jr - in a few months' time, Mervyn LeRoy would show the world that Fairbanks could act in his LITTLE CAESAR but in this he's less than one dimensional with as much depth and personality as a shadow on a grey slab of concrete. With the bizarre make-up needed for the bright lights, he spends most of this movie looking like a grinning simpleton that someone has given two black eyes to. The only person who does make an impression is the eponymous Susie played by Helen Ware....but it's not a good impression - she is truly terrible! If you want an example of being stagey, over-theatrical and plain awful, look no further. She makes a rather bad film a very bad film.
There is however a couple minutes of brilliance in this and that's the famous court room scene. Presumably they thought that after half an hour all their audience would have fallen asleep so soon to be superstar cameraman, Ernest Haller and J F Dillon had a bash at that expressionist malarkey whilst nobody was looking. Those few dreamlike minutes of shadows disturb you from your comfort creating a jolting sense of isolation, uncertainty and fear of the unknown. You will certainly sit up and start to think you're watching something very interesting but this flash of brilliance is sadly just a flash - it then reverts back to its dull lugubrious pace.
Supernatural (1933)
Not even the San Andreas fault could stop this being made!
The Halperin brothers had just independently made the really bad but curiously watchable WHITE ZOMBIE. Paramount subsequently hired these cash magnets to make this low budget for the studio )but massive budget for the Halperins) hour of nonsense. It's quite fun.
It's utterly ridiculous which is what makes it so fun. H B Warner's solemn and theatrical delivery of his lines explaining in all seriousness how he's invented a machine to use 'microgenic' rays to extract 'the soul' from the dead adds to the silliness. It's especially crazy as he says all this to the jail warden who simply accepts all this gibberish as absolute common sense..... and lends the doctor the body of the executed criminal to experiment on - as you do!
That old style acting in this picture (although this is ten times more natural than in WHITE ZOMBIE) is perfect for an over-the-top, moody 'horror' film like this. Naturalist and believable acting in a big kids' fairytale world have been weird. When it came out audiences were thrilled and scared - today you'll be entertained by its daftness.
It's one of those pictures made by innovative, imaginative 'amateurs' which don't look as professional as films made by 'proper' directors but the enthusiasm of the Halperin brothers (and Paramount's budget) makes this worth watching.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
But one thing really annoyed me
And that thing is.... Early on during a conversation Louis XI is having with his colleagues they discuss the idea that the world might not be flat. Nobody, NOBODY, N O B O D Y would ever have thought that the earth was flat - not just in 1482, not just in the Middle Ages - not since the ancient Greeks figured that out about 300BC.
The blame goes to Washington Irving who wrote that Columbus wanted to prove the earth was round in his 19th century novel ..... Nonsense! Everyone knew the world was round then anyway. For decades afterwards, people thought this novel was true and that this stupid idea is expounded in this film gives this a slightly un-researched feel.
Anyway, rant over - review time.....
People who don't watch old pictures will be really surprised by the authenticity and realism this production has oozing through it. It takes something special to transport you to another time, let alone to such an unfamiliar one from over five hundred years ago. This big budget spectacular doesn't just create a place which seems real, it creates a place where you yourself could imagine being. In those dark and dangerous alleyways, you can feel the uncertainty and tension, you can even smell the place! Visually this looks as impressive as most modern movies. It really is top of the pile in terms of production.
Charles Laughton's acting, the way he makes you empathise with him is amazing. You feel every twinge of pain on his face and every tear of sorrow in his eyes. It's not comfortable viewing: that same sense of pity and helplessness you'd experience when seeing someone kicking a sick animal lodges tight inside your stomach. Cedric Hardwick's lust-crazed, sexually repressed zealot is also a well crafted character. It would be easy to portray Frollo as just a villain but under Diererle's talented direction you actually feel sorry for him as well. There's a lot of emotional grenades in this.
Personally, although it's not half as good, I prefer the 1982 version with Lesley-Anne Down but that's just because that's got Lesley-Anne Down in it and I am clearly a very shallow man.
The Singing Kid (1936)
It's the Al Jolson film that's actually not awful!
Even though I admit to being an Al Jolson fan, I never expected to see an Al Jolson film that's not rubbish. This however wasn't - what a revelation! It's actually good! It's not too dissimilar in feel to those old Busby Berkeley movies.
Honestly, as hard as it is to believe, it's an Al Jolson movie that's actually good - well quite good. Some people are offended by the old 'blacking up' practice and there is some of that in this so some of you might not feel comfortable watching this. Apart from that, if you enjoy 1930s movies, particularly from the pre-code era, this is almost as much fun as a lot of those pre 1934 pictures were.
I'd also say that it's much better than a lot of the bland, cloned musicals the studios were churning out in the mid thirties. Being directed by the same guy who did FOOTLIGHT PARADE, you can feel that same sense of fun here. It's not brilliant - the first part, set in New York is a lot livelier than the second half which really slows down as it evolves into a rather mushy (but still amusing) sentimental drama set in the countryside with a 'cute' child and annoying mother.
The 'cute' child, Sybil Jason is surprisingly tolerable but that annoying mother is not. She is Beverly Roberts, not a name you'll be familiar with and that's because she's awful. She's got a terribly affected accent and zero stage presence - utterly lacking in any believability. Al Jolson however along with his two mates: Allen Jenkins and E E Horton have more than enough personality to keep you engaged.
The songs are ok but a bit forgettable however Al Jolson gave his friend, the immensely popular black jazz performer, Cab Calloway quite a lot of exposure in this which adds something different. I don't know whether it was just because I didn't expect it not to be terrible but I really enjoyed non pre-code, pre-code cheerful chunk of happiness.
The Purchase Price (1932)
So thirties, so Warner Brothers, so Stanwyck!
If you stop to think about the actual story you'll realise that it's the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen. Fortunately William Wellman directs this at such breakneck speed you don't have time to stop - you're whisked along on the Wellman express.
That all this can happen in 68 minutes is crazy but this was Warner's specialty in the early thirties. They were brilliant at it and this is a great example. It's not a fantastic picture but it is so typical of those fast moving features of pure entertainment Darryl Zanuck knew his audiences would lap up. If good quality early thirties movies are your thing, this will tick your boxes. Even though the setting isn't the usual mean streets of New York, it's still got all the usual ingredients.
A common ingredient of pre-code films that's present in this is the overriding importance of marriage. Although in pictures like this it's the single most vital thing in the world for a girl - which must have reflected reality, it seems completely unimportant who they marry as long as they can provide food and shelter. It's irrelevant whether he's a gangster, a decrepit pensioner or in this case, a complete stranger who advertised for a wife (essentially a housekeeper) in an agency. Disturbingly, mail order brides are still around today. Anyway...
One of those other usual key ingredients is George Brent. He's his usual dull self but for a change, that bland personality is suited to this role. Fortunately 'the other man' in the love triangle is Lyle Talbot who always adds some slightly shady charisma. These two however are definitely second fiddle to the absolute star of this picture, Barbara Stanwyck.
She effortlessly melds her gangster-moll persona to devoted farmer's wife as though it's the most transition in the world. Were this role be played by a lesser actress (and directly a lesser director) it could have been a joke picture because the premise is so stupid but she (and Wellman) make it seem completely believable and therefore thoroughly enjoyable.
As in all her thirties pictures (apart from the monstrous Stella Dallas) despite not having the classic Hollywood looks, she inexplicably oozes enough sex appeal to fuel the planet for a hundred years. She certainly had 'it.' This isn't one of her best films but it's still pretty decent - and she's absolutely lovely in it.
Guilty as Hell (1932)
Dreadful as Hell
This surely would be something they'd make the damned suffer over and over again for eternity in Hell. Supposedly it's a comedy and supposedly Lowe and McLagen are meant to be a double act. Supposedly this isn't meant to be torture?
Paramount B-pictures, as this demonstrates really were B-pictures! Cheap, shabby time-fillers which were never intended to draw in an audience. They were just on whilst you found your seat and chatted with your pals before the main feature came on. Watching them now would be the equivalent to our great grandchildren watching the hour of adverts and trailers we currently have to endure before a movie. Those involved in making this would be totally bemused as to why any of us now are actually watching this.
They'd also be embarrassed because these actors are all truly terrible. How Edmund Lowe ever got leading roles is one of life's great mysteries. How Victor McLagen was ever let within a hundred metres of a film studio needs to be investigated by the police. Together, these two are as funny as a house brick. Their characters lack any credibility at all. In a comedy, naturalism and believability isn't always necessary but this isn't meant to be just a comedy - I think we're supposed to believe that this is a mystery drama?
Even the addition of thirties 'super-model' Adrienne Ames can't inject any life into this badly acted, pitifully written drivel. A few films like THE RIGHT OF WAY (1930) are so bad that they're funny. This is just so bad that even though it tries to be funny it's just bad. Real bad. Bad, bad, bad and bad.
Curiously in the last five minutes director Earle Kenton presumably assumes that nobody's watching it anymore so has a bit of fun with some crazy close-ups. Holy mackerel, this is bad.
Vintage Wine (1935)
Mildly amusing
Although this is professionally made and well acted, it's hardly the funniest farce I've ever seen. Tom Walls was doing very similar stuff back then but whereas Walls was a less talented actor than Hicks, his films were funnier.
This is just about amusing enough to keep your attention. Once you've started watching this, annoyingly you'll feel the need to stick with it until the end. That's mainly due to the well written, entertaining characters. Veteran stage actor Seymour Hicks actually delivers a very amusing and nuanced performance. You will take an instant liking to him, he's pretty cool. Likewise, although far from cool, Eva Moore's formidable and eccentric great-grandmother is quite a treat.
Amusing characters alone cannot compensate for not having a witty script which this picture sorely lacks. It's essentially just a one joke comedy. The plot is the sort of thing which might be used in an episode of an old sit-com but even the lamest sit-com would have had other jokes thrown in.
Maybe if you saw this on stage at your local theatre - and you like old fashioned farces - you'd probably enjoy this. But even the biggest fan of early thirties English comedy, would struggle to laugh at this on film. Nevertheless it's got a certain comforting warmth and charm about it. Thanks to the professionalism of the production, Mr Hicks' genuinely engaging personality and of course the presence of lovely Claire Luce, it's watchable - but Tom Walls' Aldwych Farces are much better.
The Right of Way (1930)
I've found it - the worst film ever - and I loved it!
It's so amazingly awful that it makes PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE seem like THE GODFATHER. This is so unimaginably bad - really bad that it's weirdly wonderful making it one of the funniest things you'll ever see.
You've got to see this with your own eyes to believe it. Once you've experienced it you'll want to see it again because it's so bad it's hilarious. Some films are bad, some are terrible but this creates a whole new dimension of hell that Dante would be proud of. It's not one of those terrible stagey dull early talkies which are so lifeless that you can't be bothered to watch - this is anything but boring. If someone wanted to make a comedy about the early talkies they could just use this. It feels exactly like one of those parodies but although it's hard to believe, it's actually meant to be serious - well I think it is?
Being made in 1930 is no excuse. There were plenty of films - or rather a few films made in 1930 and even in 1929 which were pretty good. OK, it was made on the horribly cumbersome Vitaphone system which certainly didn't help but again, others managed with it. This is just jaw-droppingly badly made.
Everything about this is as worse as it could possibly be. The story is beyond stupid, the script is completely surreal as though written by aliens and it feels like it was directed by someone from one of those isolated tribes deep in the Amazon who'd never left the jungle or discovered fire yet.
And as for the acting - you'll not believe what your eyes are telling you. You're not high - this really is happening! Conrad Nagel proves himself to be the worst actor in the history of cinema. I half suspect his remarkably utterly absurd performance was him trying to be funny but that would be too charitable. He's doing a sort of bizarre John Barrymore impersonation - indeed, were this a proper film, Barrymore might have been OK in this.
Then just when you think you've never seen such bad acting in your life you're treated to Olive Tell as his wife - O. M. G! I challenge you to watch her and keep a straight face!
Oh and there's sweet seventeen year old Loretta Young. Since she's betrothed to a sixty year old, I'm thinking that it's probably ok to find her attractive? Even she is rubbish in this which since she was ok in LOOSE ANKLES and a few other 1929/1930 movies, points the finger of blame at director Frank Lloyd - but he made MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY so what was going on here? Maybe Warners just wanted to close down their First National operation or maybe everyone was very, very drunk?
If you've run out of drugs - just watch this instead!
Shopworn (1932)
Like watching a crazy Disney mash-up
Although you might think you're watching a film from 1932, you're actually watching the "cleaned up" edited version from 1938. "Edited" in this context means chopping out complete scenes, vital parts of the story which explain what's happening and anything whatsoever with a hint of salaciousness - which since it might or might not be about a girl with loose morals, it now makes no sense.
The savage editing which is no better than someone removing every other chapter from a book results in a completely disjointed story - your imagination has to work overtime to fill in the gaps. You might therefore think that this isn't worth watching?
The reviews of this even when it was complete were pretty terrible. Apparently even when complete, the story was considered ridiculous, the direction amateurish, the script laughable and the acting (apart from Barbara Stanwyck) truly awful. You might therefore think that this isn't worth watching?
Well I watched it and yes, the acting is rubbish and the story is stupid.....but I loved this. And not in "it's so bad it's good" sense, no I honestly enjoyed this as a fascinating, engrossing, emotionally engaging piece of entertainment. Had I been in the cinema in 1932 or 1938, I'd be the one standing up and clapping at the end. It's just so gloriously over-the-top and so 1932! It's like someone at Columbia one morning said to his writers: "Let's condense every story, every trope, every plot twist and tragedy you can think of into one crazy romantic-tragedy-comedy-social commentary-thriller-Broadway-prison movie......oh, and you've got until lunchtime so write the script." Well the result is anything but boring - the term 'rollercoaster ride' doesn't do this justice and I thought it was great. OK, a lot must have been chopped out but within no more than about a minute and a half, she's released from jail, it's the depression so she needs a job so somehow becomes a massive Broadway star with a brand new personality. That I love this nonsense might just be something to do with me - after all, I think CITIZEN KANE is the dullest thing I've ever endured and PADDINGTON is the greatest film of the 21st century.
Despite the many shortcomings of this inexplicably enjoyable film, the one shining beam of talent is Barbara Stanwyck. Her presence in this is the only thing which makes this not just watchable but mesmerising. Her character evolves from fresh young bubbly innocence to sultry sophistication but throughout her transition her natural raw sex appeal constantly transfixes you to everything she says and does. She's exceptional.
She's exceptional in the sense that she's got exceptional talent and also in the sense that she's the one in this film with talent. In films made from the mid-thirties onwards, you only see Regis Toomey in minor supporting roles - if you want to know why, watch this. Of dear, he's dreadful - he's got just two expressions: serious face and angry face - even Kay Francis had three. He's got to be Barbara Stanwyck's worst leading man - you can't build up any empathy for him whatsoever and as for the film getting us all worked up hoping that Barbara Stanwyck will get back together with him, that certainly doesn't work. I think we'd all like to tell her: "you can do a lot better than him, love. "
Besides animatronic Toomey, the rest of the cast, including Aunt Em are just one dimensional caricatures serving one purpose; to be cruel and nasty to Barbara Stanwyck's 'Kitty'. They're all so ridiculously vindictive, uncaring and horrible that you can't take them seriously or accept that they are real people which is a big problem with any film! We know that life for young women in the 20s and 30s could be absolutely terrible, we've seen it explained in much better films than this. That all the evils of society, bad luck and a deluge of wickedness all happen to Kitty at the same time leads you to the obvious revelation: you're watching CINDERELLA and Aunt Em is the wicked stepmother.
Whirlpool (1950)
Style over substance - but wow, such style!
Ben Hecht's fabulously engrossing script makes you overlook the silliness of this superb piece of crazy pulp fiction. Imagine a compilation of every theme from every film noir ever and you've got this!
The story is absolutely mad. Everything about this is wonderfully over the top but Preminger's intense direction makes it totally believable. It's an example where suspension of belief is essential but like all good works of fiction that's easy with this. If you can accept that a big hairy handed wookie has the dexterity to fly the Millennium Falcon then you can accept this.
It's a stylish, beautifully photographed drama - it's not quite a thriller because you can guess exactly what's going to happen next but that doesn't matter. Addictive viewing!
Young Bride (1932)
A great example of pre-code soap
It seems like half of all films made in the early thirties used this same story - this one however does it really well and gives you a real authentic taste of early thirties life in the big city. Nothing exciting happens, there's no great revelations, there's no scathing indictments on society - it's basically just a soap but it's so well made it transports you mind and body back in time. Any picture featuring a taxi dance hall ticks my box!
Most surprising thing about this is that Eric Linden is actually good in it - on the level, no kidding! Eric Linden was often typecast as pathetic weaklings such as his limp and nauseatingly naïve 'Bud' in BIG CITY BLUES. He was usually so annoyingly pathetic that when he was playing Cagney's kid brother in THE CROWD ROARS, you wanted him to crash. This film however shows he could act! He really does convey the necessary levels of arrogance and selfishness required to make his self-obsessed waste of space both totally unlikeable and believable. At first it seems a bit weird watching him do a third rate Cagney impersonation but after a while you grow to accept it.
In the stage version of this role of 'Good Time Charlie' was taken by young Spencer Tracy whom you could imagine would have been a natural for this but Linden rises admirably to the challenge. His usually hidden acting skill gets you to really dislike his character immediately. He's not nasty, he's not a bad person, he's just a complete and utter botty hole. He's the sort of person that even the Delai Lama would want to punch in the face. As to why sweet Helen Twelvetrees, even though she's meant to have had a sheltered life, falls for him is beyond me.....but mis-matches like this clearly existed. That was life..... and that was one of the criticisms at the time. Contemporary reviews complained that it's just an everyday story of everyday life...... that however is exactly what makes this so watchable ninety years later!
Helen Twelvetrees plays the role she found herself often typecast into playing: that of the sweet and trusting naive long suffering wife but maybe she got typecast in such roles because she was so good at playing them. She's absolutely adorable in this and manages to engender real emotion in you. It's a great shame this lovely young lady worked for financially crippled RKO, or rather RKO-Pathé as it was then because when Selznick jumped ship, she was one of the many actors whom the company could no longer afford to keep - had circumstances been different, she might have been one of the great actresses. This pretty mundane but moving slice of life as a good example of how good she could be.
The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)
The perfect early 30s melodrama
If you want a definition of an early thirties melodrama, this is it. If you want to explain what type of film MGM made then this is it. If you want to know what people in the early thirties enjoyed then watch this superbly made picture.
If you're like me, weepy sentimental melodramas might not be your thing but I have to admit even I felt a bit tearful at the end. There's nothing particularly outstanding about it but it's just so classy and well made. Veteran director Edgar Selwyn, one of the founding fathers of MGM, didn't use any tricks, he just used experience and professionalism to engage with his audience - and it still works more than ninety years later.
Although a thirty year long story is squeezed into an hour and a half, it doesn't feel rushed. It's paced perfectly allowing you to thoroughly get to know Helen Hayes' character - you think her thoughts, you feel her hopes and you feel her despair. After the prelude section I thought it was going to be just another of those 'girl from the wrong side of the tracks meets a society guy who's family make him marry someone more suitable' stories. The very first part is that well trodden story and you then start to wonder if it's worth carrying on watching but keep with it. It develops into something much more interesting, something richer with real in-depth characters.
By about half time, you're thinking like a 1930s person and it's interesting to reflect afterwards how fifty year old Lewis Stone's proposal to young Helen Hayes seemed perfectly normal to your 1930s alter ego. Marriage wasn't about love, it wasn't something borne out of passion, it wasn't about finding a soul mate. It was a necessary arrangement. For a man it gave him a pretty companion, a housekeeper, a means of creating an heir but for a woman it was an absolute requirement. It gave her security, it gave her somewhere to live. There wasn't really any alternative - or as we find out in this story, there was but it wasn't nice.
So even if you would have been the type who'd probably have been at the Warner Brothers cinema instead watching James Cagney with a Tommy gun, you'll still enjoy this. It doesn't really give you a feel of the early thirties but shows you how they thought.
Interestingly, poor little Marie Prevost's character in this is called Rosalie - the same name and very possibly the same character she played in Edgar Selwyn's WAR NURSE.
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
A pleasant glass of Film Pinot Noir
What makes this different to so many other so-called Film Noirs is that it doesn't make you feel miserable after watching it! This has all the classic tropes: a moody detective, a beautiful dame, a murder and plenty of shadows but it's also personable - the characters are genuine and likeable - almost fun to watch.
Ben Hecht's script ensures this one involves you straight away, his smart and sassy words speaks directly to you in exactly the way you'd expect for a film like this. His story isn't about crime, it isn't about the murky underworld, it's about a man, Detective Mark Dixon. Tarred by being the son of a mobster, he's trying to prove he's different - which is a bit of a challenge when he accidentally kills the star witness. Dana Andrews may have played higher profile roles than this but never one so authentic, never one you could believe in and root for so much. A lot of this is down to Otto Preminger whom having recently made his other two film noirs LAURA and WHIRLPOOL, was familiar with the team at Fox and how to get the best out of these actors.
This is definitely Dana Andrew's film, not only is he excellent in it but does seem to be in every single scene. Gene Tierney's character however is pretty minor. Unusually for her, the role is mainly just to stand around and look pretty but even as decoration, she imbues a certain magical presence to each scene she's in. It's not just her impossibly good looks which drag your eyes to her: what is it about her that is so attractive you ask yourself - you can't help staring. It's to do with her general manner, even the way she moves her eyes that intrigues you. Presumably after working with her several times before, Preminger knew how he could make such a massive impact on the story and manipulate your reactions and emotions by using her for just a few minutes screen time.
If you want a superbly made Film Noir that's got a heart and won't send you dashing out for that bottle of poison then this is worth a look. Although it's got the same elements as say something like the British Film Noir of the same era, THEY MADE ME A FUGITIVE, you won't feel so depressed after watching this one.
Bird of Paradise (1932)
The boring bit of KING KONG dragged out for 90 minutes
Films from the early 30s usually evoke a nostalgia for an era which exists only in our imagination. Set on a remote South Sea Island, the normal familiar references aren't there so you can't engage with this. Consequently it's not got that 1930s feel.
This would have been perfect for the downtrodden audiences during The Depression - especially the men! This offered them pure escapism, ninety minutes in paradise, a place in the sun where an unemployed New York docker could experience unconditional love from a naked Dolores del Rio. In 1932, this picture worked well but today it's no more than something of academic interest. Admittedly it's photographed well, paradise does look like paradise but apart from being a sort of old travelogue, it's not entertaining as a movie.
The story of an American who elopes with a beautiful native girl is a clear erotic fantasy which lots of men must have had after watching TARZAN. It's wish fulfilment, it's totally preposterous and makes no sense but unlike a dream, this paradise is as dull as hell. Director King Vidor may have been able to stir the soul with some of his work but he didn't even seem to try with this. There's absolutely no emotional engagement engendered. There's no tension developed, there's no desire to get to know who the people are. There's also no sexual chemistry between our two lovers which is a big failing since that's essentially all this film is about.
One reason for that is the writing. Dolores del Rio's character is completely one dimensional, Betty Boop could have played this just as well. Joel McCrea's character might have resonated with the audiences back then but now he seems just shallow, over-privileged and only interested in 'Luana' so he can tick 'South Sea island girl' on his undoubtedly long list of sexual conquests.
It's astonishing that a film solely about the desperate desire for two people from different cultures to have sex can be so boring!
Two Girls on Broadway (1940)
A bland over-refined remake of a flawed classic
As much as I utterly adore Joan Blondell and think she was excellent in this, I have to say that the original, THE BROADWAY MELODY (of 1929) had more oomph, more heart and despite its technical limitations is the better version.
This more light-hearted remake of the very first Oscar winner is typical of the slick, polished style which MGM movies had in the forties, even in their B pictures. Obviously the acting in this is more natural, although every sane person will take an instant dislike to George Murphy whose cocky performance is more than irritating and even less genuine than Charles King's in the original. The production is of course not even on the same scale as in the first picture when they were just learning how to make talking pictures but interestingly the songs in this version are just as terrible as in the first one.
MGM made this film was a showcase their new star, Lana Turner which meant that Joan Blondell was relegated to playing second fiddle to her. She's the less glamorous, less sexy sensible older sister - almost a maternal role. Undaunted by 'reaching a certain age' (34!) she raises to the challenge and gives a very genuine and sensitive performance.
The role of the older sister in this version is more caring and a lot more mature than when Bessie Love played it. She's almost too nice to be true. No doubt because of her acting experience, Joan seems more confident and believable as the self-sacrificing sister but Bessie Love exhibited a real sense of vulnerability and tenderness which gave that very early talkie ten times as much emotional impact. Bessie Love's performance was truly heartbreaking and as disloyal it sounds to lovely Joan, Bessie played this character better.
Similarly, Anita Page's younger sister was raw, immature and gave the impression that she had no idea whatsoever what was happening to her. Her rabbit in the headlights portrayal exactly captured that of a naive girl from the sticks diving head first into a hedonistic cynical world she had no control over. Lana Turner is very sweet and innocent but seems a little too worldly wise. Although she was a better actress, in that role, Anita Page came across with much more authenticity.
Even though the original was made before The Depression, it felt like a more dangerous and grimy world that the sisters found themselves in. If you watch old films, New York in 1940 has a very familiar feel about it which makes this 'new' version a lot less interesting. It's not just because it's sad to see Joan Blondell upstaged by her replacement that I didn't enjoy this as much as the original, I think the actual reason is that the first film was fresh and so much more emotional.
Fury (1936)
Yes, that's Dorothy's Toto!
There's no doubting that this is a very good film but its position, perched atop of Hollywood's tallest ivory tower isn't justified. The slight problem with this is that it's more worthy than it is entertaining.
Because this film has such a glowing reputation I expected something marvellous so my hopes for this were possibly too high. Being made by Fritz Lang, it goes without saying that it looks fantastic and the acting is outstanding but it didn't really connect on an emotional level. Other films from the thirties about injustice such as Archie Mayo's BLACK LEGION with Humphrey Bogart or Woody Van Dyke's NIGHT COURT really instil a sense of moral outrage whereas this doesn't. We certainly develop empathy for the sweet young couple thanks to the first section and will definitely feel sympathy for 'Joe' when he's falsely arrested but it doesn't quite stir the soul.
Maybe if MGM had allowed Lang to make the film he wanted to make it may have been the classic which Lang fans seem to think this is. As it stands, it feels a little sanitised, a little Hays Code and a lot MGM. Up to 'the lynching' it does start to set your innards swirling, you start to feel for 'Joe,' you start to become indignant and angry but it doesn't really carry this through to you becoming emotionally invested. Whereas the first half feels real, like a nightmare which could happen to you, the second part feels contrived and disconnected.
If I could, I'd give 8 starts to the first half and 4 to the last half.