Thirty Thirties

A pretty bland comedy starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray who have found one another and don’t realize until it’s almost too late that they’ll need to sacrifice a few wishes for the sake of love. Oh, and another movie where Ralph Bellamy gets shafted.

While I felt that both Carole Lombard and John Barrymore gave great performances, I was not a fan of Twentieth Century is not my favorite for wither of them. The histrionics, as well as the length of the film were quite wearying. 

This is a great film full of the usual coincidences found in 30's film with the added benefit of Gavin Gordon’s super effeminate eyebrows. American Madness stands out due to the ever wonderful acting of Walter Huston and Pat O’Brien is a treat.

Gene Raymond’s at it again! After his wife, played by Fay Wray, becomes a successful lawyer and his career remains stagnate, they separate. When Raymond is accused of murder, Wray literally comes to his defense and saves the day. But then she quits her job so she can help him become an architect Sigh. Who knows what kind of mess he'll get into again!

Typical fair for the 30’s modern girl, Brides follows three shop girls and the romantic misadventures that lead to both happiness and tragedy. Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery are both beautiful in the film despite the inexplicable change in hair color for Crawford towards the end. Random.

Joe E. Brown is a hilariously inappropriate babysitter for playboy William Collier Jr..

Two attorney’s that were once married face off again in the courtroom. This film is special in that Miriam Jordan doesn’t feel compelled to sacrifice her career for marriage- no matter how many fits Neil Hamilton throws. Guess he's no Gene Raymond!

Oooh! This is the film that made me question whether I liked Edward Arnold or not. He plays such a bully to a surprisingly Swedish Walter Brennan who is quite meek. Eventually, I realized Arnold was just a great actor who could be both cruel and angelic.

It’s no Thin Man but Myrna Loy and William Powell are no less magnetizing in this drama about involving an extramarital affair, blackmail and murder.

Ruth Chatterton is perfect playing the ever-busy CEO of her Automobile company that enjoys seducing and then turning away her underlings. However, she meets her match in Jim Thorne played by George Brent. In total 30’s fashion, Chatterton’s character gives authority over to Thorne so she can stay at home and raise future babies. Sigh. Somebody's been hanging around Gene Raymond.

A moving story based on the semi-autobiography of Ernest Hemingway; Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes light up this screen with their tragic love story.

This movie is a must see! Different for it’s time, it’s comprised of eight different vignettes directed by seven different directors and featuring a wide array of stars including Charles Laughton and Gary Cooper. My favorites are: China Shop, Road Hogs, and The Clerk.

The Marx Brothers are stowaway’s on a ship headed for America. While trying to avoid the ship’s crew they come to the attention of rival gangsters. Hilarity ensues. It’s the Marx Brothers so...duh. 

The worst Joan Crawford film I have seen! Seriously, it was painful to watch. John Mack Brown despite his future Western associations plays a cowhand with a horrible southern accent. However, Cliff Edwards as Froggy is quite comical.

Pat O’Brien and Fred McHugh are a couple of promoters with nothing to promote but a mounting hotel bill. Seeing a chance to win some money, they enter a contest for “America's Prettiest Girl” with a composite photo of all the famous stars and debutantes of the day. When reporters come knocking in pursuit of the girl in the photo, O’Brien and Mcugh find luck from an unlikely source- their oft ignored hotel maid played by Marion Davies. Turns out she isn’t so homely outside her uniform.

Robert Taylor pesters Jean Harlow into love with his ample charm and the unexpected help of his family and brother Reginald Owen who happens to be Harlow’s fiancé in the film.

Robert Montgomery doing what he does best, drinking and poking fun but with the added benefit of Frank Morgan, Robert Benchley and Billie Burke in the cast.

Spooky house mystery starring Joan Blondell as the ever wise-cracking nurse and George Brent as an inexperienced detective. That’s enough for me!

My second favorite of Norma Shearer’s, Private Lives is a fantastically wonderful play written and often performed by the magical Noel Coward. Shearer and Montgomery are pure delight as they take off on the rocky roller coaster that is their relationship...again. If you enjoy witty repartee mixed with calamity then strap yourself in, it’s a bumpy but enjoyable ride.

Tired of being the innocent face for “Ippsie-Wippsie Washclothes” Ginger Rogers decides to rebel. To appease her, her publicity team picks a guy from her fan mail in order to create a romance. However, Norman Foster soon proves he’s not someone to be trifled with.

Jean Harlow plays a frighteningly determined gold digger and possible masochist. Be on the look out for a young Charles Boyer before his stardom exploded.

The scene where Melvyn Douglas and Raymond Walburn get totally soused and let Edith Fellows fall to the floor is the best reason to watch this film.

 I absolutely disliked Katharine Hepburn in this film. Acting like a man and trying to hide her girlish naivete, Hepburn is simply put, annoying. The movie seems to move as slow as molasses and Cary Grant plays no saint. In fact, he’s quite frightening at moments.

This is a moving saga about a woman who raises her four children after killing their father in self-defense. Be on the look out for a very young Robert Taylor.

Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell use femme fatale tactics to slyly slip subpoenas to their targets. Need I say more?

 Mary Astor really knew how to play a bitch. Watch her make Virginia Bruce squirm.

In a somewhat unbelievable turn of events, Robert Taylor manages to be the cause of Irene Dunne’s husband’s death, make her fall in love with him, blind her, and then successfully study to become the best ocular specialist in town enabling Dunne to see once again. And I thought the CSI shows moved quickly!

My first Dorothy Mackaill film. What a beauty! The Reckless Hour is a steamy pre-code centered around a young woman’s pregnancy out of wedlock. 

When an unscrupulous broker meets a murderous end, Inspector Piper receives the unsolicited aid of a wily schoolteacher who successfully helps him solve the crime. I love Edna May Oliver and Robert Armstrong in this film!

Not theThin Man but William Powell and Myrna Loy are just as wonderfully hilarious. Watch Powell fail to woo an indifferent Loy.

 

Tonight on TCM!

The Gay Sisters (1942) A New York aristocrat marries for the money to save the family mansion.
Dir: Irving Rapper Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Thirty Thirties!

I watch a lot of classic film. A lot. Maybe not as much as Cin-Eater (I mean, a girl needs her beauty sleep) but it's still a lot in comparison to anyone I know and see on a daily basis. It's to the point where I simply bubble over if anyone, ANYONE mentions a classic movie or movie star or um...speaks to me, period. Sigh. I have sooooooo much to share! Sometimes the conversation simply ends with them staring blankly at me while slowly backing away. I've gotten used to it.

Anyway, when I started out with this blog, I thought I would stick to the films of the thirties. They're my favorite era of film and I want to see them all. As any of you who are enthusiastic about the classics knows, this is entirely impossible. Especially when you depend mostly on TCM to give you your fix and you simply HAVE to see everything Fredric March (insert your favorite star here) made. However, I have seen quite a few films from the thirties (with lots of wonderful films from other eras tucked in) and simply don't have the time to blog about them all. And admittedly, some aren't really worth all the fuss. So, I have decided to do this type of blog entry (sort of a twist on my Many Mini Review entries) that gives my opinion, etc. of the film without doing a complete synopsis. It will also help me track whether they are worth another view or not. Enjoy!

This is the Night (1932)
Cary Grant’s first full-length feature. It’s a precursor to screwball but more a farce. Interesting opening of the film. Best scene is Young and Ruggles in a state of complete intoxication. Delightful!

Not So Dumb(1930)
Marion Davies as Dulcy proves that distorted adages, tactlessness, flagrant chatter, and downright scatterbrainery aside, she isn’t so dumb not get what she set out to get- even if it is by accident. And I love a butler who doesn’t know how to buttle!

Merrily We Go To Hell (1931)
Besides it being my not-so-new- now drinking toast, it has Fredric March in it…enough said. Seriously though, he and Sylvia Sydney are spectacular as they flounder around in their “open” relationship. Skeets Gallagher and Esther Howard provide comic relief as a pair of drunks. There is a Cary Grant cameo as well!
Best line: “I’m afraid as a rule I prefer the company of men… Particularly if they’re bartenders.”

The Guardsman (1931)
This was my first Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne film, it was also their first talkie. As an avid reader of classic star’s biographies and autobiographies, their names have been bandied about by many stars who revered them as premiere stage actors. Neither disappoint in this hilarious film that also features Roland Young and Zasu Pitts.

Chance at Heaven (1933)
Standard thirties fare featuring two beauties, Ginger Rogers and Marian Nixon (who like another Marion- retired from pictures early). Sometimes I have a hard time swallowing the noble stepping aside they had women do when their men, in this case, Joel McCrea, go nutso for another dame. I like the women who fight.

Easy Living (1937)
One minute you’re breaking your piggy bank, the next a fur coat falls on your head. Jean Arthur is about to be treated to all her dreams, but first... a little chaos.

Dinner at Eight (1933)
A superb movie with melodrama, wit, humor, and a few bittersweet moments, Dinner at Eight is a thirties staple and a must see. Great cast including the Barrymore brothers, Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy and Billie Burke.

Remember? (1939)
Though it didn’t get great reviews at the time, I really enjoyed this film. A little nonsensical with the potion to help the couple forget, but the plot line gets better because of it. Love Billie Burke and her daffiness!

Freaks (1932)
Pre-code horror film involving real life circus performers and their shortcomings. It is still creepy today. When they decide to attack at the end of the film- I literally shivered. Freaks is definitely a must see!

Payment Deferred (1932)
I believe this was one of my first Laughton films and luckily, his stellar performance as the horrible but pitiful William Marble didn’t ruin me for all the other movies I have seen him in. Watch him descend into madness as he tries to keep a terrible secret.

The Traveling Saleslady (1935)
Joan Blondell proves her meddle as a capable working woman who sells cocktail toothpaste. That’s right, toothpaste made to taste like a variety of cocktails. I love the 30’s and I love Joan Blondell!

The Bride Wore Red (1937)
Not a favorite. Joan Crawford plays a working girl who strikes lucky when a drunken count gives her an opportunity to see how the other half lives. She’s torn between her love for Franchot Tone and the security of Robert Young (neither of which I find attractive). And yet another example of a woman stepping aside so the one she truly loves can be happy. Snore.

Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
I am not a huge fan of Janet Gaynor or Franchot Tone. However, combined with Robert Montgomery who sparkled enough for all three of them, this movie was quite tolerable and even funny at moments. Worth watching for the sleepwalking scene!

Another Language (1933)
No charming Robert Montgomery in this film. Frankly, he's a real jerk. Playing a mamma’s boy he keeps Helen Hayes jumping until she’s fed up. Unfortunately, I was fed up well before she got around to it.

Westward Passage (1932)
Speaking of jerks, Laurence Olivier is no stranger to acting like one thanks to Westward Passage. Ann Harding seems to play two separate people in this film. First she is a milksop who tries to keep her husband’s life running smoothly. But once she and Olivier are divorced and she is remarried- she becomes quite a vixen who Olivier finds harder to win over. Contemplating an affair with her ex-husband seems so out of character to what she once was that I found Harding hard to believe.

The Bride Walks Out (1936)
Ugh! I hate a movie that concentrates solely on how a man doesn’t want his woman to work. I hate it more when the woman in question gives in. Et tu, Stanwyck?? Boo.

Star of Midnight (1935)
So, here’s an oddity. After the first Thin Man in 1934, they paired William Powell and Ginger Rogers together. I mean it works but it was odd seeing Powell basically playing Nick Charles under a different name and Ginger not quite adding up to Myrna Loy. Both Rogers and Powell are great, the film is full of witty moments and highly entertaining. But I adore my Thin Man combo of Powell and Loy and this was just strange.

Grand Slam (1933)
A couple’s relationship is tested when the husband invents his own method of playing bridge. Few interesting moments thanks to Frank McHugh but bridge is boring and so was this movie.

Shipmates (1931)
Here is the Robert Montgomery I know and love. As a wise-cracking seaman, Montgomery learns the hard way that love and life won’t come easy if you can’t take some things seriously.

There’s Always a Woman (1938)
Though it’s no Thin Man, Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas are superbly matched. He as the long-suffering husband to his eternally curious wife who is rather good as a detective.

Gambling Lady (1934)
Stanwyck is a gambling lady- good at cards, bad at love. Things work out in the end. Surprised? Me neither.

Murder In a Private Car (1934)
Though Charles Ruggles is in this film, you should watch it solely for Fred Toones’ performance. It's the only real good part in the film.

The Goose and The Gander (1935)
Revenge falls to the wayside in this screwy little film with good performances by Genevieve Tobin and George Brent. I don’t think I am a fan of Kay Francis. I’ll need to look into that more.

Craig’s Wife (1936)
Did you know that Rosalind Russell can be as unfunny as she is funny? Well, she can. She proves it as Harriet Craig. Even Billie Burke doesn’t sparkle in this serious drama. Good film.

Cain and Mabel (1936)
Clever name for a movie however, that’s about the most interesting thing about it. Clark Gable and Marion Davies together was a little flat and not even the wise-cracking Allen Jenkins could revive this piece.

Night Nurse (1931)
Joan Blondell for comedy, Barbara Stanwyck for strength, Ben Lyon for romance and Clark Gable for drama. I had a hard time believing that Stanwyck couldn’t get the law involved on a case she was working on where two children were obviously being starved. Despite that, all performers gave a good show and Gable was especially nasty.

The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939)
Melvyn Douglas must dress as a woman to help solve a case. Need I say anything more? Ok, I will. Joan Blondell.  :)

The Kennel Club Murder Case (1933)
William Powell and detective stories were obviously a good combination.

Heat Lightning (1934)
Aline McMahon plays a mechanic. That’s right, a mechanic. How significant is that in 30’s cinema? I’d say real significant. Drama unfolds when her past accidentally catches up to her at the filling station and lunch counter she owns. But you can depend up Frank McHugh, Glenda Farrell, and Ruth Donnelly to keep things light.

The Skin Game (1931)
I have seen a lot of Hitchcock’s films. I hope to see them all but I also hope they’re not as bad as this one.


Tonight on TCM!
Peter Lawford. Definitely want to see It Should Happen To You!