76. Queen Christina (1933)

Running Time: 99 minutes
Directed By: Rouben Mamoulian
Written By: S.N. Behrman, H.M. Harwood
Main Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, C. Aubrey Smith

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A WOMAN NAMED 'GRETA'

I had certainly heard the name Greta Garbo before, but had yet to see any of her films. That is, until today when I viewed my first Garbo picture, "Queen Christina", an account of the life of Queen Christina of Sweden, and a movie that really didn't do a whole lot for me.

The movie begins with the death of Christina's father, King Gustavus Adolphus, as he's killed on the battlefield in the midst of the Thirty Years War. The King's only heir to the throne at the time of his death, is his six year old daughter Christina, who is sworn in and named the new Queen of Sweden. After a small speech from the newly appointed six year old Queen, the movie flashes forward a bit and Garbo is revealed in a grand way, as the grown up Queen Christina. Walking into the room, lead by two very large Great Dane's, she is immediately portrayed as a woman of great power. The first half of the film focusses on the pressures of Christina, as she is constantly egged on by her royal court to marry and produce an heir. Christina has no time for this marriage talk, however, as she is more dedicated to governing and in her spare time, reading poetry and educating herself on the ways of the world, outside of Sweden.

One day when Christina decides she needs to get away from everything, she rides away on her horse, but ends up snowbound at an inn. It is here where she meets the Spaniard, Antonio (Gilbert) and at first everyone, including Antonio, mistake the Queen for a man. Why they mistake her for a man, I have no idea, because all that she has on as a "disguise" is a hat and Garbo is far too beautiful to be mistaken for a man. Anyway, they mistake her for a man and she pays for a room, but eventually is presuaded into sharing her room with Antonio, as it's the only room left and Antonio is willing to pay big for the accomodations. So the two share a room and once in their quarters, alone, Christina reveals herself to be the woman that she obviously is. They spend the next three days snowed in and making love to one another and Christina never reveals her true status as Queen of Sweden. When they must part each other, the Queen promises Antonio that she will meet him again, and in fact she knows that she will see him again, because she is aware of his plans to present his embassy to the Queen (her).

The entire portion of the film where Christina is being mistaken for a man, really took me out of the movie, as Garbo looked absolutely nothing like a man and to even hint that she had the similarities of a man are absurd. The rest of the film is quite boring and I really didn't expect much out of it, as I usually don't go for historical movies, set in the 17th century...just not my cup of tea. There are a few touching scenes, such as the end of the film, which is quite a sad affair and the scene where Christina speaks to the masses as they have just busted down the palace doors and confronted her for falling in love with a Spaniard. There are also several good glamour shots of Garbo, up close and in all her beauty, but for the most part I would have to give this movie a thumbs down.

RATING: 2/10 I gave it a few points for the good segments of the film that I mentioned above, but even those parts weren't enough to get this film a passable rating.

NEXT UP: Las Hurdes...or Land without Bread...I cannot find this one, at the moment, so look for the "Unfound Files" entry to follow this one directly.

January 24, 2010 2:16pm

62. Love Me Tonight (1932)

Running Time: 89 minutes
Directed By: Rouben Mamoulian
Written By: Samuel Hoffenstein, Waldemar Young, George Marion Jr. from the play Tailor In the Chateau by Paul Armont and Lepold Marchand
Main Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Charles Butterworth, Myrna Loy, C. Aubrey Smith

MY FIRST MUSICAL...ON THIS JOURNEY

Despite not being able to come up with any examples at the moment, I'm sure the basic premise of "Love Me Tonight" would go on to be imitated and parodied for years to come, following it's release in 1932. A common man meets and falls in love with a princess. It's as simple as that and "Love Me Tonight" was not a bad flick...not a bad flick at all.

Maurice Chevalier plays Maurice Courtelin, your average common man, who makes his living as a tailor in the city of love, Paris, France. He is the self proclaimed "best at what he does", however business is down. That is, until Viscount Gilbert de Vareze comes to him with an outraegous order of nearly a dozen suits. Promising to pay Maurice when he returns to town the following day, the Viscount exits Maurice's shop, with no intention of returning. When Maurice is tipped off by another bill collector who's looking to collect from the snake-like Viscount, Courtelin goes after his money directly.

In the meanwhile, at the chateau, where the Viscount's uncle, the Duke, takes up residency, Princess Jeanette (MacDonald) desperately seeks and wants a groom and despite the best efforts of Count de Savignac, a suitor who would like nothing more than to wed her, The Princess goes unmarried.

On his way to the chateau, Maurice the tailor breaks down and while waiting for his driver to fix the problem with car, he spots the Princess while out for a stroll on her horse drawn carriage. As she nearly wrecks the carriage and falls into a ditch on the side of the road, Maurice quickly rushes to the rescue, helping her out of the ditch and almost immediately falling in love with her, as he serenades her with a song called "Mimi". Eventually the Princess writes off Maurice as utterly mad, and speeds away from the "lunatic". Eventually Maurice finds his way to the chateau, finds the Viscount and demands his payment for the suits. The Viscount, however, needs time to retrieve the cash, so he offers the tailor a place to stay for a few days and tells him that he will eventually be paid. Once Maurice realizes that he's in the chateau of the Princess and the new love of his life, he quickly accepts the invitation. But, so he'll fit in and be welcome, he is introduced as Baron Courtelin and thus our tale is in full motion for a raging climax.

While nothing stood out as absolutely brilliant about "Love Me Tonight", nothing stood out as absolutely terrible either. If I were to sum up "Love Me Tonight" with one word it would simply be...average. Despite a couple of very memorable scenes, for instance, the opening of the film and the rendition of "Isn't It Romantic?", which stretches from Maurice's shop, into the streets and eventually all over the city of Paris. Perhaps it's the performances that I liked the most. Maurice Chevalier plays the lead role very effectively, as the very charming, dapper and loveable Maurice Courtelin. One of the performances that stood out for me, and probably the thing I'll most remember about this picture as time goes by, is the role of Count de Savignac played brilliantly by Charles Butterworth. One of my very favorite lines from the film, right after Count de Savignac tries to serenade the Princess with his flute:

Savignac: (After falling off of a ladder) "Oh I'll never use it again!"
Princess: (Yelling down from the balcony) "Is it your leg?!"
Savignac: "NO...I fell flat on my flute!"

RATING: 5.5/10 Nothing great, nothing terrible, so a "5.5" seemed the right way to go. Butterworth and Chevalier were brilliant and I'll be on the look out for them in the films to come.

NEXT UP: Boudu Saved from Drowning...It's available instantly on Netflix, so the review should be up sometime tomorrow.

January 5, 2010 5:00am