73. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Running Time: 96 minutes
Directed By: Mervyn LeRoy
Written By: David Boehm, Erwin S. Gelsey
Main Cast: Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Warren William, Aline MacMahon

A MUSICAL HAT TRICK: PART THREE OF THREE

Well the three film long musical tribute has come to an end with the "Gold Diggers of 1933", and I must say it was a pretty good ending, as this film didn't fail to please and had a couple of really fun musical numbers.

The film opens with it's most ironic moment, when Ginger Rogers sings her rendition of "We're In the Money", even going as far as to sing one verse in pig latin, a moment that I thought was incredible. While Ginger is going on and on about having more money than she knows what to do with and lighting up the screen, she is interrupted by a group of I.R.S. agents who are there to shut down the show, due to lack of payment by the producer, Barney Hopkins. The Depression is hitting everyone hard and that doesn't exclude the lavish showgirls and big name producers of musical stage shows. Everyone in show business is basically put out of work and we focus in on our three main girls.

Polly, Carol and Trixie, the movies three main female leads, share an apartment and are flat broke. They even have to resort to stealing their daily milk from their neighbors and getting by on whatever food they have around the house. Then the news breaks that Barney is putting on a show, and the three girls see their big opportunity. Barney, later comes to the apartment to inform them that they'll all be needed, and that all he needs is at least $15,000 to put the show into production. Across the way, in the next apartment, he overhears Brad playing the piano and demands to see him front and center. Brad (played innocently by Powell) comes over to inform Mr. Hopkins that he writes his own songs and lyrics. Barney wants them in the show, as he feels they directly symbolize man's struggle in today's society and that they'll go great with that theme. Brad also tell Barney that he'll advance him the cash to put the show into production, as long as his main squeeze, Polly, has a feature role.

The show goes into production and Brad is hounded day in and day out, to play the lead male role in the show. He refuses, never giving any excuses, just flat out saying "NO!". When showtime comes, and the lead male can't go on, due to back injury, it's up to Brad to save the show and the livelihood of everyone involved. He agrees and the show is a hit. It comes out the next day, however, that the reason he didn't want to do the show (despite silent accusations from Trixie that he may be a bank robber) that he's a member of a blueblood family, who would out and out disaprove of his part in the show...and they do. He goes to visit them the next day, and while the newspaper has already informed them that he was in the show, he adds to it, by informing them that he'll be marrying Polly. His brother and the family lawyer, Fanuel H. Peabody, decide they must put a stop to all this business, declaring that showgirls are nothing but parasites and gold diggers. What follows, is a series of hilarious bits, where the girls play the rich men for suckers, sapping them of lots of dough.

While this wasn't my favorite musical of the three that I watched, it sits firmly at second place. I'd have to give the first place honors to "42nd Street". "Gold Diggers of 1933" had two really alluring musical numbers, in: "We're In the Money", which I thought was priceless, no pun intended and "Pettin' in the Park", a very catchy number performed by Powell and Keeler. There were a few down times of the film, but for the most part it was a good flick and one that I'd definitely see again, down the road. I should mention, before I totally wrap up this musical portion of the book, the choreographer, Busby Berkeley, who banged out an impressive three musicals in one year and all that included some marvelous routines. If nothing else, I'll certainly remember the name of the man behind all of those dance steps and set pieces that gave these films even more life than they already had. I also want to mention some fine actors/actresses who appeared in two or three of the flicks: Dick Powell, who was in all three and certainly a fine man to watch on the screen, Joan Blondell, who was in "Gold Diggers" and "Footlight Parade" and who I thought was fantastic in both roles and Ruby Keeler, who also did some amazing tap dancing and was a pretty good little actress back in the day. There were others, but those were the three that really caught my eye.

RATING: 6.5/10 Like I said there were a few down points, but all in all this more than just your average musical, it also had some good storyline points to go with it.

NEXT UP: She Done Him Wrong...With the musicals behind us...for now, we take a look at our first Cry Grant film. Review should be up later tonight, or tomorrow.

January 21, 2010 8:19pm

72. Footlight Parade (1933)

Running Time: 104 minutes
Directed By: Lloyd Bacon
Written By: Manuel Seff, James Seymour
Main Cast: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, Frank McHugh

A MUSICAL HAT TRICK: PART TWO OF THREE

This one really didn't grab a hold of me until the final thirty minutes or so, where the musical acts are put to the screen and they are simply dazzling, and any points that this film gets in the end, will all be due to those final musical numbers.

Chester Kent (Cagney) is an out of work Broadway director and the reason he's out of work is because the talk of Hollywood is talking pictures and that's all that anyone wants to see. When he meets with his two producers, they inform him of this and take him to the local movie theatre to show him the proof in person. When Kent arrives at the theatre, he's surprised to see a short live musical number presented in the movie theatre before the main attraction is shown. Upon inquiring, he's told that they're referred to as prologues and that his producers can't afford to develop them for the pictures that they show in their movie theatres. Later, Kent gets the idea for the producers to buy up a bunch of theatres all around the country, and that way they'll be able to gets sets, costumes, etc... for the prologues, they'll make money and so will he and most importantly, he'll be back in business. So that's just what the producers do and "Chester Kent Prologues" are off to a rampant start.

We flash forward a bit, and take a peek inside Kent's offices and the madness that is his career. Life around the stuido is pure bonkers, as Kent is responsible for sending different companies of musical troops all over the country to perform his prologues and meanwhile he has to think up new ideas for prologues and find performers to be in them. His two main attractions end up being Bea Thorn, a former secretary in his office and Scotty Blair. Also in the meanwhile, Kent is forced to worry about a mole working for his outfit and taking his ideas to the rival prologue producer, Gladstone. Kent's secretary is the one who helps him keep his head on straight and sort everything out and secretly she'd like to be more than just his secretary, but it's her friend who speaks up before her and it's her friend that he becomes engaged to.

Kent's producers later reveal that they have a big deal pending with the Apollo Theatres, and if they can impress Mr. Apollo then they'll all be rolling in the dough. So Kent locks up his entire crew for three days, to ensure that the mole doesn't leak his ideas, and it's his mission to bang out three of the greatest prologues that he's ever created. This of course leads to the climax that I referred to in the beginning of this post, and what a climax it is. Despite the lackluster first half of this film, it's certainly something that should be sat through, just to get to the end.

So we've obviously covered what I liked about the film, let's talk about what I didn't like. For starters the dialogue was too fast and snappy for a musical. James Cagney was great, but after witnessing his performance in "The Public Enemy" and hearing his dialogue in "Footlight Parade", the dialogue in the latter sounded like it belonged in the former. Cagney's delivery on his lines is so fast, that it's something more suited for a gangster film, rather than a musical. There were also too many menail side plots that took away from the big picture. If the whole movie had been Kent's mission to create these three big prologues then it would have been a marvelous film, but instead we have to wade through engagements, divorces, love triangle and people cheating other people out of money, and by the time you get to that marvelous ending, you're just spent from having to get through the rest of the film. Cagney delivers a great performance, but one that didn't fit in with the musical genre and the ending is spectacular, with the three prologues: "Honeymoon Hotel", "By a Waterfall" and "Shanghai Lil", with "By the Waterfall" being the best, in my opinion.

RATING: 5/10 All five of those points go to the ending and what an ending it is. See this movie for the ending alone and you won't be disapointed.

NEXT UP: Gold Diggers of 1933...The third and final part of our musical hat trick, which should arrive from Netflix on Thursday, so tune in then.

January 19, 2010 5:21am

71. 42nd Street (1933)

Running Time: 89 minutes
Directed By: Lloyd Bacon
Written By: Rian James, James Seymour, from novel by Bradford Ropes
Main Cast: Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Bebe Daniels, George Brent

A MUSICAL HAT TRICK: PART ONE OF THREE

If I were to add up all the musicals I've seen in my life, I could probably use my fingers to count them on. However, with my next three entries in the "1001" book (including this one), I may have to start using my toes to count them on, because their all musicals and the first one was a pretty good one, if I do say so myself.

Julian Marsh (Baxter) is a broke and ill theatre director, who hasn't had a hit in years and is out of cash due to the Depression. However, he's the best theatre director there is and when Jones and Barry, two Broadway producers decide to put on a show called Pretty Lady they immediately go to Marsh for the directing honors. Marsh eagerly takes the job, despite orders from his doctors that he's on the cusp of another nervous breakdown, but he needs the cash and can't pass up the opportunity to turn out another hit.

During the casting process for Pretty Lady, we are introduced to most of the rest of the main cast, including Dorothy Brock, the shows leading lady and the reason that the show's financial backer, Abner Dillion, is even putting up the money. You see, Dorothy is leading Abner along and he's playing the role of "sugar daddy" for Ms. Brock, while she is really in love with Pat Denning, her old vaudeville partner. Anyway, back to the casting process, as we meet the rest of the faces that will round out the supporting cast and the chorus line girls, including Peggy Sawyer, a rookie to the stage, who hopes to land her first role on Pretty Lady. We're also introduced to "Anytime" Annie Lowell (played by Ginger Rogers, in her pre-Astaire days) and Lorrain Fleming, two very catty and gossipy women, who are very enjoyable to watch.

So the rehearsals start, and Marsh is a slave driver of a director, pushing the cast to work days, nights and any other time, as long as they get the routine down pat and are ready to put the show on to a live audience in five weeks. While chain smoking, Marsh barks out the orders and Baxter plays him to perfection, always looking as though he's about to have that nervous breakdown that was mentioned. Marsh and the producers are also constantly trying to ensure that Abner Dillion doesn't find out about Dorothy's other beau, as he would surely pull his dough out of the project if he knew that she was two-timing him. The night before the show is to make it's grand opening in Philadelphia, Baxter fractures her ankle and the shows leading lady and star is put on the sidelines. Now the entire production rests on the shoulders of the young rookie Peggy Sawyer, as she's chosen to replace Baxter as the lead.

The first thing about this movie that really appealed to me is, that I think it does a good job of showing what it's like to work on a stage show. Not that I've ever been on a stage show, but if I had to imagine what it's like, this is definitely it. The hard work, the constant pressure to get everything right on cue and right down to every word and every dance step. The acting was mediocre, except for that of Warner Baxter, who plays the stage director Marsh brilliantly. The songs are also quite catchy, with renditions of: "Shuffle Off to Buffalo", "Young and Healthy", "You're Beginning To Be a Habit with Me" and of course, the title song "42nd Street". I'm really no expert on musicals, or what the great ones are and aren't, but I'd have to believe that this is one of the greats and I certainly had a fun time watching it. This flick was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture back in it's day and it's not hard to see why.

RATING: 7.5/10 It didn't get the full '10' but for a musical of which I really didn't have any high hopes for, it certainly made a more than decent impression.

NEXT UP: Footlight Parade...The second part of our musical hat trick is here and waiting to be watched. I don't have anything else due in from Netflix, however, until Thursday, so I may end up saving it for tomorrow.

January 18, 2010 10:59am

70. Zero de Conduite/Zero for Conduct (1933)

Running Time: 41 minutes
Directed By: Jean Vigo
Written By: Jean Vigo

Main Cast: Jean Daste, Robert le Flon, Du Verron, Delphin, Leon Larive

MY FIRST JEAN VIGO FILM AND UNFORTUNATELY I WASN'T IMPRESSED

This one was originally a part of the unfound files, until just this morning when I stumbled across it over at the Internet Archive. I had heard of Jean Vigo before, but had never seen one of his films and I have to say that my first impression was not a good one.

The holidays have just ended and the students of this short film are headed back to the opressive boarding school, where all but one of the house masters are very strict and very much disliked by the boys. The film focusses mainly on a small group of students: Caussat, Bruel, Tabard and Colin, a group of friends who plan on staging a rebellion during the school's annual Commemoration Day festivities. The group of students are constantly being detained on their free Sunday's in detention and are fed up with the constant verbal abuse that they're given by their teachers.

There's really not a whole lot else to say regarding "Zero for Conduct", as the film is quite short at forty one minutes and I've basically sumarized the entire plot. The setting, in the boarding school, was a likeable one for me, but somehow it went in a direction that I didn't expect it to go and thus lost my interest early. I wish it had shown more of what life is like in a boarding school, instead of relying on the rebellion that the students were staging, as that would've been far more entertaining and something I really could've gotten in to. Bottom line, I'll have to call this one something that just missed me entirely, but the reasons as to why, I really can't put my finger on. There were some scenes that were charming, but in the end I wasn't impressed.

RATING: 3.5/10 That's a fairly generous rating for a film that I just couldn't get into, but with a few scenes that peaked my interest.

NEXT UP: 42nd Street...A very famous musical that I've definitely heard of. It'll be interesting to finally see it.

January 14, 2010 2:46am

REVISED on: January 25, 2010 2:12pm

68. FREAKS (1932)

Running Time: 62 minutes
Directed By: Tod Browning
Written By: Clarence Aaron "Tod" Robbins, from his novel Spurs
Main Cast: Wallace Ford, Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles, Henry Victor, Daisy Earles, Leila Hyams

Sidenote: Just wanted to take a moment and make mention of the fact that the entry for "Freaks" appears on page 100 of the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book. With 942 pages of movies to watch, I'm approximately 1/9 of the way complete, which may not be anything to boast about, but I felt it was somewhat of a menial accomplishment.

CAN A FULL GROWN WOMAN TRULY LOVE A MIDGET?

Tod Browning's final film in the "1001" book, "Freaks" was a really good movie, but I think it may have fell below my expectations and not lived up to the hype, as it is Browning's most famous film, yet in my opinion, not his best.

The movie takes place in a circus, much like Browning's previous and better film, "The Unknown", and the first characters that we're introduced to are Hans and Frieda, two midgets who are very happily engaged. At least they're very happy until Hans lays his eyes on one of the few non-freaks in the film, Cleopatra, the trapeze artist. Hans quickly becomes smitten with the goreous Cleopatra and before you can say "oddity" he's head over heels for her, and has forgotten all about his fiance. Meanwhile, Cleopatra's real intentions are purely monetary, as she goes gaga for all of the gifts and cash that Hans presents her with. In actuality, Cleopatra is really having an affair with the circus strong man, Hercules, a very rude, obnoxious, brute of a man who gets his jollies making fun of the physically less fortunate circus acts.

When Cleopatra learns that Hans has come into an inheritance and that he's loaded with cash, she gets the idea to marry him and then "dispose" of him, so that the inheritance will be hers, and so she can be with Hercules. Cleopatra and Hercules devise the scheme and the tall woman and the short man are soon married, in a very festive ceremony. When the freaks decide to make her one of their own, by passing a large goblet of wine around a table and chanting, she "freaks" out and throws the wine into one of their faces. She shortly thereafter apologizes to Hans for insulting his friends, blames it on the wine and continues forward with her plan to get rid of him, by poisoning him.

The freaks in the picture are really kind of a side element, as they don't play any real part in furthering the plot and are seemingly just put on camera for shock value. There's also a small side plot involving Phroso the Clown and Venus, a normal woman who travels with the circus and the romance that develops between the two. There are a few other very small plots involving the freaks, that really don't take up much of the short sixty-two minute film and are really just playing sexond fiddle to the Cleopatra/Hans stuff.

I was really disapointed in this film and the main reason I was, was because I really expected more out of it. That's not to say it wasn't enjoyable, but it certainly wasn't as good as "The Unknown", another one of Browning's films and a lesser known one at that, that is actually much better than this. This film did have it's moments and really, in the end, it wasn't bad at all and it's a movie that I could definitely see growing on me in time, and something that I wouldn't mind seeing again down the road. The acting was mediocre, the plot was better than average and everything else was good, so I call that a good day at the office and it could've been way worse.

RATING: 7/10 Before I watched it, I was really expecting this one to go all the way and snag a '10' rating, but it'll have to settle for a '7'

NEXT UP: Me and My Gal...My first Spencer Tracy movie and unfortunately I'm going to have to skip it.

January 14, 2010 2:42am

67. Shanghai Express (1932)

Running Time: 80 minutes
Directed By: Josef von Sternberg
Written By: Jules Furthman
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Warner Oland, Anna May Wong, Eugene Pallette

ALL ABOARD THE 'SHANGHAI EXPRESS'

This one was dangerously close to being just another entry in the "unfound files", until I stumbled upon it over on YouTube. While my second look at a Josef von Sternberg film, was not as good as my first one (see "The Blue Angel"), this was still an enjoyable film.

We're introduced right off the bat to an eclectic group of characters, headed up by Shanghai Lily, a high class prostitute, or "coaster" as she's referred to here (played, in all her ravishing glory, by Dietrich) and Captain Donald Harvey, a member of the British Armed Forces. Among others we have: an Asian "coaster", Hui Fei, a habitual gambler Sam Salt, a cranky German invalid Eric Baum, boarding house keeper Mrs. Haggerty and the mysterious half Chinese, half white Henry Chang. We also learn quite quickly that Shanghai Lily and Capt. Harvey are former lovers and we're given bits and pieces of their backstory and apparently it ended quite badly, with both parties regretting the split. So when all these conflicting personalities are thrown together on the Shanghai Express, as it makes it's way from Peking to Shanghai, we the viewer, are certainly in for a bumpy, yet interesting ride.

With all those elements in play, add on top of that, that China is in the middle of a civil war and when government soldiers halt the train and inspect everyone's passport's, they seize a rebel informant. Immediately after this happens, Chang sends a coded telegram to his fellow rebels and soon after that the train is taken over by the leader of the rebellion, who turns out to be Chang. Chang questions all of the passengers in a search to see if any of them are acquainted with anyone of importance, as he needs a hostage to threaten the government with, so that they'll return his previously captured informant. Chang gets what he wants, as Capt. Harvey is on his way to Shanghai to perform brain surgery on the Governor of Shanghai.

Eventually Chang's man is released and while he was met with cooperation by Capt. Harvey, he has no plans to let him go, despite prearranged plans to do just that. Instead, he plans to deprive Capt. Harvey of his eyesight and when his former lover, Shanghai Lily hears of this plan, she offers herself to Chang, in exchange for the release of Harvey. The Captain is let go and Shanghai Lily finds herself in a sticky situation, until Hui Fei, who was forced to spend the night with Chang, decides to kill him and Harvey overpowers the rest of Chang's officers and breaks Lily out.

I've got to say that Marlene Dietrich is extremely ravishing in this picture and it's the cinematographer who does her justice, using her face to make some of the movie's most memorable visuals. Whether her face is shaded by a black veil or framed in feathers, Shaghai Lily is always made to look stunning, mysterious and sexy and Dietrich plays her so cool. While this film really wasn't something that I'd normally go for, with all of the spies, war and etc., I have to give credit to von Sternberg an Dietrich for pulling me in and holding my interest for eighty minutes. Besides Dietrich's great performance, it's the supporting cast who I enjoyed, for the most part. The character of Sam Salt was a riot, constantly offering bets to his fellow passengers of anything and everything that is able to be bet upon. All in all I would call "Shanghai Express" a moderately enjoyable flick and would certainly recommend it for Dietrich's performance alone.

RATING: 6/10 Better than your average flick and if I remember my previous ratings, most of my recent views have lingered in and around the '6' range.

NEXT UP: Freaks...Another movie that I have high hopes for and Tod Browning's last film in the "1001" book. Should be ready for review sometime tomorrow.

January 13, 2010 1:59am

66. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932)

Running Time: 93 minutes
Directed By: Howard Hawks
Written By: Ben Hecht, Fred Pasley, Seton I. Miller, John Lee Mahin, W.R. Burnett, from novel by Armitage Trail
Main Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, George Raft, Osgood Perkins, Boris Karloff

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A MAN NAMED 'HAWKS'

The first of eleven Howard Hawks pictures in the "1001" book, Scarface offers up an outstanding performance by Paul Muni and a gritty look at the crime world in the Prohibition days of Chicago.

Muni plays the title role of Tony "Scarface" Camonte, a gangster on the rise in the underworld and destined to make it big. The film starts out with Tony knocking off big time gangster and leader of all wrong doing, Lou Costillo. This opens up the door for Tony's current employer, Johnny Lovo, to take control of all Costillo's operations and with Tony as his muscle, he can't lose. Muni plays Scarface so well, with his "I'll get whatever I want" attitude and you really believe that this guy could kick an ass or two, if need be.

Johnny Lovo eventually takes full control of the bootlegging racket and adamantly shoots down all of Tony's risky suggestions, such as moving in on the Northside and taking over the bootlegging in that region. When Tony gets fed up with his boss' lack of backbone, he and his sidekick, Guino Rinaldo, take matters into their own hands, moving in on the Northside racket, killing the Northside king and all the while, taking his inspiration from a sign outside his apartment window that reads, "The World Is Yours". Tony even, throughout the movie, constantly flirts with Lovo's main squeeze, until eventually she cracks to his charm and leaves Lovo in the dust. Another constant storyline throughout the picture, is the over protecting attitude that Tony shows toward his sister, first paying her off to stay away from other men, and then eventually resulting to physical violence to teach her a lesson.

As I've said in the past, gangster flicks really aren't my specialty, but with a few really good ones coming up in the book recently, I've really been able to enjoy this genre in a whole new light. First Cagney swings in with his portrayl of Tom Powers and now Muni takes the screen and makes it his with his portrayl as Tony Camonte. While I just saw Muni in "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", I kept watching this movie and saying "That is not the same guy!", eventhough I knew very well that it was. It's not that Muni looks any different physically, it's that he's playing a totally different character and his acting is so top notch, that he gives the illusion of looking physically different. He's truly an amazing actor and I really hope I haven't seen my last Muni movie in the "1001" book. Everyone else turned in great performances too (as that seems to be the latest trend, as I've watched some really steallar casts recently), the two main female leads, Tony's sister, Cesca and Tony's love interest, Poppy are both great and I have to mention Angelo played by Vince Barnett who provides us with a little bit of comedy throughout the movie. While, in my opinion, there are still a few dull spots throughout the film, all in all, with the great acting and everything that's going on plot-wise, Scarface is a really good flick.

RATING: 7/10 Howard Hawks starts off with a bang and I can't wait to see more films, from a director that I've heard so much about, yet haven't seen enough from.

NEXT UP: Shanghai Express...Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich team up once again and hopefully "Shanghai Express" is as good as "The Blue Angel"...Review should be up around this time tomorrow.

January 11, 2010 2:31am