William and Myrna Investigate

The disappearance of The Thin Man (1934), Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), and the suspicion that he is responsible for several murders, brings his friend, former police detective Nick Charles(William Powell) out of retirement. His wife, Nora (Myrna Loy) and their dog Asta come along to assist in the investigation.

The reasons this film is listed as an Essential (Jeremy Arnold The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter) are the two stars. The interactions between Ms. Loy and Mr. Powell are phenomenal. Their banter is clever and loving; it sparkles like the champagne they drink. It's easy to understand why the public thought them a happily married couple - they play the part so perfectly. As Jeanine Basinger said, "Loy and Powell know how...cooperate without losing individuality. They're Fred and Ginger OFF the dance floor" (I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies).

Ms. Loy had spent most of her career playing exotics. This role completely changed her image, and she would eventually do 14 films with Mr. Powell, six of which were part of The Thin Man series. She wasn't the first choice for the film - Louis B. Mayer wanted silent film star Laura LaPlante to play Nora, but director Woody Van Dyke, who had worked with her and Mr. Powell in Manhattan Melodrama (1934), insisted on Ms. Loy, and won the argument (TCM The Big Idea). She gives Nora an intelligence that, in lesser hands, would have made the character seem like a ditz.

Much of the credit for the success of the film goes to director Woody Van Dyke.  He wanted the two actors to re-team, recognizing their easy relationship from his prior experience with them. He also encouraged his actors to be more spontaneous - when William Powell started shooting balloons off the Charles' Christmas tree with an air gun off-camera, Mr. Van Dyke just worked the routine in the the picture (TCM Behind the Camera).

 

Maureen O'Sullivan as Dorothy Wynant, the only appealing person in that family, didn't particularly like the film because her part was very small. She also disliked Mr. Van Dyke's fast shooting style - the film was completed in between 12 and 18 days (TCM The Essentials). Authors Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich modified the character of Dorothy from the original Dashiell Hammett novel. Dorothy was far less appealing - "a rather silly, heavy-drinking girl" (Mystery Classics on Film: The Adaptation of 65 Novels and Stories by Ron Miller). This change works well, as it gives the audience someone who cares about the missing inventor with whom we can sympathize. Claude Wynant is not all that pleasant, and the rest of his family are distasteful. That we sympathize with Dorothy makes it more palatable that Nick would continue the investigation. 

 

 

Thankfully, Nat Pendleton (Detective John Guild)  gets to play a police officer who is good at his job. Sure, he's not brilliant like Nick, but he's smart enough to realize that he has the help of an outstanding detective, and he uses his colleague's skills with gratitude. We liked Detective Guild, and his easy relationship with Mr. Powell.  

The film has the advantage of a number of excellent character performers. While all are pretty disagreeable characters, the actors give the right bite to their parts - Porter Hall as Lawyer MacCaulay, Minna Gombell as the unreliable former Mrs. Wynant (Mimi), and a very young Cesar Romero as her current husband, Chris Jorgenson.  

 

William Henry, who Dorothy's odd brother Gilbert, would go on to have a long and varied career - the quintessential working actor. He appeared in films from 1925 until 1971 (in later years, often uncredited). In 1951, he added television to his credits, appearing in shows like Rawhide, Bonanza, and The Six Million Dollar Man (his final role). He died in 1982, at the age of 67.

While the ending is a bit convoluted - Mr. Powell complained that he was having trouble sorting out the complicated plot - the audience doesn't really care who did the murder, we are more interested in watching Nick figured it out. The popularity of the film, besides generating 5 more Thin Man films, also resulted is a spate of films that dealt with married sleuths like those found in There's Always a Woman (1938), Dangerous Blondes (1943), and A Night to Remember (1942). None of the copies were as good as the original.

The Thin Man received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Director, and Adapted Screenplay.  It also created a craze for wire-hair terriers (though Myrna Loy said that Skippy, the dog who played Asta, bit her) (TCM The Thin Man).

The New York Times review by M.H. (Mordaunt Hall) called the film "an excellent combination of comedy and excitement,"  and other critics have also praised the film (TCM Critics Corner). 

 

Mr. Powell and Ms. Loy recreated their roles for a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on 8 Jun 1936. From 1957 to 1959, Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk starred in a TV series, The Thin Man. It even generated a musical play called Nick and Nora, starring Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason, which opened on Broadway on 8 Dec 1991 (but closed on 15 Dec 1991) (AFI Catalog). 

Since then, it has appeared on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs (#32). It was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1997.

This is a must-see movie to add to your list.  We'll leave you with the trailer:

Betty Wears Ermine

The kingdom of Bergamo is celebrating the wedding of their Countess Angelina (Betty Grable) to Baron Mario (Cesar Romero), her childhood friend. The festivities are interrupted by gunshot - the Hungarians, Bergamo's longtime enemy are invading. Mario flees to join his regiment, while Angelina awaits the arrival of the Colonel (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) and his forces. When he arrives and is denied admittance to the Countess, the Colonel finds himself smitten with a portrait of an earlier Countess of Bergamo, Francesca (Betty Grable), That Lady in Ermine (1948).

Initially directed by Ernst Lubitsch, this is a frothy little musical that is fun and enjoyable. It's a happy film; it's a bit silly, but it is fun and entertaining. It's a fairy tale for adults and doesn't try to be anything else. Based on an operetta titled Die Frau im Hermelin, Lubitsch had hoped to direct it since the studio acquired the rights in 1942. By the time he was able to put the film together, he was suffering from heart disease, and regrettably died during production. Direction was taken over by Otto Preminger (who reshot some scenes, and deleted others). Out of respect for Lubitsch (or so he claimed), Preminger refused to have his name placed on the picture (TCM article).

Betty Grable is quite sweet as the Countesses Francesca and Angelina. As Francesca, she is a portrait come to life - and she is especially fun in that role. She gets to boss the other portraits around, and beam periodically at The Colonel (which is rather disconcerting for him!). Of course, she is also an excellent dancer, and her big number with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is quite energetic and exciting to watch (directed by Hermes Pan!). She also has a beautiful wardrobe designed by Renè Hubert - the full-length ermine coat that Francesca wears in the portrait was real ermine according to the Fox publicity department, and cost $28,000. (AFI catalog)

Douglas Fairbanks is captivating and charming as the Colonel. Though initially domineering, exposure to Francesca - and Angelina - make him loosen up a bit. Mr. Fairbanks portrays the Colonel as a man secure in his masculinity, and so you root for him  to capture the love of the fair maiden. The dance cited above is exciting largely because of Mr. Fairbanks athletic style of dance -   as he leaps on and off  tables, one is reminded of his father, Douglas Sr.

Mr. Fairbanks' foil in the action is Cesar Romero, who doesn't really have a lot to work with. Mario is a wimp, and he is there if only to give the audience someone to root against. Born in New York City (and yes, Cesar Romero is his real name). He started his film career in 1933 - his second film had him as the greedy husband of the former Mrs. Wynant in The Thin Man (1934).  Much of his career, however, was spent playing ethnic parts and in supporting roles - he was Indian in Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Italian in British Agent (1934), and Spanish in The Captain from Castile (1947) - but he had his share of leads, including Week-End in Havana (1941).  During the second World War, he joined the Coast Guard, and saw action in the Mariana Islands. He began to transition to television in the 1950's and it was there that he found a new audience - notably with his audacious performance as The Joker in the Batman series. He was popular in the Hollywood community - frequently escorting single women like Barbara Stanwyck, Lucille Ball, Ann Sheridan, Jane Wyman and Ginger Rogers to events. Mr. Romero never married; he died in 1994, at age 86, of a blood clot. 

It's always a pleasure to see Walter Abel (playing the dual roles of Major Horvath and Benvenuto). He's delightful as a family man who rather likes his surly commander.  Also present in very small parts are Reginald Gardiner (as Alberto, an inhabitant of one of the portraits), and Harry Davenport (as Luigi, the palace storyteller and matchmaker).

When the film was first acquired, Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer were the intended leads. Later, Gene Tierney was considered for Francesca/Angelina and both Rex Harrison and Cornel Wilde were in the running for the Colonel. Not surprisingly, the PCA had some issues with the initial script; some minor tweaks to the ending solved this problems.

We were amazed to discover that Bosley Crowther of the New York Times actually enjoyed the film when he reviewed it. He called it "a glittering and mischievous romp, punctuated with nice music...." While not Lubitsch's best film, it's a lot of fun and certainly worth seeing (it was my favorite movie when I was tiny, and much to my parents' chagrin, in the age before VHS recorders, it was a movie I was always asking to view). We'll leave you with this trailer:

Ronald Visits India

The life of Lord Robert Clive (Ronald Colman) is recounted in Clive of India (1935), a somewhat fictionalized account of his beginnings as a clerk for the East India company through his rise as a military officer and later diplomatic official.

Let's begin by saying that this is a very loose interpretation of the live of Robert Clive. For one thing, Lord Clive, as portrayed by Ronald Colman is a much nicer person than the real Lord Clive, who has been referred to by William Dalrymple as "an unstable sociopath" (The Guardian) because of his treatment of the Indian people. Clive's death is still a bit hazy - it's quite possible that he killed himself; at the very least, his dependence on opium was surely a contributing factor. Nevertheless, this filmed account of Clive makes him far more heroic than the real man ever was. (For more on Robert Clive, visit this Wikipedia article.)

Regardless of its take on history, this film belongs entirely to Ronald Colman. He is in nearly every scene, and dominates the movie. There are a number of fine supporting actors, but most have so little screen time, you are likely to miss some of them. Mr. Colman is not afraid to make Clive annoying at times. He's not really going for totally heroic - his Clive is ambitious, impulsive, violent at times, and a tad greedy. What the film does want to do is to mitigate Clive's attempted destruction of the Indian people in his quest for money (TCM article). It's all for their own good, and Colman is pretty much stuck with that attitude.

Loretta Young as Clive's wife, Margaret Maskelyne, is little more than window dressing. She is included to look supportive and sad, and gets to do very little else. A scene in which she leaves her sick child to accompany Clive back to India is created out of whole cloth - the Clives had nine children (four died in infancy), but their oldest boy, and the child born just before Robert and Margaret returned to India, Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis, lived to the age of 85. Why the screenwriters (R.J. Minney and W. P. Lipscomb) felt it necessary to insert this dismaying episode is beyond our ken. (It's also rather irksome that both parents refer to the child as "the boy". Really? Don't his parents know his name?)

Colin Clive, who has two very brief scenes as Clive's adversary  Captain Johnstone, was in fact a descendant of Robert Clive. Colin Clive was nearing the end of his career, though his second turn as Dr. Frankenstein in The Bride of Frankenstein, was released in May of 1935 (our film was released in January). Mr. Clive started his film career as a leading man, but by 1935, he was becoming a supporting actor, perhaps due to his increasing dependence on alcohol. He died two years after Clive of India, of tuberculosis exacerbated by his alcoholism.

Even though he was only in a couple of scenes, it's always a pleasure to see Cesar Romero. Cast as  Mir Jaffar, an Indian lord, Mr. Romero brought to mind his portrayal of Ram Das in The Little Princess (1939). We wondered if this role led to his being cast as Indians in both the The Little Princess and Wee Willie Winkie (1937). Mr. Romero always played his parts - even when portraying a villain - with a bit of a twinkle in his eyes. Clive of India is no exception; it would have been nice to have seen more of him in the film. Mr. Romero was not the first thought for the role - it was to have been given to George Regas (AFI catalog).

While there are some good scenes in the film - those with the battle elephants were quite impressive - this film is not going to be ranked among Mr. Colman's best. For Colman aficionados, it's worth a look. Otherwise, see Random Harvest or A Double Life.

Communist Kay

1934's British Agent is our film this week. The wonderful Leslie Howard is Stephen Locke, an English diplomat serving in Russia as Lenin takes control of the government. The British, after the rise of Lenin, leave Locke as provisional staff, evacuating their more important diplomats (as do the French, Italian, and American governments).  Locke is committed to his country, and does the best he can under adverse circumstances.  He also meets and falls in love with Elena Moura (Kay Francis), a Communist working with Lenin's government.  Though she loves Stephen, she too loves her country and informs her government about Stephen's plan.

This is a fascinating film, with a great cast (and some wonderful supporting players, such as Cesar Romero as Tito Del Val the Italian provisional representative.  The film with keep you wondering just what is going to happen next, and Ms. Francis is wonderful as the conflicted Elena.  She and Howard are quite good together. though I believe this is the only time they appeared together on film (though they did the radio show Screen Guild Theatre together in 1939 (Never Of This World).

It's also interesting to see this somewhat sympathetic view of Lenin in 1939.  This surely is NOT a pro-Communist film, but, as you will see at the end, Lenin is vindicated. So, anti-Communist - perhaps, but with a bit of a balance.  Here's a trailer for this excellent movie:

WHY is Love Before Breakfast?

Our Carole Lombard focus this time is 1936's Love Before Breakfast.  In the spirit of honesty, let's just start by getting it out in the open - we just DIDN'T like this movie!  Try as they might, this trio of excellent actors (Carole Lombard, Preston Foster, Cesar Romero), could not make this mess of a script into a cohesive whole. First off, the title - just WHERE did they pick this title from? It made no sense, bore no relation to the movie at all. Next, there is the relationship between Kay Colby (Carole Lombard) and Scott Miller (Preston Foster). All they do is fight. And fight to the point where it is ridiculous.  I won't go into the ending here, but just watch it. It makes no sense, and is just plain stupid. Compare it to a similar ending in My Man Godfrey, where the ending is handled brilliantly.  Though it has been a long time since I've seen it (and one of my viewing companions has not see it at all), we wondered if the screenwriters were trying to recapture the screwball silliness of Twentiety Century.  Regardless, it doesn't succeed.

Another problem with the film is that it brings in elements, and then doesn't use them.  For example, very early in the film, Scott discovers that Bill Wadsworth (Cesar Romero - here, for a change, not playing a Latin lover or Indian houseman) is seeing another woman, though he is engaged to Kay.  So, to get rid of Bill, Scott ships Bill abroad (Bill works for him), and tells Kay that he did it purposely, but NEVER tells her that Bill is not faithful to her. WHY? Scott blabs everything else. Why not that? And if he is not going to use the information, why do we need to know it? It's dropped out there like some kind of time bomb, then turns out to be a dud that never goes off.

And then there is Kay. She is stubborn beyond belief! Trapped in a small boat that is about to be swamped by a storm, she refuses to come aboard Scott's large, warm, DRY yacht. Bill (who has returned from his work abroad) is so drunk he can't stand up. The pair can't hide below decks because it is already full of water. So, all they can do is sit on the main deck, getting drenched and wait to be swept overboard. Could anyone be that antagonistic towards someone that they would die for it?  

So, not exactly one we can recommend.  I'm sure we will find The Princess Comes Across much more enjoyable!