Fred Dons His Top Hat

Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is about to open in a new London musical when it happens - he meets the girl of his dreams, Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). All it takes is one dance for the two to fall head-over-heals in love.  But Dale is told that the man who is romancing her is Jerry's best friend Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton), the husband of Dale’s friend, Madge Harwick (Helen Brodrick). Our film this week is Top Hat (1935).

If there is a truth to be found in any Astaire-Rogers movie, it is that the written plot is unimportant - all the information you need to know about the story is there in the dancing. We see the carefree bachelor ("No Strings"), who falls in love with the downstairs neighbor ("No Strings - Sandman"). He woos her ("Isn't it a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain"), seduces her ("Cheek to Cheek"), and wins her ("The Piccolino).  Who needs words more than those penned by the great Irving Berlin?

It is because Astaire and Rogers are great actors that the film works so well. They act the words of the script, of course. But they act the dance. Watch their faces, their movements - they are telling us the story even when we think we are just watching them dance. It's not surprising that their partnership is legendary. They fit beautifully together.

The film is also remembered for the "Cheek to Cheek" dance - notable for the grace of the choreography, as well as for the ostrich feather dress that Ms. Rogers helped to design it with Costumer Bernard Newman. It too is the story of legend.  Ms. Rogers loved the dress - and she is correct in her belief that its flow contributed to the dance itself. The problem, however, was that the dress shed. Badly. It left feathers all over the floor and Mr. Astaire's tuxedo. Mr. Astaire rebelled - he wanted a different dress for the number, and Ms. Rogers dug her heels in and refused to get a new dress (Actually, an old dress - they wanted her to use a dress she'd worn in The Gay Divorcee).  So, the wardrobe staff came to the rescue - they spent the night reinforcing the feathers. The result is on the film - an occasional feather wafts by, but no flurries. And Ms. Rogers gained a gold charm in the form of a feather (and a note which read "Dear Feathers, I love ya!, Fred"), a song, and the nickname "Feathers" from Mr. Astaire.  (Ostrich Feather Dress  TCM Behind the Scenes). 

Edward Everett Horton and Helen Broderick as the older married friends of Jerry and Dale are very amusing. Ms. Broderick, especially, with her deep voice and saucy manner is perfect as the attempted matchmaker. Watching her encourage Dale to get closer to Jerry is really funny (especially considering that Dale thinks Jerry is actually Madge's husband, Horace). Ms. Broderick, who spent her film career playing best friends, is also remembered as the mother of actor Broderick Crawford.

While the characters played by Erik Rhodes (Alberto Beddini) and Eric Blore (Bates) are required for the plot, they are pretty silly. Especially nonsensical is the scene with Bates (masquerading as a gondolier) and an Italian Policeman. It is reported that several scenes at the end of the film were excised to speed things up - one wonders why this particular bit remained. The character wasn't much loved either - Italy banned this film because of Mr. Rhodes portrayal (TCM Trivia & Fun Facts). It's also worth noting that Lucille Ball makes an appearance as a Flower Shop Girl in the film.

The New York Times review by Andre Sennwald was very positive: "Top Hat is worth standing in line for. From the appearance of the lobby yesterday afternoon, you probably will have to." (The film, in fact, did sell out Radio City Music Hall.) Other reviews were also complimentary. 

Top Hat was nominated for 4 Academy Awards - Picture, Art Direction, Dance Direction (Hermes Pan), and Song (Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek"). Three songs from the picture - "Cheek to Cheek," "Top Hat" and "Isn't This a Lovely Day"--were ranked first, second and fourth on the Your Hit Parade radio program (AFI Catalog). It's also been featured as an Essential on TCM, and is featured in Jeremy Arnold's second book, The Essentials, Volume 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter.

 

This truly is a must-see movie. Just ignore some of the plot, and watch the dancing. You'll want to dance yourself. We'll leave you with a trailer:

Dolores Dances

Magazine editor Larry MacArthur (Pat O'Brien) is in way over his head. He's somehow become engaged to golddigger Clara (Glenda Farrell), he's frequently drunk, and he is making up theatre reviews because he's too drunk to remember what he saw (if he even sobered up enough to the show). His associate editor and friend, Harold Brandon (Edward Everett Horton) decides the only recourse is to pack Larry up while he's drunk, and take him on a month's vacation to Agua Caliente, Mexico. While  In Caliente (1935), Larry become smitten with Rita Gomez (Dolores Del Rio), a dancer of whom Larry (while intoxicated) gave a blistering review in the magazine.

The AFI Silver Theatre recently hosted the Library of Congress Film Preservation Showcase. In Caliente featured a newly restored 35mm print of this film. The print was gloriously beautiful, and looked as it must have done in 1935 upon release. With numbers by Busby Berkeley, this rarely seen film was a lot of fun to watch.

The plot is really a hook on which to hang some musical performances, like this number by the Dancing De Marcos (Sally and Tony, who actually didn't marry until 1944), and a performance by Ms. Del Rio. The film introduced the song "The Lady in Red", as well as featured a previously released song "She's a Latin from Manhattan". There's even a brief comic bit from Judy Canova.

Ms. Del Rio is good as the love interest. It's hard to understand why she would fall for Larry - he's drunk much of the time and he's also insulted her in print by calling her "a bag of bones."  But, the story must prevail, and love him she does. After her strong work in the silent era, Ms. Del Rio was finding it hard to get good parts (even when she got the lead a few years earlier in Flying Down to Rio, she was eclipsed by that dynamic dancing duo, Astaire and Rogers); she returned to Mexico in the 1940s (TCM article). 

Glenda Farrell  has a bit more to work with as Clara, even though it is a relatively small part.  Since it's evident that Clara wants a settlement, and Larry's drunken escapades will help her get her money, Ms. Farrell can play broadly; as always, Ms. Farrell is entertaining.

Edward Everett Horton made a career playing dolts. Harold is actually a lot smarter than many of the characters Mr. Horton gets to play. He's smart enough to get his friend away from New York in an attempt to quell his great thirst, but his protective instincts don't seem to work well for himself. He ends up in agua caliente himself because of his desire to help his friend. 

Leo Carrillo as Jose Gomez, Rita's uncle and manager is entertaining as the con man who uses his position to cheat anyone who will play cards (or anything else) with him. He's got a lot more screen time than Ms. Farrell, but like her, he plays the part broadly to good comic effect. 

Originally titled just Caliente (AFI Catalog), the film at one point was supposed to feature Rita Cansino (Rita Hayworth) in one of the numbers; she was eliminated from the final cut.

This is not a film that is in any way deep, but it was a lot of fun. We'll leave you with a trailer from the film.

Robert Avoids Heaven

Joe Pendleton (Robert Montgomery) is a boxer with dreams of becoming the champion. He's trained long and hard, and is ready for the bout that will propel him to stardom. He's in his private plane, heading for New York when his aircraft is damaged. Plummeting earthbound, his spirit is plucked from his body by overeager heavenly messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton).  When Joe protests to Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) that he doesn't feel dead, Mr. Jordan discovers that Joe is destined to live another 50 years! Since Joe's body is gone (cremated by Joe's manager Max Corkle (James Gleason)), Mr. Jordan and Joe go out to find Joe a new body. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) tells the story of that quest.

I'm truly of the opinion that Robert Montgomery is one of our most underrated film actors. He's good in everything he does, and can play the villain, the anti-hero, and the hero with equal aplomb. He's delightful as Joe Pendleton, a man of deep feelings and simple tastes. He loves his plane, his saxophone, his dear friend Max, and ultimately, Bette Logan (Evelyn Keyes). His quest for a new body is governed by the purity of his nature - he wants simply what he is entitled to, and wants the body he is given to match the one that he had. After all, he kept it "in the pink!"

Robert Montgomery was born into a privileged family, but that all ended with his father's suicide when Robert was 18. He decided to try his hand at acting and writing; by 1924, he was appearing on Broadway, where he was in 7 plays (through 1928). He signed a contract with MGM in 1929, where his stage training was essential in the booming sound era; he was often the juvenile in this period (as in Untamed (1929)).  In 1937, he showed a new side of his talent in Night Must Fall,  as an insane killer. World War II disrupted his career - he volunteered to serve in the Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Upon his return, John Ford cast him in They Were Expendable (1945); when Ford was injured, Mr. Montgomery finished directing the film. His characterizations became even more nuanced, as he appeared in films like the film noir Lady in the Lake (1946). He turned to television, to produce his own anthology show, Robert Montgomery Presents.  Married twice, he had three children by his first wife, Elizabeth Allen. His daughter, Elizabeth, went on to perform in film and television (and is best remembered for her role in the TV series,  Bewitched). He died of cancer in 1981.

We were a bit less enthralled with Evelyn Keyes. There are times, especially at the beginning when she is pleading for her father, that she seems over-melodramatic. She improves greatly in the love scenes with Mr. Montgomery, and they have a warm relationship that is easy to appreciate. Rita Johnson, as the other woman in Joe's life - the almost widow Julia Farnsworth - is quite good as the would-be murderer. She's properly bitchy, and you eagerly await her - and her paramour Tony Abbott (John Emery) - getting their comeuppance.

The film's strength really comes from two magnificent supporting roles - Mr. Jordan and Max Corkle. James Gleason is excellent as the frequently bemused Max. His fatherly affection for Joe is apparent from the minute we first meet him, and his pain from the repeated loss of Joe is palpable. But Mr. Gleason also brings humor to the part - his inability to see Mr. Jordan, while he tries to have conversations with him make for amusing scenes, yet maintain the integrity of the character. In their review, the New York Times says that Mr. Gleason "steals the film's most comic scene as the manager with cosmic premonitions," but he never lets Max become a fool, and we are grateful for it.

What can we add about Claude Rains that hasn't already been said? He's delightful as Mr. Jordan - warm and understanding. He cares about Joe, and about his predicament, but he has a heavenly duty to perform, and Joe isn't always willing to acknowledge that. Mr. Rains brings a sincerity to the role that perfects the movie. We believe he is an angel, and we know that Mr. Jordan will keep an eye on his charge until he meets him again in 1991. This article from the Criterion Collection talks about "the hint of steel" Mr. Rains brings to the part. It is the making of the character.

The story upon which the film was based was initially purchased as a vehicle for Cary Grant (AFI Catalog)  Years later, Warren Beatty would ask him to play Mr. Jordan in his remake.  (Evenings with Cary Grant by Nancy Nelson). When Mr. Grant said no, Mr. Beatty cast James Mason in his 1978  Heaven Can Wait - which was, in fact, the title of the original play by Harry Segall (TCM article). 

Lux Radio Theatre in January 1942 aired a version of the story with Cary Grant, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, and James Gleason. It was remade again as Down to Earth (2001) with Chris Rock as a comedian who is untimely snatched from his body.

We'll leave you with this trailer, and the suggestion that you give this delightful film a first (or a second) viewing:

Ronald Goes to Shangri-La

Based on the 1933 novel by James Hilton, Lost Horizon (1937) tells the story of Robert Conway (Ronald Colman),  a highly respected author, former soldier, and now an influential member of the British diplomatic corp.  When unrest breaks out in the Chinese city of Baskul, Robert and his younger brother George (John Howard) go there to rescue the 90 white citizens who are trapped in the city.  The last plane out is boarded by Robert and George, along with three other escapees:  Henry Barnard (Thomas Mitchell), a swindler who escaped to China to avoid imprisonment,  Alexander P. Lovett (Edward Everett Horton), a paleontologist who was one of Barnard's victims, and Gloria Stone (Isabel Jewell), a woman with a past who is dying of tuberculosis.  Exhausted by their ordeal, the group does not notice til the morning that they are flying in the wrong direction, and have been kidnapped by an unknown Asian man.  The plane crash-lands in the Himalayans, and the group is miraculously rescued by Chang (H.B. Warner), who takes them to his home, the monastery of Shangri-La.  The group's immediate reaction is to demand ways to get home to "civilization," but very quickly they, one by one, begin to think about making a life in Shangi-La.  Except George, who is desperate to return to London, and to drag his brother there by whatever means possible.

If you saw this film before the restoration that was released in 1986, you owe yourself another viewing.  The film was severely cut by the studio in both 1937 and in 1942, deleting a lot of information on the motivations of the the secondary characters.  It was those expurgated versions that made their way to television in later years.   Though some of the filmed footage is lost, a soundtrack of the full film was discovered in 1973; using still photographs, the American Film Institute was able to reconstruct the film according to director Frank Capra's original vision.  The DVD version of the film also includes an alternate ending to the film (which was thankfully eliminated from the film early one) -  Capra's ending is far better (this article from the AFI Catalog goes into more detail on the film's production, and this article in the Chicago Tribune gives a more complete outline of the scenes that were added to the restored version).

James Hilton based his tale of Shangri-La on another legendary location - the mythical Tibetan city of Shambala.  This article from PBS's In Search of Myths and Heroes will provide a little more information on Hilton's inspiration for the place of perfect harmony.  Principle photography on the film ran from March 23 to July 17, 1936, and in the months before and during production, Germany occupied the Rhineland, and Italy invaded Ethiopia.  With Hitler beginning his reign of terror, it was becoming apparent to Europeans - and to Americans - that another war was in the offing.  Though written by Hilton between the wars, by the time the film was released in 1937, Robert's despair of a world gone mad was perfectly relate-able to the contemporary audience.

The character of George, as portrayed by John Howard, is an interesting one.  George has spent his life reflecting in his brother's glory; were he to stay in Shangri-la, his one source of self-esteem - that of being the great Robert's brother - would be gone.  At first, it's easy to sympathize with George; the group is being lied to, and he is more than angry at being held against his will.  But Howard brings George's resentment to a fever pitch.  Ultimately, it's hard to like him - he claims to be in love with Maria, but his actions don't speak of love - they display his willingness to use any means or any one to get out.  John Howard does an excellent job of creating a character that has no self esteem, but much pride.

Sam Jaffe, who portrays the High Lama, was 46 when this film was released, and this was only his third feature film.  His career began in the Yiddish theatre; during the period from 1918 to 1937, he appeared in 14 Broadway plays, including The Jazz Singer and Grand Hotel.  He was actually the third choice for the role of the High Lama - the first two choices (A. E. Anson and Henry Walthall) both died before filming began.  This TCM article provides more detail on the early casting of the film. Two years after this Lost Horizon, Jaffe starred in the title role in Gunga Din (1939).  He later appeared in such notable productions as The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), but by 1955, he was blacklisted after he refused to name names to HUAC.  His greatest fame occurred in television, when he appeared as Ben Casey's mentor, Dr. Zorba, in Ben Casey.  Married twice (his first marriage to Lillian Taiz ended with her death in 1941.  His second was to the actress Bettye Ackerman - who appeared as Dr. Maggie Graham in Ben Casey), he continued acting until his death in 1984 (aged 93).

Another actor whose fame came primarily from television was the lovely Jane Wyatt, who appears as  Sondra, the young woman who encourages the High Lama to bring Robert Conway to Shangri-La.  While this was not her first film, it was probably her most notable one.  For the most part, Ms. Wyatt was relegated to starring roles in B movies.  By the 1950s, she had switched over to television, where she became best known for her role as Margaret Anderson in Father Knows Best (1954-1960).  She would create the role of another important mother when she appeared as Spock's human mother, Amanda in the episode Journey to Babel in Star Trek - a role she would reprise in Star Trek: The Voyage Home (1986).  She was one of the many performers who went to Washington, DC in 1947 to protest the HUAC hearings.  She continued acting until 1992 (her final role was as older Vicki in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles).  Married for 65 years, Ms. Wyatt died in 2006, at the age of 96.

Lost Horizon was remade as a musical in 1973, with Peter Finch as Conway, Michael York as George, and Charles Boyer as the High Lama.  With not a singer in the bunch, the film was not especially noteworthy. 

We'll leave you with a trailer from the film, and a strong recommendation to see it:

Kay is in Trouble

Trouble in Paradise (1932) is a film that requires you to keep your eyes on the screen. So much happens here that concentration is essential.  The film opens when two thieves - Herbert Marshall (as Gaston Monescu) and Miriam Hopkins (as Lily) - meet and fall in love in Venice, as each attempts to rob the other one!  The following year, they are still together and still on the prowl for victims.  Enter wealthy widow Mariette Colet (Kay Francis); Gaston steals her purse, collects the reward for returning it, and convinces Mariette to hire him as her secretary (with Lily as his assistant). Sound simple? It's not.

All of the characters are well developed, from our leads to various supporting characters.  Besides the ever wonderful Ms. Francis - who makes Mariette a bit of an airhead, but a brainy one (yes, a contradiction, but this film is full of contradictions), we have Herbert Marshall being oh-so debonaire, and Miriam Hopkins. Quite honestly, Ms. Hopkins can be an annoying actress - she is mannered and at times over-blown.  However, here she is quite funny as the naughty Lily.  When she morphs into Gaston's assistant, Mlle. Votier, she is hysterical -wearing glasses, talking about her little brother, and her mother (who, of course, are sadly dead), and trying to be Mariette's new best friend.

For supporting players, we have some remarkable actors:  Edward Everett Horton as Gaston's Venice victim François Fileba, Charlie Ruggles as The Major, one of Mariette's many suitors (men she loves to lead on, but has no intention of marrying. She's quite happy being in control of her own life), and C Aubrey Smith as Giron, the Chairman of Mariette's company who has been embezzling from her for years. He is a riot when he threatens to resign... eventually.

Director Ernst Lubitsch is having lots of fun here.  Watch for the love scene between Mariette and Gaston.  We know exactly what is going on, as their shadows superimpose on a bed.  Lubitsch doesn't need to be crass; he easily gets his points across by innuendo.  We also have gowns by Travis Banton, and gorgeous accessories and set design.  A major focus of an early scene is a purse, and an exquisite purse it is!

We end with a clip - including the purse!

Mary and the Green-Eyed Monster

Poor Nancy Gibson (Mary Astor)! Just returned to New York from Europe, where she went to look after her ailing mother, she finds her beloved husband Donald (Robert Ames) is head-over-heels in love with a younger woman, and eager for a divorce.  Thus begins Smart Woman (1931), a pre-code film which focuses on Mary's clever plan to recover her husband's affection - make him believe that SHE returned for a divorce, to marry her "lover",  Sir Guy Harrington (John Halliday). 

This is a clever little movie, made all the more pleasurable by the presence of Edward Everett Horton as Nancy's brother-in-law, Bill Ross.  We are so used to Mr. Horton as a buffoon, it was great to see him being smart and even, at times, cagey.  Disgusted with his Donald's behavior, he and his equally smart wife, Sally (played by Ruth Weston) collude with Nancy in her quest to convince Donald that she strayed long before he even thought of it.  We were also intrigued by the performance of John Halliday.  His Sir Guy is genuinely in love with Nancy, but his is an unselfish love - he attempts to break up the affair between Donald and Peggy Preston (Noel Francis) in his own inimitable fashion.  But we won't spoil the end by revealing his plan.

We found the relationship between Peggy and her mother as rather reminiscent of a later film - The Parent Trap.  Think Vicki Robinson (Joanna Barnes) and Mama Edna (Linda Watkins).  Vipers awaiting their wealthy prey. Mary Astor is just delightful as she realizes Peggy's motives, and has to keep up the front that she is all sympathy for their "love".  Watch her as she tells Peggy exactly WHO owns the house!  Here's the scene where Peggy and Nancy meet:



Next week, we invite you to a mystery