Carole Joins the Rackets

If you've seen Singin' in the Rain, then you are familiar with the comic take on the beginning of sound films.  The Racketeer, from 1929, is an actual example of this phenomenon.  The film features Carole Lombard as a former society lady named Rhoda Philbrook, who left her husband for a violinist Tony (played by Roland Drew). The only problem is, Tony is a drunk and now Rhoda is reduced to cheating at cards in order to get enough money to live.  While working the tables, she meets the racketeer of the title, Mahlon Keene (Robert Armstrong).  He is smitten with her, and eventually offers her marriage.  Thinking her life with Tony is over, she assents. But then, her life gets complicated.

By today's standards, this is not a good film. It is static and somewhat boring at times; resembling in some ways a filmed play (with a lot less movement).  BUT it is an excellent sample of how the survivors of silents were coping with the advent of sound.  Of course, the actors don't move very much.  The film is very talky, but you can see the beginning of something great.  Lombard is lovely in the lead, and seems comfortable in the new mode (though some vestiges of silent film acting remain).  Armstrong (who never has been a favorite of mine), is fine as Mahlon.  He is stiff, but much of that is probably the camera restrictions.

While there is not a lot to in this film to make it appealing, do give it a look. It is a window back into the past - a baby step in the growth of a new industry.  TCM had a very nice article about the film during a Lombard festival. 

Carole Marries Gene

In 1933's Brief Moment, Carole Lombard plays Abby Fane, a nightclub singer who is loved by - and loves - wealthy Rod Deane (Gene Raymond).  Despite the objections of his family, Rod and Abby marry, and have an extensive honeymoon in Europe.  When they return to their home in New York, they find that the home that Abby has hoped to design has been completely done over by Rod's dilettante friend, Sigrift (Monroe Owsley), who spends most of his time encouraging Rod to overspend and over-drink.  Abby is heartbroken at her husband's lifestyle, finally telling him that he has one choice - to find gainful employ, or to lose her.

One thing that is rather odd about this film is the relationship between Rod Deane, his brother Franklin, and their father.  Mr. Deane runs a huge business, yet he has totally cut his sons out of the running of the enterprise.  Son Franklin is a vice-president, but does nothing all day but play the horses. Why? Because his father will not share the responsibility of the firm.  One wonders what will happen when Mr. Deane is no longer able to work.  Then again, Mr. Deane isn't working all that much - he is MUCH more interested in his stable of horses.  Given that the action is contemporary to 1933, one wonders how the family survived the Depression with their wealth intact.  One interesting scene involves the writing of a check - we see the monthly allowance that is going to Rod - $4,000.  In 1933, that would have been more than the yearly salary for most people. One can only imagine the shock of seeing that number being given out to a young man who is doing absolutely nothing with his life.

While this is a slight little movie, the costuming is wonderful (Carole has some lovely dresses), and our Ms. Lombard is just lovely as the noble Abby.  Abby is reserved and gracious - she has much more "class" than her upper-class husband and his obnoxious family.  Gene Raymond is fine as Rod (though Raymond is not one of our favorite actors).  It is interesting to see Donald Cook again (just two years after he appeared in Public Enemy). The actor that stands out, though, is Monroe Owsley, who is (again) playing a cad.  He does it so well, and when he is on screen, he is fascinating to watch.

Certainly not one of Ms. Lombard's best films, but certainly worth a quick look.

Carole Abjures Orchids

Carole Lombard's 1932 film No More Orchids is a delight from start to finish. Wealthy Anne Holt (Carole Lombard) is used to getting what she wants, until she meets Tony Gage (Lyle Talbot).  He has no money, and she is engaged to royalty, but love blooms, and Anne is quite willing to give up her wealth and position to be with the man she loves.  But, there is a fly in the ointment - her grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), a rather malevolent individual who will use anything in his power to manipulate Anne into wedding his choice - Prince Carlos.

The cast here is just magnificent, especially Louise Closser Hale as Anne's outspoken grandmother. Hale is an absolute riot, and makes the picture.  From the second we see her, Ms. Hale steals the movie, and you look forward to her every appearance.  Also wonderful is C. Aubrey Smith as Anne's nasty grandfather.  The cameraman (Joseph August), has a field day, filming Smith at angles, and with lighting that make him appear as the devil.  And Smith seems to relish the cruelty that Mr. Cedric delights in imposing on those around him.  Finally, there is Lombard, who is just lovely as Anne.  She is funny and sweet; running the gamut from spoiled brat to loving daughter, without being maudlin. 

One interesting detail about the film is that it is a pre-code.  That becomes apparent when Lombard spends the night with Tony, and he later makes a comment that casts aspersions on her "honor". (She has been forced to break up with him; he doesn't know why and believes she has been toying with his affections.) It's quite suggestive!

We strongly recommend this neglected classic. Here's a scene from the film:

Interlude: Lydia

As several members of our group were missing, we held off on our next Carole Lombard movie and instead watched Lydia, a little gem from 1941.  Told in flashback, the movie is the story of Lydia Macmillan (Merle Oberon), who was a much sought after belle in her youth, who became an unmarried philanthropist.  At a party celebrating her good works, she meets one of her youthful romances, Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick (Joseph Cotton).  The son of her grandmother's butler, Michael had once had hopes of marrying Lydia, but, alas, it was not to be, because Lydia lost her heart to Richard Mason (Alan Marshal), a cad who seduced our heroine and then abandoned her.  Michael throws a party for Lydia, and invites her three romances: Mason, Frank Audry (Hans Yarah), a blind composer, and Bob Willard (George Reeves), a college football hero.  All are present, except for Mason, and the party of four begin to reminisce about the past.

Ms. Oberon is lovely as the youthful Lydia, but her makeup in the old-age scenes is rather odd (the men look SO much better; so much more realistic). We all enjoyed seeing George Reeves as the egotistical Bob (his drunk scene is quite funny), and of course, Joseph Cotton is always a pleasure to watch.  We really could not understand WHY Lydia would prefer Richard to Michael.  Michael is much more appealing; Alan Marshal is rather a non-entity compared to the much more dynamic Cotton. Also fun to watch (always) was Edna May Oliver as Granny. From the minute she shows up, Ms. Oliver is a delight.

Released in 1941, in many ways this film is shocking, in that it discusses a woman who has a two-week affair with a man who is probably married, yet her only punishment is to be single. Then again, one assumes in 1941, that was a fate worse than death for most women. But one can't help but thinking that Lydia made a huge mistake in abandoning Michael, no matter how profound her life was as a philanthropist (heck, Michael would have let her do both, even in 1941).

Next time, we promise another Carole Lombard movie!!

Carole Gets Married, Sorta

This week, we look at a very pre-code (though it was released in December of 1934, after the code was being enforced) Lombard film The Gay Bride.  Released in 1934, Lombard plays Mary, a woman determined to land herself a wealthy husband, even if his "job" is not exactly legal.  Her "mark" is Shoots Magiz (played by Nat Pendleton), a rather dopey, but deadly bootlegger, who is feeling the results of the repeal of Prohibition.  Shoots' assistant, Office Boy (also known as Jimmy, and played by Chester Morris), takes an immediate dislike to the gold-digging Mary, but still tries to warn her that a marriage to Shoots has no prospects, either financially or health-wise.  Mary, however, is convinced that she can amass enough money in the marriage to set herself up for life (and if Shoots' life span is shortened, all the better). 

Let's just start by saying that, wonderful as Lombard always is, her Mary is hard to like.  She is involved with the mob for the money, and does not care how Shoots, or his inevitable successor GETS that money.  She is constantly warned of the dangers, by Office Boy and by her best friend Mirabelle (ZaSu Pitts), but ignores them until she is in so deep that it seems there is no way out.  And while Shoots is a blithering idiot who is easily manipulated by the much smarter Mary, her relations with Dan Dingle (Sam Hardy) and Mickey the Greek (Leo Carillo) demonstrate that she is going from bad to worse to HORRIBLE.

Much of the comedy comes from ZaSu Pitts' rather mournful countenance, as she watches Mary get deeper into trouble.  But, Lombard holds her own comedy-wise, as she flits from man to man, in search of her fortune.  Of particular note is a scene in which Mary decides to get rid of her ill-gotten gains.

Clearly, this is a film that must have squeaked by the censors, for certainly Mary is a prostitute, living with criminals, yet is not punished for it.  Take a look at the costuming in the movie - it has some marvelous dresses designed for Lombard by Dolly Tree. Of particular note was a "mourning dress" that she wears in the middle of the film.  Take a look at this clip for a glimpse into the film:

Next week, a film from the 1940s.

Carole Gets Foolish

After a bit of a pause, thanks to the holiday season, we return to our blog posts.  We are revisiting Carole Lombard, beginning with her 1938's Fools for Scandal.  In it, Ms. Lombard is Kay Winters, a movie star trying to tour Paris incognito.  She runs into Rene (Fernand Gravet), a man so broke he has to keep pawning his only two suits of clothing.  He is fascinated with her, and begins to pursue her romantically.  She finds him attractive, but is in France with her boyfriend Phillip Chester (Ralph Bellamy), and has all but promised to marry him.  Of course, hijinks ensue.

This is a VERY odd movie. For one thing, it cannot decide if it is a comedy, romance or musical.  We have Ms. Lombard and Mr. Gravet speaking the lyrics (a la Rex Harrison) of a Rogers and Hart song Fool for Scandal.  According to The Richard Rogers Reader (available on GoogleBooks) and Lorenz Hart.org, several other songs were dropped from the film.  And while the film has this song and two others, it isn't REALLY a musical (and it probably doesn't help that the leads can't sing!!)

That being said, this film is goofy and fun.  We particularly enjoyed a scene in which a newly awakened Kay is visited by all the women she knows, eager to discover if she spent the night with Rene. Lombard's sarcastic digs at the women (in particular her "friend" Lady Paula Malverton, played with some degree of bitchiness by Isabel Jeans)  Also hysterical was a scene in Ralph Bellamy does a little dance of joy.  

Lombard is, as always a joy.  Gravet, who did not have a huge career, is fine as Rene.  Ralph Bellamy is his usual (in this era) nebishy self, but still funny.  While not one of her best, this is a film that is worth a viewing, if only to see Carole attempt a song.

Little Boy and Girl Lost, Circa 1942

The war has just started in America at the end of 1942's Journey for Margaret, but has been a factor in the lives of two small children for three years.  We meet war correspondent John Davis (Robert Young) and his wife Nora (Laraine Day) as the reach England, having just gotten out of France ahead of the Nazis.  They find a nation ravaged by nightime blitzes.  As John wanders the land, in search of stories for his column, he witnesses the bombing of a house, and helps to rescue a small boy, Peter (William Severn) whose mother has died.  Some time later, his wife gone back to America in despair (during a raid, she lost her unborn child, and the ability to have another), John meets Peter and another child, Margaret (Margaret O'Brien) in the orphanage of Trudy Strauss (Fay Bainter), a European refugee who has devoted her life to helping the orphans of her new country.

This is a truly touching movie that pulls no punches.  Witness the first time we meet Margaret - she is being returned to the orphanage by her adoptive "mother", a woman too busy with her social life to pay attention to this needy child who punishes her for crying.  Young Peter is unable to talk; the return of a stuffed lamb that John had inadvertently placed in his pocket turns out to be the key to his return to normalcy.  Another child screams any time she sees a man - it was a man who pulled her from the horror of her bombed home.  The film not only gives us a look at the war's effect on the children, but on adults as well. Our hearts ached for the older couple who long to adopt a child, but cannot seem to make emotional contact with either Peter or Margaret (we all hoped that another child would be offered to this loving people).

Robert Young is just wonderful here, as is Laraine Day (who leaves the action midway through the film). And Fay Bainter is just lovely as a woman who refuses to surrender on any of her young charges.  Finally, there are the children.  It goes without saying that Margaret O'Brien can break your heart (watch her breakdown when Trudi gives her "permission" to cry), but equally good is William Severn as Peter.  A young man with a very short film career, Severn is splendid as the anchor of the film.

This is a jewel of a picture.  Give it a try.  In the interim, take a look at the trailer:

Little Boy Lost circa 1948

This week, we begin a brief look at children during the Second World War with two outstanding flims.  Our first film is The Search, a quasi-documentary about a little refugee boy after the war.  Ivan Jandl gives a wonderful performance as Karel/James, a child whose only memories of life have been been his years at Austhwitz.  His story is told parallel to that of his mother, Hanna Malik (Jarmila Novotna), who, since her release from a camp, has been wandering throughout Europe trying to find her only surviving relative - her little son.

This is an immensely powerful tale.  The pain of mother and child is told without melodrama; we learn very little of what they actually suffered, but their suffering is apparent, most prominently displayed by the haze which now protects Karel from the world.  In the midst of this, "Steve" Stevenson (Montgomery Clift, in his first starring role) appears.  This scarecrow of a child intrigues Steve, and he brings the boy home with him.  He feeds him, bathes him, clothes him, and begins to teach him. And begins to love him.  Clift's performance, like that of all our actors, is both subtle and controlled.  We read his emotions in his eyes.  Again, there is no over-dramatics in his performance - just pure, human emotion.

Finally, we tip our respective hats to the ever wonderful Aline MacMahon as Mrs. Murray, the head of the UNRRA camp in which both Karel and Hanna find themselves.  She is all calmness and restraint as she listens to horror stories told with frightening matter-of-factness by children who should be worried about their homework, not whether they can survive another day.  Watch her as she listens to her translator relate the story of a young girl who learned of her mother's death when she was forced to sort the clothing of victims of the Nazi death chambers.  It will bring tears to your eyes. This trailer will give you just a brief impression of the impact of this impressive film:

A couple of interesting pieces of trivia: Jarmila Novotna was an opera singer, as well as an actess, and Ivan Jandl spoke no English - he learned his lines phonetically.  

Next week, we visit with an earlier film about children in the War.  Please join us.

The Real Joan Crawford

As we leave Ms. Crawford for awhile, we ended our viewing with Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a TCM production from 2002. The documentary, narrated by the wonderful Angelica Huston, looks at Crawford's life, through the lens of her films.  It does not shirk the issues that came from Joan's daughter's autobiography, Mommie Dearest. In fact, Christina is interviewed, and at times does shed some insight into her mother. Of course, Christina's bitterness towards the difficult mother-daughter relationship is quite obvious. The documentary also looks at the issues that resulted from Joan's inclusion in the notorious "box office poison" list.  Luckily for us all, Ms. Crawford managed to prove that she was far from being a has-been - some of her greatest roles, of course, came after that horrid incident.

It was a treat to see clips of some of the films we were unable to see, like Crawford's early silents, and films like Mannequin (which I personally have wanted to see for awhile).  The documentary presents, in a 90 minute slot, a real look at the many faces of Crawford - the flapper, the party girl, the romantic lead, the melodrama actress, and the scream queen.  It also demonstrates the breath of her work; she really covered a wide range of film genres.  Taken over several months, one can lose track of how versatile she was.  Seen in such a short time, her talent is even more evident.

We thought that some comment on the whole Mommie Dearest controversy deserved some notice here.  Having read her autobiography, I had no doubt that Christina was abused.  However, I think that, on some levels, she vilified her mother for things that, in another circumstance, would not be looked at twice.  Take Crawford's determination to not overindulge her children with Christmas gifts.  The children publicly opened all the gifts they were sent (by fans, co-stars, fellow film studio workers, family); afterwards, the gifts were taken away. Most were given to charity. Is this cruelty? When one thinks of the number of gifts these kids probably received, probably not? Did Crawford take it to extremes? I think probably she did.  And then, there is the incident of the 60ish Crawford replacing her 30ish daughter on a soap opera, when Christina took ill.  Did Christina never consider that it is possible that her mother saved her job? Crawford stepped out when Christina recovered.  How many other actresses on soaps lost their roles to their successors? Luckily, Christina never found out.

So, for a look at the real woman, keep an eye out for this excellent documentary.  And join us next week as we view another film.

Joan Shines (Well, not quite)

Our film this time is Crawford's 1938 melodrama The Shining Hour. Crawford is Olivia (Maggie) Riley, a nightclub singer who weds Harry Linden (Melvyn Douglas) and moves with him to his farm (really big, wealthy farm) in Wisconsin.  The new couple moves in with Harry's brother David (Robert Young), sister-in-law Judy (Margaret Sullavan), and much older sister Hannah (Fay Bainter).  Unfortunately, what we have here is not one big, happy family - it rather more resembles the Ewings of Dallas - lots in infighting, jealousy, and sexual tension.  It seems that David, who is one of these guys who is never satisfied with what he has, develops an infatuation of Olivia. She begins to respond, but fights it, by urging her husband to build them a new home away from the family mansion, which he does.  And then there is Hannah, who hates this competition for her brother's affection, and makes it perfectly clear that Olivia is not welcome.  Moving out seems like it should be the perfect solution, however, problems pursue them to their new abode.

The real problem with the movie is that the characters just don't ring true, especially our supporting characters.  Judy is just WAY too sweet and self-sacrificing.  Our group felt that David needed a good swift kick - or the corned Judy demanding BIG alimony.  And then there is Hannah. Without giving too much away, her bitchy treatment of Olivia, her domineering attitude towards her brothers and her home were one thing, but then there is a scene close to the end where she gets, well, VERY strange indeed.  We won't even talk about the last scene.  We wondered if the character had had a brain transplant; we though manic-depression medications might actually be in order.  As to Robert Young, whom we all like as a general rule, he is annoying and self-centered  throughout the film. Then again, David is supposed to be annoying and self-centered, so Young is doing his job. 

Douglas and Crawford are good here, but the script makes it hard to really sink ones' teeth into anything.  What we really enjoyed was the relationship between Crawford and Hattie McDaniel (here playing Belvedere, Maggie's maid and confidante).  One thing that really surprised us was a scene in which Olivia leaps out of her car, runs to Belevedere and embraces her.  1938, and a white woman is hugging a black woman!  It was lovely, genuine and somewhat astounding.  And, of course McDaniel makes YOU want to hug Belvedere as well.

Next  time, we'll be doing a film that is slightly different from our norm.  Join us then. In the meantime, here is a trailer: