Kay is Not Guilty

This week, we looked at a very underrated PreCode film from 1931.  Guilty Hands  stars Lionel Barrymore as Richard Grant, a lawyer who discovers that his beloved daughter is engaged to Gordon Rich (Alan Mowbray), a client with a horrible reputation as a womanizer and abuser (Rich probably murdered his last fiance).  Grant tells Rich that if Rich continues with his plan to marry Barbara Grant (Madge Evans), Grant will kill him AND will get away with it.  He will make sure it is the "perfect murder".  

It's not giving too much away to reveal that Grant DOES kill Rich.  But from there, we will leave you in some amount of suspense.  Kay Francis is wonderful here as Rich's mistress, Marjorie West (this is a pre-code, after all), who loves him in spite of his engagement to Barbara (and fully intends to keep on seeing him after his marriage).  When Rich dies, Marjorie begins investigating his death.  With some interesting results.

Lionel Barrymore is fantastic.  He is sympathetic, and at the same time, sinister.  You want to root for him, but he is, after all, a murderer.  Yet he did it for a good reason. leading the audience to feel ambivalent about the conclusion.  It is also a plot that keeps you guessing, right to the very end.  Will Richard be caught? SHOULD he be caught? It's also fun to see Ms. Francis' Marjorie take command as an amateur detective.  Agatha Christie was just beginning to write Miss Marple in 1926 (but only as a short story in a magazine. She would not appear in book form til 1932).  One would need to go back, we suspect, to Wilkie Collins (The Lady and the Law, as well as The Woman in White) for an earlier female detective, so Guilty Hands heroine is quite a novel idea.

If you can see this picture, do so.  It is worth your time.  We think you will be surprised and will LOVE the ending.  We'll leave you with a scene from early in the film:

Kay Meets Edward G.

I Loved a Woman from 1933 features Edward G. Robinson as John Hayden, a would-be artist, living on his father's money in Paris, until his father's death.  He returns to America (Chicago, to be specific), and at the encouragement of the lovely Martha Lane (Genevieve Tobin), he assumes the responsibilities of running the company.  Once in business, John is no more a romantic artist, but a hard-headed, in fact cruel and dishonest, businessman.  As his marriage to Martha disintegrates (she pretty much married him for his money and power), he becomes romantically involved with Laura McDonald (Kay Francis), and the two begin a long-term affair. Meanwhile, John continues his ruthless business ways
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Edward G. Robinson is quite convincing here.  He is interesting as the romantic lead, for a change, but he is also, as we all know from his gangster work during this period, perfectly comfortable playing a not-very-nice guy.  As always, Kay Francis is great.  Her Laura loves John, but this is a Pre-Code movie, so her life style is, shall we say, rather risque.  And again, being that this is a Pre-Code film, our characters get away with things that, in another year, would result in their deaths or imprisonment.  

Probably this film is more interesting as a Kay Francis film than as a venue for Robinson.  Not that he is bad, but his character is just not really as interesting as it could have been.  He is so callous in so many ways, that it is hard to sympathize with him.  But there are scenes with Francis that are fun and interesting, so it is certainly worth a look.  And just to get you started, here is the trailer:

Kay Almost Strays

Transgression (1931) is a Pre-code wonder from the always fascinating Kay Francis.  Ms. Francis plays the happily married Elsie Maury, whose husband Robert (Paul Cavanaugh) is called to India on business. Though Elsie asks to accompany him, Robert refuses, and instead sends her to Paris. While in Paris, the naive Elsie becomes enamored of Don Arturo de Borgus, a philanderer of the first water, played with relish by Ricardo Cortez.  Though Elsie tries to remain loyal to her husband at first, her infatuation, boredom, and Don Arturo's advances tempt her to stray.  And so, she arrives at his estate.  Where, as they say, the plot thickens.

Kay Francis is just wonderful as the tempted wife.  As always, she is beautifully clothed; she manages to portray the ambivalence of a young woman who longs for her husband, but is bewildered by the new rules of the jaded society into which her husband has thrown her.  Also fun to watch is Ricardo Cortez.  His Don Arturo is a total cad.  And if you think he is bad at the beginning, wait til you see the end, and realize just how horrid he truly is!  We also very much enjoyed the performance of Nance O'Neil as Paul's sister, Honoria.  What a totally reprehensible character she is! Nance plays her with relish, and she is a delight to despise.  Here she is spying on our Kay:


The end will show you why this fits so perfectly into the Pre-Code mystique.  And you will really enjoy it! We will be looking at a few other Kay Francis movies from the Pre-Code era in the next few weeks, so we hope you will join us again.

Precode Bogart

This week, we examined another precode movie, notable for being an early effort of Humphrey Bogart.  The film is Love Affair (from 1932 - not be be confused with the 1939 film of the same name with Irene Dunne, which inspired An Affair to Remember) and Bogart plays James Leonard, a brilliant aeronautical engineer who becomes involved with an impoverished heiress. Carol Owen (Dorothy Mackaill) is a party girl, with a love for thrills (and no one else) til she meets Jim at the air field, where she has gone to be wowed in an airplane.  He manages to knock the stuffing out of her (by doing loop-d-loops with his plane) and she returns the favor by driving him to the City (at 80 miles per hour!)  It doesn't take long before Jim has spent the night with Carol (this is a precode, after all), and before Carol discovers that the little money she has is gone, and she will end up being a detriment to Jim's efforts to develop an airplane motor company with his revolutionary new motor design.

Dorothy Mackaill was nearing the end of her career when she filmed Love Affair.  Within two years, she left pictures for good (after seeing her rather substantial career peter out to supporting roles and then none at all).  Sad really, as she was quite talented.  We were very impressed by the scene in which she is flying with Jim - the look on her face is priceless.  Also wonderful was the scene in which we realize she has been intimate with Jim.  Her tears as she brushes her hair before she goes out to join her lover are very special. We see in her eyes all her emotions - her fears, her anticipation, her deep and abiding love.

This film is also noteworthy as an early attempt to introduce Bogart as a leading man.  Columbia obviously decided he did not fit the bill (their loss. He is wonderful in this film) and Bogart would leave to play gangsters and finally, the ultimate leading man at Warner Brothers.  Here is a scene with Bogart looking all ruggedly handsome:


Luckily, this film is available on DVD (though we caught it on Antenna TV; you could look for it there as well).  It is certainly worth your time.

Garbo Coughs

1937's Camille, with Greta Garbo as the notorious Marguerite Gautier was the subject of our latest discussion.  Garbo, of course, is wonderful as the opportunistic courtesan who falls in love with the scion (Robert Taylor as Armand) of a well-to-do family.  While Marguerite resists the attentions of - and her feelings for - Armand, she finds herself desperately in love with him.  A summer alone with him convinces her that she can change to a simpler lifestyle, but the mores of the time interfere, and Marguerite is faced with a choice - stay with Armand, to his ruin, or leave him and break both their hearts.

Garbo is just remarkable here. Her silent era training is evident as she uses her face, her eyes and her body - rather than her voice, to show us Marguerite's physical deterioration.  She LOOKS sick - beautiful, but quite ill.  Yet she is not overstated or exaggerated.  She is the epitome of suffering, trying to summon her last ounce of strength to greet the man she chased away.

Also wonderful is Lionel Barrymore as Armand's father, Monsieur Duval.  Barrymore could play his character as a villain, but he does not.  Monsieur Duval is merely a loving father who dreads hurting a woman who seems to be very sweet, and very much in love with his son, but who will soon cause his downfall if they continue their relationship.  When one realizes that Barrymore is less than 2 years from being forced into a wheelchair for the rest of his life (he suffered from severe arthritis that prevented him from walking), one realizes that he is acting through his pain.

Robert Taylor, too, is excellent, with Armand's naivety shining from his youthful face.  Armand seems sometimes like a sex object - a lovely creature for Marguerite to adore.  Taylor fits that bill as well, but also is able to make you understand why Marguerite would give up everything to be with this lovely, gentle man.

This is a beautifully designed film as well, with magnificent costumes (by Adrian).  Our group had a bit of discussion on the tendency of some films to not quite get the hair style right for the period - which is NOT the case here.  The whole atmosphere of the film is perfection.  It is interesting to note that the silent version of the film is also available (on the DVD of Camille), with Rudolph Valentino as Armand and Nazimova as Marguerite.  It is certainly worth a look if only as a comparison to its magnificent remake.

Here is a trailer to the Garbo version:

 

When Sorrow is Beautiful

This time, our group decided to jump across the pond for what is perhaps the perfect tearjerker: Brief Encounter (1945).  Two of us had recently seen the Broadway retelling of the story, and being fans of the film, were not pleased with the results.  We found the levity in the play too distracting in this story of beautiful sorrow.  The film, directed by David Lean, is a magnificent rendering of a very simple story line - two married strangers meet casually on the train platform of a small English town.  The following week, they run into one another again; a friendship is formed, followed quickly by love.  Of course, their love is doomed - both have spouses and children.  Neither can bear to hurt their families. Thus, they must separate, never to see one another again.

Drawn out as just a few lines of plot, this film sounds trite. It is not.  Aided by the subtle direction of David Lean, a score that deftly uses Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 as subtext, and superb acting by Celia Johnson as Laura Jesson and Trevor Howard as Dr. Alec Harvey, this is a movie (to quote TCM) that is an Essential.  The story is told from Laura's point of view - she is our narrator - and so we see her reactions to the whirlpool into which has life has fallen.  The original story (a play called Still Life) only has 4 characters - Laura and Alec, and the "comic" relief of the train station couple, Albert Godby (Stanley Holloway) and Myrtle Bagot (Joyce Carey). In fact, the whole play takes place in the refreshment room of the train station.  Lean opens up the action, and allows us to meet Laura's husband and children, making even more poignant the decision facing Laura.

The DVD version of Brief Encounter has some interesting commentary on it.  I have to admit that one scene (in which we see Alec and his friend Stephen argue over Alec's failed attempt to consummate his affair with Laura), which the commentator said did not work - since it was not something that Laura could have seen (she has already run from the room), did, in fact, work for me.  I saw this conversation as LAURA'S imagining of what actually occurred.  It seems unlikely, to this observer, that men would have this discussion.  More, it was the final realization, by Laura, that her relationship with Alex has become tawdry, and must end.

If you've never seen Brief Encounter, give yourself the pleasure of a visit to post World War II England, and visit with Laura and Alec.  Here is the trailer; you can hear some of the music, as well as get a taste of the film itself:

Nurse Carole

In 1940's Vigil in the Night, Carole Lombard stars as Anne Lee, a dedicated nurse in a small English town.  Anne loves her work, and has convinced her younger sister Lucy (Anne Shirley) to follow in her footsteps.  Though almost through with nursing school, Lucy doesn't have Anne's dedication; as a result of her neglect, she allows a young child to die.  Rather than let Lucy be ousted from nursing school, Anne assumes responsibility for the child's death; she is fired from her job, and forced to leave town.  She ventures to Hepperton, where she joins the staff of a local hospital, and gradually assumes positions of greater responsibility.  She also finds herself working with the similarly dedicated Dr. Prescott (Brian Aherne).  However, the appearance of a nurse from her old job, Lucy's involvement with a local man, and an epidemic in Hepperton all work to create problems for Anne.

Sure, this is melodrama, but it is melodrama at its best.  Ms. Lombard shines here as a woman whose career is the most important thing in her life.  In the hands of a lesser actress, Anne could have come across as preachy or shrill. But Lombard's Anne shines when she talks about nursing.  Her Anne is what a nurse SHOULD be - an idealized portrait of a woman who values human life and the ability to bring comfort to the sick.  She is ably assisted by Anne Shirley (who's Lucy is the poster child for the person who should NOT enter nursing school, and whose selfishness makes you want to smack her in the film's early scenes.), and Brian Aherne (an equally idealized doctor, Aherne also carefully avoids the maudlin).

Vigil in the Night really is a neglected Lombard masterpiece; a film that is rarely seen or discussed when talking about her (painfully short) career, but one that should be looked at more often.  We really enjoyed it, and suspect you will as well.  Take a look at this clip, to get an idea of what is in store:

Carole Becomes Virtuous

Today, we again visit the pre-code world for Carole Lombard's 1932 film Virtue.  In it, she plays Mae, a  young woman with a "career" on the streets, who is literally run out of New York City on a rail (on what is today Metro North, to be exact). She has no intention of leaving the City, so she bails off the train at 125th Street, where she meets Jimmy Doyle (Pat O' Brien), a smart-mouth cabbie who disdains marriage and women.  Mae runs away without paying her cab fair, much to Jimmy's disgust; however Mae decides to go straight.  Once she has the money, she seeks Jimmy out to return the fare.  After some difficulties, they fall in love, and decide to marry.  Of course, once they marry, Jimmy finds out about Mae's past.  He decides to forgive her, but of course, with forgiveness does not automatically come trust.

Ms. Lombard is just wonderful here as Mae.  She is sympathetic, but tough.  You never forget her past, but you (as the audience) are far more aware of how far she has come than the rather dense Jimmy.  Pat O'Brien is quite good as well playing a tough guy. You do want to smack him occasionally for his stupidity, but I think we ultimately want him with Mae.  Perhaps she deserves better than him, but she loves him, and he is really not a bad guy.  Here, our couple have a conversation:


It is also nice to see Ward Bond (as Jimmy's pal Fran), who is, as always, wonderful. He makes a small part something to look forward to.  Another treat is seeing Mayo Methot (the one time Mrs. Humphrey Bogart) as Mae's best friend Lil Blair.  Ms. Methot never actually looked young! And certainly her somewhat hard features complement the part of a hooker who has tied herself to a rather disagreeable - and dishonest - lover (said boyfriend is played with a good deal of slime by Jack LaRue).

Another Lombard movie that doesn't get enough play, we think.  Plus, as a precode film, you get the extra bonus of something a tiny bit (by later standards) racy.

Carole Finds a Mother

Lady by Choice from 1934 is an absolute delight.  In it, Carole Lombard plays fan dancer Alabam (Georgia) Lee, who finds herself in court as the same time as Patsy Patterson (May Robson), a former entertainer turned homeless drunkard.  Patsy has friends, however - Judge Daly (Walter Connolly) and Johnny Mills (Roger Pryor), a wealthy young man whose father requested he always look after Patsy.  Patsy, Like Alabam, is a gutsy lady, who speaks her mind. As a result, when Alabam's agent convinces her to adopt a mother (for the publicity), it is Patsy she selects.  And Patsy, who immediately adores Alabam, tries to change her new daughter's life for the better, but not always with the best of results.

May Robson is just adorable.  She gets most of the good lines, and you want to take her home with you.  Lombard's role is also quite rich.  Alabam is a kind, gentle soul; she loves deeply, and is a caring person. Badly used  by her agent, she finds herself almost penniless, but still tries to support Patsy's goals, to make her a legitimate performer, despite her lack of self-confidence. We have, of course, some romantic complications.  Alabam falls in love with Johnny Mills, but Patsy thinks that Alabam is after him for his money.  It causes some strife, but all comes right in the end!

This is one that I think most people have not seen. Give it a try. I think you will find it is worth your time. We'll leave you with a scene with Ms. Lombard and Ms. Robson.

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.