Let Yourself Go ... To Old Hollywood

The Animal Kingdom (1932)

From my Facebook archives, September 27, 2015:

We just stumbled across the film The Animal Kingdom, an RKO film from 1932, and very much enjoyed it. It is definitely pre-code, as the plot involves sex and co-habitation outside of marriage and other subjects that would soon be taboo in Hollywood films. Because of that, the film does feel quite unusual for the era.

This was my first significant exposure to both Leslie Howard and Ann Harding. Harding's role is surprisingly small given her top billing. Myrna Loy actually is the female lead and she is extremely impressive. This was apparently a critical role in launching her to stardom. Leslie Howard is great as well.

In The Good Old Summertime (1949)

From my Facebook archives, September 14, 2015:

It had been a few months since we had seen a new (for us) Judy Garland film. The drought finally ended a couple weeks back with In The Good Old Summertime. Our expectations were fulfilled, as it was a very enjoyable movie with good music and performances.

It doesn't have any big production numbers, but Judy singing is quite a production by itself. And it does have one of my all-time favorite of Judy's performances in her song-and-dance to "I Don't Care," which I had seen clips of earlier and was eagerly anticipating.

In The Good Old Summertime is a 1949 Technicolor MGM musical re-make of the 1940 non-musical Ernst Lubitsch comedy The Shop Around The Corner. Judy and Van Johnson star, taking the roles of Margaret Sullivan and James Stewart. The setting has been moved to a music store in turn-of-the-century Chicago. But many of the characters, sets, and scenes are eerily reminiscent of the earlier film. It's been 2-3 years since we watched The Shop Around The Corner but at times Van Johnson seemed to me to morph into Jimmy Stewart. This is not a bad thing; the Lubitsch version was excellent.

Alas, Judy would only complete one more film at MGM (Summer Stock with Gene Kelly) before her troubles led to her departure from the studio where she had worked since she was 13. and her long road of tremendous ups-and-downs over the remaining twenty years of her life.

Stella Dallas (1937)

From my Facebook archives, September 12, 2015:

I need to see more Barbara Stanwyck films. She is tremendous in Stella Dallas, a 1937 epic drama from Samuel Goldwyn studios. She was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance but somehow did not win. The film is Barbara's all the way but Ann Shirley and especially Alan Hale, neither of wham I was previously familiar with, put in impressive performances of their own.

The other Stanwyck films I've seen are, most recently, Night Nurse and Double Indemnity, and, over the last 2-3 years, the Preston Sturges comedy The Lady Eve and Baby Face. All are excellent films.

The director, King Vidor, had an impressive career of his own. For us recently, he is notable for having directed the Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz, including Judy Garland's 'Over The Rainbow' performance. 

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Easy to Wed (1946)

From my Facebook archives, September 2, 2015:

Easy To Wed is a 1946 Technicolor musical comedy from MGM--a remake of the classic 1936 non-Technicolor non-musical comedy Libeled Lady.

Lucille Ball, perhaps predictably given her later career, is the best thing about this fun, but not classic, movie. The movie studios didn't realize what they had with Lucy and this was apparently one of the best roles she got in her movie career. Soon she abandoned films and moved into early television and took the world by storm.

The musical numbers are not numerous, which is fine since they are also not noteworthy--except for one by organist Ethel Smith, who appears out of nowhere and puts on a very entertaining show near the end.

Esther Williams is charming but interestingly only does a little casual swimming. Don't expect any big watery production numbers here.

Made For Each Other (1939)

From my Facebook archives, September 1, 2015:

Made For Each Other is a 1939 film that doesn't measure up to the names associated with it: stars Carole Lombard and James Stewart; producer David Selznick.

It's a hodgepodge of dramatic scenarios in a young couple's life with little in terms of an overall story.

We're reading a book about Carole Lombard's life and tragic death in a plane crash in 1942 and so felt compelled to see one of her films. We've seen three earlier, but all at least a few years ago: My Man Godfrey, To Be Or Not To Be, and Nothing Sacred. All of those comedies are far better than this drama.

That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

From my Facebook archives, August 31, 2015:

That Uncertain Feeling is a 1941 comedy from Ernst Lubitsch. While not an all-time classic like some of his others, it was fun and enjoyable. This is yet another old comedy with a plot centered on the difficulty of obtaining a divorce.

It was the first Merle Oberon film we've seen and she was quite good, though I believe she is better known for dramas. Melvyn Douglas continues to win me over after an initial bad impression from Theodora Goes Wild. And Burgess Meredith was hilarious in this film as an egocentric musician and Douglas' rival.

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Random Harvest (1942)

From my Facebook archives, August 30, 2015:

I've gotten way behind on writing about the classic Hollywood films we've seen in recent weeks. One I do want to be sure to mention is Random Harvest, a 1942 MGM romantic drama.

The premise is far-fetched but the story is magical and extremely well told nonetheless. The shortcomings it has all fade away and become irrelevant.

I'm already a big fan of Ronald Colman, and this film alone turned me into a big fan of Greer Garson.

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Update September 2018: Alas, I somehow didn't manage to see a second Greer Garson film for over three years--until just a couple weeks ago, when I saw a rather ordinary comedy "Remember?" from 1939. This was one of Garson's first starring roles and one of her few comedies. She still lit up the screen, so I must seek out more of her films.

Honor Among Lovers (1931): Ginger Rogers in her smallest role

From my Facebook archives, July 31, 2015:

Honor Among Lovers (1931) was the fifth of Ginger Rogers' 73 films and the one with her smallest role. But it is a very entertaining film nonetheless, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March and directed by Dorothy Arzner.

I just watched it tonight for the first time--on a copy with very deteriorated video quality such that it was frequently hard to make out the actors' faces.

Given that it's a very good film, I was happy to discover that it has apparently been restored by UCLA and is being shown there in September as part of an Arzner retrospective.

I've found older news items about similar Arzner retrospectives in other locations, so hopefully we can get the chance to see the restored version ourselves at some point.

Honor Among Lovers / Merrily We Go To Hell -- UCLA Film & Television Archive

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Update in September 2018: Good news! Universal, which owns the old Paramount library, release a restored version of this film on DVD earlier this summer.

Lillian Russell (1940)

From my Facebook archives, July 19, 2015:

Lillian Russell. 20th Century Fox, 1940. A few weeks back we finally got around to seeing another of Alice Faye's musicals (after seeing the excellent Alexander's Ragtime Band a few months ago).

The film Lillian Russell s a bio-pic of a superstar actress of the turn of the last century. Alas we don't get a good sense of Russell as a performer in this film. Alice Faye does sing in elaborate 1890s outfits, but apparently the actual Lillian Russell did a lot more than sing. The story is also extremely fictionalized so you don't get a good sense of Russell as a person either. After reading about her, I discovered that her actual story was far more interesting than the screenplay of this film.

What is interesting in the movie is seeing the nostalgia for the late 1800s, a period which so many then alive remembered very well, and seeing the negative portrayal of Russell's suffragette-activist mother. Also, there are a couple good songs. My favorite is one Russell's composer-husband, played by Don Ameche (who is underutilized in this film), sings to Alice Faye, "Blue Lovebird." While many of the songs are from the appropriate era, that was a new song written for the movie.

Henry Fonda is also in the film and plays an important, but boring, character. Edward Arnold and Warren William have smaller roles and are far more fun to watch.

Professional Sweetheart (1933): Early Ginger Rogers in a starring role

From my Facebook archives, July 8, 2015:

Professional Sweetheart. RKO, 1933. A young Ginger Rogers stars in this comedy about a star radio singer trying to break out of the confines of her image as the 'Purity Girl'.

There are several excellent actors and comedians in supporting roles in this film--notably Frank McHugh, Zasu Pitts, and Franklin Pangborn. And they all all great. Yet Ginger dominates the film in the role of the spoiled, manipulative, overgrown adolescent celebrity radio singer.

Alas, for those of us who thoroughly enjoy Ginger's singing, her voice is dubbed by someone with a very different style (Etta Moten). This is fortunately the only film where that was done.

The vast majority of the film is extremely funny and entertaining. Alas, the last few minutes don't make much sense. Ginger's character undergoes a sudden personality transplant. The script suggests that she suddenly becomes a "good woman" after getting punched in the face by her new husband (played by Norman Foster).

But the film up until then is so fun that the off-kilter finale can't spoil it. 

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