FEMALE (First National) Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Johnny Mack Brown. A rare “liberated woman” of the early 1930s, who heads up a big corporation, has her dominance of men challenged by Mister Right.
This is an interesting movie because the pre-code boldness of its story line would not have been permitted a year later, nor would some of its suggestive dialogue and visuals, to say nothing of the leading lady’s naughty eyes.
Director Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca”) keeps things moving right along and Chatterton is fascinating throughout. Don’t expect nudity or four-letter words, however, and don’t expect the story to be very credible. The whole thing is pretty much of a hoot but worth watching if you’re curious about what passed for sophistication back in the day.
Scale of 10: I give it 6.
ARTISTS AND MODELS (Paramount) Jack Benny, Ida Lupino, Gail Patrick, Richard Arlen, Judy Canova, Ben Blue, Martha Raye, Louis Armstrong, Connie Boswell. A model and a socialite vie for a top modeling job and for the love of a feckless ad man.
This big flashy musical has some novel features but the plot is lame. the script flat, and the songs non-memorable.. Benny, a great comedian, is asked to play someone other than himself and flops. Armstrong shines briefly, Raye is spirited, and Boswell sings well though in almost total darkness. As for Canova, I cannot help but wonder who in the world ever thought she had ANYTHING to offer as a comic, singer, or actress? This film is hardly worth the time it consumes.
Scale of 10…I give it 3.
STAGECOACH (Walter Wanger / United Artists) John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, John Carradine, Donald Meek, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt. A diverse group of passengers on a stagecoach are besieged by hostile Indians during a desperate dash through the badlands of New Mexico…and two of the passengers find love.
Let’s see…there’s drunken Doc Boone, a mild-mannered whiskey drummer named Peacock, a gal they just call Dallas, crooked banker and blowhard Elsworth H. Gatewood, a sauve gambler and gunslinger named Hatfield, the stagecoach driver Buck, the guard Curley, and an escaped outlaw known as the Ringo Kid. Add to these an Army officer’s wife who gives birth en route
Masterfully molded by screenwriter Dudley Nichols into totally credible human beings, these multi-faceted characters are played to perfection by an outstanding cast, none of whom gets billing above the title. However, his role as Ringo set Wayne on a path to super-stardom, and Mitchell earned an Oacar as Doc.
The characters and acting are but portions of this film’s greatness. The theme, the plot line, the tense action and, yes, the love story all are memorable. Add awesome scenery (though in black and white), some great atmospheric touches, legitimate bits of humor, and a music score that is an amalgam of American traditional melodies, and you have a splendid motion picture directed by a master, John Ford.
If you were to call this the greatest Western ever made and perhaps one of the five most entertaining films of all time, I would not offer an argument.
Scale of 10: I give it 10.
ON WITH THE SHOW (Warner Brothers) Arthur Lake, Joe E. Brown, Betty Compson, Louise Fazenda, Ethel Waters. Someone robs the box office of a financially strapped show en route to Broadway and…oh yes…the hat-check girl takes over the lead.
This very early film musical is hopelessly antiquated, the sound isn’t good, and the numbers are dull (except for Waters singing “Am I Blue?”). Though pre-code, the only titillation is a brief peek into a dressing room where the showgirls are changing. Fashions and chatter are interesting, but be warned: the thing drags on and on.
Scale of 10: I give it 3.
MOGAMBO (MGM) Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly. Two very different women fall for the leader of a gorilla-hunting safari.
This jungle romp has a primal erotic quality which is progressive for its time, and the principals couldn’t be better in their roles. Kelly’s subtle sexiness is powerful without being overt, Gardner is lusty and smart, and Gable’s maturity suits his character well. Skilled director John Ford turns what might have been a tawdry tabloid piece into a dramatic spectacle. The gorilla scenes are excellent.
Not a classic, but quite entertaining.
Scale of 10: I give it 7.
FIVE EASY PIECES (Columbia) Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach. A self-absorbed drifter, who is an ex concert pianist, cannot cope.
This pointless film from the hippie days contains excellent acting and will probably hold your interest while you wonder where it is going and why. Alas, these questions are never answered, so for me it was nearly two hours wasted. It does have a certain realistic validity, however, and if that is enough for you, have a go.
Scale of 10: I give it 4.
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (Warner Brothers) Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Aline MacMahon, Riby Keeler, Warren William, Ginger Rogers, Ned Sparks, Guy Kibbee. A mysterious young songwriter bankrolls a Broadway show in the depths of the Great Depression, and some chorus girls do all right for themselves.
Speaking of “pre-code” musicals as we were in our last review, this is one of the friskiest of the films that were being put out just before the puritans clamped down. It also has some awesome Busby Berkeley production numbers and a plot that unrolls smoothly under Mervyn LeRoy’s direction. The weakest link in an otherwise highly competent cast is young Keeler, but she and Powell made such a delightful couple that the country fell in love with them and they did two or three more films together.
Even though this movie is 76 years old, it still delivers a good measure of entertainment.
Scale of 10: I give it 8.
