Souls for Sale (1923 / Silent)

SOULS FOR SALE (Goldwyn) Eleanor Boardman, Richard Dix, Mae Busch, Barbara LaMarr. A preacher’s daughter escapes the clutches of a dangerous man, falls in with a movie company on location, and becomes a star.

Since this tongue-in-cheek expose of “wicked Hollywood” was made 86 years ago, it depicts a very different world from the one in which we live. A big, rambling picture, it includes glimpses of other movies in production, one being directed by Charles Chaplin. There’s a spectacular finish, and the whole thing is full of hokum. For instance, an ambitious young actress snuggles up to a casting director and, when he asks her if she is trying to “vamp” him, the title has her replying, “I must have work; I know that I must pay the price!”

There is some mild spice sprinkled in and some scenes in primitive color. If you have a couple of hours to spare, you may find this trip to the world of 1923 quite entertaining. I did. (The film may not be scheduled again on Turner Classic Movies for some time, but they say a dvd is available.)

Scale of 10: I give it 6.

　

Stagecoach (1939)

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 (1929)

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 (1953)

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 (1970)

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 (1933)

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.

Hips, Hips, Hooray (1934)

HIPS, HIPS, HOORAY (RKO) Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Thelma Todd, Ruth Etting. A pair of sidewalk salesmen, on the run from the cops, get caught up in an overland auto race.

Though made just before the censorship code took effect, this musical is nevertheless dull and mostly unfunny. However, there are some pretty good special effects, and famous torch-singer Etting performs a song.

Scale of 10: I give it 2.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (MGM) Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson. A dysfunctional family of the New South comes to terms with reality when its wealthy patriarch faces death.

This Tennessee Williams play is a stunning exposition of character. It was considered daring in 1958 when the censorship code was just beginning to crack. Taylor is beautiful, Newman fulfills the requirements of his role if somewhat awkwardly, Anderson is impressive, but it is folk singer Burl Ives who surprisingly steals the show as Big Daddy. Also surprising is comedian Jack Carson miscast in a straight dramatic role.

Though this production plays like a play, with lots and lots of dialogue and few changes of scene, it is very apt to hold you in its spell, and you will probably find it rewarding

Scale of 10: I give it 8.

Elmer, the Great (1933)

ELMER, THE GREAT (First National) Joe E. Brown, Patricia Ellis. A rube baseball player defies gamblers who have paid him to lose the world series.

This film is based on a play by famed showmen Ring Lardner and George M. Cohan, but the script by Tom Garaghty is ludicrous. Brown bumbles and mugs his way through it, not funny by today’s standards. I give the movie one point because it shows a game being played at Wrigley Field, Chicago, as it was in 1933 with the uniforms and equipment of the era. The stadium announcer uses a megaphone.

Scale of 10: I give it 1.

Advise and Consent (1962)

ADVISE AND CONSENT (Columbia) Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith. A dying president’s appointment of a suspected communist to be secretary of state creates an uproar in D. C.

The eight stars listed above are really the story of this film. Among them, Laughton and Tone are near the end of their careers and, though Fonda has first billing, his part is actually a small one as measured in screen time. Also, his character is never fully realized. Specifically, we see why his appointment stirred up a fuss but don’t quite understand why the president chose him.

As to the plot, it is interesting but quite dated. This country was obsessed with the Cold War in 1962, and in those days there was nothing a man could be worse than communist, except perhaps if he were homosexual (and that’s in here, too). It has always seemed to me that Otto Preminger applied too heavy a directorial hand, and this is another example. Also, the film is very, very talky. Pidgeon and Ayres are particularly impressive and Laughton is Laughton, only more so.

Scale of 10: I give it 6.