The History Book Club discussion

88. Maniac (1934, dir. Esper)
Rating: Z+
Finished: March 16, 2013
Review: When he isn't busy being a maniac, Dr. Meirschultz conducts experiments aimed at raising the dead. His maniac/idiot assistant, Don Maxwell, apparently owes the doctor plenty for taking him in after flopping as an impersonator on the vaudeville circuit. When the doctor suggests that Maxwell shoot himself so that he can be an experimental subject Maxwell shoots the doctor instead. He then makes himself up as the doctor and assumes his personality. In the meantime, we see various young women bare their breasts (I assume this was the raison d'etre for the film), a man does a astoundingly bad tranformation to a monster, and Maxwell eats a "cat's eyeball". There are several "educational" intertitles with clinical descriptions of mental illnesses. Clearly, nobody planned to have this thing passed by the Hayes Office.

At 56 minutes, I had at least 5 LOL moments so I count this as a success on the bad movie front. I often wonder if the people involved really knew how bad these things were and were playing up the cheese factor. The acting is just so over the top here that it's hard to think the actors weren't trying for that effect!

Oh, 1934. Too many good movies.....My Love Affair With Fred Astaire - The Gay Divorcee. Imitation of Life (better than the remake). A stellar year for Shirley Temple - Baby Take a Bow, Bright Eyes (Christmas movie), Little Miss Marker and a relatively unknown one she did with Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard named Now and Forever. Another heartthrob of mine, Robert Montgomery, Riptide and Hide-Out (also better than the remake). Tarzan. What Every Woman Knows with Helen Hayes and Brian Aherne. A Lost Lady. Another Christmas movie, Babes in Toyland with Laurel & Hardy. Case of the Howling Dog with Warren William (love him, too). Two Charlie Chan movies. And one of my husband's favorite - (lucky enough to marry a man who loves old movies the way I do) The Thin Man. True classics. I could go on.....

JoAnne wrote: "Oh, 1934. Too many good movies.....My Love Affair With Fred Astaire - The Gay Divorcee. Imitation of Life (better than the remake). A stellar year for Shirley Temple - Baby Take a Bow, Bright Ey..."

Yes, I have so much to look forward to! I haven't seen those Shirley Temple movies in years and years. I really enjoyed them as a kid. I wonder how they will hold up? The next two I have coming in the mail are The Scarlet Empress and Twentieth Century. I've seen them both before and I loved them! Some of the other ones you mentioned aren't available for rent. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled on TCM.

A note about 1934... Since the "new" Production Code and Joseph Breen's office were not fully functioning until roughly July of that year, the films released in the first half of 1934 would still be "Pre-Code." Can you sense which titles just made the cut? Try to find exact release dates to confirm. Fun game for 1934.

This is a good time to recommend "The Dame in the Kimono":

by Leonard J. Leff

Joanne wrote: "A note about 1934... Since the "new" Production Code and Joseph Breen's office were not fully functioning until roughly July of that year, the films released in the first half of 1934 would still b..."

I actually have that book Joanne! I'm currently reading a loooong dual biography of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, The Emperor and the Wolf, but I'll have to get to that next.

And it does sound like a fun game. I'm betting It Happened One Night was at least made before July because they wanted Colbert to undress down to her scanties but she wouldn't - thus the Walls of Jericho.

by Leonard J. Leff

by Stuart Galbraith IV

89. Street Without End ("Kagirinaki hodô") (1934, dir. Naruse)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 17, 2013
Review: Sugiko works as a waitress in a Tokyo tea room. It looks like the world is her oyster. She has just received a proposal from her boyfriend and an offer from a movie studio for work as an actress. Then a rich young man hits her with his car. She loses her boyfriend due to a misunderstanding but the driver is falling for her. Can true love conquer the objections of his snobbish aristocratic family?

Naruse really hit his stride in this, his final silent film. I liked the way I was kept off guard with where the plot was taking me. It all felt very fresh. The film is bracketed with shots of life on a busy downtown Tokyo Street, which were an enjoyable slice of history. It's a bit melodramatic but I would recommend it.

I own all the movies I mentioned and more. I buy them everywhere. You'd be surprised how many were out on vhs, and I've transferred to dvd. I've even written film companies like Warner Brothers and asked them to make certain titles available. (I can be relentless in my quests). Some are extremely hard to find, and you really have to look. The only bad thing about places like Netflix is they only have movies if they're on dvd, and not even all movies. I've got a movie on VHS with Fred Astaire and Betty Hutton, and I didn't even KNOW he made a movie with Betty Hutton!! I'm a classic movie junkie.....

90. Twentieth Century (1934, dir. Hawks)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 18, 2013
Review: Theater empresario and master manipulator Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) discovers lingerie model Mildred Plotkin (Carole Lombard), changes her name to Lily Garland and bullies her into stardom. They become lovers but his posturing and possessiveness finally drive her away to Hollywood. They meet again on the Twentieth Century Limited which is taking Oscar from Chicago to New York after a flop and Lily from Hollywood to New York where she has signed to work with another director. The fireworks continue on the train as Oscar seizes on Lily as his last chance to get the financing he needs to save his theater.

This early screwball comedy, written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, is a lot of fun. Barrymore is especially good as the totally phony and ultra-flamboyant producer. Carole Lombard starts out sane and builds to a fever pitch of diva-itis after her character becomes a Hollywood star. Roscoe Karns and Walter Connelly are excellent as Oscar's assistants.

Sometimes this was a tad over the top for me but there were many moments that made me laugh out loud. I loved those crazy chalk marks on the floor and the whole concept of putting on the Passion Play on Broadway complete with camels and an ibis.




Oscar Jaffe worms his way into Lily Garland's Life

I need to revisit. Always loved Mildred Plotkin's name!

91. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, dir. Keighley and Curtiz)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 19, 2013
Review:

Warners 1938 storybook Technicolor version of the Robin Hood legend really can't be beat for pure fun. It's hard to imagine a better Robin Hood than the handsome, athletic, boisterous Errol Flynn or a more beautiful Maid Marian than Olivia De Havilland. And then you have that dream supporting cast - Claude Raines and Basil Rathbone as the bad guys; Alan Hale and Eugene Pallette as some of the merry men; and Una O'Connor as Marian's faithful lady-in-waiting.

The special edition DVD is great. It contains an excellent commentary, a documentary on the development of Technicolor, and a documentary on the making of the film. Robert Osborne relates Olivia deHavilland story that she saw the film in the fifties and was impressed with how wonderful it was. She thought about writing Errol Flynn a letter to tell him so, then decided against it. Three weeks later he was dead. She said she always regretted not sending that letter.

Bea wrote: "91. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, dir. Keighley and Curtiz)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 19, 2013
Review:

Warners 1938 storybook Technicolor version of the Robin Hood legend really can't be b..."

Lovely still. The Adventures of Robin Hood is close to my heart for so many reasons. It never grows old. Proof: You can even show it to hardened undergraduates and they have a rollicking good time!

92. Sons of the Desert (1933, dir. Seiter)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 20, 2013
Review: This is a hilarious Laurel and Hardy feature in which the boys attend a lodge convention in Chicago despite the objections of their wives. They are in trouble throughout. I loved the "two peas in a pot/pod/pod-ah" gag, all the broken crockery, and the "Honolulu Baby" number and reprises. A whole lot of fun.

93. To the Last Man (1933, dir. Hathaway)
Rating: B
Finished: March 21, 2013
Review: I didn't know what to expect from this one. It turned out to be a gritty Pre-Code western with a capital P and a pretty darn good adaptation of a Zane Grey story.

Mark Heydon returns from the Civil War to his home in Kentucky where he is determined to break from years of feuding with a rival family, the Colbys. Jed Colby (Noah Beery) murders his father-in-law but Heydon goes to the law rather than take revenge. Colby is jailed and Heydon heads West. Fifteen years later, Colby is released and follows Heydon. Later, Lynn Heydon (Randolph Scott), Mark's son who had remained behind, joins his father. On his way, he naturally falls in love with Colby's daughter (Esther Ralson). A lot of fairly graphic violence ensues. With Buster Crabbe as another Heydon son, Gail Patrick as a daughter, Barton MacLane as her husband, Shirley Temple in a small part as a granddaughter, and Jack LaRue as the dastardly Jim Daggs. While some of the acting is a bit wooden, much of it is quite good and the story really moves along under the helm of Henry Hathaway.



-----------------------------------
And that's it for 1933! I watched 63 movies released that year. My 10 favorites were: Gold Diggers of 1933; The Testament of Dr. Mabuse; Zero de Conduite; King Kong; Design for Living; 42nd Street; Japanese Girls at the Harbor; Dinner at Eight; Counsellor at Law; and The Invisible Man.

94. The Scarlet Empress (1934, dir. von Sternberg)
Rating: B
Finished: March 22, 2013
Review: This is Josef von Sternberg's interpretation of the rise of Catherine the Great. The plot is basically the same but the characters are quite different. Marlene Dietrich plays Catherine as a wide-eyed innocent for the first half of the movie (this was quite a stretch!) then as a sly dominatrix after she produces an heir to the throne. Sam Jaffe must have been told to throw caution to the wind in coming up with his imbecilic Grand Duke Peter. Finally, Louise Dresser plays Empress Elizabeth as a kind of Mid-Western fish wife having a very bad day.

My descriptions may lead you to believe that I did not enjoy the film but au contraire. By all objective measures it is very bad indeed but it is the kind of high camp that is endlessly watchable. The art design alone is simply so delirously over the top that it is not to be missed. The wedding banquet in particular is such a mixture of the pornographic and the sinister as to take ones breath away. And then there is the photography. Von Sternberg must have had Dietrich shot through every kind of sheer fabric he could get his hands on. It's as if he went completely off the rails in some kind of masochistic frenzy of adoration. It really cannot be adequately described but must be experienced.

Joe Breen was clearly NOWHERE to be found when this hit the streets.



It was hard to select among the many bizaare images available from this film! Here we have an example of the decor when Peter uses a giant hand drill to spy on his Aunt Elizabeth's bed chamber.

By 1934, the American public was having trouble relating to Marlene Dietrich's image on screen, indicating that she and Josef von Sternberg had gone too far. She ended up on the famous "Box Office Poison" list. The release date appears to be September 15, 1934. Hmmm. Does this mean that a final cut was in the can before July of 1934?

Joanne wrote: "By 1934, the American public was having trouble relating to Marlene Dietrich's image on screen, indicating that she and Josef von Sternberg had gone too far. She ended up on the famous "Box Office ..."

I'm really surprised at the date, Joanne. In the first 10 minutes, we are treated to several lurid scenes of torture. They are a sort of accompaniment to the bed time story of evil Russian emperors told to the child Princess Sophia. I think this is the most Pre-Code flavored movie I've seen since The Sign of the Cross.

In the bad acting department, I forgot to mention the lantern-jawed, wooden John Lodge as Alexei. For costumes, the corker is probably Dietrich's negligee - sheer black fabric over a hoop skirt with ostrich (?) feather bodice. This film is a hoot on so many levels.



Catherine after horseback ride into palace to claim throne

Watching the dates of 1934 releases will be an interesting exercise.

When Joe Breen set up shop there were plenty of new scripts going into production for the Production Code office to consider. Part of the new system focused on influencing scripts before they were shot, part focused on awarding a MPPDA seal of approval for exhibition. Maybe it took a few months to get everything in place. Clearly, THE SCARLET EMPRESS slipped through the cracks. According to the Wiki article about "The Scarlet Empress" it "was 'condemned' by the Catholic Legion of Decency as 'morally objectionable'." No surprise.

According to the Wiki article for Motion Picture Production Code: "An amendment to the Code, adopted on June 13, 1934, established the Production Code Administration (PCA) and required all films released on or after July 1, 1934, to obtain a certificate of approval before being released. The PCA had two offices, one in Hollywood and the other in New York City. The first film to receive an MPPDA seal of approval was 'The World Moves On'." The John Ford directed film was released on August 31, 1934.

Joanne wrote: "Watching the dates of 1934 releases will be an interesting exercise.

When Joe Breen set up shop there were plenty of new scripts going into production for the Production Code office to consider. ..."

Thanks! I hope you don't mind that I cribbed from your research.

Bea wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Watching the dates of 1934 releases will be an interesting exercise.

When Joe Breen set up shop there were plenty of new scripts going into production for the Production Code offic..."

Share!

Joanne wrote: "Bea wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Watching the dates of 1934 releases will be an interesting exercise.

When Joe Breen set up shop there were plenty of new scripts going into production for the Productio..."

I, too, am wondering whether The Scarlet Empress was grandfathered in. It cost big bucks to make, $900,000 in 1934 dollars according to IMDb. I don't know how much it took in but clearly Paramount couldn't afford to shelve the picture.

95. The Gay Divorcee (1934, dir. Sandrich)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 23, 2013
Review: Fred Astaire plays Guy Holden a professional dancer living in London. He meets Mimi (Ginger Rogers) when she suffers a wardrobe malfunction at London customs. He isn't too helpful and she gives him the brushoff. She meets him again at an English seaside resort where she has gone to stage an en flagrante discovery so she can divorce her husband. A misunderstanding leads her to believe that Guy is the hired correspondent.

All this is just a good excuse for the dance numbers which are the point. The Night and Day ballroom number is so elegant and sublime that this movie would rank high with me even if that was all it contained. However, we have the almost equally delightful "The Continental" dance and a nice tap solo for Fred to "A Needle in a Haystack".

I find Alice Brady annoying but the always reliable Edward Everett Horton is along as Mimi's lawyer and Eric Rhodes is hilarious as the egotistical family man correspondent.



The Continental - I love her dress - it opens just like a flower when she twirls her skirt

Bea wrote: "95. The Gay Divorcee (1934, dir. Sandrich)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 23, 2013
Review: Fred Astaire plays Guy Holden a professional dancer living in London. He meets Mimi (Ginger Rogers) when s..."

And, lest we forget, the marvelous design and Art Deco sets by Van Nest Polglase!

96. The 39 Steps (1935, dir. Hitchcock)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 24, 2013
Review: An early classic in Hitchcock's "wrong man" themed movies. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) chances upon a woman at a music hall who says she needs protection and takes her home. The woman is a spy on the trail of "The 39 Steps" and tells Hannay she has little time to prevent a valuable secret from leaving the country. She is promptly murdered in the apartment and Hannay is the prime suspect. Thus, begins his desparate flight from the police and quest to stop the spy ring. On the way, he becomes entangled (literally!) with Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) who would initially like nothing better than to turn him in.

I've seen this one many times. The famous set pieces (Mr. Memory, the little finger, the handcuff scene in the inn) are indelibly imprinted in my memory. Yet I was surprised how fresh the story remains. I also forgot many of the details of how the chase progresses. I was interested to see the scene where Hannay is suddenly thrust into being a speaker at a meeting without preparation. I wonder if The Third Man picked up that idea here? Of course, it's a common nightmare, at least for me.

I prefer The Lady Vanishes among Hitchcock's British films, but this ranks just behind it. It remains a witty and stylish suspense thriller.

Bea wrote: "96. The 39 Steps (1935, dir. Hitchcock)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 24, 2013
Review: An early classic in Hitchcock's "wrong man" themed movies. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) chances upon a woman a..."

I cannot resist Robert Donat. Lucky, Madeleine Carroll to be handcuffed to him!

97. Tarzan and His Mate (1934, dir. Gibbons)
Rating: B
Finished: March 24, 2013
Review: Jane's (Maureen O'Sullivan) ex-fiancee Harry Holt returns to Africa in search of a treasure in ivory in the elephant's graveyard and in hopes of luring her back to England. She belongs heart and soul to Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), however. Tarzan agrees to lead Harry and his no-good partner to the elephant's graveyard but balks at letting them take any ivory out.

The sequel is superior to the original in the case of the Tarzan series. It is certainly less offensive, although it does suffer from quite a lot of bwana-isms. The relationship between Tarzan and Jane (too include Cheeta) is quite charming. However, the film does suffer a certain sameness in the action. It is basically Tarzan wrestling a wild animal into submission over and over again.

This film came out in April 1934 before the Production Code began to be enforced. Clearly, we would not have been treated to a fairly lengthy scene of Jane's nude underwater bathing otherwise! Interestingly, Tarzan does not feel called upon to skinny dip.

Bea wrote: "97. Tarzan and His Mate (1934, dir. Gibbons)
Rating: B
Finished: March 24, 2013
Review: Jane's (Maureen O'Hara) ex-fiancee Harry Holt returns to Africa in search of a treasure in ivory in the e..."

Love that swimming sequence!

98. You're Telling Me! (1934, dir. Kenton)
Rating: C+
Finished: March 26, 2013
Review: When he is not drinking liquor out of a jug, Samuel Bisbee (W.C. Fields) is an optometrist and inventor who embarrasses his long-suffering wife no end. His daughter is in love with the son of a society family (Buster Krabbe) but they are having none of Sam. Sam's hopes are further dashed when he screws up the sales presentation of his puncture-proof tire. Luckily, Sam meets a princess who solves all his problems.

The plot, such as it is, only gets in the way of the gags. Chief among these is a reprise of Fields's golf routine from his 1930 short "The Golf Specialist". Fields is hit and miss with me and, unfortunately, this was a miss. I smiled a few times but I didn't laugh.

Bea wrote: "98. You're Telling Me! (1934, dir. Kenton)
Rating: C+
Finished: March 26, 2013
Review: When he is not drinking liquor out of a jug, Samuel Bisbee (W.C. Fields) is an optometrist and inventor who..."

Fields and I never connected....

99. Imitation of Life (1934, dir. Stahl)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 27, 2013
Review: Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) is a young widow who carries on her husband's maple syrup business to support her daughter Jesse. Delilah Johnson arrives on her doorstep looking for work with her own daughter Peola and proves to be a godsend. Bea goes on to use Delilah's secret pancake recipe to climb to success first in the restaurant business and then as a pancake mix queen (under the Aunt Delilah label). Bea offers Delilah a share in the business but Delilah is not interested in money or in having her own home.

Peola (Fredi Washington) easily "passes" as white and struggles against her black identity, eventually disowning her own mother and breaking her heart. Bea has daughter troubles of her own when Jesse falls for Bea's beau, Stephen Archer (Warren William), world's richest fish scientist.

There is obviously quite a bit of stereotyping in this film. Poor Delilah seems to downright enjoy getting the short end of the stick in the eyes of the film makers. On the other hand, this is one of the few films from classic Hollywood to give black characters emotional lives of their own. And although Delilah is content to serve, Peola, while conflicted and full of self-loathing, is portrayed as a sophisticated complex woman. The performances of Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington are quite good and Claudette Colbert is sympathetic as Bea.

This was remade in 1959 with Lana Turner, Juanita Hall, Susan Kohner, Sandra Dee and John Gavin.

Bea wrote: "99. Imitation of Life (1934, dir. Stahl)
Rating: B+
Finished: March 27, 2013
Review: Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) is a young widow who carries on her husband's maple syrup business to support ..."

Louise Beavers and this film has been on my mind. I've been working on the film VIRGINIA (1941). Louise has a prominent role, but IMITATION OF LIFE was her big opportunity. To read more about her career in television:

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?...

Very interesting article, Joanne. I was unaware of "Beulah."

If you have not listened to it, the commentary to Imitation of Life, by a black film historian, is pretty interesting. One tid bit - the studio wanted Louise to keep her weight up. Also, Fredi Washington was a civil rights activist. When they made the remake tney "could not find" a light-skinned African-American actress so they went with Susan Kohner, the daughter of Lupita Tovar who played Eva (Mina) in the 1931 Spanish-language version of Dracula.

I have not listened to the commentary to IMITATION OF LIFE. I will do so! Thanks!

100. Dames (1934, dir. Enright and Berkeley)
Rating: B
Finished: March 28, 2013
Review: What only a year can do ... The Production Code put quite a damper on the sex appeal of the Warner Brothers backstage musical. Although this was enjoyable, it all seems a bit lackluster in comparison to something like Gold Diggers of 1933.

Rich Uncle Ezra (Hugh Herbert) wants his money to go to a strictly moral fruit of his family tree and has settled on his cousin Mathilda (Zasu Pitts) and her husband Horace (Guy Kibbee). Ezra has banished his wicked Broadway-show writing cousin Jimmy (Dick Powell). Naturally, Jimmy is in love with Barbara (Ruby Keeler), Horace and Mathilda's daughter. Somehow a chorus girl (Joan Blondell) is able to blackmail Horace in to backing Jimmy's show.

There are some love ballads (including "I Only Have Eyes for You") toward the beginning of the film but the main chorus numbers are saved for the end. Of these, the only one that begins to capture the Busby Berkeley magic is the title tune "Dames". That, however, was worth seeing the movie for.

101. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934, dir. Young)
Rating: B++
Finished: March 29, 2013
Review: During the French Reign of Terror, the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel saves French aristocrats from the guillotine and spirits them away to England. Leslie Howard plays the gallant Pimpernel and his alter ego the foppish Sir Percy Blakeley. Merle Oberon is French-born Lady Blakeley, who is unaware of her husband's valor and is easy prey to the evil Chauvelin (Raymond Massey), who must find the Pimpernel at any cost.

This is my favorite ever performance by Howard. He is just wonderful in both the guises he plays and seems a man worthy of the love of a woman like Scarlet O'Hara. Raymond Massey is always good and the story is very entertaining. Recommended.

Also loved the book.

Francie wrote: "Also loved the book."

I might have to try the book. Is it witty like the movie?

by Emmuska Orczy

Bea wrote: "Francie wrote: "Also loved the book."

I might have to try the book. Is it witty like the movie?

by Emmuska Orczy"

I read "The Scarlet Pimpernel" as a teenager. I thought it was good fun then! I like the movie too. As I recall, Orczy was a Baroness.

by Emmuska Orczy

Yes, also suspenseful and romantic

102. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937, dir. McCarey)
Rating: A-
Finished: March 29, 2013
Review: Lucy and Barkley Cooper have been happily married for 50 years when the bank forcloses on their home. Since none of their five children is willing to take both of them, Lucy (Beulah Bondi) settles with a son in New York City and Bark (Victor Moore)settles with a daughter 300 miles away in the country. Things don't work out well for anyone concerned.

This is a really heartbreaking film. I think I felt the saddest that the couple, who so clearly loved and needed each other had to be separated. The children meant well but every one of them put their own needs first. I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" again without getting tears in my eyes. I'm off to explore the supplements on the DVD I rented.

103. David Holzman's Diary (1967, dir. McBride)
Rating: B?
Finished: March 30, 2013
Review: First, let me say that I was really glad I knew absolutely nothing about this film when I put it on. There are many surprises that shouldn't be spoiled.

It is New York City in 1967. A young film maker decides he will film his life in hopes of understanding it better. He has faith in the Godard quote: "Film is truth at 24 frames per second." His girlfriend is an important part of his life so he keeps filming her at random times, including while she is sleeping nude. She rapidly calls their relationship off. He also spies on a woman in an apartment across the street, follows a random woman leaving the subway, talks to a transvestite or transexual in a car, etc., etc. In between his street photography, there are lots of parts where the guy just talks to the camera. There are also a lot of moments that capture the news in 1967. In the end, he is disappointed that his film did not explain his life. It is a very, very low budget endeavor. I'm not able to describe this very well and it may sound boring but I was fascinated throughout. (It helps that the movie is only 74 minutes long.)

SPOILER: Well, this film's claim to fame is that it is a fake documentary/satire but I didn't know that and I was surprised when the credits started rolling. This made me even more impressed with the film. It is so cleverly done.

Admittedly, there were some parts where I was asking myself a) how did this guy get so much money to buy equipment and live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan?; b) who is filming him? c) did all these unwilling victims of his photography sue him? d) why would somebody release such an unflattering picture of himself? At any rate, they tricked me into suspending my disbelief.

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991. It is one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I don't know if I would go that far but I did enjoy it and I know I'll think about it.

Let's not forget Smarty (1934) with the wonderful Warren William and Joan Blondell. Definitely pre-code.

Vicki Wallace (Joan Blondell) takes great pleasure in teasing her husband, Tony (Warren William). He finally has enough and hits her. She goes to her attorney, Vernon Thorpe (Edward Everett Horton), and he gets her a divorce and marries her himself. But Vicki dresses in revealing clothes and keeps inviting Tony over, so Vernon finally hits her himself. So, she decides to leave him and go back to Tony, but doesn't tell Tony this.

The last few scenes in the film are great, and very funny. Watch for a scene in which you see Joan's rear end (through a very sheer covering), and you will see what I mean. I love this film.

Another favorite is Manhattan Melodrama (1934) with William Powell, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy. In the beginning of the film, they are two boys who have lost their parents in a riverboat fire. They are 'adopted' by a man who lost his son in the same fire. (It brought tears to my eyes). Soon after, they lose this man also, to political violence, when he is trampled by horses.

These acts shaped their lives - Jim (William Powell), stays on the right side of the law and goes on to become District Attorney. Blackie (Clark Gable), goes the other way and becomes a gambler and criminal. They meet several times throughout the film, but their bond remains close. So close are they tied together, in brotherhood and friendship, that later in the film, there is a courtroom scene that had me crying. I won't post it here, for those who have not scene this film, but if you choose to find out, let me know and I will tell you what it is. To this day, I cannot watch that film without crying. An excellent movie and not one to be missed.

(Sorry I couldn't highlight the films, but I'm on the Ipad and keyboard is screwing up tonight).....

Bea wrote: "103. David Holzman's Diary (1967, dir. McBride)
Rating: B?
Finished: March 30, 2013
Review: First, let me say that I was really glad I knew absolutely nothing about this film when I put it on. T..."

I had forgotten about "David Holzman's Diary." Thanks for refreshing my memory!

JoAnne wrote: "Let's not forget Smarty (1934) with the wonderful Warren William and Joan Blondell. Definitely pre-code.

Vicki Wallace (Joan Blondell) takes great pleasure in teasing her husband, Tony (Warren Wi..."

Thanks for the tips! I have Manhattan Melodrama coming and am really looking forward to it. Smarty is one I will have to wait for on TCM or something.

104. It's a Gift (1934, dir. McLeod)
Rating: C
Finished: March 31, 2013
Review: W.C. Fields plays Harold Bisonette (that's Biso-NAY when his wife's around). The hen-pecked Bisonette owns a corner grocery but dreams of moving to California and running an orange ranch. His uncle dies and leaves him the money to move his family West, much to their disgust. The orange grove turns out to be a bust but there is always a happy ending in a W.C. Fields movie.

I have been trying to figure out why Fields just isn't funny to me. I think he lets each of his gags run on too long and telegraphs them to obviously. Also much of the humor relies on destruction, irritating noises, etc., which I find more annoying than comic. Finally this movie has a scene of food humor toward the end. I can't help it, I just find anything involving making a mess with food more disgusting than anything else.

This is one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. The only reason I can find is that W.C. Fields is a name everybody has probably heard of. I now have seen this film twice and I sure won't be revisiting it before I die.

105. The Phantom of the Opera (1925, dir. Julian)
Rating: B
Finished: March 31, 2013
Review: This is another of the movies from The List that I had never seen before and was available from Netflix streaming.

Erik (Lon Chaney), a self-taught musician and disfigured, criminally insane fugitive, has taken refuge in the cavernous cellars of the Paris Opera House. There he has been taken for a phantom that haunts the opera house. He develops a passion for rising opera singer Christine and promotes her career by writing threatening letters to keep the star diva from singing and by killing the audience with a chandelier when that doesn't work. Eventually, he lures Christine to his realm where she soon learns of the hideous countenance hidden by his mask. He agrees to allow Christine to return to the opera on the condition that she stay away from her lover. Naturally, Christine cannot resist and all hell breaks lose.

I must say that this is much creepier and more gripping than the 1943 Claude Rains version. The print I saw had quite a bit of tinting, two-strip Technicolor sequences, and a specially composed score that heightened the effects. Chaney was spectacular and while I could have lived without some of Mary Philbin's posturing, I really enjoyed it.

106. Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Ozu)
Rating: A
Finished: April 1, 2013
Review: An elderly couple sets out to visit their adult children in Osaka and Tokyo but none really has time for them but the widow of their deceased son.

Sometimes it's hardest to write about films I am really close to. Any way, Ozu takes his time letting us get to know these people and thus has me on the verge of tears for the last half of the film. It is a beautiful meditation on the inevitability of change and the grace gained by accepting that change.

107. Slacker (1991, dir. Linklater)
Rating: C-
Finished: April 1, 2013
Review: This is another of those unseen 1001 Movies You Must See Before You die titles on Netflix streaming. I could have lived without this one.

This movie basically follows a whole bunch of twenty-somethings with time on their hands around Austin, Texas for a day. Most of the characters are oddballs with an axe to grind and a willingness to go on and on about it. Aside from a hit-and-run accident toward the beginning, nothing happens. The end.

I would like to get 97 minutes of my time back. But don't take my word for it. For some reason, this film is in the National Film Registry. Hip people probably get a lot out of it.

108. Charlie Chan in London
Rating: B-
Finished: April 2, 2013
Review: A woman is convinced that her brother, who has been sentenced to death, is innocent. Charlie Chan (Werner Oland) is called in on the case only three days before the hanging. Will he be able to discover the true killer on the grounds of the British country house? Need you ask? Also with Ray Milland as the woman's lawyer and Alan Mowbray as the owner of the estate.

This is a pretty good entry in the Charlie Chan series. Charlie does without the assistance of Number One Son here. The DVD comes with a featurette in which various people argue that the Charlie Chan character, despite some stereotyping, was a positive development for the image of Chinese Americans in films. Up to then Chinese were generally portrayed as either servants or evil doers. Charlie Chan was always the smartest guy in the room. It's unfortunate that the times allowed him to be portrayed by a Swede.

109. The Black Cat (1934, dir. Ulmer)
Rating: B
Finished: April 2, 2013
Review: Highly enjoyable Universal horror outing with boffo dual performances by Karloff and Lugosi.

Dr. Vitus Vendergast (Bela Lugosi) meets a newly-weds Peter (David Manners) and Joan on a train and hitches a ride with them to their ultimate destination. On the way, the car goes off the road, the driver is killed and the party is forced to take refuge in the creepy modernist castle of Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff).

This suits Vendergast just fine as he is on a mission to make Poelzig, his sworn enemy, suffer slowly. Poelzig left Vendergast to rot in prison for 15 years then told his wife he was dead and took her for his own.

The movie is basically a duel of wits between Vendergast and Poelzig, who also has plans to use Joan as the sacrifice in a Black Mass.

This is the kind of thing I just eat up. Sure it can be a little campy in places and Lugosi emotes furiously but that is part of the fun. The Expressionist cinematography and art direction are quite wonderful. Highly recommended.

110. Of Human Bondage (1934, dir. Cromwell)
Rating: B+
Finished: April 3, 2013
Review: Leslie Howard plays Philip Carey, a club-footed medical student with the soul of an artist. He falls helplessly in love with Mildred (Bette Davis), a waitress with a heart of ice who treats him like dirt. She figures that she can always go to Philip for help when she is in trouble and she is right.

Bette Davis begged Warner Bros. to loan her to RKO so that she could play the meaty but unsympathetic role of Mildred. Her gamble paid off and the movie made her a star. Her performance is excellent and far less mannered than she would get in later roles. Leslie Howard is actually the central character and he acquits himself well as the rather weak young man.