Black Fury (1935)

Black Fury (1935)

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“You’ve gotta put up a fight if you want your rights!”

Synopsis:
When his girlfriend (Karen Morley) leaves him for a chance at city-life with a policeman (William Gargan), a heart-broken coal miner (Paul Muni) is lured by a corrupt agitator (J. Carroll Naish) into leading a new union, much to the chagrin of his union-abiding friend Joe (John Qualen) and Joe’s wife (Sara Haden).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Akim Tamiroff Films
  • Corruption
  • John Qualen Films
  • Karen Morley Films
  • Labor Movement
  • Michael Curtiz Films
  • Mining Towns
  • Paul Muni Films

Review:
Based on the real-life murder of a Pennsylvania coal miner in 1929, this controversial Warner Brothers drama suffers from an over-the-top performance by Paul Muni as a Polish-American miner whose poor decision-making during a night of drunken sorrow leads to irreparable harm. While corruption between Big Bosses, labor unions, and employees clearly exists in countless professions across the globe, the storyline presented here is overly simplistic, and fails to provide viewers with anything other than a melodramatic tale of the tragic downfall and heroic redemption of a “likable man”. Muni’s accent and dialect — while perhaps realistic — are laid on so thick they’re distracting; and it’s hard to root for someone who may be well-meaning but ultimately comes across as a naive dupe.

Note: The film’s title doesn’t help its staying power, given that one would naturally expect such a movie to be about African-Americans.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Byron Haskin’s cinematography

Must See?
No; this one is only must-see for Muni completists.

Links:

Dawn Patrol, The (1930)

Dawn Patrol, The (1930)

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“You’ve learned how to fly — but things are different up here.”

Synopsis:
The commanding officer (Neil Hamilton) of an RFC squadron in WWI-era France drinks heavily while enduring the wrath of his two ace pilots, Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who blame him for sending young recruits into the air too soon — but when Hamilton is promoted and Barthelmess takes his position, he quickly learns how challenging it is to sit behind a desk while making life-or-death decisions.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Airplanes and Pilots
  • Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Films
  • Friendship
  • Howard Hawks Films
  • Military
  • World War I

Review:
Howard Hawks’ first “talkie” was this poignant, engaging homage to aerial fighters in World War I, who faced unimaginable odds each time they went into combat. The narrative is crafted cyclically, mimicking the relentless schedules of the pilots as they engage in adrenaline-pumping flight and warfare followed by whatever activities will allow them to unwind, celebrate, and ritually mourn their dead compatriots before heading back up into the air. The central tension between the primary characters (Hamilton, Barthelmess, and Fairbanks, Jr.) nicely illustrates the challenges inherent in any situation where leadership is necessary but detrimental to personal dynamics. Although the 1938 remake with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone is better known, this earlier version remains worthy viewing on its own; most of the impressive aerial footage was reused for the later film.

Note: There are NO female characters in this film — not a one.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Fine aerial (and other) cinematography
  • Richard Barthelmess as Dick Courtney
  • Many poignant moments
  • The exciting finale

Must See?
Yes, as a gripping war flick. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Important Director

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Trader Horn (1931)

Trader Horn (1931)

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“That’s Africa for you: when you’re not eating somebody, you’re trying to keep somebody else from eating you.”

Synopsis:
An experienced trader (Harry Carey) and his young companion (Duncan Renaldo) in 19th century Africa promise a missionary (Olive Carey) to look for her missing daughter (Edwina Booth), who was captured by a tribe years earlier and turned into a “white goddess”.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Africa
  • Jungles
  • Native Peoples
  • Search
  • W.S. Van Dyke Films

Review:
Before the advent of nature shows on television, audiences in 1931 were understandably blown away by this Oscar-nominated adventure film (based on Alfred Aloysius Horn‘s memoirs), which featured wild African animals rushing across the big screen, “exotic” tribes of humans with unusual jewelry and customs, and death-defying treks through unfamiliar geographic landscapes. These days, the film’s excruciatingly patronizing and racist attitude towards African natives — “Horn, you’re mistaken about these people — they’re not savages, they’re just happy, ignorant children.” — makes it a truly challenging pill to swallow; it remains valuable simply as a historic artifact of our inability to understand, let alone appreciate, cultures radically different from our own. However, it’s fascinating to reflect on what the cast and crew went through to make this on-location film: apparently wild-eyed Booth contracted an illness that effectively ended her career:

… Carey was nearly killed during one scene swinging over a live crocodile, and director W.S. Van Dyke had plenty of rum on hand and in mouth the entire time. Meanwhile, additional footage was secretly shot in Mexico to flesh out gaps, and it became a blockbuster success.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Groundbreaking footage of African animals and tribal practices

  • Impressive on-location cinematography

Must See?
No; this one is only of value for its historical relevance as the first fiction film made in Africa.

Links:

Penthouse (1933)

Penthouse (1933)

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“I like the troubles of bootleggers, chorus girls and head waiters. They’re human! They’re alive!”

Synopsis:
After successfully defending a racketeer (Nat Pendleton) against a murder charge, a thrill-seeking lawyer (Warner Baxter) is ostracized by his co-workers and his fiancee (Martha Sleeper), who leaves him for another man (Phillips Holmes). When Holmes breaks up with his mistress (Mae Clarke), Clarke licks her wounds by returning to her former lover, a gangster (C. Henry Gordon) who is more upset about Clarke’s betrayal than he lets on. Soon Baxter becomes an amateur sleuth in a murder mystery, assisted by Clarke’s beautiful roommate (Myrna Loy).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Amateur Sleuths
  • Framed
  • Gangsters
  • Lawyers
  • Myrna Loy Films
  • Warner Baxter Films
  • W.S. Van Dyke Films

Review:
W.S. Van Dyke — perhaps best known for helming The Thin Man and its sequels — helped bring Myrna Loy to stardom in this earlier “take” on the same genre (comedic murder-mystery). Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s Pre-Code script is refreshingly risque: Loy’s character openly accepts (indeed, encourages) an invitation to spend the night in Baxter’s apartment, for instance, and this isn’t viewed as shameful. Baxter, Loy, Pendleton, and Clarke are all in fine form, and it’s refreshing to see such an atypical relationship between a gangster (Pendleton) and a “straight man” (Baxter). This one’s not must-see, but certainly worth a look if you’re a fan of The Thin Man.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Myrna Loy as Gertie Waxted
  • Warner Baxter as Jackson Durant
  • Nat Pendleton as Tony Gazotti
  • Mae Clarke as Mimi
  • Enjoyable Pre-Code dialogue and situations

Must See?
No, but it’s certainly worthy viewing.

Links:

King of Jazz, The (1930)

King of Jazz, The (1930)

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“Oh, how I’d love to own a fish store!”

Synopsis:
Jazz band leader Paul Whiteman introduces a revue of musical and comedic acts.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Episodic Films
  • Musicals

Review:
This musical tribute to bandleader Paul Whiteman features some surprisingly creative camerawork for such an early cinematic outing, but is decidedly hit-and-miss in terms of its overall entertainment value. There’s an enjoyably risque comedic interlude about premarital sex that catches one by surprise, and it’s fun to see young Bing Crosby as one of The Rhythm Boys — but other numbers are deathly boring and dated. The primary value of this film lies in its historical relevance as a time capsule of Whiteman’s appeal to audiences at the time.

Note: The quote chosen to headline this review is indicative of how random the various vignettes are.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A few enjoyable and/or surprisingly risque sequences
  • Some nifty special effects
  • Fine two-strip cinematography
  • Creative camerawork

Must See?
No, though it possesses some value as a time capsule.

Links:

Gorilla at Large (1954)

Gorilla at Large (1954)

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“All I know is a couple of gorillas around here, and one of them’s a killer.”

Synopsis:
A carnival barker (Cameron Mitchell) hoping to earn enough money to marry his girlfriend (Charlotte Austin) agrees to be part of a trapeze act involving a daring aerialist (Anne Bancroft) and a huge gorilla (George Barrows) cared for by a brooding keeper (Peter Whitney). But a brutal murder brings a detective (Lee J. Cobb) to the scene, and soon everyone — including Bancroft’s husband (Raymond Burr), owner of the carnival — is a suspect.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Anne Bancroft Films
  • Cameron Mitchell Films
  • Carnivals and Circuses
  • Lee J. Cobb Films
  • Lee Marvin Films
  • Murder Mystery
  • Primates
  • Raymond Burr Films

Review:
While Anne Bancroft may be best known for her award-worthy dramatic work as Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (1962) and Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967), she starred in quite a few lesser-known titles in her earlier career, including this luridly-titled drama set in the colorful world of carnivals. Bancroft plays an intrepid, lusty trapeze artist with a wandering eye, and is nicely supported by some big-name co-stars (including Lee Marvin in an unexpectedly buffoonish role). The storyline is reasonably engaging and filled with plenty of twists, even if you’re likely to guess the culprit in advance. Scenes involving a Kewpie doll are suitably surreal, and the cinematography and sets are nicely done. Worth a look if you’re curious.

Note: Was Burr (type)cast because of his previous starring role in Bride of the Gorilla (1951)? One wonders…

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Good use of carnival sets and atmosphere

  • Some amusingly surreal imagery

  • Fine cinematography
  • An effective whodunit script with plenty of twists

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look for its curiosity value.

Links:

Street Scene (1931)

Street Scene (1931)

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“Every person in the world’s gotta have somebody to talk to!”

Synopsis:
An unhappy housewife (Estelle Taylor) has an affair with a local milk collection man (Russell Hopton), while her neighbors — including nosy Mrs. Jones (Beulah Bondi), whose grown son (Matt McHugh) is a bullying racist — worry Taylor’s husband (David Landau) will find out and become abusive. Meanwhile, Taylor’s daughter (Sylvia Sidney) resists advances from her boss (Walter Miller) while pinning her hopes for happiness on a studious neighbor (William Collier, Jr.).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Beulah Bondi Films
  • John Qualen Films
  • King Vidor Films
  • Marital Problems
  • New York City
  • Play Adaptations
  • Sylvia Sidney Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary points out that this adaptation of “Elmer Rice’s… Pulitzer-winning play about life in the New York tenements” was “one of the first social dramas of the sound era”, “probably the first film to drive home the point that America was populated by foreigners, and the first to affirm that there were already clashes between these immigrants over religion, national origin, and politics”. He notes that “to give [the] film some visual interest, Vidor occasionally uses bizarre camera angles or pans along the street or across a row of windows”; indeed, while the movie’s stage origins are crystal-clear (including an obvious “Act II” transition), Vidor nicely opens up a storyline that is primarily centered on “characters gather[ing] on the front stoop or lean[ing] out windows so they can gossip, complain[ing] about the heat, [and] argu[ing]”.

The inherent claustrophobia of the stage-bound setting actually serves this story well, as it highlights how closely connected these neighbors are to each others’ business, for better and for worse. They can support one another during times of need — as when Taylor looks out for the very-pregnant wife of a concerned father-to-be (Conway Washburne) — but also easily become overly involved in each other’s private lives and choices. The film’s Pre-Code sensibility is refreshingly clear, most noticeably via intermittent scenes involving a bra-less young woman (Greta Granstedt) who happily goes off with her lover to spend the night in a friend’s apartment, but also in the shockingly racist language used by McHugh, and the fact that Collier, Jr.’s father (Max Montor) is able to talk at length about socialist revolutionary ideals without being overtly villainized. The dramatic finale (don’t read ANY online reviews if you want to remain surprised!) has been ridiculed by some for Vidor’s unconventional editing choices during a key neighborhood scene, but I believe it’s an effectively stylized representation of life in a densely packed, multicultural city.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Vidor’s direction

  • A refreshing Pre-Code sensibility
  • A fine sense of locale

Must See?
Yes, as a strong Pre-Code talkie.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links:

Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955)

Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955)

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“You couldn’t give me a cold.”

Synopsis:
A Prohibition-era jazz band leader (Jack Webb) is pressured into being “managed” by a local gangster (Edmond O’Brien) after his uncooperative drummer (Martin Milner) is gunned down, prompting his longtime bandmate (Lee Marvin) to hit the road. Meanwhile, a beautiful socialite (Janet Leigh) doggedly pursues Webb, and O’Brien insists that Webb allow a talented but alcoholic performer (Peggy Lee) to sing in his band.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Edmond O’Brien Films
  • Gangsters
  • Jack Webb Films
  • Janet Leigh Films
  • Lee Marvin Films
  • Musicians

Review:
Jack Webb made his feature debut as a writer/director/actor/producer by adapting his hit radio series Dragnet (1954), and followed up with this cinematic rendering of a crime-musical radio drama taking place in Prohibition-era Kansas City. Webb stars as the title character, who comes across as essentially a variation on his personae as “facts only” Detective Joe Friday and hard-hitting Sergeant Moore in The D.I. (1957). As DVD Savant writes in his review:

Webb locked himself into his perfectly deadly ‘Dragnet’ style. He often moves like a robot. Instead of acting he hits marks, turns his head and flashes the occasional predetermined smile.

The movie’s redeeming moments are fine period sets, luminous Technicolor cinematography, and the presence of real-life musical stars Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, who are given wonderfully uninterrupted, respectful moments to shine. Otherwise, the storyline’s awkward pacing, rat-a-tat dialogue (“They say you’ve got rubber pockets so you can steal soup.”), and underdeveloped characterizations reflect blunt radio serial norms rather than effective screenwriting.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Ella Fitzgerald singing “Hard Hearted Hannah”
  • Peggy Lee’s tunes
  • Some creative direction and vibrant Technicolor

Must See?
No, unless you’re a diehard jazz fan.

Links:

Tiger Shark (1932)

Tiger Shark (1932)

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“No fisherman can go to heaven with a bite out of him!”

Synopsis:
A proud Portuguese-American fisherman (Edward G. Robinson) loses his hand to a shark after saving his friend and shipmate (Richard Arlen) from death at sea, then marries the beautiful daughter (Zita Johann) of a recently deceased crewman (William Ricciardi), not knowing Johann and Arlen are secretly in love.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Edward G. Robinson Films
  • Fishermen
  • Howard Hawks Films
  • Love Triangle

Review:
Reading TCM’s article about the genesis of this “crafty, Depression era rip-off of Moby Dick” provides fascinating insights into its wheeling-dealing director (Howard Hawks), its “scenery-chewing” star (Edward G. Robinson), and its lusty/gory storyline (apparently improvised on the spur of the moment by Hawks, who gleefully “stole” from the 1924 play-turned-film They Knew What They Wanted). Originally entitled Tuna (good thing that changed), the strengths of this rather hoary love triangle lie in Robinson’s enjoyable portrayal as an enthusiastic “Port-u-gee”, and in the exciting footage of fishing-in-action, complete with plenty of heart-stopping, genuinely dangerous moments aboard the ship. Unfortunately, viewers know from the get-go that Robinson’s luckless-in-love “Mike Mascarena” is in for heartache, so we’re simply placed in the unenviable position of wondering how this hopeless situation will work itself out.

Note: Film fanatics may recognize the soulful Johann from her performance in The Mummy the same year; her career was quite short (ending in 1934).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Edward G. Robinson as Mike Mascarena
  • Tony Gaudio’s cinematography

  • Exciting footage of on-board fishing

Must See?
No, though of course it will be of interest to fans of Robinson and/or Hawks.

Links:

Law and Order (1932)

Law and Order (1932)

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“If the west wants law and order, it’ll have to do it without me.”

Synopsis:
A rugged gambler and frontier marshal (Walter Huston) — loosely based on Wyatt Earp — is conscripted by a group of Tombstone citizens to bring “law and order” to the notoriously wild and woolly western town.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Walter Huston Films
  • Westerns

Review:
Based on W.R. Burnett’s novel Saint Johnson, this early talkie (scripted by John Huston) has the distinction of being the first cinematic portrayal of Wyatt Earp (though he’s given a different name). Walter Huston plays the legendary gambler-gunman, who apparently lived enough of a highly storied and dubiously legal life to prompt the publishing of a fictionalized biography two years after his death.

Regardless of its historical veracity, this straightforward western is essentially a tale of hopeless attempts to impose “law and order” in a town where guns are ubiquitous; it culminates with a speedily edited, highly effective shootout sequence which remains its highlight. Otherwise, there’s not much here to hold onto, though fans of early oaters will likely enjoy it.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • The finely edited closing gunfight sequence

Must See?
No, though anyone interested in early “talkie” Westerns or cinematic depictions of the O.K. Corral gunfight will want to check it out. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

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