She Married Her Boss (1935)
“That doesn’t sound like a marriage to me — it sounds like an incorporation!”
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Queen, The (1968)
“All drag queens want is love — and they try to get that love by being beautiful and sexy.”
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Blue Angel, The (1930)
“There’s a lot I can understand — but to risk one’s entire future for that kind of woman?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: The Blue Angel is a classic example of moviemaking near the beginning of the sound era which nonetheless maintains allegiance to the values of silent cinema. While sound is used to good effect — particularly during Lola Lola’s nightclub performances — director Josef von Sternberg maintains a firm grip on the film’s visuals, ensuring that the set designs, make-up, costumes, and camera movements are all visually engaging. Though the story itself is slow and a bit static (most of the scenes take place either in the nightclub or Professor Rath’s classroom), we’re never bored, thanks to the bitterly compelling nature of Rath’s downward spiral, which represents not just the archetypal portrayal of “man seduced by woman” but the tenuous grasp we possess on our moral superiority: Professor Rath starts out as the most pompous of moralistic prigs, yet within the space of just two visits to the Blue Angel is inextricably entwined in the “underworld” he once derided so soundly. How short, indeed, is the fall from grace. Note: The Blue Angel was filmed simultaneously in both German and English, but the former version is generally preferred. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1951)
“Tell the truth, keep a brave, kind heart, and you’ll survive.”
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Zenobia (1939)
“I’d rather do something for somebody that needs a doctor — even if they can’t pay their bills!”
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… when Laurel had a falling out with Hal Roach studios. The result is a well-meaning but decidedly tepid comedy, one which admirably shows Hardy’s talents as a “leading man” yet fails to deliver many genuine laughs. The title character — a testy female elephant named Zenobia —
… is the film’s primary claim to uniqueness, yet Zenobia’s relentless attachment to Hardy unfortunately takes a back seat to the rather dull primary drama about cross-class romance and Southern snobbery. With that said, film fanatics will likely appreciate seeing Alice Brady in one of her final roles before she succumbed to cancer later that year; she looks frail but still manages to invest her character with gumption and energy. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Bowery, The (1933)
“Remember what I always tells ya: this is a man’s world.”
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… while volunteer firemen brigades engage in a street brawl rather than putting out the fire — and to know that the fire itself was caused by Cooper being given “permission” by Beery to “throw just a tiny rock in the Chinks’ window” (naturally, not a shred of guilt is expressed by either party). Regardless of these hideously uncomfortable scenes, however, Connor and Brodie’s lifelong rivalry simply doesn’t sustain a narrative; the “high point” of the story occurs when Brodie jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge on a dare:
… and Connor loses his saloon as a result — but who really cares about these louts anyway? Fay Wray is sympathetic but wasted as Brodie’s love interest:
while Cooper seems to be simply reprising his earlier role opposite Beery in The Champ (1931).
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All the Marbles (1981)
“Like it or not, the three of us are a team — and we’re going to make it, or die trying.”
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Crime Without Passion (1934)
“Always saving somebody’s life, so abominably clever at solving other people’s trouble — so half-witted when it comes to my own.”
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Review: Rains is excellent in the lead role, managing to sustain our interest despite his character’s decidedly unsavory actions and demeanor. Equally impressive is 17-year-old Margo (castanet-clicking “Clo-Clo” in Val Lewton’s The Leopard Man) in her screen debut as the object of Rains’ lustful affections — while we desperately want to shake some sense into her (how can she be in love with such a cad?!), she engages our genuine sympathies as well. Wrapping up within a neat 70 minutes, Crime Without Passion tells its fall-from-grace narrative quickly and succinctly, and is well worth the enjoyable ride. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Burglar, The (1957)
“You think that’s hot? It’s hotter out there — boiling hot!”
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Dreamchild (1985)
“We all want you to be the little girl you once were.”
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Review: Ultimately, however, Dreamchild is most concerned with Alice’s reflective flashbacks to her childhood, which — often in nightmarish ways — occasionally merge with the present in her aging mind. Ian Holm perfectly embodies the conflicted Reverend Dodgson (pen name “Lewis Carroll”), effectively conveying his desire for Alice while remaining sympathetic to viewers, given that he never acts upon his pedophilic urges. Amelia Shankley as young Alice is an excellent counterpart to Holm, showing clear evidence of the insouciant charm Carroll fell in love with, while (we sigh with relief) making the boundaries between the two of them perfectly clear. Equally impressive — though not given enough screen time — are Jim Henson’s Wonderland creations, including Mock Turtle, the Mad Hatter, Gryphon, Caterpillar, and Dormouse. They’re both magical and frightening, a perfect manifestation of Carroll’s twisted imagination and Alice’s lifelong interpretation of them, and they add just the right surreal touch to this highly unique film. Note: Click here and here to read more about Carroll’s real-life relationship with young Alice and her sisters. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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