Maniac (1934)
“Doctors and scientists often have some queer things on their mind.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Valley of Gwangi, The (1969)
“Just think what you and Miss Breckenridge could do with a dozen Eohippi!”
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Naughty Marietta (1935)
“We fight for our living and love at our leisure.”
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… and she is perfectly happy to fall in love with a mercenary (Eddy) rather than maintaining her status among nobility. She’s also quick-on-her-feet and ingenious — as when she hides from police on the ship by stuffing her mouth with food, and selects a random drunk in the crowds as her “brother” seeing her off; and the scene in which she convinces Morgan she’s been deceptive on her application. She handily staves off unwanted attention from numerous men after fabricating an identity as a “loose woman”, and takes great risks for love near the end of the film. Themes of female strength pervade the film in other ways as well. While the women heading to the colonies are openly viewed as chattel (some are actually pinched and measured for physical strength), they band together collectively, and one gives her life to protect the others from the vicious pirates. Meanwhile, Eddy’s character (unlike the dull Mountie he portrays in Rose-Marie) is charismatic and appealing:
…and many supporting actors give fine, memorable performances: Lanchester is hilariously bitchy as Morgan’s jealous wife, and Morgan uses his spluttering diction to humorous effect.
It makes sense that the screenplay is creative and clever, given that it was written by noted husband-and-wife team Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976)
“Sitting Bull says that history is nothing more than disrespect for the dead.”
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This heartbreaking depiction of our country’s literal silencing of Indians makes its point clearly. I’m also fond of scenes featuring Chaplin as the fiercely talented and self-competitive sharp-shoot Annie Oakley — but other elements of the film are less successful, and Newman’s final soliloquy seems ill-suited at best. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Rose-Marie (1936)
“If I should ever call you, would you answer me?”
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Can you hear it? I’m sure you can. As seemingly interminable as this sequence is, the rest of the film also leaves much to be desired. MacDonald’s diva singer is simply insufferable (though her behavior is presented as acceptable and perhaps even expected), and her blind adoration for a murderous brother (Stewart, in his break-through role) merely lowers one’s opinion of her even further (then again, perhaps filial loyalty was considered such a virtue that this was overlooked).
MacDonald’s romance with stiff-as-cardboard Nelson Eddy is as inconsequential as could be; we’re made to understand that two such compelling operatic voices simply must be together. Film fanatics may be curious to watch this film once, to hear “When I’m calling you…” in its original context — but it otherwise should be relegated to historical vaults. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Buffalo Bill (1944)
“Savages — brutes — fiends! Why did I ever come to this nightmare of a country?”
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Cody is shown as generally sympathetic and supportive of Indian culture (and concerned about too many bison being slaughtered), but it’s hard to tell fact from fiction, especially given the critical intervention of ultimate storyteller and myth-maker Ned Buntline (Mitchell) into Cody’s life.
The film’s most discomfiting scenes feature Darnell as an Indian princess who is openly jealous of Cody’s crush on O’Hara (thus adding a bit of “love triangle” tension to the film). In one scene, she helps the semi-literate Cody write a response to O’Hara’s note, looking at him with baleful eyes as she repeatedly attempts to craft an appropriate signature on his behalf. Later, she sneaks into O’Hara’s room and tries on a gown:
This scene could be deconstructed in countless ways — but suffice it to say that Darnell’s character is openly ashamed of being Indian, and only believes she can have worth (and Cody’s heart) by looking beautiful in a “white girl’s way”. Meanwhile, the entire romance between McCrea and O’Hara lacks conviction:
We’re not given much insight into why Cody would be so attracted to her other than her beauty, and their ongoing clash in lifestyles (who knew?!) simply serves as a predictable plot element driving narrative tensions forward. Note: Nine years after his supporting role in Annie Oakley (1935) as Buffalo Bill, Moroni Olsen was cast in essentially a cameo role here as the father of the woman Buffalo Bill marries — a nifty touch for those keeping track. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
“Another robber — the hotel is full of them!”
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Review: We also see a nefarious gold-digger (Farrell) coolly resorting to deception to achieve her goal of snaring a share of eccentric Herbert’s riches; a showman (Menjou) who openly writes the following telegraph to his friend: “HAVE HOOKED A RICH SUCKER STOP COME UP AT ONCE STOP PARDON ME FOR SENDING COLLECT”; and a woman (Dare) completely fine with her fiance (Powell) escorting a beautiful woman (Stuart) around town if it means earning money for their supposed future together. The contrived script and unsubtle performances, however, naturally take a back seat to the musical numbers in any Busby Berkeley film — and this one features several winners, beginning with a creatively filmed sequence of workers preparing to open the Plaza, and ending with the two showcase finales, which are well worth watching (see stills below). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Beginning of the End (1957)
“The time will come when the beasts will inherit the Earth.”
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Kipps (1941)
“The portals of society are open nowadays to anyone who has the means to make himself worthy of it.”
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When a string of wild circumstances initiated by a drunken actor (Arthur Riscoe):
… lead Kipps into unexpected money, he’s swept into the fold of the very people he once idolized — including the owner of a “self-improvement” college (Max Adrian):
… Wynyard:
… and Wynyard’s barrister brother (Michael Wilding).
Kipps’ story transpires in a rather predictable way from there: he misses his old chums, and finds he’s much more comfortable with his childhood sweetheart than with snooty Wynyard (who knew social class mattered so much?). Some tension arises around what decision Kipps will make between the two women, and there’s an additional narrative twist near the end — but this is otherwise a fairly straightforward tale of class aspirations and conflicts that will be of most interest to fans of the novel or Carol Reed. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
“I know your face is beautiful because you are — it couldn’t be otherwise!”
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The second segment — based on Oscar Wilde’s short story “Lord Arthur Saville’s Crime” — is much more engaging, thanks to a provocative narrative (does being told one’s fortune compel one to carry it out?) and Robinson’s typically-committed performance as a tortured man caught in the grips of “fate”.
The final segment — in which Boyer’s “drunken tightrope walker” uses a dream as a legitimate way to connect with a beautiful woman (Stanwyck) he meets on-board a ship — is creatively filmed, but ultimately less satisfying.
The primary reason to check this movie out is the stunning b&w cinematography by Stanley Cortez and Paul Ivano; just about every frame is a treat to look at. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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