Reviews

Stupid stupid stupid! Tried very hard to sit through this incredibly ridiculous, terrible excuse for a movie, I just could not do it. It is quite awful. Even though Tyrone Power has hardly ever given a performance worth watching (except for NIGHTMARE ALLEY), he in particularly painful to watch in this idiotic hokum. I usually don't like to give a movie a bad rap, but rather move on and find praise for one. However, this I must warn you about. It's just plain silly and not even worth seeing for the great character people that pop up, Marie Blake, Leonid Kinskey and Mary Gordon. As usual, Power and Darnell look great, as does the art direction, but thats about it. Steer clear!

What a treat to see! BlONDIE OF THE FOLLIES is a very entertaining film with terrific performances by Marion Davies and Bille Dove. A great script by Anita Loos and Frances Marion and beautiful Art Deco sets by Cedric Gibbons make this fine film a must see. It is in Turner Classic Movies library, though it hardly ever gets shown. Be on the look out for it though, because it is a real treat. Fast, snappy and skillfully directed by one of the most underrated directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Edmund Goulding, responsible for such classics as GRAND HOTEL and DARK VICTORY. If you want to read more about BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES pick up the new Edmund Goulding biography. It's really very good.

Talk about a great build up, then only to be totally let down. I so anticipated seeing this movie when it aired on Turner Classic Movies. It sounded interesting, and had all the hints of what one would think would be a really good naughty pre-code feature. Not so. It is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. The movie goes absolutely nowhere, and the only really worthwhile scenes are the ones between father and son gigolo team Montgomery and C. Aubrey Smith. Don't go out of your way to see this, it's a huge let down, at least in the eyes of this writer. Though I did watch it with a very respected classic film scholar, and his thoughts were exactly the same as mine, BORING!

I had long put off this movie due to the negative rumors I had heard about it. I must say it is quite opposite the atrocity people make it out to be. THE NIGHT ANGEL certainly is much better than Carroll's SCARLET DAWN, a complete bore thats surprisingly the only film of hers out for commercial release, though Fairbanks Jr. is quite good in it. Granted, THE NIGHT ANGEL is not March's best performance, but he's a ham to begin with. The movie itself I thought was indeed entertaining. Trivia: Marlene Dietrich was supposed to play the Nancy Carroll part, seems it was actually written for her. It didn't happen. Alison Skipworth is always a treat in any movie, and I think Carroll, though not her best performance (see CHILD OF MANHATTAN for that), pulls it off well.

A typical early talkie with microphones hidden in flower pots, though it is above average from most of the productions of that period. This comedy/drama with decent performances by Clive Brook and Evelyn Brent would have been a lot better for this writer if it was not for seeing such a terrible 16mm print transfered onto video with terrible picture and audio. Good supporting cast includes Eugene Pallette and Helen Ware as an rich couple that Paul Lukas and Brent are trying to swindle. Look for a very young and beautiful Virgina Bruce in a very minor role as Pallette's and Ware's daughter. Set design is good and the scenes that take place in a darkened room at the films finale are quite impressive. Like I had mentioned before, hold out for a good print to turn up.

A scarce but typical "newspaper drama" so common in the early 1930s. If you can find it, watch it (if you can bare it) just for the sake of finding a rare film. I personally found this movie to be painfully boring. It is terribly uneven, and at times I just lost total interest. While it did have adequate performances by Lew Cody, Evelyn Brent, H.B. Warner and Ned Sparks, not even they could save this creaky, dismal crime drama from being one of the less appealing of the early talkie pre-code's. If you want to see a real good newspaper drama, make sure to be on the lookout for Turner Classic Movies to air the wonderful FIVE STAR FINAL with Edward G. Robinson. It's on from time to time and you won't be disappointed.

Margaret Sullavan was never more beautiful in this mega tearjerker. Even if she has to act opposite the unappealing Douglass Montgomery, the films works. Wonderfully photographed, and superb acting by all makes this movie a must see.

Typical early talkie, a little stiff. However, when Norma Talmadge is on screen she is vivacious and wonderful. She should have made more talking films. She would have been a great actress in the 1930s. Definitely worth looking at.

Not a great movie by any means. However, you will see Otto Kruger like you've never seem him before. His performance is outstanding, ond I had never been a fan of his ever, until now. See it just for him.

This early pre-code really packs a wallop, Even today. All performances are top notch, and Robinson is his usual genius. Luckily, this film pops up on Turner Classic Movies now and then, so be sure not to miss. Ona Munson plays plays a prostitute, 8 years before she played a Madame in GONE WITH THE WIND!

This little short has some amazingly pre-code funstuff, with cowboys dancing with each other (OH MY)! And Louise Fazenda at her craziest, (she stuffs her bra and looks like a reject Annie Oakley). A must see if you are lucky enough to come across it.