DUCK SOUP (1933)

(Week 8: The Marx Brothers)

DUCK SOUP (1933)

Directed by Leo McCarey

from myopera.com

I don't like slapstick comedy. I don't get it. And if you don't get it, you don't enjoy it. There are moments here that make me chuckle, moments that I thought are delightfully creative and surprising. But despite it being only a little bit over an hour long, I had a hard time sitting through this film.

I won't go too much further. The Marx Brothers made great contributions to the entertainment business, that is not to be dismissed. But their medium doesn't agree with my palate, so I can't write anything decent about their works.

So, come back next week for Joan Crawford!

MARY OF SCOTLAND (1936)

(Week 4: Katharine Hepburn) 

MARY OF SCOTLAND (1936)

Directed by John Ford

(from katharine-hepburn.webs.com)

I don't expect every movie based on historical events to be accurate. Movies, most importantly, must entertain, while documentaries must be factual, even when the facts aren't so fascinating. MARY OF SCOTLAND, directed by John Ford, is neither historically accurate or entertaining; it makes no efforts to be factual or truthful. Overall, it is boring and depressing.

Rarely have I seen Hepburn so ineffective, so out of place in her elements. In general she exudes strength and charisma enough to play any queen, but here she seems overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the sets, costumes, and script, which underutilizes her massive range of emotions by confining her to the low octave, leaving her little room to be inspired and exercise her versatility. Not once did we see her disappear behind this role. 

The film is based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, one of the instances where dramatic writings don't translate well onto the screen. The theatrical structure seemed to have been thoroughly transformed for the cinema, leaving only its stiff, overwritten speeches. The actors, some of the best of their time, couldn't add enough color to these lines to make them sound less overwrought and irritating. The film has a serious shortage of emotional truth. You know, the truth that fiction must contain more than fact? That which makes us identify with the characters and their circumstances? It has none of that.

Watching this, it is hard not to remember two famous films that are based on the same historical events and characters: MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (1971) and ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (2007), both of which weren't well received by the critics, and neither allowed themselves to be bound by facts. Personally I think Vanessa Redgrave  (1971) embodies the character more gracefully than Hepburn, and both films effectively explore the complicated relationship between Elizabeth and Mary. (The 2007 version, over-the-top and mediocre as it may be, contains more moments of truth than Ford's version.) These women strongly believed they were born to be queens, and therefore they must be enemies. There is no reason otherwise for them to hate each other, and so many reasons for them to get along.

In John Ford's version, Elizabeth is portrayed by Florence Eldridge as an archetypal villain, and Mary her helpless victim. They are allowed one moment of truth, towards the end, wherein Elizabeth shows a hint of her vulnerability while explaining why Mary has to die. She almost becomes human but backs out too soon. Still, she came closer to being fully realized that most of the characters in this film.

I find the history of Mary and Elizabeth fascinating enough. It offers many possibilities of good drama. Unfortunately, this one misses all the marks and comes short of being a decent film. As a fan of both Hepburn and Ford, I'd soon rather forget all about this one. 

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

(Week 3: Clark Gable)

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

Directed by Frank Capra

"The Wall of Jericho" (from eastbayri.com)

Clark Gable is handsome and extremely charismatic. He possesses great qualities of a romance hero. It is no wonder that this movie would have launched him to stardom--he shines so brightly he hides the movie's flaws under his light. 

Personally romantic comedy isn't my favorite genre. When the focus is on people falling in love, the film just isn't very interesting or wholesome. But there are people to whom these stories appeal, and there are stories like these that, if well told, could appeal to skeptics like me.

This film has a thin little plot line that works around its stars. Both Gable and his leading lady, Claudette Colbert, set examples for many romantic comedy couples to come. Colbert plays Ellie, a bratty, temperamental heiress who has a dispute with her father over the man she had just married. She runs away and on the way meets an out-of-work journalist played by Gable.

They start off not liking each other, but there are moments when they work together and find pleasantry in each other's company. No surprise, they fall in love. You see what they like about each other, and you see them struggling against their feelings due to their circumstances. We see growth in both characters, particularly in Colbert's. These are basic elements of storytelling well played. I also like a few of its memorable, iconic elements, like "the wall of Jericho" or the hitchhiking scene. 

Both Gable and Colbert reportedly hated the script and didn't want to participate in the film. I can see why. The script itself is nothing without them. More than carrying the film, they gave it a lot of charm necessary for this kind of movie. Ultimately I wasn't much moved or impressed by the film. However, for the mark it has left in film history and for its achievement in storytelling, I would say that IT HAPPENED ON NIGHT is worth a watch. In the right mood, you might even like it.

THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936)

(Week 1 1/2: Humphrey Bogart)

THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936)

Directed by Archie Mayo

This is one of those films towards which I can't help being biased. I love the theater, and what I love about old movies are the styles of acting and writing that are more theatrical than what you commonly see in films today. This film is based on a play and makes no effort to hide its theatrical origin. In fact, two of its actors had originated their parts on Broadway. Some plays don't translate well on screen--this one does fantastically.

The story is about Alan: British, intellectual, penniless, and a wanderer. Jaded with life, he travels across this "petrified forest" and wanders into a roadside diner where he meets a cute girl who loves poetry and longs to see more of the world. He possesses many qualities that she admires in a man and probably doesn't see much in the men in her life, so that she falls for him almost instantly. But Alan has a secret: he is depressed to the point of suicidal. And while he likes her, he doesn't open his heart to her quite the same way that she does for him. Then, enters Duke Mantee, an outlaw on the run, terrorizing everybody involved.

The writing is superb. Scene after scene we get to know different characters in lively, colorful dialogues. Leslie Howard as Alan is charming and full of quips. Does he seem like somebody ready to jump to his death at any second? Not really. But I personally haven't known anybody who is truly suicidal. Famous figures like Virginia Woolf or Ernest Hemingway both suffered from bipolar disorder. The deepest, darkest part of themselves is probably hidden from most people. Perhaps Alan, too, keeps that part of himself away from the screen.

Bette Davis as Gabrielle is cute as a button. She is enchanting in every shot. Those who only know her as the diva she would later become would find her natural charm in this film very refreshing. She makes memorable what is otherwise a drab and archetypal character. 

Duke Mantee is played by Humphrey Bogart. Then 36-year-old and struggling to stay in business, Bogart became a star with this film. He proves himself an exceptional character actor with enough charisma to outshine both Howard and Davis. His characterization of Duke Mantee is magnificent and sensitive. It is a wonder how one could combine such magnetism with realism. Duke Mantee is both a legend and a person, and Bogart does both justice. 

The petrified forest as the setting evokes the kind of mysticism that the forest in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" does, except here it is a nightmare. The characters romanticize it and at once is aware of its haunting quality. Though terrorized by Mantee, they also give away a hint of excitement at this incredible event that shakes up the mellow rhythm of their lives. While it is known as a precursor of film noir, and while it utilizes many qualities of a Western, it seems to be neither. Instead, THE PETRIFIED FOREST treats its themes and characters so seriously it transcends genres and will outlast many eras to come. 

ANNA CHRISTIE (1930)

(Week 1: Greta Garbo)

ANNA CHRISTIE (1930)

Directed by Clarence Brown

How inauspicious to start off this blog with an entry about a film I didn't like? But Garbo is first on the list, and this movie is significant in her short career: it was her first talkie. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been for fans of her silent films to hear their favorite star not only talk but speak the words of Eugene O'Neil.

ANNA CHRISTIE is about a fallen woman reuniting with her estranged father and falling in love while trying to escape her past. Whether or not the film was shot in sequence, the last half an hour of the film seems to be much better than the earlier portions. Garbo is really good in it. She speaks the lines more clearly. Her acting becomes more genuine, even though the scenes demands much of her emotional range. I'm saying this because this is not how I would describe Garbo's performance in the earlier part of the movie, where she is stiff and seems to be struggling with acting in English. 

She does sound good. She has a low, warm and luscious voice. She also possesses an effective lost-girl look. The dramatic make-up accentuates both her beauty and sadness. It's hard to tell if she commands the screen with her  charisma or if the camera does most of the work. In any case, she has a strong presence without appearing out of character. 

The role of Anna's father, the Swedish coal barge captain, is played by George F. Marion, an American actor who is so convincing I thought he was Swedish as well, but not in a good way. It's a challenge to understand his speech. He had originated the role on Broadway as well as played it in the silent film adaptation of the play. I guess there is such a thing as playing the role too well.

Charles Bickford plays Matt, Anna's love interest. He is the least quirky of the cast, which makes him a nice addition. He serves well as a leading man and character actor in a role that doesn't ask much of him. It's not hard to imagine a better film with an entire cast of actors like him. The result might have been a more heartfelt and nuanced storytelling.

I haven't read the Pulitzer Prize's wining play on which the film is based, so that I don't know if there might have been some changes made. There were moments when I thought that the actors didn't do the words justice, but there were also moments when I thought the script itself was weak. It's a story about people trying to make up for their past, so for the most part we don't see their problems as much as hearing about them. The ending feels like a copout. Anna could be one of those great female characters in American drama, but is portrayed here more like a dramatic caricature than a tragic-heroine. ANNA CHRISTIE is not entirely painful to watch--and really there are some good moments here--but unless you are a Garbo fan it is barely worth the time.