The MoFo Top 100 of the 1930s: The Countdown

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I watched several Leslie Howard movies for this countdown, and The Petrified Forest was one of his movies that I watched. I considered it for my list, but I just couldn't find room for it. (However, I did find room for a different Leslie Howard movie.)

I don't know if anyone here remembers the "MoFo Challenge" thread that we had a few years ago, but Swan challenged me to find a horror movie that I liked, so I watched a bunch of the old Universal Monsters horror movies. The Mummy was one of the movies that I watched back then, and it was okay, but I didn't like it enough for it to make my list.

It's been a long time since I watched Wuthering Heights, but I wasn't able to find the time to rewatch it before submitting my list. It probably would have made my list if I had rewatched it.

I've only heard of Pepe Le Moko because it was nominated in the HoF, but I didn't watch it. I haven't heard of Daybreak or The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse.



Seen both, Dark Victory has Bette Davis on the top of her game imo and claimed the #11 spot on my ballot. Horse Feathers on the other hand is decidedly meh imo.

Seen: 31/50
My list:
2. Stella Dallas (King Vidor, 1937) [#87]
3. La bête humaine [The Human Beast] (Jean Renoir, 1938) [#78]
4. Way Out West (James W. Horne, 1937) [#81]
5. Le jour se lève [Daybreak] (Marcel Carné, 1939) [#57]
8. Les Misérables [Les Miserables] (Richard Boleslawski, 1935) [#67]
11. Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding, 1939) [#52]
16. Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo [I Was Born, But...] (Yasujirô Ozu, 1932) [#75]
19. A Star Is Born (William A. Wellman & Jack Conway, 1937) [#69]
21. Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse [The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse] (Fritz Lang, 1933) [#56]
25. Mädchen in Uniform [Girls In Uniform] (Leontine Sagan & Carl Froelich, 1931) [1 pointer]

Faildictions (streamline moderne vsn 2.01):
50. Millie
49. Café Metropole



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Always down for some Marx Brothers but I settled on one and this was not it.




and Davis is great in Dark Victory but it's not the film of hers I have on my list.


Watched 27/50 (54.0%)
1)
2)
3)
4) Hell's Angels (#85)
5) Pepe le Moko (#54)
6) The Scarlet Empress (#63)
7)
8)
9)
10) The Charge of the Light Brigade (#97)
11)
12) Camille (#96)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18) Red Dust (#59)
19) Bachelor Mother (#86)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25) Seventh Heaven (1 Pointer)
__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
A silly, crazy and hysterical Marx Bros. movie, Horse Feathers is my #25. It's the one where you learn that the password is "Swordfish", but not for long; besides, the "white phagocytes" like to shoot spitwads at the President of the college! Other highlights include all 4 Bros. singing "I Love You" to the tragic Thelma Todd and Harpo choosing to go to bed with a horse even though an attractive woman needs a place to sleep.

Seen 50/50
My List
4. Porky in Wackyland (82)
5. The Young in Heart (65)
16. Love Me Tonight (92)
18. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (98)
23. Gunga Din (61)
25. Horse Feathers (51)
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Somebody make a list on Letterboxd. NOW!
__________________
Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.





Dark Victory was my #8. Blatant emotional manipulation typically turns me off, but the script here is so strong and Bette Davis so captivating that I willingly allowed myself to be put through the emotional wringer. Davis delivers a powerhouse performance (perhaps the best I've seen from her, although she's incredible in everything). By the end, I found myself fighting the lump in my throat as she milked every tear-jerking second. It was also a pleasure seeing her and Bogart share the screen during a few scenes. One of the finest melodramas ever made.



Red Dust was my #12. I saw the iconic clip of Jean Harlow bathing in a rain barrel and immediately had to seek out the film. It boasts all the great things about pre-code films: risqué dialogue, flirtatious nudity, sexual innuendo, immoral characters. This is perhaps the lustiest film I've seen from the decade. It's been weird seeing Gable sans 'stache in so many early 30's films, but he's great here as an unlikeable brute putting the moves on another man's wife. No character is particularly likeable, but unlike most viewers, I find that aspect of the film refreshing. The romance that blooms between Gable and Harlow isn't your typical Hollywood love story that's built on poems and rose petals. Rather, their flaws in character and their shared unsavoriness is what bonds them. They simply deserve each other. I also loved the jungle setting, which feels authentic enough to fool you into thinking that it was shot on location.


My List So Far:
#3) Footlight Parade
#8) Dark Victory
#12) Red Dust
#15) Destry Rides Again
#16) Stage Door
#17) Swing Time
#25) Suzy (one-pointer)
__________________



I voted for both of today's entries. Horse Feathers was the first Marx Brothers movie I watched, and it was my favorite. Dark Victory, what Spaulding said.

9. The Scarlet Empress (#63)
13. Dark Victory (#52)
15. Horse Feathers (#51)
18. The Young in Heart (#65)
19. City Girl (#74)
21. Pepe Le Moko (#54)



Ashamed to say that I've never seen Dark Victory, the Bette Davis version, but I did see a made-for-TV remake with a young Anthony Hopkins and Elizabeth Montgomery and really liked it, so I know I'll love the Bette version. I love Horse Feathers but like edarsenal, I opted for a different Marx Brothers movie. Happy to see HF here, though.

#6 Gunga Din (61)
#8 Destry Rides Again (72)
#13 Captains Courageous (64)
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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."



Dark Victory was one of the first of Bette Davis' movies that I watched when I first got into old cinema. It's a powerhouse and I'm glad it made the countdown. I'm sure I've seen Horse Feathers at some time in the past, but just don't remember it.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Dark Victory was my #8. Blatant emotional manipulation typically turns me off, but the script here is so strong and Bette Davis so captivating that I willingly allowed myself to be put through the emotional wringer. Davis delivers a powerhouse performance (perhaps the best I've seen from her, although she's incredible in everything). By the end, I found myself fighting the lump in my throat as she milked every tear-jerking second. It was also a pleasure seeing her and Bogart share the screen during a few scenes. One of the finest melodramas ever made.



Red Dust was my #12. I saw the iconic clip of Jean Harlow bathing in a rain barrel and immediately had to seek out the film. It boasts all the great things about pre-code films: risqué dialogue, flirtatious nudity, sexual innuendo, immoral characters. This is perhaps the lustiest film I've seen from the decade. It's been weird seeing Gable sans 'stache in so many early 30's films, but he's great here as an unlikeable brute putting the moves on another man's wife. No character is particularly likeable, but unlike most viewers, I find that aspect of the film refreshing. The romance that blooms between Gable and Harlow isn't your typical Hollywood love story that's built on poems and rose petals. Rather, their flaws in character and their shared unsavoriness is what bonds them. They simply deserve each other. I also loved the jungle setting, which feels authentic enough to fool you into thinking that it was shot on location.


My List So Far:
#3) Footlight Parade
#8) Dark Victory
#12) Red Dust
#15) Destry Rides Again
#16) Stage Door
#17) Swing Time
#25) Suzy (one-pointer)
just had to repost and express just how much I agree with all of this. Especially when it came to the lines in bold.



Neither made my ballot, primarily because neither did I watch. Gotta try and give Ed a chance to catch up

Seen: 31/52
My list:
2. Stella Dallas (King Vidor, 1937) [#87]
3. La bête humaine [The Human Beast] (Jean Renoir, 1938) [#78]
4. Way Out West (James W. Horne, 1937) [#81]
5. Le jour se lève [Daybreak] (Marcel Carné, 1939) [#57]
8. Les Misérables [Les Miserables] (Richard Boleslawski, 1935) [#67]
11. Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding, 1939) [#52]
16. Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo [I Was Born, But...] (Yasujirô Ozu, 1932) [#75]
19. A Star Is Born (William A. Wellman & Jack Conway, 1937) [#69]
21. Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse [The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse] (Fritz Lang, 1933) [#56]
25. Mädchen in Uniform [Girls In Uniform] (Leontine Sagan & Carl Froelich, 1931) [1 pointer]

Faildictions (streamline moderne vsn 2.01):
48. City Streets
47. Jezebel



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Halfway mark and I stay at a solid halfway seen ratio. Though I have not seen either of these last two I am pretty happy to see a strong list of excellent films with an actor I only recently discovered in the 30s HoFs, Jean Gabin with La Grande Illusion and Pépé le Moko . Which I DO need to see La Bête Humaine before it's due back at the library this Friday.


Watched 27/52 (51.9%)
1)
2)
3)
4) Hell's Angels (#85)
5) Pepe le Moko (#54)
6) The Scarlet Empress (#63)
7)
8)
9)
10) The Charge of the Light Brigade (#97)
11)
12) Camille (#96)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18) Red Dust (#59)
19) Bachelor Mother (#86)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25) Seventh Heaven (1 Pointer)



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Neither made my ballot, primarily because neither did I watch. Gotta try and give Ed a chance to catch up l
and an ample opportunity and I, of course, blew it

oh the shame, the shame. . .