Love the presentation so far, Citizen! The clapperboards are a really cool touch.
Footlight Parade was my
#3. I've always considered the musical to be my least favorite genre, but the 1930's revealed me to be a fan of the genre after all. The stunning, kaleidoscopic choreography of Busby Berkeley is a big reason for that. His musical numbers are always magical. "By a Waterfall" in
Footlight Parade is one of the most impressive, awe-inspiring sequences I've ever seen in a film. I was already a fan of James Cagney, but my admiration for him has grown after diving deeper into his 30's roles. Here he gets an early opportunity to display his multi-faceted talents by singing and dancing in addition to delivering rapid-fire dialogue. His chemistry with the feisty, infinitely charming Joan Blondell is excellent, as is the chemistry between Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. The script has a slapdash quality to it that fits well with the energetic pace. There's a ton of great lines and sexual innuendo and eye candy.
Footlight Parade is one of several musicals to make my list, and in my opinion it's the best of the bunch (or at least neck and neck with
Gold Diggers of 1933, which I'm sure will also show up at some point).
Stage Door was my
#16. It reminded me of
His Girl Friday in terms of the overwhelming amount of dialogue and the lightning-fast pace with which the characters speak, which is like porn for my ear drums. The mostly all-female cast dish out a non-stop barrage of wit, sarcasm and snark. Banter with barbs. Sharp jabs of humor. The perfect amount of cynicism. Ginger Rogers is as spunky as ever, and her friendship/rivalry with Katherine Hepburn is a joy to watch. The film is strongly pro-feminist, especially compared to its contemporaries. I was taken aback by the sudden shift toward tragedy in the last act, otherwise the film would probably be higher on my list, but for dialogue-lovers this is must-see cinema.
Suzy was my
#25. I never aim to get one-pointers for these countdowns, instead just voting for my twenty-five favorite films according to the criteria, so this is more by accident than design. Prior to prepping for this countdown, I don't think I'd ever seen a single Jean Harlow film. Now I've seen the majority of her filmography. While I don't think she's the most attractive or talented actress, she certainly possesses the intangible qualities of a star.
Suzy appears to be one of her least celebrated roles, but I really enjoyed it, and the vulnerability she displays in this film is quite the contrast to the brazen salaciousness of her pre-code roles. The busy plot might feel hackneyed to some, with its multiple engagements, love triangles, infidelity, spies, mistaken deaths and aerial assaults, but I found it quite entertaining. Cary Grant doesn't even bother with a French accent despite playing a Frenchman, but who cares about such details when he's repeatedly getting slapped by Harlow in a cabaret nightclub? Underrated, entertaining flick.
My List So Far:
#3) Footlight Parade
#16) Stage Door
#25) Suzy (one-pointer)