1930s Hall of Fame Part 2

SPOILERS

On rewatch, the feeling of paranoia in the second half of the film stuck out even more to me. It's definitely a strong film before that too, managing to showcase chain gang brutality effectively. Also an interesting tale before that of a veteran trying to reshape his life's purpose. It's when Allen manages to escape the first time though where I think the film really starts to shine from both a plot and cinematography perspective. The paranoia in the simplest of scenes really entrenched me in Allen's brain. So much hangs over every single action and the camera work is excellent in showcasing this.

Paul Muni aside from giving a great performance delivers an ending line that hammers home the film's message. And though the chain gang may not be as relevant a concept today, the film's social realism is developed enough to make the concept's importance stand out IMO.

Not much opinion change on this. Top tier Mervyn LeRoy who is sure to be well represented on the countdown.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing that couple again in a future Hof, hint, hint

I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang


*spoilers*

Is it an expose of chain gangs or just a form of exploitation movie? I have mixed feelings about prison movies in general, some are good, others do seem to revel in horrors heaped upon prisoners and the outrage that might cause. Others focus on the thrill of escape. The best ones explore characters. I can see that Fugitive must have been an influence on subsequent prison movies.

There was an interesting comparison made at the start between life in prison v the army v factory, but not quite followed up. There was a similarity with The Roaring Twenties looking at life after the war and how people returning from war could slide into a life of crime, and the systems that cause that.

The first escape sequence was good, quite tense; I liked the barber shop scene: “How was it, close enough?” “Plenty!”, and Allen eating his hamburger when he gets out.

A few questions: Why do all the women in this film seem to have the same blonde hair do? Why would anyone blackmail someone else into marriage?

At times I felt like the film sort of lurches from one thing to the next. Things started to get a little bit over-dramatic when he returns to prison, I didn't enjoy the second escape as much and I don’t feel like the second half of the film was as strong as the first.

All the discussion over him being returned to prison was interesting. Should he get out of the consequences of crime just because he’s a ‘good citizen’? Doesn’t thinking like that just penalise the poor and let the rich get away with things? And isn’t that still a problem today? I almost feel like it was a bit of a cop-out in making him innocent in the first place. Would he really have deserved 10 years hard labour if he had been guilty? I don't think so. The truly awful part though is not the hard labour or horrible conditions of the chain gang but the cruel vagaries of the promises, lies and suspended decisions of the legal system.

I did like the line near the end, something which I was thinking after the first escape, that shows that you can’t really be free if you are on the run, “I haven’t escaped, they’re still after me!”

I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang



Originally thought I would love this. Then got a bit worried near the beginning of the film. I was worried that it would all center around planning to get out for the main character, but luckily we see him escape early. I liked the first escape and it was cool to see him hide underwater in a brilliant way. Thought Muni was pretty good as the lead. Another exciting thing was seeing Oshkosh Wisconsin and Lake Winnebago on the map as I live super close to that area where they apparently had one of the scenes.

The second escape felt a bit cheesy to me, so that kept it from being in the great range. You would think everyone would have been on high alert and that this wouldn't have had a chance in hell obviously. Guess that's why it is a movie thought. The paranoia at the end was cool, even if it felt a bit like an abrupt ending. Still a pretty cool solid film

+

Red Dust

AKA: I'm Just a Gigalo

Though, understandably, if I ran a rubber plantation in Indochina, I'd be playing the Big Bad Wolf with every woman that came into my sight as well. ESPECIALLY if I was Clark Gable.
And I gotta say, they were lovely ladies indeed and very wonderfully different from each other that broaden the spectrum beautifully. And, in the end. . .


I am quite happy that he ended up with Jean Harlowe's character, Vanetine. They fit together with their raw, rough edges far better.
Speaking of which, I may be in the minority of those who enjoyed Harlowe from the get-go.
I've seen her in a number of films and, a lot of times she seemed kind of, (for a lack of a better word) held in and not allowed to really stretch behind the role she was placed in. Such as the angry/bored wife in Dinner at Eight comes to mind.
Here, she lets loose that bawdy lady of hers, but, in later scenes, there are countless moments of subtlety in her facial expressions as the affair starts off and she has to watch from the sidelines.
The dinner before the husband is shipped off and out of the way has some great side looks across the table, is a great example of this.
The whole barbs and badly hidden emotions across the board was very well done. Including Gene Raymond's portrayal of the "innocent" and "trusting" husband was someone I didn't think was a sap, just a good guy that gave his trust incorrectly.

The Third Act of the shooting was pretty good and I do like the ending scene of Harlowe reading to the wounded and horny Gable was a fine touch to it all.

Now, I nearly ended it there, but I can't talk about the triangle without mentioning the sweltering, tropical storm riddled location of this story.
There is always something about the tropics and the primal urges that seem to blossom and run rampant in such places that make them ideal for such romantic infidelities and the turbulence that they cause. And the weather follows the sh@t storm that erupts as the affair and it's repercussions unfold. Bringing with it some incredibly sexy scenes with Astor, such as her being carried in, drenched, by Gable. What a hot scene!

Thank you so much, @rauldc14 for joining in last minute and bringing another fun-filled movie to this HoF!

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Bravo! Ed...You know I really dug Red Dust too. It's something I could watch again.

With raul being our 4th Vote brought in, we are doing AMAZINGLY well with 73% of our reviews in and 4 out of 11 Votes completed.


That is just ACES!!

There's a few of these I could very easily find myself rewatching again.

I've been meaning to get to Mogambo which is a remake of Red Dust, but just haven't done it yet.

Glad you enjoyed Red Dust Ed! It's just not often I stumble upon favorite films by myself, so I figured it a worthy nomination. I'd be surprised to see it do well here, but I can hold hope that maybe it sneaks on the Mofo 30s list!

It definitely is worthy of getting on the 30s Countdown. Hopefully others that are looking for movies to fill their lists we see it and others to add to it.

It was real nice to see an earlier movie of Mary Astor's since I've only known her from The Maltese Falcon and it's even greater still to see Jean Harlowe in something I've missed out on.

haven't heard of that one. . . Grace Kelly AND Ava Gardner? . . . watched the trailer ( it's a bit cheesy) but I'm sure the movie is worth checking out

It happened One Night is a delightful romantic comedy from the mid 30's. Clark Gable plays a reporter, is a Claudette Colbert is a socialite looking to run away with her playboy lover. They meet up on a bus and disgust turns to love as they make their way cross country.

The charm of the film is it's mix of visual humor and quick repartee. Clark Gable's delivery is fantastic in most of his scenes. Claudette performs an almost silent performance with her humor while she still engages with Gable her best moments are what she does with her body language.

I'm not a big Frank Capra fan but this is one of my favorites, I wish he made more of these and less high concept ones in his later career.

great nom...and yes it's better than Child Bride

One of the most famous romantic comedies ever and Capra's most successful film at the Oscars. It's one of the three films ever to win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Writing. When I said to one of my friends about five years ago that I had not seen this. Her reply was "You need to watch it immediately. It's the best film of the 30s." Talk about hype.

The characters are good and the film is well paced. I prefer the on the road segments where Colbert and Gable are able to play off one another. Fun scenes like the 'Flying Trapeze' or the roadside banter keep the film flowing well. There's also an excellent section revolving around 'The Walls of Jericho' that enables Gable and Colbert to connect emotionally whereas before it's built around their humourous interactions. I'd say that's my favourite scene from the performances to the way the set is laid out and how it builds the connection between these characters. The plot itself is fine but I'm not a big fan of Capra's screenplays. This is likely my favourite film of his.

A good film but I didn't like it as much as Stalin seemed to.

Just watched The Goddess on youtube. I feel it is not fair criticism, but I just very rarely enjoy silent movies, nothing against them, it's just a form of art which doesn't speak to me personnally. The only esception I can think of is the movie Metropolis which I enjoyed.



As for The Goddess itself I'd say it's a pretty typical story, a prostitute with a son that she loves is being treated poorly by society and by her ''pimp'' (for lack of a better term). And the film encourages us to be emphatic toward her, which kind of work, but I saw it coming form the beggining and it didn't really engage me. It was alright, but not super entertaining for me, I probably won't remember it in 3 weeks.

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The Roaring Twenties (1939)

A crime film about bootleggers and how the prohibition turns good men into criminals (and how war lets them befriend with bad people).



Three people befriend during the WWI. After the war the return to civilian life isn't easy and slowing economy makes it hard to find a job. Eventually they all end up together smuggling booze to thirsty prohibition era New York. What started as easy money eventually turns to violent business and greed tears old friends apart. Pretty standard stuff for this kind of a film.

The foremost thing on my mind is the rushed pacing of the film. The story is just too huge for one movie. Obviously it wasn't an option in 1939 but I'd believe this would work much better as a TV series. Lots of of characters are simplified too much and the dynamics between them are practically distilled to one line of dialogue at worst (George and Lloyd). It's like a synopsis of a great story. Acting was also good but I'm not exactly sure if I like Cagney.

The opening sequence in France during the war feels staged and somewhat out of place. It's necessary because it's pretty much all the character building we have for George but it looks awful and is way too theatrical. Back in the States everything works better. I think one or two singing scenes could have been cut for something else and at least some attempt to show why Eddie fell in love with Jean would have been nice.

I like how the film puts much of the blame to prohibition itself. How making a law impossible to enforce that's against the people's sense of justice isn't only stupid but also dangerous as it turns otherwise decent men into criminals by pushing them outside of legality. I'm surprised how clearly the film criticized prohibition. As a related note Eddie is portrayed little too good and decent to underline that point. I don't think he could have gotten to his position by always being such a nice guy.

The story and acting are good, technically it's fine except for the opening scenes and there's nothing horribly wrong with the film but 106 minutes is just too short time to tell a story of Eddie's rise and fall. The end result is far too superficial.

Cagney blasts his way through the '20s backed by a well developed cast of complex characters.

Always been a big fan of this and it's my favourite gangster film of the decade. While containing a strong criminal element, it's very much a character drama. A fictional biopic that mirrors the rise and fall of prohibition with the rise and fall Eddie Bartlett. No wasted minute in this screenplay. I realise that to some this may seem rushed but to me it just adds to the epic feel I get from watching it. There's so much going on here and that's what I want from a gangster film.

The narrator interludes that include backdrops to the decade are edited in a engaging way to support the ongoing narrative. The twenties itself are dissected in these interludes, starting with the post war attitude and going from there. Just an aside but loss of purpose for soldiers returning from the war is a very common theme that Hollywood directors focused on. And even still do. It's something that I find interesting from a psychological perspective. Not sure if I'd want to live in the '20s but it would be a wild ride.

And that gives us Voting List #5!!
THANKS @Nathaniel!

Humanity and Paper Balloon (1937)

Watched this couple of months ago for the first time but didn't review it because I chose to nominate it for the second 1930s HoF. So this is a review based both on the first and second viewing.



The film takes place in 18th century Japan and focuses on people living in sort of a slum district full of small rental apartments. The main protagonists are Unno, a samurai without a master, and Shinza, a barber who also runs illegal gambling events. Unno desperately tries to gain the attention of his father's former master but past services hold little value. Shinza mostly wants to humiliate the local ringleader who doesn't like competition for his gambling sites.

The way how sad and tragic story is told in seemingly light and happy fashion is interesting. In some ways it undermines the tragedy but it also makes suffering and unhappiness seem more casual, more normal and expected. I'd suppose Humanity and Paper Balloons is surprisingly funny for such a pessimistic movie.

At the heart of the film is a conflict of two different sets of values. On one end is Unno and his blind faith towards honor and personal pride. On the other end are Mouri, former master of Unno's father, and the landlord who rents the slum houses who both value money and personal gain over anything. Somewhere in between is the barber Shinza who gets into trouble for his greed but retaliates to mend his hurt self-esteem. Being a pessimistic film it's not very hard to guess which people are doing better in the end.

There are many hilarious scenes (like the fishmonger in the street and the sake dripping wake) that made me laugh out loud. Very few scenes are made overtly dramatic and the overall feeling is kinda like watching an alcoholic doing something stupid - you may chuckle but deep down you know it's actually really sad. I don't think it succeeds perfectly in this but I like the idea.

The kidnapping part of the film is the weakest. It just feels pointless and too certain to fail from the beginning. I think it also made Shinza too focused on his pride, especially in the very end where he suddenly faces death with calm and honor. In few places the film drags a little and some scenes go on for too long (like Shinza trying to pawn his barber kit).

Good tragicomedy that hides its sadness behind jolly surface. I don't think it's the masterpiece some claim it to be but it's definitely a good one.



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Will send my votes later tonight. Just need to get the order right because it's really tight this time.