Sound Films P

Eva Bettoni

Florence Vidor

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Painted Desert, The (1931)

Featuring a very early performance by Clark Gable and also starring William Boyd. Western pardners Jeff and Cash find a baby boy in an otherwise deserted emigrants' camp, and clash over which is to be "father." They are still bitterly feuding years later when they own adjacent ranches. Bill, the foundling whom Cash has raised to young manhood, wants to end the feud and extends an olive branch toward Jeff, who now has a lovely daughter. But during a mining venture, the bitterness escalates. Is Bill to be set against his own adoptive father?...£7.49

 

Pajama Game (1957)

Starring Doris Day. Employees of the Sleeptite Pajama Factory are looking for a whopping seven-and-a-half cent an hour increase and they won't take no for an answer. Babe Williams is their feisty employee representative but she may have found her match in shop superintendent Sid Sorokin. When the two get together they wind up discussing a whole lot more than job actions!... £7.49

 

Palmy Days (1931)

Directed by A.Edward Sutherland and starring Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Weeks and George Raft, this film has a runtime of 77 mins and the print Quality is excellent.

Plot: Musical comedy antics in an art deco bakery (motto: "Glorifying the American Doughnut") with Eddie Cantor as an assistant to a phoney psychic, who is mistaken for an efficiency expert and placed in charge. Complications ensue when the psychic and his gang attempt to rub the payroll.

Review: Palmy Days was Eddie Cantor's first original feature film, the previous two Kid Boots and Whoopee were film adaptions of Cantor's previous Broadway successes that presumably carried built in audiences. Palmy Days could be said to be Cantor's first personal film success. It sure came at a time he needed it because being wiped out in the stock market crash Cantor was working real hard to rebuild his nest egg and support his wife and five daughters.
His innocent schnook character who turns the tables often on bigger and cleverer foes was finding real appeal with the movie going public. Cantor works for phony psychic Charles Middleton working all the special effects to convince Middleton's marks during séances that their dearly departed are actually communicating with them. One of Middleton's bigger suckers is bakery owner Spencer Charters who employs a flock of beautiful Goldwyn Girls as his bakers. Cantor who's been abused by Middleton decides to trip up one of his cons by getting a job at Charters's bakery, but Charters mistakes him for someone else and hires him as an efficiency expert. You have to love some of Cantor's brilliant ideas like sawing the corners of Charters's desk so that folks would not be tempted to linger awhile sitting on said corners and taking up his time.
Eddie also hooks up with Amazonian physical culturist Charlotte Greenwood who is always a delight. The two worked well together, they should have done more joint films. Charlotte also has the first musical number in the film Bend Down Sister or exercising with the Goldwyn Girls. Busby Berkeley did the choreography and while he hadn't really reached the creative heights as he did with Warner Brothers his style is unmistakable.
Cantor gets two numbers My Baby Said Yes Yes and There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby. Both are delivered in his quick tempo style, Michael Jackson had nothing on Eddie Cantor when it came to moving about on stage.
Of course Middleton is down, but not out. Cantor and Greenwood have a hilarious climax with Middleton and his two torpedoes Harry Woods and George Raft in the bakery. This was one of Raft's earliest films and he barely gets any dialog, but casting him as a gangster was definitely something he could always handle.
Palmy Days holds up well after more than 80 years, it's classic comedy is timeless and the film is great introduction to one of the funniest men of the last century Eddie Cantor.

 

Parade (1974)

Directed by, written by and starring Jacques Tati, this film has a runtime of 85 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.

Plot: Two children go behind the scenes of a small circus.

Review: It felt slight the first time around, but, wow, this really is a great film. It now reminds me of two other television productions from great European directors around the same time period, Fellini's Clowns and Bergman's The Magic Flute. Many people love those films, both very mediocre in their respective directors' canons, but there seems to be little love for Parade. It is deliberately low-key, but I found a lot in it this second time. At first glance, it doesn't seem to be much more than a filmed circus performance. But there's more. We don't only see the performances, although they probably take up most of the screen time. We also see the performers backstage. We see how much they love to do this. Even during the intermission, when no member of the audience can see him, Tati performs one of his mime acts for his fellow performers. And, something I didn't pay much attention to the first time, these performers, when they're backstage - and sometimes when they're on the stage - are constantly painting, painting pictures, the sets, all kinds of things. Not only is this film about the love of performance, but the love of artistic creation. And not only is it about that, but it's also about the audience's joy of watching the performers, and, sometimes, their joy of interacting with the performers onstage. Parade buzzes with a sense of Andre Bazin's famed moment. There's so much beauty to be found. And then there's that gorgeous ending, with the little boy and girl re-enacting the circus performers as they break down their sets and disappear. What a magical image Tati has left us, his final of the cinema. I love him more than, I believe, any other director. He touches me deeply in my heart….£7.49

 

Paradise Canyon (1935)

Starring John Wayne. Sent to find counterfeiters, John Wyatt joins Doc Carter's medicine show. They arrive in the town where Curly Joe runs his counterfeiting operation. Carter was once framed by Curly Joe and Curly Joe tries to get rid of him. But John foils his attempts and learning Curly Joe is the counterfeiter, goes after him..... £7.49

 

Paris Bound (1929)

Directed by Edward H.Griffith and starring Ann Harding, Fredric March, Carmelita Geraghty and Leslie Fenton, this film has a runtime of 76 mins and the print quality is OK to good.

Plot: Pre-Code early-talkie film version of Philip Barry's Broadway hit chronicles the first five years of marriage between James and Mary Hutton, and the two paramours they deserted who wait patiently - and manipulatively - in the wings

Review: I watched the 1929 Paris Bound, based on a play be Philip Barry and starring Ann Harding in her film debut and Fredric March. They play a loving couple who claim their love will never be tainted by others. March's parents caused a scandal in their set when she divorced him after his affair. They argue at the wedding that the woman was foolish and cost them both their home because of her divorce actions.
With that set up we see March and Harding through their first happy years of marriage. They are devoted but very modern. When business takes March to Paris, he goes alone. They believe a "break" is good for their marriage and she has her work with Richard (Leslie Fenton) on a ballet score. But into this bliss creeps the jealous Noel (Carmelita Geraghty) who has never gotten over losing March to Harding. She sees in the society news that March has gone to Europe alone and she chases after him.
After Harding learns of this, she decides to have an affair with Fenton but March returns home. Will they break up? Will they be able to patch things up? Harding is just wonderful in her first film. She's quite natural and at ease. March is also very good. Together they avoid the stagy acting and over pronunciation that mars other early talkies. Fenton and Geraghty are also good. Ilka Chase takes honors among the supporting cast (also in her film debut). Co-stars include George Irving, Hallam Cooley, Charlotte Walker, Juliette Crosby, and Rose Tapley.….£7.49

 

Party Girl (1930)

Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Review: The film itself is a social morality play about a chorus girl racket and their high rise bed hopping antics ruining young mens lives and contorting business contracts from rightful owners. It also has all those great cliche scenes of tubby old fellers in tuxedos manhandling squealing 18 year old flappers at gin parties at the office. Douglas Farbanks Jr is the handsome misled hero bedded by a floozie schemed by her conniving mother!.... £7.49

 

Peacock Alley (1930)

Starring Mae Murray, Jason Robards Sr and Billy Bevan, this early sound film has a runtime of 53 mins and the print quality is good to very good.

Plot: Claire Tree is a singer/dancer who goes after what she wants in a straight-forward, no-nonsense manner, so when she finds herself in the New York City hotel-suite, in fashionable Peacock Alley, of Stoddard Clayton, she wastes no time. Claire wants to get married. But, Stoddard, whom she cares for very much, has several proposals directed at her, none of which sound remotely like a marriage proposal; Claire tells him, in her straight-forward, no-nonsense manner that she wants to get married because, in her words: "I'm running away from the doubts and uncertainty and problems of a woman who isn't married." Stoddard thinks that nuptial bonds is a stupid old-fashioned tradition and fatal to romance. She says any man who says that is lying, and when she departs his suite at the crack of dawn, she seems convinced Stoddard indeed believes what he said he believed. But Claire has another option awaiting her...a Texan from home, and she promptly accepts his marriage proposal. But the house…..£7.49

 

Pedestrian, The aka Der Fußgänger (1973)

Directed by Maximilian Schell and starring Peggy Ashcroft, Elisabeth Bergner, Lil Dagover and Käthe Haack, this film has a runtime of 98 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent. This is a German language film with English subtitles.

Plot: When a German businessman causes a car accident with deadly consequences, the papers start digging into his past to find scandals. What they find causes him to reevaluate his own past during WW2 when he was in Greece.

Review: When a wealthy German engineer (Gustav Rudolf Sellner) causes a car crash that kills his son, local newsmen peel back the onion to find that he may or may not have taken part in a massacre in Greece during WWII. They don't wait for any confirmation and print their story anyway. Maximillian Schell directed this haunting morality play looking into the ambiguities of guilt, shame and history. What is and isn't important in the past gets blurry as time goes on. Sellner is excellent in the title role (he's lost his license and can't drive, hence the film's title), oddly likable even as you come to realize that he may indeed be guilty. Schell infuses the film with perhaps one too many artful touches (flashbacks, dreams, slow motion), but it doesn't dull its impact. There's one scene of several dignified women at a dinner table discussing, almost gleefully, their memories of war. Peggy Ashcroft, Lil Dagover and Elisabeth Bergner are among the women. It's an odd scene in an odd, shocking movie….£7.49

 

Penny Serenade (1941)

Starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. As Julie prepares to leave her husband Roger, she begins to play through a stack of recordings, each of which reminds her of events in their lives together. One of them is the song that was playing when she and Roger first met in a music store. Other songs remind her of their courtship, their marriage, their desire for a child, and the joys and sorrows that they have shared. A flood of memories comes back to her as she ponders their present problems and how they arose.... £7.49

 

Pepe le Moko (1937)

Directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, this film has a runtime of 93 mins and the print quality is very good. The film is French language with English subtitles.

Review: Pepe le Moko is a tragic figure -- his criminality has made him godfather of the Casbah but happiness eludes him because the instant he leaves he'll be nabbed by the cops.
Powerful as he is, Pepe has no friend -- not the gypsy woman (well acted) who believes she loves him, nor the police inspector with whom he engages in homo-erotic repartee. Informers are snuffed out in the Casbah with impunity but they are in ever-replenishing supply.
The ambiance of the Casbah is a character in itself here -- one of great allure and mystery. The bedazzling kept woman for whom Pepe lusts is less a love object than an irresistible reminder of the world he has lost.
Jean Gabin's Pepe is a masterpiece of sexual appeal, savoir faire, and brilliance. Just when we think that love has befuddled him, we see that Pepe has outfoxed us again.
He does manage to escape -- but how he does so ends this film on a shockingly unexpected yet triumphant note….£7.49

 

Perfect Clue, The (1935)

Directed by Robert Vignola and starring David Manners, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Dorothy Libaire and Betty Blythe, this film has a runtime of 65 mins and the print quality is very good

Review: "The Perfect Clue" is a film that is enjoyable...but you need to turn off your brain and just enjoy it. Otherwise, you might think of how ridiculous and improbable the plot is...and that would ruin it.
Mona (Dorothy Libaire) is a spoiled rich girl. When her father decides to remarry, instead of being happy for him, she stomps off in a snit...a snit that takes her on a cross-country adventure. Along the way, she meets up with David (David Manners) and thinks he's a nice guy...until he tries to rob her! Now here's where it gets odd. Instead of robbing her, they end up going on adventures together! It all comes to a halt when cops think David murdered someone...and with his prison record, they're quick to assume the worst. What's next? See and find out for yourself.
The fact that Mona and David fall in love is amazingly far-fetched...but enjoyable. In fact, I'd say that about the entire film!....£7.49

 

Playboy of Paris, The (1930)

Directed by Ludwig Berger and starring Maurice Chevalier, Dee Frances, O.P.Heggie, Stuart Erwin and Eugene Pallette, this film has a runtime of 72 mins and the print quality is very good.

Review: This movie was a treat from start to finish- lots of fun. The entire cast was in great form.
A waiter (Maurice Chevalier) receives a vast inheritance and becomes a club-hopping playboy by night (with Stu Irwin as side-kick) and working in a café by day. Stuart Irwin and Eugene Palette also work in the restaurant (in the kitchen). O.P. Heggie is entertaining as the scheming proprietor of the café with Frances Dee as his daughter. Not much as a musical, enjoyable primarily as a chaotic 1930's style comedy.
Maurice Chevalier and Stuart Erwin are terrific as usual. Fans of either of these two exceptional talents will not want to miss….£7.49

 

Phantom Broadcast, The (1933)

Directed by Phil Rosen and starring Ralph Forbes, Vivienne Osborne, Gail Patrick, Pauline Garon and Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, this film has a runtime of 71 mins and the print quality is good to very good.

Plot: A handsome radio singer has it all--fame, money, adoring fans--but what no one knows is that his accompanist, a hunchbacked piano player, is actually the voice behind the arrogant, abusive "singer"'s fame. The two men fall for the same girl, and when the singer turns up dead, suspicion falls upon his assistant and the girl.

Review: I LOVED this film (I saw it on a VHS from Sinister Cinema) and was particularly moved by Ralph Forbes' performance in the lead role of the "hunchback," who (in an eerie foreshadowing of the Milli Vanilli scandal) provides the actual voice for a handsome but non-singing radio star. Forbes achieves the pathos of Lon Chaney, Sr.'s performances in similar roles (he actually worked with Chaney on the 1926 MGM film "Mr. Wu") and it's a real pity Forbes spent most of his career playing silly-ass Englishmen in supporting roles. "Phantom Broadcast" is also noteworthy for its daringly amoral ending (the sort of thing Hollywood only could get away with in the so-called "pre-Code" period of the early 1930's) and as proof that Philip Rosen, who made some of the God-awfullest movies ever made for the later Monogram in the 1940's, had at least two genuinely great films in him (this one and 1934's "Dangerous Corner"). Also, the actual singing voice heard on the soundtrack sounds so much like Russ Columbo's I suspect it IS Columbo on demo records recorded for a music publisher — anyone out there know more about who the REAL phantom singer was?....£7.49

 

Phantom Wagon, The aka La Charrette Fantome (1939)

Directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Pierre Fresnay, Marie Bell Micheline Francey and Louis Jouvet, this is a French language film with English subtitles, it has a runtime of 87 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.

Review: It would be interesting to know what a contemporary audience made of this when it hit the salles in 1939; it was one of 94 French films released that year but it's debatable whether any other wove together so many elements from other movies. Consider: The leading lady is an officer in the Salvation Army (Major Barbara), she's dying of TB (Camille) and spends the bulk of her working life amidst dossers and no-hopers (The Lower Depths) and, oh yes, the dead are permitted to look at the living (Liliom) but in retrospect it's fascinating to note that in the year the war began we had a film blending fantasy with realism and in the year the war ended we had another, Les Portes de la nuit, so there's clearly a Term Paper lurking in there somewhere. Even Carne didn't produce as many fine films as Duvivier in the thirties and only Renoir tied him with a half dozen. This glides effortlessly from frames full of teeming life to lyrical scenes like an old woman trudging alone through a vast snowy landscape and, towards the end, bucolic scenes in pastoral meadowland. Only Michele Morgan had a pair of eyes like Micheline Francey's in French cinema and time and again Duvivier lets us see them in close up which serves as gorgeous punctuation to the more harrowing scenes. The plot has Francey determined to 'save' a lush, Pierre Fresnay, and return him to the bosom of his family whilst quietly and discreetly running out of breath herself. Louis Jouvet is reduced to a supporting role and dies around the fourth reel but not before a scenery-chewing episode in which he is burning with a fever which compels him to leave his bed and stumble over snow-filled roofs where he expires to reappear towards the end in the driving seat of the ghostly carriage for which Fresnay is booked as his relief. Apart from an isolated scene at the start where ghostly hands separate the old woman's soul from her body plus the odd creaking of the as yet unseen phantom carriage Duvivier saves most of his process shots for the end (and for 1939 they are excellent) and in some respects call to mind the last scene in Three Comrades. Again I am indebted to our Scandinavian friend who supplied the print of this very fine movie….£7.49

 

Pied Piper, The (1972)

Directed by Jacques Demy and starring Donovan, John Hurt, Michael Hordern, Jack Wild, Diana Dors and Roy Kinnear, this film has a runtime of 90 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Greed, corruption, ignorance, stupidity, and disease. Midsummer, 1349: the Black Death reaches northern Germany. A family of strolling players travel to Hamelin for the Mayor's daughter's wedding to the Baron's son. He wants her dowry to pay his army, while his father taxes the people to build a cathedral he thinks will save his soul. A local Jewish apothecary tries to find a treatment for the plague. The Priests charge him with heresy and witchcraft. A mysterious minstrel (Donovan), who joined up with the players and who has soothed the Mayor's daughter with his music, promises to rid the town of rats for a fee. The Mayor agrees, then reneges after the rats have been dealt with. In the morning, the plague, the Jew's execution, and the Piper's revenge come at once.

Review: Back when I was a (allegedly disturbed) young child, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" was my absolute favorite fairy-tale. I owned many tapes that were filled with bedtime stories and fairy-tales, but I mostly just listened to "The Pied Piper" because it featured fascinatingly morbid topics like the black plague, child abduction, rat infestations and a mysteriously sinister guy playing the flute. I was always convinced the premise of Robert Browning's eerie poem could form the basis of a series of unimaginably dark horror movies, but unfortunately there aren't that many. This British production, filmed on location in Germany, is a pretty great version but it's incredibly obscure for some reason and I spent an awful long time purchasing a decent copy. Now that I finally own it, I'm both thrilled about re-experiencing the familiar story lines as well as surprised about discovering entirely new story aspects I wasn't even aware of. The new (to me, at least) elements mostly handle about political and religious hypocrisy, so I presume that is the reason why they weren't included in any of the fairy-tale versions I grew up with. But it remains a fascinating story and a fabulously engaging film, only suffering from obvious and regrettable budget restrictions. Director and co-writer Jacques Demy had a clear and personal vision of the story, and it's definitely not a movie for young children to watch. Although never graphic or repulsive, "The Pied Piper" thrives on a disturbing atmosphere and it never evades any controversial themes, like the abuse of political power by the Catholic Church and the arranged marriages with minors. Donovan is excellent as the Piper, passing through Hamelin with a family of traveling circus artists. The burgomaster and the Baron (another splendid role for versatile super-actor Donald Pleasance) supposedly run the secluded little town, but they mainly obey the will of the uncanny red monks that always look over their shoulders. The friendly Jewish alchemist Melius is concerned about a threatening outbreak of the Bubonic plague, the power-hungry son of the Baron (John Hurt) is about to wed the under-aged burgomaster's daughter for financial reasons and the Pied Piper is the only person capable of freeing the town from its rat infestation. The script of this film is well filled and requires your absolute full attention, but the elaboration of the different story lines is highly compelling and the dialogs are enchanting. The costume designs and scenery are terrific and genuinely take you back to the dark and unsettling medieval times. Donovan, primarily a singer, also provides the film with a couple of great songs (most notably "They Call me the Pied Piper" and "Life has its ups and downs") and there are at least two near-brilliant and unforgettable sequences. Namely the rats breaking out of the wedding cake and a harrowing execution scene near the end. If you own "The Pied Piper", it's definitely a film to treasure….£7.49

 

Pittsburgh (1942)

Directed by Lewis Seiler and starring MarleneDietrich, Randolph Scott and John Wayne, this film has a runtime of 88 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham rides roughshod over his friends, his lovers, and his ideals in his trek toward financial success in the Pittsburgh steel industry, only to find himself deserted and lonely at the top. When his crash comes, he finds that fate has dealt him a second chance.

Review: This film is sort of like "The Spoilers II", as the three leads in this film had just starred in THE SPOILERS and the tone and style of the two movies are so similar. Once again, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott and John Wayne star as people who are all determined to strike it rich, and like the previous movie, they do. But it all comes at a great cost, as Wayne slowly looses sight of what was important in life and he slowly becomes a twisted and greedy industrialist. At the same time, Scott and Dietrich are waiting in the wings---waiting and hoping that Wayne will come around to his senses.
The film begins during WWII and Scott is making a patriotic speech about how everyone needs to continue giving their best for the war effort. Then, in an office, Scott, Wayne and their old friends reminisce about the old days. At this point, the film gos back about twenty years. All of them are poor and Scott and Wayne are humble coal miners. However, to impress Dietrich (who wants more out of life than to just marry a humble miner), he connives and builds himself a dandy little empire.
Oddly, although the film is set in the 1920s, Universal Studios did a lousy job of trying to achieve the look. Everyone dresses like they do in the 40s and the cars are all late models--barely a 20s-era car in sight! This is just sloppy. While it doesn't ruin the film, this must be considered when giving the film a rating.
Also, while Wayne does a very good job of evolving into a total jerk, because the film starts out with Wayne and Scott together, you know that eventually, Wayne changes back to the character he was at the beginning of the film. This takes out all the suspense, plus it seems a bit hard to believe--after all, he was very, very bad before this. On top of all this, the preachy narration seemed preachy and the WWII propaganda aspect was a bit heavy-handed….£7.49

 

Plaisir, Le (1952)

Directed by Max Ophuls and starring Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon and Claude Dauphin, this film has a runtime of 93 mins and the print quality is very good. This is a French language film with English subtitles.

Plot: Three stories about pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women, pleasure and youth. Then comes the long tale of Julia Tellier (Madeleine Renaud) taking her girls (whores) to the country for attending her niece's communion, pleasure and purity. And lastly, Jean (Daniel Gélin) the painter falling in love with his model, pleasure and death.

Review: Is it possible to take one of the best tales in French literature and make a film even better out of it? Yes, it is. The tale is Maupassant's "La maison Tellier", the film-maker is Max Ophuls, the film is "Le Plaisir". In fact, the movie is divided into three episodes, corresponding to three Maupassant's tales. In the two short introducing and final stories we actually find the bitter, acid, misanthropical sarcasm typical of Maupassant's style, though softened by Ophuls' sympathy for human unhappiness.
What really stuns the viewer is the central episode, the sumptuous narration of "La maison Tellier". The story is the same in the book and in the film. A bunch of prostitutes from "La maison Tellier", the brothel of a French province town, takes a day off to go to a First Communion celebration in the countryside. But what a difference of mood. The fact is that Maupassant detested and despised people, while Ophuls manifestly loves them and is always ready to forgive their faults and pettiness. Therefore the writer's aggressive satire is replaced by the director's gentle sense of humor. The brothel is closed, and we shortly realize that the balance of the town, the whole social order is upset. Some sailors start a brawl, and that looks rather expectable. But even peaceful middle-class respectable citizens, long-time friends, begin to quarrel bitterly. "La maison Tellier" is the key of social stability!
Then the church-scene, a perfect blend of sweet fun and profound human feeling. Overwhelmed by the intense emotion of the First Communion Mass, the prostitutes burst in tears, and they carry all the villagers with them. I guess to have noticed a delightful nuance by Ophuls. The "beautiful Jewish girl" whom, according to the director (a Jewish himself), no brothel can afford to miss (!), at first tries to restrain herself. She's not Christian, she's not supposed to be moved! But, of course, she soon starts to weep... Great emotion, great art! And the women merged in the high grass, picking flowers... it's late, they risk to miss their train... but no! It's so a gorgeous day, let's go and pick some flowers! How poetic, how beautiful... what a fantastic scene! Needless to say, as soon as the women are back, peace, order, friendship are restored in the town.
The above comments can give a partial idea of the director's extraordinary treatment of the story. But it's important to remark that just the visual beauties and the camera work by the genius Ophuls are largely enough to place "Le plaisir" among the best works in the history of cinema. Let me just mention the first scene, when we peep inside the brothel together with the outside eye of the camera, which jumps from a window to another like a little bird. That is the most brilliant cinematic idea I can remember. A perfect film forces a perfect job by the cast. And in fact the acting is magnificent.
"Le plaisir" is a profound study of human beings, of their joys and sorrows, an instance of superlative good taste in treating a risky theme, a triumph of clever cinematic technique. A peak of the art of cinema….£7.49

 

Playtime (1967)

Directed by, written by and starring Jacques Tati, this film also features Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden and France Rumilly. It has a runtime of 119 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official in Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture which is filled with the latest technical gadgets. Caught in the tourist invasion, Hulot roams around Paris with a group of American tourists, causing chaos in his usual manner.

Review: Where 'Mon oncle' was Tati's initial statement on the modern and its collision with the old, here in 'Playtime' he reaches his conclusion. They can unite - there is beauty in the new, as well. Yes, what is new and alienating now, will soon be the old familiar tradition. Everything changes, but the spirit of things remain.
This he manages to show in a series of beautiful scenes, brilliant observations, in a Paris which has been rebuilt to the extent, where the old Frenchman doesn't find his way around it, anymore, and the Eiffel tower can only be found in reflections on shiny glass or steel surfaces of modern buildings.
This is a film language all of its own, and driven to a razor sharp perfection. Through Tati's eyes, we can see exactly what he both worries about and marvels at, and of course we feel the same. The love he does in all his movies show for people, no matter how silly they might be, he also shows the city itself, and its megalomaniac constructions. It's all crazy, he tells us, but isn't it great fun, too? Yes, Jacques, it is, indeed….£7.49

 

Pointed Heels (1929)

Directed by A.Edward Sutherland and starring William Powell, Fay Wray and Helen Kane, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Phillips Holmes and Eugene Pallette this film has a runtime of 58 mins and the print quality is very good.

Review: . Millionaire producer Robert Courtland (William Powell) is secretly in love with Lora (Fay Wray) but Lora has just married Donald Ogden (Phillips Holmes), a serious composer who is writing a symphony. He receives a telegram from his mother, cutting off his allowance because of his marriage to a "chorus girl". He is in despair!!! He can't do anything else but compose!!! - so Lora goes back to the chorus line and they find a cheaper (much cheaper) apartment. Unfortunately, they live in the same building as Lora's brother and his wife ("Skeets" Gallagher and Helen Kane), a low brow comedy team billed as Dot and Dash who are constantly fighting. They have an idea for a show and when Courtland visits Lora and Donald, Dot and Dash burst in and convince him to become their backer. He says yes but only if Lora is given a star part. He also gives Donald's music the spotlight (Donald has written a hit song "I Have to Have You" ).
Lora and Donald's marriage is not going well and Courtland, who has never stopped carrying a torch for Lora, suggests that she leave Donald. He invites her to his mansion so she can kick up her heels but has a change of heart and puts a tipsy Lora to bed in a separate room. The inevitable happens - David visits Courtland, sees Lora's bag and gloves and immediately prepares to sail for Europe.
For the opening night Courtland gets Dot and Dash drunk, so they will put over the song in their old way - in rehearsals they had been singing it "too highbrow"!! They boop a doop it and surprisingly the show is a hit. Courtland, in a change of heart, brings Lora and David together for the fadeout!!!
Even though William Powell wasn't exactly musical, this film (his 40th) was to be quite important to him as it was the first film to give him top billing. "Pointed Heels" was also a rare musical venture for Fay Wray as well. Watch for Adrienne Dore as a pretty, witty chorus girl. Eugene Palette was also good as Courtland's sidekick. Paramount was not above plugging songs from other Paramount films in release - at the wedding breakfast the band plays "I'm All A-Twitter and All A-Twirl" from "Close Harmony" and "The Flipperty Flop" from "The Dance of Life" both Nancy Carroll films.. £7.49

 

Poppy (1936)

Directed by A.Edward Sutherland and starring W.C.Fields, Rochelle Hudson, Richard Cromwell, Catherine Doucet, Lynne Overman and Granville Bates, this film has a runtime of 70 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Poppy, daughter of carnival medicine salesman Professor McGargle, falls in love with the Mayor's son. Countess Maggie Tubbs DePuizzi is claimant to the Putnam estates, but McGargle and lawyer Wiffen plot to make Poppy claim the fortune. Wiffen and the Countess double-cross the Professor, but kindly Sarah Tucker notices a resemble between Poppy and the deceased Mrs. Putnam. It turns out that McGargle adopted the girl, she is the rightful heir, the purported Countess is only a showgirl, and every one has a happy ending.

Review: POPPY (Paramount, 1936), directed by A. Edward Sutherland, stars WC Fields as Professor Eustace McGargle, a role he originated in the 1923 stage production of the same name, and reprized in a silent 1925 adaptation retitled SALLY OF THE SAWDUST for United Artists, directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Carol Dempster not as Poppy, but as Sally. This 1936 version, which premiered June 25, 2001, on Turner Classic Movies, is said to have been more faithful to the play than the Griffith-directed incarnation. Aside from the usual Fields comedy supplements, he also manages to show the sentimental side to his character, as he did as The Great McGonigle in THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY (1934), where he also cheated suckers while finding time to be a loving and caring father to his grown daughter. POPPY could very well have been a sequel to THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, considering the same time period and Fields' character names in both films sounding identical, from McGonigle to McGargle. However, I find POPPY to be one of Fields' more quieter comedies. Host Robert Osborne of TCM mentioned prior the presentation of the movie that Fields was quite ill and in great pain during the making of the movie, but succeeded in finishing the film in what might have been his farewell performance (which explains why WC wasn't having his usual field day as he did in his past comedies). Had Fields died following the completion of the film, what a fine conclusion it would have been to his great career, with W.C. not only reprising the role he made famous on stage, but in saying this memorable line to his on-screen daughter, Poppy, as he gives her his expert fatherly advice, "Never give a sucker an even break," before the fadeout.
Set in 1883, Professor Eustace McGargle, a swindling carnival man wearing top hat, checkered pants and spats, comes to a small town with his daughter, Poppy (Rochelle Hudson) where he establishes himself as the prize medicine selling star of a traveling carnival, while Poppy wanders about and meets and falls in love with Billy Farnsworth (Richard Cromwell), a mayor's son, but because of Poppy's sideshow background, the Farnsworth family look down on her. Only Sarah Tucker (Maude Eburne), a matron woman, takes a liking to Poppy, and later discovers something about her true identity that makes things right again with the Farnsworths.
Aside from the romantic subplot between Hudson and Cromwell (who nearly resembles MGM's own Franchot Tone when wearing that derby), Fields manages to come off with some good comedy routines, such as cheating a bartender into buying his "talking" dog; purchasing frank-furthers (or better known to some as hot dogs) for himself and Poppy from a vendor (Tom Kennedy) with McGargle telling him that he will get paid at the conclusion of his engagement. The outraged vendor demands the money for his hot dogs, so McGargle and Poppy decide that since they cannot pay for them, they might as well give them back to him, half-eaten, ending with this funny exchange: Kennedy: "Listen you tramp, how am I gonna sell these again?" Fields: "First you insult me, then you ask my advice concerning salesmanship!" This amusing bit is soon followed by McGargle selling medicine bottles for one dollar. A naive patron (Bill Wolfe) acquires one and pays for them by giving McGargle a $5 bill, but never gets his $4 change. Instead, McGargle quiets down the customer by giving him four more bottles, and "No more!!"; followed by some amusing bits involving character actress Catherine Doucet as Countess Maggie Tubbs DePuizzi. When Fields is not on screen, Hudson as Poppy gets to sing one nice song, "Rendezvous With a Dream" (by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin) twice. The title tune of "Poppy" is sung by off-screen singers during its opening credits. Also featured in the cast are Lynne Overman as a hick lawyer; Rosalind Keith as the snobbish Frances Parker; and Granville Bates, among others.
In spite of some leisure moments, POPPY, at 73 minutes, is really worth viewing and rediscovering to fans of the Great Tomato Nose Thanks to TCM for bringing this rare gem back on TV again. Currently available on DVD. (***1/2)

 

Princess Charming (1934)

Directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Evelyn Laye, Henry Wilcoxon, Yvonne Arnaud, Max Miller, Finlay Currie and Cecil Parker, this film has a runtime of 75 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: Revolution breaks out in a small European kingdom, and a young princess is forced to flee for her life. She heads for the neighboring country, which just happens to be ruled by the king she is betrothed to. Unfortunately, the new revolutionary government won't let citizens leave, which she actually doesn't mind all that much because she's not particularly jazzed about marrying the elderly king. He sends a young naval officer to bring her across the border, but in order to do so they are forced into a marriage of convenience. Complications ensue.

Review: If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn I was watching a Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy flick here. The plot is simple, the singing is divine, and anything that can go wrong - WILL.
The basic plot goes thus: a beautiful princess, who is to be married off to some prince that she has never met, is suddenly forced to flee her castle and home town as the villagers revolt, many with the intention to capture the poor princess. She has to get herself to neutral ground as quickly as possible, but then, once there, finds that she is still not safe, and can still be captured as she is not a citizen of the neutral territory, merely a refugee. Of course she can become a citizen by marrying someone who lives in the neutral territory, but then, what will her betrothed have to say about that idea?
A thoroughly enjoyable musical that I would gladly recommend to anyone. Princess Charming has 'charmed' 9 out of 10 stars from me….£7.49

 

Princess Comes Across, The (1936)

Starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Douglass Dumbrille, Alison Skipworth, George Barbier, William Frawley, Porter Hall Lumsden Hare, Sig Ruman and Mischa Auer, this is a very good print of the film with a runtime of 76 mins.

Review: Somehow, when thinking of movie couples in the golden age of film, Carole Lombard's partnership with Fred MacMurray gets overlooked. Not as glamorous as Tracy and Hepburn, Hepburn and Grant, Grant and Dunne, Eddy and MacDonald, MacDonald and Chevalier, Bogart and Bacall, it still got tremendous mileage in comedies (HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE, TRUE CONFESSIONS), comic thrillers (THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS), and straight drama (SWING HIGH, SWING LOW). Lombard had the ability to make the film's activities soar by her zaniness. MacMurray managed to anchor the film down by his normality (and in TRUE CONFESSIONS uses this normality against itself - by taking himself too seriously).
THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS made fun of thrillers (although the dangers involved are not made funny), and of the culture of publicity that the public thrives on. Lombard has the looks and talents to make it in movies, but nobody cares. With the help of Alison Skipworth she pretends she is Princess Olga of Sweden and she wants to act in movies. Besides the spoofing of Garbo, Lombard is counting on the vast publicity from the media to get her the million dollar contract she wants. Oddly enough, the Swedish royal family does not seem to care that a fraud is being perpetrated by Lombard and Skipworth at their expense. But we have to make some concession to the plot.
MacMurray is a well known musician (a concertina player of all things) and orchestra leader. He and his manager pal, William Frawley, are on the boat as well, and MacMurray is very interested in the beautiful, but snobbish Princess. However, he has another problem. MacMurray is an honest fellow, but he did one bad thing, and he is being pursued by an obnoxious little weasel (played superbly by Porter Hall) who is waiting for a big payoff from the musician. He also seems to know the truth about the Princess. MacMurray refuses to pay, and Hall promises him some problems. The ship has several internationally known detectives on board (among them are Mischa Auer, Sig Ruman, and Douglas Dumbrille), and Hall sees one of the detectives and we see him approach to talk to him. Shortly afterward Hall is found murdered. On top of this, there is word (sent to the ship) that an escaped murderer is thought to be aboard (shades of Dr. Crippen), and we do see a strange little stowaway from time to time.
The film goes on to a second murder, a set of different rival detectives trying to solve the case, and MacMurray deciding to step in to clear himself and the Princess. The conclusion is quiet satisfactory.
With it's cast of expert character actors supporting MacMurray and Lombard's performances, and the clever script, THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS is a first rate comic thriller. I rate it 9 out of 10….£7.49

 

Princess Tam-Tam (1935)

Directed by Edmond T.Greville and starring Josephine Baker, Albert Prejean, Robert Arnoux and Germaine Aussey, this film has a runtime of 77 mins and the print quality is very good. This is a French language film with English subtitles.

Plot: Max de Mirecourt, celebrated French novelist, takes a vacation from his social-butterfly wife in Tunisia, where he meets beautiful Alwina, a barefoot hill shepherdess. To cure his writer's block, Max casts Alwina as heroine in a real-life 'Pygmalion' story. She reacts to civilized ways and emotions with charming simplicity. Now Max, stung by reports of his wife's affair with a dark-skinned maharajah, has the idea of launching Alwina in Paris society as a princess. Will civilization spoil her wild charms? Who will pair off with whom?

Review: Josephine Baker is such a joy to watch. She exudes grace, joy, and energy, and it was a treat to see her sing and dance a couple of times here. Hey, I could watch her skip among the Roman ruins in Dougge, Tunisia with the little kids for hours, and wish the action had remained there longer. What's weird and damn unfortunate is that despite her character being so poised and speaking French fluently, she's still referred to as a "savage" and a "wild animal" many times by the visiting Frenchmen, who are there to help an author get over his writer's block. They hatch an idea to fake an interracial love affair to help with the novel and also to make the author's wife back at home jealous. Meanwhile, she's flirting up a storm with a visiting Maharaja, who is unfortunately played by a white actor in blackface, with similar intentions.
While the film broaches at least the idea of miscegenation, so much so that Joseph Breen refused to pass the film in America (which is laughable in a painful way, and yet so predictable), it really has the two minority characters being used as pawns, and little more. Meanwhile, it has a painful dose of cultural condescension and outright racism in the script, something I haven't seen in other French vehicles for Baker. In an effort to display her inferiority and need of "civilization," they show her needing to learn basic arithmetic and shoveling food into her mouth coarsely, using her hands. Not surprisingly, it all leads to the old "East is East and West is West" crap, and a conclusion that Baker is better off left "uncivilized" in Africa. Argh.
You might wonder about my rating given the attitude the film takes, but the reason for it is simple: Josephine Baker. She's elegant in her singing, radiant in her evening gown, and owns the dance floor, jumping into a musical performance at the end which, while a bit Busby Berkeley-lite, had its moments even before she got out there. The film puts her down as a "savage" but her presence continually contradicts that, and there simply is no comparison to the menial roles given to black performers in America during this period. See it for Baker, and try to ignore the rest….£7.49

 

Private Life of Henry VIII, The (1933)

Directed by Alexander Korda and starring Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Milesc Mander, John Loder, Claud Allister, Gibb McLaughlin, Sam Livesey, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Binni Barnes and Elsa Lanchester, this film has a runtime of 94 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: This movie tells the story of King Henry VIII and the last five of his six wives. Set almost entirely within the royal castle, it begins just before the death of his second wife (Anne Boleyn) and ends just after his sixth wedding (to Catherine or Katherine Parr).

Review: Alexander Korda's film about Henry VIII was a worthy Oscar winner - the first time a British film was so recognised. Seen now it is a dated piece of work but Charles Laughton has the heart and soul of the king down to perfection - grumbling, belching, ripping meat of the bones with his bare hands, leering at the women of his court, and - when the situation allows it - giving the part a fair amount of pathos.
Oddly, the film begins with the execution of Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon). We don't see the first wife, Katherine of Aragon, at all. Wendy Barrie is Jane Seymour, the one true love of Henry's life - for her he changed his initialled monogram from an entwined H and A (for Anne) to H and J. Catherine Howard is played by Binnie Barnes - she's a bit too flighty for my liking and not an accurate reading of Catherine as history renders her. Robert Donat has a thankless part as Culpeper, who Catherine sets her sights on. And as Catherine Parr, the last Queen to Henry and the one to outlast him, Everley Gregg is amusing and touching.
The scene-stealer as usual though is the real-life Mrs Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, playing the plain, card-dealing, Anne of Cleves. She puts this part across with little effort, wheedling money from her new husband in lieu of the expected fruits of their wedding night. These scenes are a great source of comedy as the two pros play off each other.
'The Private Life of Henry VIII' is a good play, and just when you think you know how the part is going to go, it surprises you as all good acting should. Laughton would do other good work for Korda (including Rembrandt a few years later) but this is one of his best remembered roles for British cinema….£7.49

 

Private Lives (1931)

Directed by Sidney Franklin and based on the Noel Coward play, this film stars Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Reginald Denny, Una Merkel and John Hersholt. The film has a runtime of 84 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: Elyot and Sibyl are being married in a big church ceremony. Amanda and Victor are being married by a French Justice of the Peace. Both couples go to a hotel on the same day and are put in adjoining rooms with adjoining terraces. Things go fine until Amanda sees her former husband Elyot on the adjacent terrace. While they both pretend to be happy, both make plans to leave, but their spouses do not want to leave as it is their respective honeymoons. So the other spouses each go down to the bar. This leaves Elyot and Amanda together and they reminisce. Before long, the sparks again fly and they both decide to leave together to the Mountains of Switzerland. They love, they bicker, they fight, they stop. Then it begins over and over. Then Victor and Sibyl show up at their chalet.

Review: I've lost count of the number of times I have seen this first-rate movie, and it makes me laugh every time. The plot and dialog are outstanding, and Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery are excellent. Reginald Denny and Una Merkel are a delight as well. In one of the film's many excellent scenes, Shearer shows off the acting skills she honed during her silent screen days -- hearing the musical strains of a song once dear to her and her ex-husband in happier days, her expression goes from recognition to fond remembrance to regret to resignation, all in the span of a few seconds. Although she is best known for her dramatic gifts, Norma is top-notch throughout this film, displaying an excellent flair for comedy. I've often read her performance being unfavorably compared to that of Gertrude Lawrence, but I thought Shearer was a wonder. It's hard for me to conceive that this movie was released 80 years ago -- it is still fresh, funny, and worth every moment of your time….£7.49

 

Prix de Beaute(1930)

Starring Louise Brooks and directed by Rene Clair. Lucienne, typist and gorgeous bathing beauty, decides to enter the 'Miss Europe' pageant sponsored by the French newspaper she works for. She finds her jealous lover Andre violently disapproves of such events and tries to withdraw, but it's too late; she's even then being named Miss France. The night Andre planned to propose to her, she's being whisked off to the Miss Europe finals in Spain, where admirers swarm around her. Win or lose, what will the harvest be?.… £7.49

 

Pursuit To Algiers (1945)

Directed by Roy William Neil and starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Riordan and Rosalind Ivan, this film has a runtime of 62 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Holmes and Watson are recruited in a serpentine fashion to escort the heir to a European throne back to his native country following his father's assassination. Because the prince has been educated in Great Britain, Holmes persuades him to masquerade as Watson's nephew Nikolas on an ocean liner bound for Algiers. Unfortunately, the ship is filled with red herrings as well as real assassins and Holmes is challenged to outwit them all and deliver his charge to his destination. Among the suspects are a knife-throwing circus performer, two shadowy archaeologists, a hulking deaf mute, an enigmatic ship's steward, a chanteuse with a mysterious song case, and a gun-toting British dowager.

Review: Holmes & Watson endure a PURSUIT TO ALGIERS whilst assisting a young king to evade assassins.
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce appeared as Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson on screen for the twelfth time in this enjoyable fast moving film. Not the best of the series by any means, it still offers the two wonderful actors adding nuances to the classic characters: Holmes seems a tad more human and enjoys a kiss from a pretty female, while Watson raises his voice to sing Loch Lomand.
The plot, which has the intrepid duo escort a college boy monarch (Leslie Vincent) on a dangerous cruise from Britain to North Africa, is a bit silly, but it does serve to introduce some intriguing characters, including a frightened singer (Marjorie Riordan), a strident fresh air fanatic (Rosalind Ivan), a nervous little fellow with a big knife (Martin Kosleck), and a strangely obliging steward (Morton Lowry).
This film followed THE WOMAN IN GREEN (1945) and preceded TERROR BY NIGHT (1946)

 

 

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