September 2020 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN SEPTEMBER: 26
September has come and gone in a flash. Time seems to fly by even faster during these Covid days, now working from home mixes with personal time and one day goes over into the next in a heartbeat. I don't know what's in store for us this autumn and winter but I expect to be cooped up in my Barcelona beach apartment a lot and will dedicate a great deal of my spare time to watching the classics.
Let's first start with the Irene Dunne films, listed below in watching order. There are 7 feature films in total, so not counting the short The Stolen Jools in which Dunne also makes an appearance:
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 26 (25 feature films & 1 short)
REWATCHES: 0
SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Claude Rains (6 in total)
MOST WATCHED ACTRESS: Irene Dunne (7 in total)
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Claude Rains (6 in total)
MOST WATCHED ACTRESS: Irene Dunne (7 in total)
This September we had a lovely late summer with warm temperatures still and we spent time outdoors in our barrio. I didn't take any trips to the Filmoteca. I could have watched Vertigo again, but then, I had already seen it once on the big screen (which was a fantastic experience, by the way) and I really want to limit my time spent indoors with other people, so I decided to skip it for now. They were also showing Buster Keaton's One Week and I would have loved to see that one on the big screen (since it's one of my fave Keaton shorts) but the screening was in the small viewing room. If I'm going to visit the Filmoteca at all during Covid, it will be in the large viewing room.
I managed to watch a total of 26 films. I had mentioned with last month's round-up that if I want to reach a year's total of 300 films by the end of December I need to see an average of 26 films a month for the remaining months of 2020. So I'm really going to make an effort and this should be definitely doable. I ended up watching only new-to-me films (as usual) and my most watched actor and actress are Claude Rains and Irene Dunne. I like them both and actively sought out their films to watch (instead of them being part of the cast coincidentally).
Breaking the 26 watched films down in decades:
1910s - 0
1920s - 1
1930s - 15
1940s - 7
1950s - 2
1960s - 1
Consolation Marriage (with Pat O'Brien)
I Remember Mama (with Barbara Bel Geddes, Oscar Homolka and Philip Dorn)
Thirteen Women (with Ricardo Cortez, Myrna Loy and Kay Johnson)
No Other Woman (with Charles Bickford, Gwili Andre and Eric Linden)
Never a Dull Moment (with Fred MacMurray, William Demarest, Gigi Perreau and Natalie Wood)
The White Cliffs of Dover (with Alan Marshal, Roddy McDowall, Van Johnson, C. Aubrey Smith, Dame May Whitty, Gladys Cooper, Peter Lawford and Elizabeth Taylor)
Over 21 (with Alexander Knox and Charles Coburn)
Consolation Marriage was the first Irene Dunne film watched this month. Totally predictable but I liked it. In theory Dunne and Pat O'Brien might seem like a strange couple but I thought they had nice chemistry and their playful interaction seemed natural. I loved their friendship. Myrna Loy with blond hair had little to do. Though I normally like her, she was completely overshadowed by the lovely Dunne.
I Remember Mama I chose because of the good ratings. I had expected a great film, a compelling immigrant story with heart, yet I was totally underwhelmed. It was overly long and dragging. The first part was extremely boring, fortunately it did get a bit better in the second part. I didn't care for uncle Chris (Oskar Homolka) nor the sisters and their eccentricities. Actually they are all rather annoying. Fortunately Irene Dunne can really pass herself off as a Scandinavian woman — the way she looks with her hair like that (the accent is a bit dubious, though not entirely bad) — and suits her role well. Her relationship with Barbara Bel Geddes gets more depth in the final part, and though most of the film left me completely unaffected, the ending where Bel Geddes reads her story put a lump in my throat, making me think of my own mother. The photography by the great Nicholas Musuraca is beautiful at times. And I liked the second daughter, played by Peggy McIntyre.
Of Thirteen Women I had expected more. Though I like the story premise, the short running time doesn't allow for a broader development of the plot or characters. Myrna Loy is the most noteworthy part of this film with her Asian character and looks. Well, she sucks as an Oriental woman but I found her story interesting. Being bullied in school she wants to settle the score with the class mates responsible. Irene Dunne is one of those class mates and looks lovely this young — with dark hair — but unfortunately she's underused. Ricardo Cortez plays the detective and I was hoping for some romance with Dunne but there was little chemistry and no relationship to speak of.
No Other Woman is a melodrama where Irene Dunne and Charles Bickford (in a rare leading role) go from rags to riches (and very quickly, I might add, because this film runs just under an hour) and where Dunne puts up with a lot from her cheating husband. The most exciting part of the film is the climactic courtroom scene involving a nasty divorce settlement where Dunne provides a plot twist. Only mildly enjoyable but I like Dunne this young.
Never a Dull Moment is an entertaining comedy starring Dunne and Fred MacMurray who make a believable couple and have good chemistry. It's a very predictable story of a sophisticated city woman falling for a rancher, yet has some funny moments. I like MacMurray's two daughters played by Gigi Perreau and Natalie Wood. Nothing special but a pleasant way to spend one and a half hours. By the way, was there ever a time that Andy Devine was not annoying?
Continuing with Irene Dunne films, The White Cliffs of Dover is a drama boasting a strong cast. The film is a bit sentimental and full of patriotism, also too long, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The courtship between Dunne and Alan Marshal reminded me a bit of Hitchcock's Rebecca, mostly because Marshal reminded me a bit of Laurence Olivier. Here Dunne is also in a foreign country, falling in love with a stranger and marrying him quickly. Like Joan Fontaine in Rebecca, she doesn't want to go back to the States either. Well, that's as far as the comparison goes. The happy marriage is interrupted by WWI and it's not so difficult to guess what fate awaits Marshal. Peter Lawford plays their son and I've never seen him in a dramatic role before (I think), quite liking him in his final scene. I also love Gladys Cooper as the mother-in-law and her relationship with Dunne. I was pleased to see a young Elizabeth Taylor but the subplot with Van Johnson was totally superfluous. Some great cinematography by George J. Folsey and Robert H. Planck.
Over 21 is an enjoyable comedy despite the fact that Irene Dunne and Alexander Knox didn't really convince as a couple. There's no denying that Dunne is the best thing this film has to offer. She is luminous and looks great (I love her looks with her hair down). Based on a play by Ruth Gordon and her own experiences as an army wife — married to writer/director Garson Kanin — it's not so surprising that Dunne is shown as a working woman with professional ambitions, with Knox even encouraging his wife to pursue her writing career. By the way, The World and Apple Pie speech was one of the highlights of this film.
Of these 7 Dunne films I enjoyed Consolation Marriage, The White Cliffs of Dover and Never a Dull Moment the most and I Remember Mama the least.
I also watched six Claude Rains films. They are in watching order:
The Invisible Man (with Gloria Stuart)
Kings Row (with Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn and Judith Anderson)
Stolen Holiday (with Kay Francis and Ian Hunter)
The Clairvoyant (with Fay Wray)
Mr. Skeffington (with Bette Davis and Walter Abel)
White Banners (with Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Kay Johnson and James Stephenson)
The Invisible Man is a really well-done horror film with good special effects, especially for its time. The story is compelling, with Claude Rains as the invisible man becoming more evil by the minute. I knew there was no hope for his redemption after he killed so many police men and derailed a train with many deaths as a result. (I really was surprised by the extent of his crimes.) You just know Rains cannot escape his fate and that Gloria Stuart (in a rather boring role as his love interest) cannot help him. Excellent cinematography by Arthur Edeson with also some great tracking shots. Take note that Rains is mostly invisible during this film, having his face covered all the time. Only during the final scene we see him undisguised. We have the pleasure of hearing his great voice, though.
Kings Row is the only one of the Rains films that I hadn't sought out especially for him. I had been meaning to see this film for some time and decided to watch it now. It's a good melodrama but could have been much better if it would have had stronger male lead actors. (Apparently lots of male actors were away fighting a war.) Though I like Robert Cummings, he is so bland here and wears too much makeup. As for Ronald Reagan, he's not a dramatic actor but I prefer him here in his serious moments, and the famous scene "Where is the rest of me?" is well acted. Ann Sheridan has first billing but only shows up after about an hour. She carries this film with her good performance and strong character. I loved her family home, her loving dad and brother, and she has great chemistry with Reagan. Despite the weak male leading cast I did really enjoy this. The story is compelling, James Wong Howe's cinematography looks great and I loved the score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The ever reliable Rains gives good support.
Stolen Holiday with Kay Francis is disappointing and uneven in tone, and the romance with Ian Hunter seems to be from a different film. But I love Francis and her style and dress sense. Also Rains gives a solid performance. Fortunately I really enjoyed The Clairvoyant. With a story premise reminiscent of Nightmare Alley this film was a pleasant surprise. I also appreciated the fact that it wasn't totally predictable. Watched this for Rains who gives a good performance again and never fails to deliver. I also really liked Fay Wray as Rains' wife. She has a meatier role here than she normally has.
Though Mr. Skeffington is inconsistent in tone, I really liked it ... at first, especially Claude Rains' gentle character of Mr. Skeffington. I was also pleasantly surprised how good and witty the script was and of course had to look up the names of the script writers (the Epstein brothers, no wonder!). Bette Davis' character doesn't seem to be too smart but in the beginning she seems genuinely fond of Rains. I love their scene and conversation on the boat right after they get married, it's one of the highlights of this film for me. Bette seems really interested in getting to know her new husband better and I love the way Rains looks at her. But her character gets less likeable as the film progresses and her high-pitched voice becomes more annoying. I also didn't understand Bette's suitors, providing comic relief and being portrayed in a cartoonesque way. It's really beyond me why they all want to marry Bette and are raving about her beauty because to me she doesn't look attractive at all with her ugly hairdo. This film could definitely have done with a shorter runtime, and though I liked the music score by Franz Waxman, at times it was too overbearing. Because I wanted Rains to be happy, I didn't mind the happy ending so much, but it is too sentimental and not the best ending imaginable.
The last Rains film I watched this month was White Banners. Here he's seen in a rather unusual part, that of a family man, a professor in chemistry and an inventor. Fay Bainter plays the female lead role of a cook and housekeeper at the Rains household who wants to be close to the teenager son (Jackie Cooper) she gave up for adoption and who lives next door. I liked Rains' family with Kay Johnson playing his wife and Bonita Granville as the daughter. I enjoyed this film but found Bainter a bit heavy-handed with her philosophical ramblings. James Stephenson makes a short appearance as Cooper's real father.
Of the 6 Rains films watched I enjoyed The Invisible Man the most and Stolen Holiday the least.
I saw Kay Johnson in Thirteen Women and White Banners and wanted to watch another film with her in a more prominent role. I found Dynamite, an early talkie with okay sound. Fortunately the performances weren't as stilted as I had expected. The story premise of a rich heiress who needs to marry before her twenty-third birthday in order to cash in her fortune is not a very original one. What makes this different is the choice of husband, namely a murderer on death row (Charles Bickford) who needs money in order to provide for his little sister after his death. But then his life is saved because the real murderer comes forward and this poses a problem for the newlyweds. The plot development is predictable except for the surprise ending which is really far-fetched. Why Conrad Nagel and Johnson felt the need to say goodbye to Bickford in the mine is beyond me. Anyway, the leads Bickford and Johnson have good chemistry. It's too bad their relationship isn't developed properly and hasn't more depth, something which certainly could have been accomplished considering the long runtime of two hours. I love the scene where Johnson tries to prepare dinner and gets help from Bickford's little sister. Joel McCrea is in this too.
I also wanted to watch another Kay Francis film and chose Women in the Wind because I like William Gargan as well. This is good fun with women flying their planes and competing in the so-called Powder Puff Derby. Pretty exciting they really did that stuff back in the days (in 1929) with Amelia Earhart being the most well-known woman flier. The film's romance takes a back seat and there are hardly any sparks flying between the leads. Kay Francis looks less glamorous, even a bit sturdy. Also with Eve Arden who comes away unscathed after a crash landing with her plane which was quite unbelievable.
The rest of the eleven films watched this month were randomly picked. They are in watching order:
The Sin of Nora Moran (with Zita Johann, Paul Cavanagh and Alan Dinehart)
The Devil Is a Woman (with Marlene Dietrich and Lionel Atwill)
Dragoon Wells Massacre (with Barry Sullivan, Dennis O'Keefe, Mona Freeman and Katy Jurado)
The Strange Woman (with Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders and Louis Hayward)
Two Seconds (with Edward G. Robinson, Vivienne Osborne and Preston Foster)
M’Liss (with Anne Shirley, John Beal and Guy Kibbee)
Berlin Express (with Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan and Paul Lukas)
The Stolen Jools (with Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, et cetera)
Experiment in Terror (with Glenn Ford, Lee Remick and Stefanie Powers)
Born to Be Bad (with Loretta Young and Cary Grant)
The Thirteenth Chair (with Dame May Whitty, Madge Evans and Lewis Stone)
The Sin of Nora Moran was my first film of the month. I chose it because the film poster and title intrigued me and it has some good reviews and ratings. The story is pretty straightforward, yet the artful way in which the narrative is put together (with dreams and flashbacks) makes this film a bit more special. But it's not as good as I had hoped for. Visually it's pleasing with a great scene where the governour talks to Zita Johann and only her face is visible while the rest is covered in black. Johann photographs beautifully by the way and one of her dresses is stunning. I particularly disliked the overbearing music.
The Devil Is a Woman I wanted to watch because it was censored during the Franco era and I was curious (see this post). At first I didn't like this film at all, Marlene Dietrich's character being so unlikeable and annoying, even awful when uttering dialogue. But as soon as I realised it was more of a parody and not meant to be taken too seriously, it became more entertaining. Still, the beautiful photography by director Josef von Sternberg and good production values are the best things this film has to offer. It also has an appealing dreamlike quality at times, especially during the sequence in the rain with the duel. My main criticism is that I didn't care at all what happened to the characters which is in my book a bad thing. And Dietrich is not very credible as a Spanish woman.
Dragoon Wells Massacre presented itself to me by way of a recommendation of a fellow film blogger. I decided to watch it because I like both Barry Sullivan and Mona Freeman. Though entertaining I was a bit disappointed, mainly because of Freeman's unlikeable and rather stupid character and I didn't like her romance with Sullivan as I'd hoped I would. I actually preferred the romance between Dennis O'Keefe and Katy Jurado. Jack Elam is the surprise in this western. Normally he plays the baddest villains but here he is a likeable delinquent. I actually felt sorry for his character when he said that because he was ugly people automatically assumed he was bad. Good cinematography by William H. Clothier but the print I watched was rather dull in colour.
I watched The Strange Woman with my sister. I have only seen a few Hedy Lamarr films — this is my 5th — and I like her and also the way she sounds. Her beauty is undeniable and it's shown in numerous beautiful shots of her face. I thought her acting was quite good (her facial expressions and lifted eyebrow are captivating) and she suits her role really well. Though her character shows some goodness at times (e.g. giving to charity), hope for redemption is futile. This is an entertaining noir with some nice photography by Lucien N. Andriot, but I didn't care much for the male players George Sanders and Louis Hayward.
Two Seconds is an enjoyable pre-code film with a great performance from Edward G. Robinson who always seems to give his best. Especially the surrealistic scene, beautifully shot in the half-dark by Sol Polito, with Robinson giving a manic speech, is an impressive piece of acting. I liked how the story developed, how Vivienne Osborne showed her true nature as an opportunistic woman, and how we see Robinson getting more unstable towards the end. Also good support by Preston Foster. But I was really in shock when Foster fell to his death and I was wondering how it was possible that they were working on a skyscraper without any protection.
What else did I watch?
M'Liss is an Anne Shirley vehicle with an Anne of Green Gables type of role for her. Shirley seemed to be playing a lot of variations on the character she took her screen name from. Though the film is enjoyable, it has an odd romantic relationship between teacher John Beal and pupil Shirley. It just didn't feel right. Some nice interior photography by Robert De Grasse and a fine role for Guy Kibbee as Shirley's alcoholic father. His acting was especially good during his death scene.
Berlin Express has Merle Oberon in the lead. She's a weak lead actress and has little chemistry with Robert Ryan. I watched this with my sister hoping for an exciting suspenseful film. It is fairly enjoyable, with some great photography of the station and inside the train, also with impressive location shots of war-torn Germany, but on the whole it was lacking in excitement and just wasn't thrilling enough.
Experiment in Terror was also overall disappointing despite the great Henry Mancini score and some fine photography by Philip H. Lathrop. I'd hoped for a scary watch, and though it was suspenseful at times, there was something seriously lacking in the story and plot development. The mannequin sequence was good and scary, though. I guess I never really felt Lee Remick's fear and Ross Martin as the villain is not much more than heavy breathing and a woman's disguise. I was hoping for an interesting motive why he wanted the money and thought maybe he needed it for the kid and his operations. Which wasn't the case so the inclusion of the Asian ex-lover and her son was superfluous. By the way, I disliked Glenn Ford's haircut. And how stupid was Stefanie Powers to get in the car with the villain?
Born to Be Bad stars a young and beautiful Loretta Young who plays a bad character but towards the end shows some redeeming qualities. I think she is credible as a wicked woman and some of her facial expressions are really convincing. Yet Cary Grant's performance is pretty lackluster and his character is bland and boring. And rather unbelievable how he all of a sudden loves Young and wants to give up his marriage for her. Most memorable for the glamorous gowns Young is wearing.
Last film of the month was The Thirteenth Chair, a fun old-fashioned whodunnit murder mystery with good performances by Dame May Whitty and Lewis Stone. The seance scenes are well done and create a suspenseful and creepy atmosphere. The identity of the murderer was even a surprise for me. Watched this for Madge Evans. Elissa Landi is in this too and looks lovely.
I also watched one short this month, the well-known The Stolen Jools. It's an enjoyable and star-studded film about Norma Shearer's jewels gone missing and a detective hunting for them. Appearances by among others Shearer, Buster Keaton, Richard Barthelmess, Warner Baxter, Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Loretta Young, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Gary Cooper. I especially liked the appearances by Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck (with then husband Frank Fay). (This was a promotional short film intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanatorium.)
So that's another round-up again! Bye bye and see you next time. Let's hope Covid doesn't get any worse than it already is. Keep social distancing, wash your hands and wear a face mask. But don't overdo it like our invisible man, haha! Stay safe and healthy!
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Irene Dunne, most watched actress of the month;
*Consolation Marriage (1931) with Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien;
*I Remember Mama (1948) with Philip Dorn, Barbara Bel Geddes, Steve Brown, Irene Dunne, Peggy McIntyre and June Hedin;
*Thirteen Women (1932) with Irene Dunne and Ricardo Cortez;
*Thirteen Women (1932) with Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy;
*No Other Woman (1933) with Charles Bickford and Irene Dunne;
*Never a Dull Moment (1950) with Irene Dunne and big dog;
*Never a Dull Moment (1950) with Irene Dunne, Fred MacMurray, Gigi Perreau, Natalie Wood and Andy Devine;
*The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) with Alan Marshal and Irene Dunne;
*Over 21 (1945) with Irene Dunne;
*Over 21 (1945) with Irene Dunne and Alexander Knox;
*The Invisible Man (1933);
*The Invisible Man (1933) with Gloria Stuart and Claude Rains;
*Kings Row (1942) with Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan;
*Kings Row (1942) with Ronald Reagan: "Where is the rest of me?";
*Kings Row (1942) with Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan;
*Stolen Holiday (1937) with Kay Francis and Claude Rains;
*Stolen Holiday (1937) with Kay Francis and Ian Hunter;
*The Clairvoyant (1935) with Claude Rains and Fay Wray;
*The Clairvoyant (1935) with Claude Rains and Fay Wray;
*Mr. Skeffington (1944) with Bette Davis and Claude Rains; (3 gifs by me)
*White Banners (1938) with Claude Rains, Jackie Cooper, Kay Johnson, Bonita Granville and Fay Bainter;
*Dynamite (1929) with Kay Johnson and Charles Bickford;
*Dynamite (1929) with director Cecil B. DeMille, Kay Johnson and assistant director/ art director Mitchell Leisen;
*Women in the Wind (1939) with Eve Arden and Kay Francis;
*The Sin of Nora Moran (1933) with Paul Cavanagh and Zita Johann;
*The Devil Is a Woman (1935) with Marlene Dietrich;
*Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957) with Barry Sullivan and Mona Freeman;
*The Strange Woman (1946) with Hedy Lamarr and George Sanders;
*Two Seconds (1932) with Edward G. Robinson and Vivienne Osborne;
*M’Liss (1936) with Anne Shirley and John Beal;
*Berlin Express (1948) with Merle Oberon and Robert Ryan;
*Experiment in Terror (1962) with Glenn Ford and Lee Remick;
*Born to Be Bad (1934) with Loretta Young and Cary Grant;
*Born to Be Bad (1934), film poster with Loretta Young;
*The Thirteenth Chair (1937) with Dame May Whitty and Madge Evans; (screenshot by me)
*The Stolen Jools (1931) with Norma Shearer;
*Kings Row (1942) with Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan;
*The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains.
