FEBRUARY 2024 ROUND-UP
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN FEBRUARY: 5
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 5 (4 features & 1 short)
REWATCHES: 0
SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0
SILENT FILMS: 0
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Neil Hamilton (2 in total)
Jean Arthur in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
February started and I had not seen a single classic Hollywood film in the new year yet, still too preoccupied with watching K-dramas. I wanted to spend more time in K-dramaland, but having devoted time recently on this blog reading past posts I felt like blogging here again and had a light craving for watching classic films too. Ultimately I only managed to watch 5 films. Still happy I can tick 3 Jean Arthur films off my list, which means I've seen 33 films of her oeuvre in total.
With my sister recuperating from her long hospitalisation and myself getting back to work again after being on a long sick leave myself (still working from home, haven't been to the office since Covid), it looks like life is slowly returning to its normalcy. Hopefully my sister will recover enough in the months ahead so we can enjoy spring and summer to the fullest and maybe go on a small holiday.
Following are the 5 films watched in February.
NOTE: Read notes with caution as they might contain spoilers; with ratings going from ½ to ★★★★★ and watched date.
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Started the musical YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH (Columbia, 1941) last month, I believe, or even earlier, but had stopped because it was kind of boring. Now I watched the rest of it, but what a chore it was. It's easy to see what the appeal is of this film, Fred Astaire (left) and Rita Hayworth (right) dancing, and my rating is solely based on those musical numbers. Because the rest is a complete mess. Stupid script and characters, no romance development at all, lousy plot. The Broadway scenes at the beginning had me a little bored already, but when Freddie gets drafted in the army, it really goes downhill. This doesn't even come close to Astaire/Hayworth's other film, You Were Never Lovelier (1942). So skip this one and see the other one instead. Rita looks lovely, though. Support by Robert Benchley, John Hubbard, Osa Massen, Frieda Inescort and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. Songs by Cole Porter and directed by Sidney Lanfield. ★★½ / 15.02.2024
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It's not so difficult to guess why I would choose to watch the mystery film THE MYSTERIOUS DR. FU MANCHU (Paramount/Rowland V. Lee Productions, 1929). There are not many Jean Arthur films I haven't seen yet and this one came in a very clear print online. It also has Neil Hamilton as the romantic male lead and I like him. Too bad this film wasn't more enjoyable because Arthur (right) and Hamilton (left) make a nice pair. Their romance here is of course very rushed. The film tells the story of a Chinese doctor vowing revenge against those who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion and unfortunately it doesn't hold many thrills. Being an early talkie the whole production feels stilted and stagy. I didn't like Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu and I'm actually not familiar with the character of Dr. Manchu. Arthur in an early role didn't impress much but she gets a reasonable amount of screen time, wearing different costumes. Best thing here is the moody black-and-white photography by Harry Fischbeck. Directed by Rowland V. Lee. ★★ / 24.02.2024
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THE RETURN OF DR. FU MANCHU (Paramount/Rowland V. Lee Productions, 1930) is the sequel to the recently watched The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu and it has pretty much the same cast. So I watched this for Jean Arthur (right) and Neil Hamilton (left). Warner Oland is hamming it up as Dr. Fu Manchu who miraculously returns from the dead and is intent on killing Hamilton. This film was mildly enjoyable and a bit laughable (which wasn't intentional). There's a lengthy talky scene with the inspector and Dr. Manchu which seemed to last for hours. Too bad Jeanie doesn't have a lot to do. At least the photography by Archie Stout and the sets look good and I enjoyed the clear print online (recently released in a restored version on Blu-ray, in a double feature with The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu). Rowland V. Lee directed. ★★ / 25.02.2024
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The western ARIZONA (Columbia, 1940) is one of the few Jean Arthur films still on my watchlist, and having seen good ratings for it on Letterboxd, I raised my expectations. Well, it was enjoyable but average, and with a runtime of over two hours way too long. Jean Arthur (right, screenshot by me) and William Holden (left) have little romantic chemistry but I did like the friendly bond between them. They are sweet in their interactions with each other. I thought Arthur's tough demeanour looked a bit forced, though. Warren William is good as the villain. Wesley Ruggles directed. ★★★ / 27.02.2024
Here is the breakdown in decades of the 5 watched films:
1900s - 0
1910s - 0
1920s - 1
1930s - 2
1940s - 2
1950s - 0
1960s - 0
1920s - 1
1930s - 2
1940s - 2
1950s - 0
1960s - 0
See you with the following round-up, hopefully next month!
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