APRIL 2024 ROUND-UP

APRIL 2024 ROUND-UP

• 1.5.24

TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN APRIL: 10 

(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order) 

NEW-TO-ME: 10 (9 features & 1 short) 

REWATCHES: 0 

SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0 

SILENT FILMS: 1 

MOST WATCHED ACTRESS: Hedy Lamarr (2 in total)

Hedy Lamarr

I had big plans for April, classic-movie-wise. Wanted to reach a total amount of at least 20 films. But then I realised that I really want to end this year with a total figure of 100 K-dramas watched (counting from the moment I got hooked on them in March 2022) and thus still need to watch a lot of K-dramas. I also wanted to watch the lauded 20-episode series IRIS (2009), available on Netflix but leaving the streaming service per 1 May. So instead of spending more time in Golden-Age-Hollywood, I mostly hung out in K-dramaland, at times my sister was there with me.

So I'm sorry to say I only watched 10 classic films this month, but at least they're almost all feature films (but one). 

See the titles with random thoughts below.

NOTE: Read notes with caution as they might contain spoilers; with ratings going from ½ to ★★★★★ and watched date.

THE MAVERICK QUEEN (Republic Pictures, 1956) is one of the pre-1970 Barbara Stanwyck films I hadn't seen yet. I watched this with my sister, via Chromecast on our new monitor screen, and though I didn't pay full attention, it became clear very soon that this film was never going to rise above the average rating (anyone who knows anything about Stany's filmography would have guessed beforehand). Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan (both pictured in two photos, bottom photo is screenshot by me) work well together but it's rather predictable that Stany dies and Sullivan ends up with the decent Mary Murphy. Nothing special as far as westerns go, but the music score by Victor Young is good and easy on the ears. Scott Brady (as Sundance) and Wallace Ford give support and Joseph Kane directed. ★★½ / 02.04.2024

ALGIERS (United Artists / Walter Wanger Productions, 1938), a remake of the French Pépé le Moko (1937) with Jean Gabin, is surprisingly well made (haven't seen the original). Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr (both pictured, middle and bottom photo) make a believable couple, and especially Boyer is well cast as the gentleman thief. He's charming but also exudes a 'don't mess with me' attitude. I love the bromance/cat-and-mouse game between him and the inspector Joseph Calleia. (This has clearly Casablanca vibes!) I also like the side characters, and Boyer and Lamarr's Paris fantasy. One of the greatest assets of this film is James Wong Howe's masterful black-and-white photography. So many great shots and close-ups. Lamarr (pictured, top photo) is so gorgeous, same goes for Boyer. All in all, an enjoyable watch. Support by Sigrid Gurie, Alan Hale, Gene Lockhart and Stanley Fields. John Cromwell directed. ★★★½ / 02.04.2024

I didn't expect anything from the Buster Keaton silent feature film SPITE MARRIAGE (1929), made under contract with MGM (who restricted Keaton's creativity), but overall I enjoyed it and had to laugh a couple of times. The scene where Keaton is putting his bride Dorothy Sebastian (pictured with Buster, top and bottom photo) to bed is admittedly too long but I thought it was quite funny and there's some great physical comedy on display, also on Sebastian's part. And Buster (pictured, middle gif) looks so beautiful again, in tuxedo and sailor outfit. Directed by Keaton and Edward Sedgwick. ★★★ / 03.04.2024

To be honest, I missed a lot of the film WIDE OPEN FACES (David L. Loew Productions, 1938) because I was so sleepy, but I probably wouldn't have liked it anyway, so no extra star for a benefit-of-the-doubt rating. The appeal of Joe E. Brown totally eludes me and I feel sorry for Jane Wyman (pictured with Brown) to be paired with him as his romantic interest. But fortunately for the viewer she brightens up the screen whenever she appears (she looks so lovely) and she's undoubtedly the best thing of this film. Towards the ending I was wide awake again and the final chase scene was not so bad. So this is only for Jane Wyman fans. Love her in her early films where she plays the feisty female lead. Support by Alison Skipworth, Lyda Roberti (this was her last film, she died of a heart attack aged 31), Alan Baxter and Sidney Toler. Directed by Kurt Neumann. ★★ / 07.04.2024

SMOOTH AS SILK (Universal, 1946) is a fine B-mystery film which I watched for its short runtime and because I like Virginia Grey. It all moves at a nice pace, without getting boring, and Grey gives a spirited performance, playing an unlikeable character, a femme fatale type. Being an actress who wants to get ahead, she's willing to drop lawyer boyfriend Kent Taylor (pictured with Grey, screenshot by me) and go after theater producer John Litel in order to get a main role in his play. Well, Litel ends up dead, and Taylor, with all his legal knowledge, tries to frame Grey for the murder he committed. Not without plot holes but enjoyable enough. I had hoped for a quick romance between Milburn Stone (as the prosecutor) and Jane Adams (as Grey's sister) — since the leads Taylor and Grey weren't going to end up together, obviously — but that didn't happen. Some nice photography by Elwood Bredell. Charles Barton directed. ★★★ / 09.04.2024

AN ACT OF MURDER (Universal, 1948) is an enjoyable but not a memorable film dealing with the topic of mercy killing. Fredric March causes a car accident in order to kill his terminally ill wife Florence Eldridge (and himself yet he survives) and prevent her from suffering more (both pictured, top photo). The ending where March gives a moralistic speech is a bit too much. The performances are solid without any stand-outs (not even March) and I liked the music score by Daniele Amfitheatrof. Support by Edmond O'Brien and Geraldine Brooks (both pictured, bottom photo), Stanley Ridges and John McIntire, and directed by Michael Gordon. — Probably the most noteworthy thing of this film is the fact that March and Eldridge were married in real life as well. In fact, they had one of the longest Hollywood marriages, married from 1927 till 1975 (until March's death) and they had two adopted children. They played together in a total of seven films, the last being Inherit the Wind. ★★★ / 21.04.2024

Clocking in just under an hour, THE FINAL HOUR (Columbia, 1936) is a fast-paced mystery film starring Ralph Bellamy and Marguerite Churchill. Bellamy (pictured with Churchill) was often cast in these type of films, even portrayed detective Ellery Queen in a string of whodunnits during the 1940s, and I think he's well suited to play sleuthing roles. Here he's not a detective but a lawyer who gets back on his feet after his downfall (he succumbs to a drunken stupor following his divorce) with the help of Churchill (whom he once saved). Of course there's the obligatory romance but it wasn't as unconvincing and forced as in similar short B-films. And it's always nice seeing Bellamy get the girl! Also starring Elisabeth Risdon as a fortune teller and Marc Lawrence as the crook. D. Ross Lederman directed. ★★½ / 23.04.2024

SILVER RIVER (Warner Bros, 1948), directed by Raoul Walsh, is an entertaining western I didn't pay full attention to (watched this with my sister), so I'm giving this an extra 'benefit-of-the-doubt' half star because I recognised its potential. I also like a morally ambiguous character who redeems himself in the end, just like the character Errol Flynn is playing here. While not being entirely likeable, the irresistible Flynn charm is on full display and I love him. The best thing is the chemistry between Flynn and Ann Sheridan (both pictured in two photos). Still, the fact that Flynn goes after Sheridan while she's married to Bruce Bennett ánd plays a part in Bennett's death by Indians, didn't sit well with me. Sheridan dislikes Flynn for a great deal of the film and I like her feistiness, but I thought it was quite abrupt how she suddenly fell for him and married him after Bennett died. Too bad Flynn and Sheridan only made two films together, the other one being Edge of Darkness (need to rewatch that). I also liked Tom D'Andrea as 'Pistol', Flynn's buddy, and I ALWAYS like Thomas Mitchell, again playing a drunk here. ★★★ / 23.04.2024

IT MAY HAPPEN TO YOU (MGM, 1937) is an entry in the Crime Does Not Pay series, this time starring J. Carrol Naish (pictured, left). It's enjoyable enough, nothing too exciting, something to do with the hijacking of a truckload of beef, but it was nice to see J. Carrol Naish do his gangster thing. The 21-minute runtime made me choose this short in the first place and it's always fun to see how the heavy-handed 'Crime Does Not Pay' message is being brought to the viewer. Directed by Harold S. Bucquet. ★★½ / 30.04.2024

COPPER CANYON (Paramount, 1950) is a decent post-Civil War western in Technicolor. I missed some parts due to lack of attention but found Ray Milland's performance solid, whereas Hedy Lamarr's acting leaves a lot to be desired (both pictured, top photo, screenshot by me). I wasn't interested in them as a romantic couple — though they end up together. I was actually more interested in the relationship between Harry Carey Jr. and Mona Freeman (both pictured, middle photo, screenshot by me), they were cute together. Macdonald Carey (pictured, bottom photo, screenshot by me) plays the villain, with his stubble and rugged looks reminding me a bit of Dean Martin. There's some nice photography by Charles Lang, and John Farrow directed. ★★★ / 30.04.2024

Here is the breakdown in decades of the 10 watched films:

1900s - 0
1910s - 0
1920s - 1 
1930s - 4
1940s - 3
1950s - 2
1960s - 0

See you with the next round-up!