1930s: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Tue, 10/19/2004 - 11:30
Tags:
Loved
Freaks (1932)
... The plot: set at a circus sideshow, a couple full-size people scheme to separate a midget from his fortune in cruel fashion. Real "freaks" play the roles. It sounds like a recipe for an exploitation film, and indeed the film was banned in the UK for 30 years, is still banned in Sweden, and is technically illegal to view in some U.S. states. After MGM mothballed the film the rights were "acquired by notorious exploitation roadshow specialist Dwain Esper. Esper traveled the country showing the film under such lurid titles as Forbidden Love and Nature's Mistakes." While all this points to the movie being highly offensive, perhaps I'm insensitive, but I did not find the film exploitative. The cast are depicted respectfully, and the evil characters are all "normal." While there are gags that play on various disabilities (the cojoined twins getting married, for example), the humor feels more self-deprecating than mocking. It's a dark and twisted tale to be sure, but not because of the composition of the cast.The Grand Illusion (1937)
... Terrific war movie with only like 5 gunshots in the whole thing. I can't imagining it didn't significantly influence both The Great Escape (and other movies of that ilk) and Casablanca. Our three main characters are beautifully drawn and portrayed. Very satisfying.Stagecoach (1939)
... Only a few degrees separate my favorite John Ford movies, but I think this one snags the top spot, so I'm going to bump it up to the top tier. Take a truly interesting mix of characters (including good female characters!), put them in a box (or a stagecoach, if you want to be literal), and send them through dangerous Apache territory together. The script and performances are terrific, and I particularly enjoyed the mix of cliches (Dallas's heart of gold) and surprises (Hatfield's true intentions). And to think they told Ford that another western would ruin his career (I think I have that right).The Thin Man (1934)
... My favorite classic comedy, bar none. And a good mystery to boot.Really Liked
City Lights (1931)
... Worth it for the closing shot alone. Chaplain's little tramp falls in love with a blind girl selling flowers on the street and spends the rest of the movie trying to stave off her eviction and secure her a sight-restoring eye operation (a selfless act since she assumes him to be rich, so he must realize she might be unable to recognize him if her sight were restored (the ultimate irony)). Could it be that Charlie Chaplin is the most recognizable and yet most nondescript star ever? If you took away his shock of black hair, eyebrows, and mustache, I don't think I'd recognize him. Even if you try to focus on his face, it's just too washed out. He's almost featureless except for his trademark elements. Sorry for the digression: it's just interesting to me that he's so recognizable, and yet would have to do so little to make himself completely unrecognizable. Rumor has it this was Orson Welles' favorite movie. If true, that certainly means I missed something (or many things), but I enjoyed it quite a bit.Gone With the Wind (1939)
... I avoided this movie for the longest time. Since so many old movies slip through the cracks of my mind, I didn't think a four-hour long movie made in 1939 and set around the Civil War (mostly) would be anything but a drag. I was so wrong. Truly epic, and involving throughout. And I never would have expected, in a 1939 movie, such moral ambiguity in our main characters (not that I've seen that many movies from the late 30s/early 40s).The Lady Vanishes (1938)
... Everything about this movie has aged well - the comedy, the suspense, the performances, the direction. The first act is so funny and lacking in suspense I was constantly saying to myself, "this is Hitchcock?" I can't think of another example of an opening act that is so different in tone from the rest of the movie without feeling dissonant. Great fun from beginning to end.Libeled Lady (1936)
... Worth watching for William Powell alone. Easily the coolest actor of the time (from my limited perspective). Then there's Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, and Jean Harlow. Need I say more? It's not The Thin Man, but it's certainly a worthy companion.M (1931)
... You've heard it before, so I'll just parrot it: Peter Lorre was terrific as the child murderer. Creepy and menacing, yet pathetic at the same time. The opening sequence is truly chilling, and the tension of the pursuit is palpable, both as we sense Lorre's growing panic, and as we worry over his possible escape routes. By the end I think we're supposed to feel sympathetic towards Lorre, and the movie couldn't have been more effective in that regard, but I still, guiltily, couldn't stop rooting for mob justice. Must be the parent in me, and the lingering effectiveness of that opening. Oh my, that opening...Glad I Saw
Fury (1936)
... A bit heavy-handed and melodramatic, but you get a young Spencer Tracy (I didn't know he was ever young) in a mob "justice" tale and that, along with Fritz Lang's direction, is worth quite a bit. Pretty darn watchable.Gunga Din (1939)
... A fun—if tonally uneven—movie, and of course Cary Grant is good in everything, but I have to say I generally prefer his romantic comedies to his other work, including this, North by Northwest, etc.Pepe le Moko (1937)
... Pepe le Moko, played by Jean Gabin, is a master criminal who is uncatchable by the police because he hides out in Algier's Casbah. He is loved by the locals, and the police can't get anywhere close to him without him knowing (and without exposing themselves to all kinds of ambushes in the twisty streets). Leaving the Casbah is another matter however, so he is a prisoner at the same time as he is free, which makes the situation a bit more interesting. Some say Jean Gabin's was the archetype gangster performance, and I can't argue with that. Nor can I argue with the notion that this was film noir before the phrase was coined. And boy, even if you just consider this and The Grand Illusion, 1937 has to be considered a high watermark for French cinema appropriated by Hollywood!Guilty Pleasures
- None Yet
Could Have Missed
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
... I've watched a bit of Hitchcock lately, and this is the only one from my recent batch that I didn't like. I think it's just too damn old for me. And it really should be called The Extended Family and Their Friends That Knew Too Much. Not tense, too stagey.Should Have Missed
- None Yet
El Sucko Grande
- None Yet
Cloned From:
Yay again! Glad you liked City Lights!
BTW, I'm not sure if you've heard this random bit of trivia, but your review reminded me of it: Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest, and lost.
Ha! That's perfect. I thought I was making this original (and perhaps crackpot) observation, but I guess it's not as unique a view as I thought.
As much as I liked City Lights, I preferred The Kid (which I just wrote up elsewhere).
I saw, glad you're liking Chaplin more! The Kid isn't my favorite Chaplin, mostly because of the reason you noted: it's light on comedy. Especially when I was expecting something as hilarious as the other Chaplin movies I had seen (and actually, to tie another one of your 8 reviews tonight in, that kinda seems similar to your Dirty Pretty Things comment). But I agree, it is a very sweet, touching movie, and I might owe it a rewatch sometime.
I think City Lights was a good primer for The Kid (for me), and might account for me liking the latter more. City Lights, while funny, is rarely uproarious, so I was better prepared for the lack of hilarity in The Kid than I might have been otherwise.
Confession: I was so engrossed in this movie that I was surprised when the ending suddenly came... but the last few shots... made me come really close to crying - and I don't cry very often at all.
Agreed. I did not expect either Chaplin movie I watched recently to be so touching.
Heck, William Powell could give Cary Grant a run for his money at the coolest actor of all time competition...
If only I were half as smooth (although I did grow out one of those nifty staches for a school play in high school)...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Grant v. Powell... Now there's a steel-cage match I'd pay good money to see. Tough to make book on such a match too. Powell is freshest in my mind, and I'm tempted to give him the slightest edge for his pitch-perfect delivery of that "perhaps you could learn to read" line in Libeled Lady.