"The HTF 100 Great Films of the 1930's Challenge" (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

Never thought I'd say something in this thread, but I'm taking a gander at the TCM listing, and I think I'll check out of few of them.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I broke out my Criterion DVD of

Blood of a Poet over the break and re-watched this movie.

And I have to say that as much as I love B&B, I don’t like this movie. It is both obscure and pretentious, but it has no redeeming production values. There are a few, amateurish attempts at some cinema magic, but it all falls flat.

I do like the snowball fight scene, but even this ends with a bit of a conceit.

I can understand why many profess to not care for ‘art’ movies if this is a benchmark.

 

[Adam_S]

42nd St. :star::star:1/2
I must confess I'm somewhat biased, our school put on an outstanding production of 42nd St. my senior year. It didn't touch the previous years' Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof, respectively, but I think that's because 42nd is the weakest of those three productions. I really tried quite hard to enjoy the film as film, and damn near did, the big disapointment for me was the Shuffle off to Buffalo number, I've seen this done to absolute perfection (it was the shining moment of the aforementioned play), but this rendition while very good didn't touch the stage version. But that's stage and film, what really redeemed the 42nd st film version for me was the many moments it shook off the constraints of following the play and used the medium of film to its advantage. It's that difference that you see in films like My Fair Lady between an amazing film construction of a number like "I could have danced all night", and the stagnant race track number(s). and 42nd st. really explodes in it's final title sequence. from the breathtaking track through all the girls legs, too the expansive and seeming endless NYC sets this number outshone the entirety of the rest of the film in my opinion. There was some very nice cinematography throughout the film, but the story behind the numbers fell flat too many times for me to accord it any higher a rank than it gets. I'd actually like to see this play remade, if only because I think the stage production is strong enough that it could translate better to film, this film isn't as strong (or revered) as other musicals, so it'd be interesting to see someone like Paul Thomas Anderson take a crack at bringing to life a classic stage musical, if only because it hasn't really been done yet.
12 down 88 to go.
Adam

 

[Adam_S]

I went though and looked up the director and release year of each of these films. I'm thinking I want to explore as many as possible of these through chronological order--preferably one director at a time--so I thought I would share this with any one else that might be interested.
This first list is sorted by Release Year, then alphabetically, in the next post they will be sorted by director, then release year, then alphabetically:

Film TitleRelease Year
Âge d'or, L' ---------------------- 1930
All Quiet on the Western Front ---- 1930
Animal Crackers ------------------- 1930
Blood of a Poet ------------------- 1930
Blue Angel, The ------------------- 1930
City Lights ----------------------- 1931
Dracula --------------------------- 1931
Drácula --------------------------- 1931
Frankenstein ---------------------- 1931
Little Caesar --------------------- 1931
M --------------------------------- 1931
Monkey Business ------------------- 1931
Public Enemy, The ----------------- 1931
Freaks ---------------------------- 1932
Grand Hotel ----------------------- 1932
Horse Feathers -------------------- 1932
I Am a Fugative from a Chain Gang - 1932
Mummy, The ------------------------ 1932
Music Box, The -------------------- 1932
Old Dark House, The --------------- 1932
Red Dust -------------------------- 1932
Scarface -------------------------- 1932
Trouble in Paradise --------------- 1932
Umarete wa mita keredo ------------ 1932
42nd Street ----------------------- 1933
Dinner at Eight ------------------- 1933
Duck Soup ------------------------- 1933
Invisible Man, The ---------------- 1933
Island of Lost Souls -------------- 1933
King Kong ------------------------- 1933
Little Women ---------------------- 1933
Private Life of Henry VIII, The --- 1933
Sons of the Desert ---------------- 1933
Atalante, L' ---------------------- 1934
Black Cat, The -------------------- 1934
Imitation of Life ----------------- 1934
It Happened One Night ------------- 1934
It's A Gift ----------------------- 1934
Lost Patrol, The ------------------ 1934
Thin Man, The --------------------- 1934
Triumph of the Will --------------- 1934
Twentieth Century ----------------- 1934
The 39 Steps ---------------------- 1935
Bride of Frankenstein ------------- 1935
Captain Blood --------------------- 1935
David Copperfield ----------------- 1935
'G' Men --------------------------- 1935
Informer, The --------------------- 1935
Mad Love -------------------------- 1935
Midsummer Night's Dream, A -------- 1935
Mutiny on the Bounty -------------- 1935
Night at the Opera, A ------------- 1935
Top Hat --------------------------- 1935
After the Thin Man ---------------- 1936
Charge of the Light Brigade ------- 1936
Dodsworth ------------------------- 1936
Fury ------------------------------ 1936
Modern Times ---------------------- 1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ------------ 1936
My Man Godfrey -------------------- 1936
Rembrandt ------------------------- 1936
San Francisco --------------------- 1936
Swing Time ------------------------ 1936
Awful Truth, The ------------------ 1937
Captains Courageous --------------- 1937
Day at the Races, A --------------- 1937
Good Earth, The ------------------- 1937
Grand Illusion -------------------- 1937
Life of Emile Zola, The ----------- 1937
Lost Horizon ---------------------- 1937
Nothing Sacred -------------------- 1937
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs --- 1937
Stage Door ------------------------ 1937
Topper ---------------------------- 1937
Way Out West ---------------------- 1937
Adventures of Robin Hood, The ----- 1938
Alexander Nevsky ------------------ 1938
Angels with Dirty Faces----------- 1938
Boys Town ------------------------- 1938
Bringing Up Baby ------------------ 1938
Holiday --------------------------- 1938
Lady Vanishes, The ---------------- 1938
Olympia 1 ------------------------- 1938
Olympia 2 ------------------------- 1938
You Can't Take It with You -------- 1938
Another Thin Man ------------------ 1939
Destry Rides Again ---------------- 1939
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ----------- 1939
Four Feathers, The ---------------- 1939
Gone with the Wind ---------------- 1939
Goodbye, Mr. Chips ---------------- 1939
Gunga Din ------------------------- 1939
Hound of the Baskervilles, The ---- 1939
Hunchback of Notre Dame, The ------ 1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ------ 1939
Ninotchka ------------------------- 1939
Of Mice and Men ------------------- 1939
Rules of the Game ----------------- 1939
Stagecoach ------------------------ 1939
Wizard of Oz, The ----------------- 1939
Women, The ------------------------ 1939
Wuthering Heights ----------------- 1939
Interesting here, we have 1939 being the most represented with 17, and 1930 being least represented with a mere five. the amount of movies per year tends to increase as the decade goes on, though that rule is more general than specific.

 

[Adam_S]

This list is sorted by director, then release year, then alphabetically:

Film Title ------------------------ Director - Release Year
42nd Street ----------------------- Bacon, Lloyd1933
Dracula --------------------------- Browning, Tod1931
Freaks ---------------------------- Browning, Tod1932
Âge d'or, L'----------------------- Buñeal, Luis1930
It Happened One Night ------------- Capra, Frank1934
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ------------ Capra, Frank1936
Lost Horizon ---------------------- Capra, Frank1937
You Can't Take It with You -------- Capra, Frank1938
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ------ Capra, Frank1939
City Lights ----------------------- Chaplin1931
Modern Times ---------------------- Chaplin1936
Blood of a Poet ------------------- Cocteau, Jean1930
King Kong ------------------------- Cooper, Marian; Schoedsack, Ernest1933
Dinner at Eight ------------------- Cukor, George1933
Little Women ---------------------- Cukor, George1933
David Copperfield ----------------- Cukor, George1935
Holiday --------------------------- Cukor, George1938
Women, The ------------------------ Cukor, George1939
Captain Blood --------------------- Curtiz, Micheal1935
Charge of the Light Brigade ------- Curtiz, Micheal1936
Angels with Dirty Faces ----------- Curtiz, Micheal1938
Adventures of Robin Hood, The ----- Curtiz, Micheal; Kleighey, William1938
Life of Emile Zola, The ----------- Dieterle, William1937
Hunchback of Notre Dame, The ------ Dieterle, William1939
Midsummer Night's Dream, A -------- Dieterle, William; Reinhardt, Max1935
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs --- Disney, Walt1937
Alexander Nevsky ------------------ Eisenstein1938
Red Dust -------------------------- Fleming, Victor1932
Captains Courageous --------------- Fleming, Victor1937
Gone with the Wind ---------------- Fleming, Victor; Cukor, George1939
Wizard of Oz, The ----------------- Fleming, Victor; Thorpe, Richard1939
Lost Patrol, The ------------------ Ford, John1934
Informer, The --------------------- Ford, John1935
Stagecoach ------------------------ Ford, John1939
Good Earth, The ------------------- Franklin, Sidney; Fleming Victor1937
Mummy, The ------------------------ Freund, Karl1932
Mad Love -------------------------- Freund, Karl1935
Grand Hotel ----------------------- Goulding, Edmond1932
Twentieth Century ----------------- Hawks, Howard1934
Bringing Up Baby ------------------ Hawks, Howard1938
Scarface -------------------------- Hawks, Howard; Rosson, Richard1932
Animal Crackers ------------------- Heerman, Victor1930
The 39 Steps ---------------------- Hitchcock1935
Lady Vanishes, The ---------------- Hitchcock1938
Way Out West ---------------------- Horne, James1937
'G' Men --------------------------- Keighley, William1935
Island of Lost Souls -------------- Kenton, Earl1933
Private Life of Henry VIII -------- Korda, Alexander1933
Rembrandt ------------------------- Korda, Alexander1936
Four Feathers, The ---------------- Korda, Zoltan1939
My Man Godfrey -------------------- La Cava, George1936
Stage Door ------------------------ La Cava, George1937
Hound of the Baskervilles --------- Lanfield, Sidney1939
M --------------------------------- Lang, Fritz1931
Fury ------------------------------ Lang, Fritz1936
Little Caesar --------------------- LeRoy, Mervyn1931
I Am a Fugative from a Chain Gang - LeRoy, Mervyn1932
Mutiny on the Bounty -------------- Lloyd, Frank1935
Trouble in Paradise --------------- Lubitsch, Ernst1932
Ninotchka ------------------------- Lubitsch, Ernst1939
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ----------- Mamoulian, Rouben1939
Destry Rides Again ---------------- Marshall, George1939
Duck Soup ------------------------- McCarey, Leo1933
Awful Truth, The ------------------ McCarey, Leo1937
Monkey Business ------------------- McLeod, Norman1931
Horse Feathers -------------------- McLeod, Norman1932
It's A Gift ----------------------- McLeod, Norman1934
Topper ---------------------------- McLeod, Norman1937
Drácula --------------------------- Melford, George; Ávalos, Enrique 1931
All Quiet on the Western Front ---- Milestone, Lewis1930
Of Mice and Men ------------------- Milestone, Lewis1939
Umarete wa mita keredo ------------ Ozu, Kasujiro1932
Music Box, The -------------------- Parrot, James1932
Grand Illusion -------------------- Renoir, Jean1937
Rules of the Game ----------------- Renoir, Jean1939
Triumph of the Will --------------- Riefenstahl, Leni1934
Olympia 1 ------------------------- Riefenstahl, Leni1938
Olympia 2 ------------------------- Riefenstahl, Leni1938
Top Hat --------------------------- Sandrich, Mark1935
Sons of the Desert ---------------- Seiter, William1933
Imitation of Life ----------------- Stahl, John1934
Swing Time ------------------------ Stevens, George1936
Gunga Din ------------------------- Stevens, George1939
Boys Town ------------------------- Taurog, Norman1938
Black Cat, The -------------------- Ulmer, Edgar1934
Thin Man, The --------------------- Van Dyke, W. S.1934
After the Thin Man ---------------- Van Dyke, W. S.1936
San Francisco --------------------- Van Dyke, W. S.1936
Another Thin Man ------------------ Van Dyke, W. S.1939
Atalante, L' ---------------------- Vigo, Jean1934
Blue Angel, The ------------------- von Sternberg, Josef1930
Public Enemy, The ----------------- Wellman, William1931
Nothing Sacred -------------------- Wellman, William1937
Frankenstein ---------------------- Whale, James1931
Old Dark House, The --------------- Whale, James1932
Invisible Man, The ---------------- Whale, James1933
Bride of Frankenstein ------------- Whale, James1935
Night at the Opera, A ------------- Wood, Sam1935
Day at the Races, A --------------- Wood, Sam1937
Goodbye, Mr. Chips ---------------- Wood, Sam1939
Dodsworth ------------------------- Wyler, William1936
Wuthering Heights ----------------- Wyler, William1939
Interesting to see how many directors appear more than once, one shot directors in our list are actually quite rare. Also interesting to see that still well known directors such as John Ford and Hitchcock only have three and two films on out list, respectively. John Ford directed about 28 films in the 30s and Hitchcock directed 16, interesting to see so few of their films on the list when there are several directors with five films on the list.

 

[Adam_S]

The Public Enemy :star::star::star:
Better than Little Caesar, but not as good as Scarface, but still a damn fine gangster film. I enjoyed the life long rise and fall of Tommy Powers, there were many, many times that this film felt like a major inspiration for Goodfellas (just several little things made me think this quite often). I liked several little touches, like the implication that Putty nose was homosexual, it's interesting to see how they insinuated those sorts of things back in the day. I based this on three things: Putty nose singing to the kid sitting on his piano in 1909 (like a woman traditionally does), the way he sticks his rear into Tommy's face in 1917, and the way Nails eggs Tommy on with the word SOFT, the way he says and uses this word especially, and perhaps the physicality of his character--a slender conniving, almost effeminate man. This may not seem like much, but I know for a fact that there is supposed to be a strong incestuas relationship implied between Tony Camote and his sister in Scarface, and I think Public Enemy shares that 30s style of slying implying things but never saying them outright. Another thing thats fascinating when seeing these similar time period films, is that you start to notice house styles. I saw two thirties films by WB earlier this year not on the list "Oil for the Lamps of China" and "Stella Dallas" between those two, Little Caesar, and Public Enemy, more and more styles seem to jump out at me, ways of staging or lighting things, the sorts of performances achieved and the look of the actors themselves.
Anyway back to Public Enemy. A fine fine gangster film, I love that incredible moment, when in the pouring rain Tommy goes into hit several guys, then staggers out into the rain--shot--and its raining even harder. This nadir of Tommy's life is perfectly done, and seems to be the sort of thing that would later inspire Kurasawa in his use of rain. And the final scene when Tommy is brought back to the house is utterly chilling, especially the look in his brothers eyes. Not quite the ending of I am a fugitive... Scarface or Stagecoach, but still an incredible way to end the fllm.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Falling in love again…

The Blue Angel was shown on TCM this week and I found it still a powerful, if somewhat heavy-handed and predictable film. I just love the scene what the Professor becomes completely besotted, as Lola is singing and dancing.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Thanks for the lists Adam. I often go on streaks where I watch only movies by certain directors and like to make connections.
Well, I'm finally back in business. I don't think of checked anything of my list since Mid-November.
Red Dust - I enjoyed this movie, but it wasn't great. I found it to be very similar to Howard Hawks' "Only Angels Have Wings" which came a few years later and isn't on this list. I prefer the later.
:star: :star: :star:
Rembrandt - This was a pretty average biopic of a very interesting artist that I knew very about, and after it still feel that I know very little about.:star: :star: :star:
I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang - Now this is a movie. What a phenomonal job of story telling and although the final chase seems a little cliched, I have to remind myself that this was 1932. The closing shot and line immediately jumps into my top 10 for greatest film endings.:star: :star: :star: :star:
Captain Blood - This was another great movie and wasn't really what I was expecting. I thought that this would be a swashbuckler from opening titles to the end, but to my surpise & delight it wasn't. The action scenes were quite good for the times and the character setup & development was quite good for an action movie. :star: :star: :star: 1/2

 

[Lew Crippen]

I got out my copy of

Alexander Nevsky and watched it again. I’m always impressed by this movie. Too bad that the soundtrack is so deficient. A great score and poor sound. As I’ve got the Criterion, I suspect that the sound will never be any better, so I just have to accept it as it is.

 

[Adam_S]

Eric I completely agree on Chain Gang, I was absolutely blown away by that film, so good it left me gasping!
To speak of another film that left me gasping (but this time because of paroxyms of laughter)
The Thin Man :star::star::star::star:
"One of you at this table is the murderer, you may serve the fish now"
Wow! I don't think I've enjoyed an old comedy so much since I saw the Lady Eve. at first I was fairly confused, I had absolutely no idea what the film was about going into watching it, no idea that it was a dectective/comedy. and since I wasn't familiar with the stars it took until the christmas eve party for me to figure out that it was the dectective and his wife that were the main characters, I also realized that this was a smash up comedy at this point (I'd laughed several times before however ). There is so much that is great about this film that I can hardly think of cataloging them all, I don't think I've ever witnessed a more perfect balance of humor and suspense (well Raiders of the Lost Ark did outstanding with humor and action), everything from reluctance of the detective to the eccentrically wonderful family (has he met ALL the family yet? Yes father, and he still wants to marry me. Hmph, brave man.) that you can't help but laugh at; to the very tense moments, such as when the tough comes at the dectective with a gun, or when he enters into the old man's lab near the end, brilliantly brilliantly done, kept me on the edge of my seat (mainly because I kept falling off from laughing so much). The humor is fast, sly and comes at a furious pace, so I can understand if people here at HTF wouldn't like it quite as much as I do (I laugh easily and long, and enjoy doing so). "I was only a GLEAM in my father's eye. This film is everything I had hoped to find in Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven, but was sorely disapointed, the ensemble preformance, anchored by the star team (and Asta!), the balance of humor and suspense are unmatched by any recent film I can think of (and the dinner party scene is as incredible to this film as the actual heist would be in a film such as Oceans Eleven, but immensely more entertaining). bah why am I talking so much about this, I want to see it again, no I think I'll go watch "After the Thin Man".
Adam

 

[Adam_S]

I have a question for the makers and participants of this thread. Are we planning on ordering these films as they did for the AFI challenge, I for one would be fascinated at discovering what are considered the finest films of the thirties after all of us have seen 100 from that era. I say this for purely selfish reasons. I got so much enjoyment out of the AFI revote thread that I'd like to do the same thing here, only be a full fledged participant this time.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I got out my Criterion copy of

Grand Illusion

and was as impressed as ever. No matter how many times I see this movie, it retains its essential humanity and impact. A good many critics consider Rules of the Game to be Renoir’s best, but I’ve always been partial to this one. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when I watch ‘Rules’. If so, I’ll comment.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’d be open to a discussion and ranking when we finish this off. That may take a while, however.

 

[Adam_S]

Lew, Grand Illusion is my second favorite film of all time, there is so much that is beautiful and amazing about that film that it is simply staggering.
Gone With the Wind - :star::star::star:1/2
"You need to be kissed, and often, by someone who knows how" (anyone else wish they'd thought of that first to say to their girl--heck I"ll prolly say it anyway since its true
I've never been partial to female melodrama as a genre, but I can certainly admire this ultimate achievment of that genre. I give the cinematography four stars (incredible lusciuos colors!) and the acting three stars, Vivien Leigh is exceptional, but she succeeded it merely making me extraordinarily angry at Scarlet OHara rather than sympathize with her (although by the end I did, and nearly cried when Mellie died), however this is probably more the reaction of an astonished man at the pure sadistic evil of her little love games (I swear it took all of three and half hours to get me to begin to sympathize with her character after that opening barbeque scene). Personally I don't think that Scarlet was ever in love with Ashley, but with the idea of him, and pure physical attraction. And I get absolute chills at the way Rhett treats Bonnie, I get a glimpse as to why Scarlet turned out the way she did if she was treated just as horrifyingly as a child (how could such a character not grow up into a spoiled stubborn tantrem throwing nearly subhuman thing (from lack of any emotional relationship with someone outside of the spoiling parents). Scarlet is viciuos conniving and selfish with no care whatsoever (it often seems) than for anyone but herself. The only time I think I really see true emotion from her is around Millie who brings out the best (or in Scarlett's case the only tiny shreads of goodness or humanity) in everyone. When Scarlett begins to actually become human after Millie's death, I only feel sorry that she has been cut off from people for so long, not that she still isn't getting what she now wants, that to me is the best part of the whole movie is that she doesn't get her way (Rhett) in the end. I feel much more sorry for Rhett, Ashley, Kennedy, her sisters, and Millie than I ever do for Scarlett, if only because they have to put up with Scarlett doing her damndest to destroy their lives. Any warmth I might have nourished for Scarlett abruptly vanished when she stole her sisters husband, for God's sake it's her future brother in law, and this is the south, ask for the damned money, it's family, the family won't talk, and no one will think a thing of family helping out family, this is not a southern pride delimma but a personal pride delimma. In fact it's scarlett's selfishness again, she sees something she wants (money) and instead of asking for it she just rips it away--takes it--no matter how much pain and destruction she may cause in the process, she gets her way on her terms.
On second thought Vivien leigh did a really great performance to make me loath the character so much.
And Rhett Butler with all the magnificent classic lines, certainly did an absolutely exceptional performance. I'm not going to deny that the movie is great, it clearly is, but it's not my cup of tea, and I"m glad those four hours are over. At this point the only thing that could convince me to watch it again would be the oppurtunity of viewing an IB tech Dye transfer 35mm technicolor print, for that I would sit through that again.
On another note I was surprised at how much happened before the intermission. I had been under the impression that the Atlanta attack happened at the end of the film. So seeing that in the first half surprised me. as did the amount of interpersonal sheer melodrama of the second half. I must say though, that of all the characters I think Mammie gave the best performance!
The one thing that really irritated me was the villification of Sherman (in the rolling text), and the historical innacuraccies. Best groan inducing line of the whole movie is that Sherman swept swath across the south "60 miles wide" please, after Atlanta he cut himself loose and bounced blindly around Georgia for many months before actually getting to the shore, at the time he successfully executed guerilla tactics (mainly because he took the Thomas trained crack troops and engineering squads).
Interesting that it's this film that provokes the most comments of me so far
Adam

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Just watched Tabu by Murnau the other night; this seems like one that should have made the list. Equally as good as Sunrise, IMHO. Nice DVD too, with lots of good extras.

 

[Adam_S]

After the Thin Man - :star::star:
This is actually better than a two star movie, but in my opinion doesn't live up to the promise of the first. Certain parts of the movie feel tired, recycled gags, an adherance to the formula of the the original and moment created simply to either give Asta something to do or just let the run time play a little longer. The fight with Asta for the note was particularly annoying--amusing at first but it quickly lost interest when it was so lengthy for them to get it back, almost farcical chase (which may have been the point). I love that Jimmy Stewart was in the film but feel he was underused. I dislike the near blind adherance to the original's formula that makes Disney musicals look creative. Right down to the eccentric family, reluctant detective, surprise murderer (revealed of course at a climatic gathering of all the suspects). There were occasional differences, that it was Nick's and Nora's own family could make it interesting, but nothing actually came of that relationship, it was simply a way to get them involved with the case. Also the pushy and stupid police detective was a nice change from the ingratiating New York dectective in the original--however they almost went to far to the point where I was suspecting the dectective because it would make things more interesting (oh I was still perplexed by the whodunit, but I knew this time that things would unravel neatly, as they did). The wit wasn't as fresh nor the jokes quite as funny, best part of the movie had to have been the New Years Eve party at the Leechee restaurant, unfortunately (and unlike the original) much of the rest of the film felt like a formula dectective film, lacking the vibrancy that made the original film shine. I still laughed quite a bit and enjoyed the movie, enjoyed it more than Gone With the Wind, but I was also disapointed. However I"m still interested in seeing Another Thin Man, I'm hoping that the distance in years will mean that the film will be more original, at least in its murder, than the second film.
Adam

 

[Adam_S]

Little Women - :star::star::star::star:
"CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS!"
Now THIS is a melodrama! Wow, I was totally and thoroughly completely enjoying myself throughout this incredible and marvelous film! I'm sorta familiar with the Little Women story as my mom is a fan, I knew there were four daughters and that the important one is Jo, but not much else. I admit that it took me forty minutes to really get fully sucked into the film, up until the party at Lorry's I was only so so to the film, but for some reason when Lorry and Jo danced out of the parlor and into the hallway my whole disposition changed towards the film, andmost of the rest was magical and emotional for me. Katherine Hepburn is simply magnetic, a truly incredible screen presence and some truly brilliant acting on her part. She made Joe into a loud, obnoxious, somewhat bumbling tomboy, but who is deeply emotional and tender underneath her fierce exterior. At times it seemed to me that Lucille Ball was parodying Jo March when she was playing her iconic I love Lucy title role. There are some absolutely great moments here, and some utterly beautiful black and white cinematography, not the greatest mind you, but it was very well done, and had it's moments (for instance the very high hallway shot looking down at Amy and Beth looking down and Lolly and Jo dancing; or the shot of all the girls in white, surrounding and framing their mother--all in black-- as she prepares to head to Washington to care for their father). I'll certainly be watching this film again, and I think on repeat viewings that it will easily become one of my favorite melodramas or romances. If I had one fault with the film it is at the very beginning, when Mother reads the girls father's christmas letter: she reads and everyone is still while the camera holds the shot for an extra second or two, THEN it cuts to a close up of Amy telling what she'll do, then Jo, then Meg, then Beth (saying nothing), then back to the master shot. Now I wouldn't have a problem with this except that there's that extra second or two before they begin cutting to the girls, it felt like they were going to fade to the next scene, but then abruptly went into a close up and it suddenly seems like they're talking at the camera--it just pulled me completely out of the film.
Very, very enjoyable, an excellent movie!
Adam

 

[Adam_S]

Another Thin Man - :star::star::star:
An outstanding film, I enjoyed it much more than After the Thin Man. This film cracks with original wit and a more inventive set up (and murder scenarios) than the other films. I'm a little disapointed about how the final reveal of how the murder was accomplished for one, there's no way we could figure out the gun trick Nick demostrated at the end, its sort of like a deux ex machina ending,
but everything else about the movie was more than stasifying. Asta was perfectly used this time, and not overused as in After the Thin Man; the same can be said for Nick's fondness of Alcohol (there seemed to be twice as many alcohol jokes in the second film than in the first). The jokes and wit weren't quite as good as the initial film, but were still excellent, I think that the detective work in this one was the best of all three, After the Thin Man was more of a coincidence that Nick and Nora got some of the clues they did get; but with this one you clearly knew Nick's progression from step to step he took in his investigations.
Highly entertaining, I enjoyed myself quite a lot, though not as good as the original.
This film marks the point where I have already doubled the amount of films from the 30's I'd seen (from the list) already the tournement has been more than worth it, and I hope I make many more discoveries like Thin Man or Little Women in the remaining films.
Adam

 

[george kaplan]

Adam,

It's all a matter of personal taste, but I think my favorite Thin Man (after the original) is the Thin Man Goes Home. It's not from the 30s, but you should check it out.

 

[Adam_S]

I definitely plan on watching the other three Thin Man movies sometime soon, perhaps putting off the challenge for a bit just to enjoy myself (I'm enjoying myself as it anyway though!). I would like to have all three of the Thin Man's that I've seen on DVD, they're so enjoyable that I would definitely watch them all mulitple times, unfortunately it looks as though only Thin Man is on DVD. The VHS I saw of Another Thin Man earlier today was so noisy that I thought I was watching an SLP taped off tv version--which just makes me approve DVD and LD all the more.
Could someone perhaps provide transalations of some of the foreign titles? I of course prefer knowing the original title, but I do like to have some idea what the title itself is.
Adam