It was hard to get a solid hold of That’s Right You’re Wrong. I mean that literally — I had to get it from the U of Washington’s project of digitizing classic films directly from 16mm onto 3-DVD sets. It’s the first of many Kay Kyser films I didn’t know a thing about. I didContinue reading “That’s Right, You’re Wrong (1939)”
Monthly Archives: December 2019
Million Dollar Legs (1932)
“Million Dollar Legs,” starring among others W.C. Fields (as an uncanny Trumpian clown president of the Republic of Klopstockia) and Jack Oakie, was directed by Edward F. Cline, who was associated with Fields since the silent days. It’s a wonderful film in lots of ways. It’s surrealistic slapstick close to the Marx Brothers’ mode. TheContinue reading “Million Dollar Legs (1932)”
The Moon’s Our Home (1936)
Another archival surprise, and a big one! The Moon’s Our Home (1936), directed by William Seiter. Where to begin? It stars Henry Fonda (still in the comic scripting mode) and Margaret Sullavan. I’ve only seen Sullavan in a few films — most notably A Shop on Main Street and The Good Fairy. It’s uncanny toContinue reading “The Moon’s Our Home (1936)”
Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)
Of all of Preston Sturges’s films, and maybe of all the comedies of this period, this may be my favorite. The comic pitch, the impossibility of separating satire from comedy, the nonstop 5-dimensional humor, the physical clowning in perfect sync with verbal pyrotechnics, the total commitment of the ensemble to absolute craziness, and the demolitionContinue reading “Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)”
In Person (1935)
To set the context, by 1935 Ginger Rogers had delivered Busby Berkeley’s Golddiggers of 1933, in which she sings in Pig Latin sandwiched in a giant silver dollar, danced with Astaire in Top Hat, and did this weird thing called In Person. Directed by William Seiter, who seemed to staple shots together until he gotContinue reading “In Person (1935)”