Hellzapoppin’ is the Citizen Kane of anarcho-comedy. The movie adaptation of Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson’s long-running and apparently endlessly inventive Broadway show, it’s widely considered one of the funniest movies ever made, competing with Duck Soup for top honors among madcap films. And yet amazingly it was unavailable until quite recently, tied up byContinue reading “Hellzapoppin’ (1941) – 1.”
Monthly Archives: February 2020
The Male Animal (1942)
The Male Animal is only intermittently funny, often plodding as a comedy — but it’s interesting from beginning to end. It was directed by Elliott Nugent, who had written the original Broadway play of it in collaboration with his friend and fellow Ohio State alum, James Thurber. Nugent had played the lead role on stage;Continue reading “The Male Animal (1942)”
Swing Time (1936)
Swing Time, the sixth of the Astaire-Rogers partnerships, appears to be the most highly regarded of their films nowadays — or at least equal to Top Hat. The Criterion website even claims it’s the greatest dance movie ever made. I like Swing Time okay, but it’s not my favorite of their films, and I haveContinue reading “Swing Time (1936)”
You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
The Astaire-Rogers partnership began to evaporate after Shall We Dance in 1937. They did make one other Sandrich-directed film, Carefree, before their subsequent films began to count as reunions, but you can feel that the studios no longer trust the magic. Both Astaire and Rogers had to some extent been yoked into the partnership byContinue reading “You Were Never Lovelier (1942)”
Holiday Inn (1942)
I’ve seen the Astaire-Rogers films so many times that I can practically name the dance steps, but I’ve seen very few of Bing Crosby’s movies. I wasn’t into him — I didn’t get the appeal. I knew him mainly from television and records, and the crooning style left me cold. (I don’t care for Sinatra,Continue reading “Holiday Inn (1942)”
Hooray for Love (1935)
I’m crazy fond of Hooray for Love. It has a limited — very limited — legendary status because of a spectacular number performed by Bill Robinson, Fats Waller, Jeni LeGon, and an ensemble of some of the best Black Broadway performers of the time. It’s truly a phenomenal piece. (I’ll embed a video of itContinue reading “Hooray for Love (1935)”
Four’s a Crowd (1938)
So here’s an example of how my taste differs from most people’s. Four’s a Crowd does not get much love, neither from film historians nor from audiences, despite the fact that it was directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Errol Flynn, Rosalind Russell, and Olivia de Havilland. The consensus seems to be that it’s somewhatContinue reading “Four’s a Crowd (1938)”
Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)
I obviously have a soft spot for the Dick Powell comedies of the Thirties. I have no explanation for it. I didn’t see any of them until I was middle aged. Twenty Million Sweethearts is a generic Dick Powell movie, other than that his female lead is Ginger Rogers, not the animatronic Ruby Keeler —Continue reading “Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)”
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Wife vs. Secretary was another experiment in combining comedy and melodrama, but with far more success than most of the others. The melodrama is managed with a light touch and elegance; so is the comedy. The core value of elegance is simplicity, and few films of the time can match Wife vs. Secretary for simplicity.Continue reading “Wife vs. Secretary (1936)”
Honky Tonk (1941)
I have a problem with Clark Gable. Never liked him. I learned to appreciate his comic thing of the Thirties, but I never really liked it. Honky Tonk was conceived as a Clark- Gable-Comedy-After-Gone-With-The-Wind. By this time Gable was so much “Clark Gable” that the scales were ready to moult. The real star of theContinue reading “Honky Tonk (1941)”