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)”
Author Archives: Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr.
Captain January (1936)
When Captain January was released, Shirley Temple was eight years old and had already made several hit films. Her arc was still ascending, and that incredible sense of cheer and fun in her early movies is evident. It’s a sentimental story that could have been much worse. Once again Shirley is an orphan, rescued andContinue reading “Captain January (1936)”
Pigskin Parade (1936)
Pigskin Parade is a pretty famous movie, considering that it’s not much to look at. It was Judy Garland’s first major role, and she does indeed kill the three numbers she has. Directed by David Butler, a prolific, experienced, uneven contract director at 20th Century Fox, it’s one of the dozens of college comedies ofContinue reading “Pigskin Parade (1936)”
The Milky Way (1936)
The Milky Way is one of my favorite comedies of the period. It’s hilarious on every level — physical, verbal, and situational. It’s a puzzle to me why it isn’t venerated more. It stars Harold Lloyd in one of his few speaking roles after his career as one of the three comic silent film geniusesContinue reading “The Milky Way (1936)”
Colleen (1936)
Colleen, the last film that Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler made together (of seven), is a strange disaster — and a great example of what happens when a studio throws a lot of previously proven elements together without any inspiration and ends up with nothing. The plot is complicated enough, replete with suckers, con-artists andContinue reading “Colleen (1936)”
Stand In (1937)
Stand In isn’t well known. It’s not quite obscure, since Humphrey Bogart has a supporting role in it and the Bogart cult would never let one of his films be ignored. (As it happens, Bogart is the weakest link in it — he snarls, smoulders, and mugs his way through the story, humorless as heContinue reading “Stand In (1937)”
Public Deb No. 1 (1940)
Public Deb No. 1 is a very odd movie. Most of the world must think so, too, because it’s very hard to find. There’s at least one youtube upload of it, but it’s a horrible dupe from a VHS. My college library says it’s only available in 16mm film, and from only one source, theContinue reading “Public Deb No. 1 (1940)”
Swing Soundtracks
One of the things I love most about Swing Era comedies is the music. That might seem obvious, but it has hidden dimensions. Musical comedies of the period depended a lot on the continuous threading through of themes in the background score — the atmospheric accompaniment of the dialogue and the action. Not only comediesContinue reading “Swing Soundtracks”
Fred and Ginger Leave the Mandala
Film historians who are particular fans of the Astaire-Rogers films often write about them as important mediators for changing gender attitudes at the time of the Great Depression. The argument goes like this: Astaire’s characters always treated Rogers’s characters as equals. Astaire never posed as an aggressive male intending to dominate his partner. He appealedContinue reading “Fred and Ginger Leave the Mandala”
Desire (1936)
I’m on the fence about Desire. I’m not sure whether I dislike it or I’ll think of it as really good sometime down the road. A lot of talent was involved in it. Frank Borzage, a romantic darling of the French cinéastes, directed it. Lubitsch, newly named as producer at Paramount Studios, produced it, choseContinue reading “Desire (1936)”