Gold Rush Maisie was the third film in the ten-film MAISIE series, and the first that was not based on stories by Wilson Collison. (I take a stab at describing the MAISIE enterprise here.) That freedom allowed scriptwriter Mary McCall, Jr. and the series’s star Ann Sothern to imagine their picara heroine’s trajectory their ownContinue reading “Gold Rush Maisie (1940)”
Category Archives: 1940
Congo Maisie (1940)
Congo Maisie was the second of the popular MAISIE series starring Ann Sothern as the eponymous showgirl-picara. (I try to capture the gist of the whole ten-film “Maisie” enterprise here.) It was also the last of the films to be based on the novels by Wilson Collison, who had earlier written the play on whichContinue reading “Congo Maisie (1940)”
Spring Parade (1940)
Among the neglected gems of Hollywood comedies of the Interwar period, Spring Parade has to be among the most neglected, and the gemmiest. Even though it is one of Deanna Durban’s best films, it is accessible only in a badly deteriorated print (the consequence of a long copyright dispute). As a result, the available versionsContinue reading “Spring Parade (1940)”
Christmas in July (1940)
Christmas in July was the first Preston Sturges film I ever saw. By that time I had seen many of the other canonical comedies of the time and had read a lot about Sturges. But the film flummoxed me. What on earth? I laughed a lot but couldn’t get a handle on what I wasContinue reading “Christmas in July (1940)”
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
When I first began researching the Hollywood comedies of the 1930s and ’40s, Dance, Girl, Dance had an unusually high status among feminist film scholars. The battle of the sexes was inherently interesting for feminist critics, and there was a natural desire to find films that would present powerful, self-fashioning women and challenge the patriarchalContinue reading “Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)”
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
Broadway Melody of 1940 was the only film in which Astaire danced with Eleanor Powell; it may also have been the only film in which he played opposite George Murphy. (I need to check this out.) It was the third in the Broadway Melody reprise series, each of which starred Eleanor Powell. Murphy had beenContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)”
I Was An Adventuress (1940)
Sometimes you wonder why a movie gets made. I Was An Adventuress is an exceedingly odd Hollywood revision of a 1938 French film, J’étais une aventurière, directed by Raymond Bernard. I haven’t seen the original, but I suspect that the remake is quite faithful, because it doesn’t feel like it was made in the US.Continue reading “I Was An Adventuress (1940)”
Two Girls on Broadway (1940)
I find Two Girls on Broadway interesting for two reasons. First, it’s one of the three dance comedies Lana Turner made as a 19-20 year old in the 1939-40 span. The other is that it’s a remake of the foundational Hollywood film musical, The Broadway Melody (1929), and it attacks the problems of that filmContinue reading “Two Girls on Broadway (1940)”
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)”
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Philadelphia Story is in a class of its own. If you tried to construct a canon of Hollywood high comedy of manners, it might be the only member. Lubitsch is satirical about that genre to the point of camp. There are several British films that fit the category but American producers insisted that thereContinue reading “The Philadelphia Story (1940)”