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)”
Category Archives: Neglected Gems
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)”
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)”
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)”
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)”
Orchestra Wives (1942)
Orchestra Wives is one of the 20th Century Fox musicals of the 40s that were made on B-budgets, but are elevated to A-status by their music and cinematography. It’s a dreamy jazz band movie with almost zero narrative — but very funny and erotic, with great music and the best routine by The Nichols BrothersContinue reading “Orchestra Wives (1942)”
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
One Hundred Men and a Girl was Deanna Durbin’s second film, and like the first, Three Smart Girls, it was conceived and directed by Henry Koster. Its premise is sweet and daring. Durbin plays the daughter of a down-and-out symphony orchestra director, John Cardwell (Adolphe Menjou), whose one-hundred person orchestra is out of work. TheyContinue reading “One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)”
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
Variety-show comedies were extremely popular in the 1930s, even before they hit their peak during the war years. They were patterned on vaudeville, music hall, and cabaret stage shows that included a lot of different kinds of acts — hence “variety” — and could be built into spectacular star vehicles in New York, Paris, andContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)”
Syncopation (1942)
William Dieterle’s Syncopation is a comic bio-pic about the evolution of New Orleans jazz. Basically a love letter to the New Orleans origins of jazz, and some say based on the Bix Beiderbecke-Bunny Berrigan-Louis Armstrong friendship, it’s a sincere white lefty plea to take jazz seriously as not only an African-American art, but as theContinue reading “Syncopation (1942)”
Broadway Gondolier (1935)
I’m very fond of Broadway Gondolier. It’s probably more responsible for my getting into this blogging project than any other film. I recorded it from TCM one night many years ago for later watching. When I got around to seeing it, I was thoroughly charmed. I’d never heard of it before — but that’s noContinue reading “Broadway Gondolier (1935)”