Why Be Good? – 1929 – a roaring 20s silent film / romantic comedy. Colleen Moore is a department store flapper gal who falls for the son of the very rich and very snooty owner of the store. Pretty charming little flick, definitely a snapshot of its jazz age screwball age. Hardly the best film but a fun little time.
Rain – 1932 – Rain is a curious film and certainly a daring pre-code example of film making for its times. I was on the fence for the first half… but wow, I really got into it once Joan Crawford and the preacher started in on each other. This flick probably invented the Hayes Code all by itself (and I love it).
Hold Your Man – 1938 – Jean Harlow and Clark Cable star in this little crime caper / romantic drama. He’s a no good crook who hides out in her flat to avoid the cops. The chemistry and crackling dialog between the two stars is a fine example of the form. I found myself drawn to their sassy back and forth… and then she gets pinched and sent to prison. The women-in-prison movie it turns into is ok… but I missed what had been previously setup.
Madame Bovary – 1949 – One of many adaptations of the classic novel… a story that surprisingly got a number of films given its scandalous reputation. But they take a swing at it and it’s a decent enough attempt. As if to comment upon itself, there’s a framing device where the author of the novel defends his own work in court on a charge of obscenity.
Odds Against Tomorrow – 1959 – A daring film noir from director Robert Wise and star Harry Belefonte. Basically the telling of a bank heist that goes horribly wrong once the chips are down and one of the crooks racism comes out on full display. Interestingly, Belefonte is not playing a saintly black man brutalized by a racist… he’s just as much a crook as the rest of them. The end was a little anti-climactic but it’s a good flick otherwise.
Cabaret – 1972 – this is a tough one. This is an iconic film that a lot of people love and has a certain cache all its own among the gay community. I get it… it was daring for the time. But I largely felt the movie was a little tedious once you strip away the daring transgression of the cross-dressing and gay romance plot. I did like the scene in the beer garden when surprise Nazi child sings a song that makes you go “that’s nice”… and then “oooh. that’s a problem.”
Cooley High – 1975 – hadn’t heard of this one until the podcast Unspooled spent an episode on it as an example of high school / coming-of-age films. It’s about four black kids just living their lives in Chicago in the early 60s. I’d say it’s another time capsule movie but it’s hard to judge accuracy a 70s movie pretending to be a 60s movie from 2020. But I bet it was a crowd pleaser in its time and it certainly had to influence other films.
House Party – 1990 – on the edge of what a classic is… but this is one I missed for many, many years. Kid ‘n Play’s iconic early 90s flick was a fun watch. Not sure what else I can say.