Here’s another catchup of classic (or at least old) movies airing recently on Turner Classics.
Monkey Business – 1931 – a Marx Brothers movie, not the first I’ve ever seen but easily the worst. I like Groucho Marx usually but I have no affinity for rest of them and this one had too much of them. They stow-away aboard a cruise ship and generally just make chaos… eventually they get hired by competing gangsters. Or something.
Night Nurse – 1931 – a rather fascinating movie in that it was made pre-code (that’s the Hayes Code that controlled Hollywood movie content up through the 60s). The film is half 30s era Gray’s Anatomy and half murder-mystery. The first half is about women training to become nurses and has a LOT of shots of them stripping down to their unmentionables… Eventually the main nurse winds up watching over a pair of little girls who are being starved by their doctor and mafia step-father in order to steal their inheritance. Insert dramatic music here. Clarke Gable appears as a mafia enforced / limo driver. Insert more dramatic music here.
Arsene Lupin – 1932 – a kind of detective movie about a mysterious gentleman jewel thief. Based on a bunch of novels from the early 20th century that I’d never heard of… in fact, I only watched it because of a Japanese anime series called Lupin III… turns out that character is based on this old series of French novels. This movie also interesting because it stars both Lionel and John Barrymore… related to John Barrymore, Jr. and his daughter Drew Barrymore. I’m afraid that’s about the only interesting thing about this flick though… its very dated and very slow.
Sons of the Desert – 1933 – a Laurel and Hardy movie that made me realize I’d never seen a Laruel and Hardy movie. Not a terrible flick… better than that Marx Brother movie at least. The two idiots want to go to the Sons of the Desert convention (Sons being an Elks-like lodge). Their wives have other plans… so they lie and cheat and go to the convention anyway, only to get caught by their much smarter wives.
Ever In My Heart – 1933 – a surprisingly good film about a German immigrant who becomes an American citizen right before the breakout of WW1. After the sinking of the Lusitania, the town turns on him and his American wife. It’s most interesting because it wants us to feel compassion for an innocent man being persecuted for being a foreigner… but the movie was made in the early 30s when Hitler was just coming to power. The message is strong but the timing probably wasn’t right. Or maybe it was exactly right. The message gets confusing, especially when it ends in Europe with the husband and wife working on opposite sides of the war.
Night Waitress – 1936 – kind of generic mafia crime drama set in a restaurant on the wharf. Gangster tries to woo no-nonsense waitress, G-men move in to figure out what she knows.
The Tell-Tale Heart – 1947 – a made-for-tv short, based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story. Not bad. Pretty atmospheric… kind of low budget, very short. Surprisingly good.
On the Town – 1949 – famous technicolor song and dance film about three navy men on leave in the Big Apple. Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and some guy play the sailors. They pick up three dames… one an anthropologist, one a sexually aggressive cab driver, and the third an allegedly famous socialite (she’s not, but the sailors mistake her for one). I rather enjoyed most of the song and dance numbers in this, even the slightly cringy one about primitive tribes (you can imagine the cultural sensitivity of the 40s).
Summer Stock – 1950 – another Gene Kelly song and dance film, this one co-starring Judy Garland. I think this may only be the second Judy Garland film I’ve seen after The Wizard of Oz. It was disconcerting… she wasn’t a 17 year old girl any longer. Anyway, it’s the story of a woman trying to run her farm and the theater performers who move to perform a play in her barn. Can they help out the farm, will Judy join the cast, will she marry the nerd or the artistic Gene Kelly? Fun film.
Annie Get Your Gun – 1950 – Very technicolor musical about Annie Oakley, sharpshooter for Buffalo Bill’s traveling show. It’s a decent musical most memorable for introducing the songs “There’s No Business Like Showbusiness” and “Anything You Can Do”. I’m sure there’s a lot of nostalgia to be had from other songs, this being a stage musical as well.
High Society – 1956 – a musical retelling of The Philadelphia Story, this time starring Grace Kelly (less than a year before becoming Princess Grace), Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong (!). Not as good as Philadelphia Story… the introduction of Louis Armstrong and his (black) jazz band was interesting. Invited – without comment – to be the house band for this ritzy, high society wedding… I found it fascinating for a 50s film. Jazz seems to have been pretty important to 50s films.
Zero Hour! – 1957 – mentioned in a previous post. Airplane disaster film about a WW2 pilot who has to land a passenger plane. Basis for most of the story and many of the jokes of Airplane!
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father – 1963 – a movie in the apparent sub-genre of widower movies (and tv shows) of the time. It’s about a dad and his young son who very recently lost their wife and mother. The film follows them as he dates various women and the kid is precocious and adorable. Just kind of a slice-of-life movie, in a way. Most memorable for starring little Ronnie Howard as the kid… at the same time he was playing Opie on the Andy Griffith show. I enjoyed this movie in its square jawed, square sort of way. It felt like it existed on a dividing line between the square 50s and the wilder 60s…
Kissin’ Cousins – 1964 – a pretty terrible Elvis Presley movie about the US military wanting to buy the rights to the top of a mountain owned by cliche’d hillbillies. Elvis is a soldier from the area so is tapped to be the government representative. He’s distantly related to all the hillfolk, including the two hot cousins of the title. Just kind of embarrassingly hokey comedy that makes the Dukes of Hazard seem sophisticated.