DODSWORTH (1936)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Dodsworth (1936)
Expectations: I’ve read a couple of Sinclair Lewis novels, Arrowsmith being the one in recent memory. I knew this film was based on a Lewis novel. My expectation was for a good story, though I didn’t know what the plot was about.

After viewing: When you think of some of the great film stars of the 30’s studio era, the first names that come to mind are probably not Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton. Huston plays Dodsworth, the retired automaker, trying to see what life has in store for him in middle age. Chatterton plays his wife Fran, who is fighting against the aging process every step of the way. Both of these performers are quite good, but Huston especially struck a chord with me. Lewis’s story was strong and well adapted by Sidney Howard. Of course, I’m just going to have to make that leap considering I haven’t read the novel. I’ll just go by the end product and rate the adaptation a success.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…screenwriter Sidney Howard. Most fans of classic movies can identify Margaret Mitchell as the author of Gone With the Wind. But who wrote the screenplay for the most widely viewed film of all-time? I’m willing to bet a majority of film fans couldn’t come up with the name Sidney Howard (At least I couldn’t). To paraphrase William Goldman’s sentiment on screenwriters, “Don’t’ mind him, he only wrote the damn thing!” Well, Howard adapted the Dodsworth screenplay too, and did a damn good job!

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GUNGA DIN (1939)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Expectations:I saw it years ago and mostly remember the courageous bhisti bugle boy Gunga Din played by Sam Jaffe.

After viewing: Is it even apporpriate to like this movie in this day and age? Hold on a minute while I check my political correctness study guides.

Well, one of my PC books says that it is a yet another story of self-righteous Western imperialists that feel their way is the right way and that the only brown man worth living is one that wants to follow in the footsteps of those that adhere to the values of her majesty, as Mr. Din wishes to do. My other PC book says to just enjoy the rollicking adventure, great stars, the funny non-action scenes (Director George Stevens learned a few things about comedy when he mentored under Hal Roach), and of course the dramatic final scene. It may take awhile for me to determine which book is correct.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…Sam Jaffe as the courageous bhisti bugle boy, who else?

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CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1938)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Captains Courageous (1938)
Expectations: I knew Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for this as the Portuguese fisherman and it was based on a Rudyard Kipling story.

After Viewing: A sometimes corny, sometimes inspiring story of a spoiled rich kid who grows up after being lost at sea and rides around with a fishing vessel for several weeks. It’s interesting that the boy, played by Freddie Bartholomew, has a lot more screen time than Tracy, the Oscar-winning star. I thought Tracy came close to losing his Portuguese accent whenever he got mad (but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, it’s Spencer Tracy, perhaps the most revered American screen actor of the twentieth century, after all!) I liked the movie overall, though the plot is not exactly chock full of surprises. And another thing class-if you want a movie with literary examples of foreshadowing, this movie might be a good place to start.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…Lionel Barrymore. Some good candidates here, including the always interesting John Carradine and the Wizard of Oz’sUncle Henry, Charlie Grapwine. Lionel Barrymore may be known chiefly to modern audiences as the evil Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life, but here he plays a the wily, but sympathetic ship’s captain. I just saw him in Camille as Robert Taylor’s father, and I’m sure he’ll pop up again on my DVD player soon.

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NINOTCHKA (1939)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Ninotchka (1939)
Expectations: I just know that Garbo laughs.

After viewing: After seeing the more serious filmCamille, I had no idea Garbo could be so funny! (And I'm guessing her Ninotchka character was the later inspiration for the character of Natasha in Rocky & Bullwinkle). Also, after a recent viewing of Captains Courageous, I had no idea that Melvyn Douglas could be so funny, either! The screenplay for Ninotchka is truly witty (especially the first half). A cold war romance before the Cold War even began. Overall, a very pleasant surprise.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…(a six way-tie)Actually two trios. First, the great supporting Russian representatives in Paris, who begin to like certain aspects of capitalism more than they should. They are played with great charm and humor by Sig Rumann, Felix Bressart and Alexander Granach. During their scenes with Garbo, they are kind of like the Four Marx Brothers. (With Garbo being a much sexier version of Zeppo if you want to take the comparison further than it needs to go).

The other trio is screenwriters Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch, whose sharp screenplay and political quips seemed years ahead of its time.
Supporting player oddity: The fourth billed Bela Lugosi (billed ahead of Rumann, Bressart and Granach) has only one scene that lasts about two minutes, and he really isn’t that memorable in it.* I guess that’s show biz.

*For a more memorable Lugosi supporting performance, see him as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein.

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CAMILLE (1933)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Camille (1936)
Expectations: I knew this was a Greta Garbo picture. Considering, her iconic status, I was looking forward to seeing this for her.

After viewing: I know it was based on a Alexandre Dumas nils play, so it does have a somewhat literary lineage. But my honest opinion while I was viewing is that this was a romance novel come to life: A courtesan in 1847 gay-paree. A young suitor falls in love with her. She won’t go with him because of his lack of money. The man’s father tries to talk her out of marrying him because it would ruin his future. She is in love with him now and is torn. A rich baron wants to marry her and take her to Russia. Of course she doesn’t love the baron, but there are those creditors, you know. Oh yeah, and it’s clear very early on that her ongoing illness is not going to allow her to live a long life anyway.

And Garbo? The only previous movie I’ve seen with Garbo was Grand Hotel, which was an all-star cast extravaganza if memory serves. Camille is purely Garbo’s vehicle. She is certainly glamorous and exotic and if seeing Ms. Garbo in various costumes is your thing, welcome to Camille. It took me a while to get used to her accent, but I did and can see why she’s such revered figure. Of course, part of this status was because she quit the movies while still in her prime (She never made unfortunate comeback pictures like Mae West, see She Done Him Wrong entry from 5/22) and became a famous recluse. Her suitor, Robert Taylor, seems the perfect romance novel lover, but you never forget the star of this movie has the initials G. G.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…Laura Hope Crews. Most famous for being Pittypat in Gone With the Wind. A film like Camille, with such earnest lovers needs some comic relief, and Crews as Prudence is always the one with the cutting line or made to appear foolish herself or says the wrong thing. My favorite line of hers is when she tries to convince some of her dinner guests that she’s 36. (It’s how she says it. Trust me it’s funny)

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CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

Captain Blood (1935)
Expectations: I knew it was a famous Errol Flynn swashbuckler.* I knew it was based on the the popular Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name. It has even been made into a graphic novel in recent years! I also thought I would like it more than Pirates of the Caribbean and less than Master and Commander.

After viewing: I learned a lot about this film from the DVD extras. Flynn and co-star Olivia De Havilland were both relatively unknown when cast in this film. It’s interesting when this film was a hit, how Warner Brother’s seemed to use the same cast (Flynn, De Havilland, Rathbone & Hale) and same director (Michael Curtiz) for many future films. My overall take: I liked it more than Pirates of the Caribbean and less than Master and Commander, so my expectations were met. And I’d like to add this phrase, “All right me hearties, follow me!” (You’ll have to excuse me, I just felt like typing that.)

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…I’ve got to give it to Basil Rathbone this time. Two films in a row I’ve watched Rathbone battle the suave Mr. Flynn to the death with the result being…well, you probably can guess the outcome. At least Sherlock Holmes was going to give Rathbone some leading man roles in the near future.

*I really didn’t want to use the word swashbuckler because it’s always used to talk about these kind of pictures, but it really does seem to fit.

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THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)

I’ve seen a number of the classic Hollywood movies of the 1930’s.But going over some of the titles in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I noticed more than a few omissions from my movie viewing resume. For two weeks I’m going to try to fill in some of those gaps as well as re-watch some old favorites. I’ll list my expectations for each film going in and state whether these expectations are reached or not. And I’ll give each film my Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award strictly for the reason that I think it would be fun to do so.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Expectations: I honestly don’t remember if I ever saw this film before, but if I did I was probably about 10. Yes, it was back in the day when local television stations showed quality old movies instead of endless reruns of Full House or just showed that Goldie Hawn movie Overboard over and over and over. Ahem.
Anyway, I was hoping to enjoy this early color adventure.

After Viewing: I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed it much more than the later version of Robin Hood with Kevin Costner. The Adventures of Robin Hood has everything you might want in an action film from that era, though Robin being able to evade death from multiple adversaries does stretch the ole suspension of disbelief a little. But hey, it’s not supposed to be The Killing Fields! He’s escaping the Sheriff of Nottingham, not the Khymer Rogue! I’m also guessing not many actors could have gotten away with wearing Robin Hood’s green or should I say BRIGHT green outfit, blazing across the screen in techincolor without looking silly. But Errol Flynn manages to do it quite nicely.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…Alan Hale. There’s a slew of candidates here: the opportunistic scene stealing villain Claude Rains, the suave, but villainous Basil Rathbone, or maybe you prefer an oafish villain like Melville Cooper's Sheriff of Nottingham. How about the always reliable Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck? No, I’m giving it to Little John, Alan Hale. Why? Because of his over 200 screen credits from the teens to 1950, always lending able support to the star, often times Errol Flynn? That’s a good reason, but no. I’m giving it to Alan because if you ever see Alan on a movie on your TV, even a film buff can’t help himself but to shout out, “Hey, it’s the Skipper from Gilligan’s Island’s dad!” I think he deserves a little better than that.

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