The Informer

In John Ford’s The Informer, we are taken to a foggy night in Dublin, 1922.  Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) is a starving now that he’s been cast out of the organized rebels.   When he sees a reward poster for his old pal, Frankie (Wallace Ford), the twenty pound reward is tempting.  So tempting that he tears it from the wall, but the windy night has the poster follow him.  His girlfriend, Katie (Margot Grahame), is so desperate for money she has turned to prostitution.  When she sees a poster for a voyage to America, she says, “Twenty pounds and the world is ours.”  This seems to be the final straw for Gypo, he decides to turn Frankie in.

After we see Frankie gunned down in an intense gunfight in front of his mother and sister, Gypo is a free, and rich man with a growing guilty conscience. Anyone with twenty pounds in his pockets is considered loaded here.  He at first tries to extinguish the guilt with a bottle of whiskey, but that is only throwing gas on the fire.  When people start getting a whiff of all the money Gypo has on him, they take him out on the town, on his dime.  As Gypo gets more drunk, the worse he feels about squealing on Frankie and the less careful he is with his money, or who he gives it to.  By the end of the night, people will making the connection between Frankie’s death and Gypo’s new fortune.

Victor McLaglen won the Oscar for best actor for portraying Gypo through his downward spiral.  He is simply a large, desperate brute with a conscious that works best in the aftermath of a terrible moral decision, but watching that conscious grow and torment him from the inside out is truly intriguing.  By the climatic trial scene, I felt terrible for how stinking drunk and tired Gypo looked.  The story goes that Ford made McLaglen perform that scene through a fierce hangover he planned on McLaglen getting after the grueling film schedule.

Sometimes the simplest films have the greatest affect.  Here, the plot is a simple story of guilt set in a mysteriously foggy Dublin, but it was done so well.  This fog is so thick that lights seem to just get lost in it and only shadows can slice through.  The wind, with it’s ability to continually bring the crumpled wanted poster back to Gypo, is wonderfully eerie that only adds to the growing tension within Gypo.  And reading how John Ford pushed McLaglen throughout filming and into that hungover performance is intriguing and makes the end even more painful to watch.  It took me a long while to think about it, but I personally would rank The Informer as the best picture of 1935.  Mutiny is a very close second.

“I’m in with the fog and out with the fog and no one will be the wiser.”

Mutiny on the Bounty

Back when I reviewed the 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, I was left with many questions about the original, mostly was the remake necessary.  It was not.  Not at all.

The HMS Bounty is about to leave for a two year mission to Tahiti to bring back a supply of bread fruit.  Ran by the notorious Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton), he dishes out harsh punishments for minor infractions in order to keep the men in line.  The men are worked so hard by fear that first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) starts to question Bligh’s command.  Tensions nearly mount as they land in Tahiti and the six months the men spend on the island are bliss compared to the Bounty.  When it’s time to sail back, Bligh is worse than ever and decides to severely ration the water in order to keep all the bread fruit plants healthy.  Christian and the men can only take so much before they declare a mutiny against Bligh.

Laughton plays the perfect Captain Bligh.  With his half opened eyes and thick lips, he can strike a perfectly indifferent expression that can easily border onto cruel, especially during whipping scenes.  His round face ensures us that he is still eating while the forces extreme rationing on the men.  The great thing about Laughton’s Bligh is that the less he does, the more sinister and cruel he seems.  The whippings were less frequent and less graphic than the remake, yet I feared this Bligh much more than Howard’s portrayal.

In the first few minutes on deck, all I could think about was how wonderfully they captured the beauty of this ship.  We see the men climbing all over it so high with no harnesses.  These men have some balls.   When the sail opens and captures the wind, ah!  It was like the ship was coming to life and blooming before our eyes.  This is truly something to marvel at and the film captured this man-made majesty perfectly, much more satisfying than any CGI trick.

Some of the things I wondered about in the remake came through just as I thought they would in the original.  While the natives are still very friendly, the sex is not played up so much.  Neither is the whipping.  And we don’t have to watch these men suffer as long since the original is just over two hours long, as opposed to the remake’s grueling three.  Basically, the original has a little less of everything, but here, less is so much more.  It is better and more effective in every way.

“When you’re back in England with the fleet again, you’ll hear the hue and cry against me. From now on they’ll spell mutiny with my name.”

Les Misérables

Based off of Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables tells the tale of Jean Valjean (Fredric March), who is sentenced to ten years in the galleys for stealing food to feed his sister’s children.  The conditions are brutal and when Valjean’s sentence finally ends, he still has to live the life of a convict, where he is welcome nowhere and has to check in for parole every year.  When he seems at his lowest, the kindness of a Bishop Bienvenu (Cedric Hardwicke), teaches him that life is about giving.

Years later, Valjean has built himself a new life under the name Champmathieu.  He is so respected that he is appointed mayor, with the dutiful Inspector Javert (Charles Laughton) pledging his devotion.  Valjean meets a young orphaned girl named Cosette (Marilyn Knowlden) and becomes a father figure to her.  When Valjean learns that an innocent man is on trial because he stopped reporting for parole, he gives up the good name he’s built and jeopardizes his freedom to spare the innocent man.  That confession launches Javert to pursue Valjean for the sake of carrying out the law.  But Valjean and Cosette go into hiding and the chase lasts for years until Valjean sees that his running will cost the grown Cosette (Rochelle Hudson) her own chances at happiness.

The most fascinating character in this film is Laughton’s Javert.  With his emotionless, uncompromising view of the law he feels compelled to carry out, he seems to be a personification of the entire justice system in early nineteenth century France.  To Javert, Valjean must be captured, the fact that he has lived as a model citizen under another name is just a spiteful act of defiance against the system.  That sort of blind determination can be frightening when you’re trying to hide and outrun it and it doesn’t look like Javert will hold any mercies.

From book, to film, to musical, there are plenty of adaptations of Hugo’s classic tale to choose from.  Personally, I find this film to be the medium I would choose due to the classic film stars, beautiful silver screen imagery and lack of singing.  I know there are some who hold a fierce love for the musical and others who believe a film could never hold all that Hugo puts in the novel, understandable, but to each his own.  If you are completely new to the world of Les Misérables, I would suggest either reading the novel or finding this film for your first encounter.

“Keep these always. Silver they say, but they’re more than gold to me.”

Top Hat

To describe classic 1930’s cinema, one would have to include a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing number.  Top Hat is one of their iconic classics, the first created exclusively to feature this pair.  With catchy musical numbers, great use of Astaire’s fast feet and comedic plot based on mistaken identities, Top Hat is a film to relax to with a dopey grin spread across your face.  For me, it’s nearly a guilty pleasure.

In London, Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is the lead in the latest stage production by Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton).  Late one night at the hotel, Jerry gets a fit of restless feet and his conversation with Horace turns into a tap number.  Just below him is Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers), who complains about the noise going on.  Learning that the noise is coming from Mr. Hardwick’s room, she storms upstairs to confront the noise only to meet Jerry.  The two are instantly attracted to each other, but no introductions are made.  Though Dale does not immediately welcome Jerry’s advances, including filling her room with flowers, they do spark a bit of romance.  But when she incorrectly conceives that Jerry is Horace, and worse, he is married, she leaves with her dress maker Alberto (Erik Rhodes) to Venice.  There she meets up with Madge (Helen Broderick), Horace’s wife, and they talk about the advances Dale thinks Horace is making.  When the men, back in London, learn that Dale is in Venice, they fly after her and meet up with Madge as well.  As Jerry continues his pursuit, Horace feels the wrath of his wife, confusing the men even further and driving Dale into a quick marriage.

The set that is supposed to be Venice, with pristine canals and bridges, undoubtedly earned Top Hat its Art Direction nomination.  Of course, this is only a large sound stage and to believe that this is any part of Venice, one must a very strong suspension of disbelief.  It looks more like these clapboard gondolas are gliding through Disney Land’s It’s A Small World than any real canal.  However, that is not a bad thing.  Imagine how out of place Astaire and Rogers might look really dancing in Venice.  These iconic stars, in their tails and elegant feather dress, look their best in completely synthetic surroundings.  All those white structures were built just to help them pop off the screen more.  In fact, the canal water was dyed black to gain more contrast.

Honestly, the plot is a little silly, and the sets look really fake, but we are not supposed to mind.  As long as we are watching comedic mishaps based on Dale mistaking Jerry for Horace, we should be rolling with it, grinning and enjoying the musical numbers.  The point is to keep the men confused in their pursuit and the women conniving until things start to resolve to the ideal ending.  The film does just that while showing off Fred’s fast feet and pairing him up perfectly with Ginger.

“In dealing with a girl or horse, one just lets nature take its course.”

Ruggles of Red Gap

While visiting Paris in 1908, an American couple wins an English butler, Ruggles (Charles Laughton), in a game of poker. The wife, Effie Floud (Mary Boland), hopes that giving her husband, Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles), a personal manservant will help him rise into a more sophisticated lifestyle that she is trying to achieve by throwing snooty parties.  They take Ruggles back to their small, but growing town in Washington, Red Gap, where Ruggles tries to keep Egbert in line.  Instead of running a small errand to the newspaper, Egbert stops in at a local beer bust and Ruggles reluctantly has to follow.  There, he meets Mrs. Judson (Zasu Pitts), a widow serving food at the party.  As the two dance, Egbert drunkenly refers to Ruggles as “the Colonel” sparking rumors that peg Ruggles as a war hero.

After the whole town thinks Ruggles is a prestigious guest at the Floud’s house, he enjoys the taste of being somebody rather than somebody’s servant.  He realizes that now that he is in America, he can aspire to be his own person with his own set of American dreams.  With his culinary skills, Ruggles decides to open up a restaurant, but Effie needs him to serve at another of her pompous social parties.  He becomes conflicted on whether to take a big chance on the restaurant or stay in his safe, respectable line of servitude.

Egbert and Ruggles are polar opposite characters, which makes their friendship all the more fun and meaningful.  Egbert is a wonderfully nice hick who enjoys his ridiculous looking full checked suits and would rather get loud and drunk in a Paris cafe than step foot in any of their art museums.  He is a regular cowboy and Effie is desperately trying to mold him into a gentleman.  Ruggles has come from a family of servants and finds that a fine lot in life.  He’s quiet, disciplined and doesn’t look like he knows how to have a good time for himself.  When Egbert treats Ruggles as more of a friend than a servant, it baffles Ruggles at first.  He has been taught his place is below his employer, but it seems Egbert doesn’t see it that way saying they are equal.

At one point in the film, Ruggles and Egbert are in the local saloon, trying to convince Ruggles to strike out on his own.  Egbert tries to remember what Lincoln said at Gettysburg, but can’t.  The questions is passed to all the cowboys around the saloon, but no one can remember what it was that Lincoln said.  Finally, Ruggles stands up and recites the entire Gettysburg Address, an inspiring speech that all these free, rabble-rousing cowboys seem to take for granted.  It’s ironic how Ruggles, the foreigner who has led a life of servitude, knows this by heart while the men settling the west less than fifty years past the time of Lincoln can’t remember one word, yet they use the line “all men are created equal” whenever they see fit.

All in all, Leo McCarey’s Ruggles of Red Gap is a cute film full of many fun moments.  It’s so nice to see Charles Laughton as such a lovable good guy in the same year that he plays two notorious villains.  Once an honest smile crosses that round face, I could not picture him as either of the dastardly characters he can also be.  If you’re not sure if you’ll care for Ruggles of Red Gap, there’s no risk of waisting a precious spot on your Netflix cue, since it isn’t available there.  The movie can be found on YouTube.

“When people think you are someone, you begin to think you are.”

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is loosely based of Francis Yeats-Brown’s memoir about British soldiers protecting the boarders of India from rebellious natives.  In the Northwest Frontier, Colonel Stone (Guy Standing) runs a cold and efficient camp, allowing little ceremony or grieving for those lost in battles.  Lieutenant Alan McGregor (Gary Cooper) does not mind speaking his mind to Stone, making him look insubordinate.

When Lieutenant Forsythe (Franchot Tone) and Lieutenant Donald Stone (Richard Cromwell), the Colonel’s son, arrive they are befriended and taken under the wing of the experienced McGregor.  Colonel Stone treats his son coldly for the sake of business and avoiding any favoritism.  This causes the young Stone to act out and he becomes captured by the notorious Mohammed Khan (Douglass Dumbrille).  Colonel Stone decides not to send any men after his son, realizing that it is probably a trap.  This infuriates McGregor, so he and Forsythe disguise themselves as Indian peddlers in an attempt to rescue young Stone.

Honestly, this film is kinda boring.  It feels like the plot just jumps to little misadventures that don’t really matter in the main plot for a while, before it settles far too close to the end.  It was almost fun to see the guys fight over the only pretty girl within miles, but she had no purpose as a character.  Of course there has to be a snake charming gag, but it carries no merit.  Most of this film just feels like filler material that does not really drive the plot or develop these characters.

All day, I’ve been trying to put a finger on why I just did not like this film.  Perhaps it was too cold.  Had I turned the sound off, there would be hardly any way to tell any friendship between the men, much less any affection between the father and son.  Maybe there was just too much military business going on without much explanation as to the relationships between India and England.  Then I opened up this film’s Trivia page on IMDB and saw this right at the top: Reported to be Adolf Hitler’s favorite film.  Whatever he saw in this, I did not.  And I find that very reassuring for my morality and sanity.

“We have ways to make men talk.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I’m no expert on Shakespeare, but I’ve always found his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream to be fun, whimsical and wonderfully weird.  This film, directed by Max Reinhardt, is just that and incorporates a ton of simple, elegant early movie magic.

Theseus (Ian Hunter) is about to marry Hypolita, Queen of the Amazons (Verree Teasdale) and all ofAthenswill celebrate.  A band of performers are preparing do a play at the ceremony.  There is also a love triangle/square going on.  Both Lysander (Dick Powell) and Demetrius (Ross Alexander) are in love with Hermia (Olivia de Havilland), but she only loves Lysander, who does not have her father’s approval.  Then there is Helena (Jean Muir) who loves Demetrius but isn’t getting any love in return.  The four mismatched lovers take a rendezvous in the forest and the band of performers go there to practice.  When a fight between Oberon (Victor Jory) and Titania (Anita Louise),the King and Queen of the fairies, breaks out, Oberon enlists the energetic little goblin, Puck (Mickey Rooney) on a few errands.  But Puck makes a mistake and starts a bit of mischief, including turning the lead in the performers play, Bottom (James Cagney) into a donkey.

For those unfamiliar with the play, that sounds like a bunch of nonsense.  That is a fine assessment for a first timer, but don’t turn that into a negative.  The best thing to do with this play, on screen or on stage, is just relax and enjoy it.  There are some philosophical and intelligent elements to analyze, but on a first go around it is best just to have fun.  That is mostly what the film does.

With the film’s wonderful use of simple visual movie magic, it is easy to have fun and enjoy.  Before anything mythical happens, we are shown beautiful, natural shots of this forest.  Once the fog sets in, female figures start dancing in it and soon they are swirling up around a tree and into the starry sky.  So many shots in this film have a wonderful twinkling element that just shines and sparkles at you.  Cagney’s donkey head is more creepy than whimsical, but still quite a feat making the mouth move.  Between the beautiful, elaborate costumes and the intelligently constructed set design this has to be the best visual piece of film I have encountered from the 1930’s.

My favorite from this long list of familiar names and odd characters had to be Mickey Rooney’s Puck.  He had to have been a late bloomer the way he looks no  more than ten at age fourteen in this film, but it works out perfectly for him here.  From the moment he just becomes a person from the leaves on the ground, I was intrigued. Then he became this energetic, sometimes bouncy creature full mischief, mimicking and creepy laughs.  I loved it.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream may be one of the oddest and most artful films I have seen from the 1930’s.  That should be taken as both praise and warning.  If you do not care for Shakespeare or artsy-fartsy sparklies, stay away.  But for those who do (and oh my goodness, do I do!), this film is awesome.  You will enjoy the simple and beautiful movie magic that can only be this wonderful in black and white.

“I have had a most rare vision.  I have had a dream.”

David Copperfield

Reading the title and forgetting the year, some people may think this film has to do with the cheesy magician.  Long before magic Davey was levitating Ferraris, Charles Dickens thought up a character very dear and near his heart and named him David Copperfield.  Though the film adaptation directed by George Cukor doesn’t include all the characters and incidents from the novel, it captures the essence of Dickens’ work.

Before David was even born, he destined to face hardship.  His father died while he was still in the womb, leaving just his young mother (Elizabeth Allan) and aunt Betsey (Edna May Oliver) to fend for him.  But Betsey only plans to stick around if the baby is a girl, and she storms out with the wind when David emerges otherwise.  Still, young David (Freddie Bartholomew) becomes a healthy, well mannered boy who loves his mother dearly.  When his mother marries the harsh Mr. Murdstone (Basil Rathbone), David’s happy childhood is turned upside-down.  He is beaten for not knowing his studies and locked in a tiny unkept room away from his mother and dear nurse, Peggotty (Jessie Ralph).  Then his mother dies in childbirth and Murdstone sends him to work and fend for himself in London.  After meeting a few good characters, but finding no happiness there, David makes a long journey to Dover to find his aunt Betsey.

When poor little David shows up at her door worn and tired from the road, she finally shows some affection for him.  She and Mr. Dick (Lennox Pawle) nurse clean the boy up and send him to a good school, where he emerges a smart young man ready to write his first book.  But this smart, well rounded young man version of David (Frank Lawton) still has many trials in his life to fight.

To fit in as much of the novel as possible, the film moves at a rather quick pace.  To me, it felt like David had just arrived in London when he left and suddenly he was an adult.  This rapid pace in the narrative may leave some viewers in a whirlwind, but it is not so much that those with no knowledge of the novel will be completely lost.

What the film does best is establish all these interesting characters.  From the moment we see Aunt Betsey marching through the raging wind, we can see she’s a tough old bird.  We don’t have to see Murdstone whip David before we despise him.  And though Mr. Dick is a very minor character, he is most memorable with his giddy expressions and giant kite flying scene.

Though the film is done well and fans of Dickens may really enjoy it, I found it rather boring.  Perhaps it was quickly moving narrative that prevented me from forming much attachment to any of the characters.  Whatever the case, I would not completely dismiss the film, but would suggest reading the novel first.

“Please God, may I have a home now?”

Captain Blood

This weekend, after begin subjected to the whopping two-star reviewed newest installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, people may be looking for a more satisfying swashbuckling movie.  Something with classic action, not the kind that melts your eyeballs and all laws of physics. A wholesome hero you won’t be too embarrassed about your kids emulating is helpful, even if it is entertaining to see your four year old stagger around asking why the rum is gone.  Add in just a dash of romance and Michael Curtiz’s Captain Blood from 1935 may be a perfect way to balance out this pirate weekend.

When Doctor Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) goes to treat men injured in an attempt to throw King James II off the throne, he is arrested for treason with the others.  Rather than waste the men on hanging, they are shipped to Port Royal in the Caribbean colonies to be sold as slaves.  As the men are being bought like livestock, the Governor’s niece, Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), buys Peter to save him from an even crueler slave-driver than her uncle.  Nonetheless, the conditions Peter and his comrades endure are terrible and the punishment for trying to escape is branding.  When his owners realize that Peter is a doctor, he is given less manual labor jobs and makes house-calls, mostly for an old big wig’s flares of gout.  This also helps Peter plan an elaborate escape for all of the slaves.

You know what works better than their plan?  Pirates blasting Port Royal into chaos.  In all the confusion, Peter and the men escape and take over the pirate ship.  Since they are not welcome in England and will only become slaves again in Port Royal, they band together as pirates and go pillaging on the high seas with Peter acting as captain.

This is old fashioned, good time pirating we see in Captain Blood.  We see how they share the treasure equally and those injured or missing limbs from battle get a hefty bonus.  Peter enacts some rather strict rules for for these pirates, including never taking women hostages.  This code is more honorable and followed through more than just guidelines.  Yet, there is still some time to spend in Torguga living up a drunken yo-ho pirate’s life.

The French pirate, Captain Levasseur (Basil Rathbone), is an interesting opposite to Captain Blood.  He is a more ruthless man, drinking more rum and having several wenches.  I love his spot on the beach with a hammock strung between palm trees and barrels of rum around.  He proposes that he and Blood work together, making a sort of a pirating franchise, but when he wants to take Arabella as his personal prize (a big no-no in Blood’s code) he and Blood duke it out the best way pirates can, a sword fight on the beach.

I can only think of one downside to Captain Blood:  It takes a while to get to the juicy, fun pirate part of the film.  But once we’re there, there’s no going back and it is quite a fun ride full of blasting cannons, sword fights, lots of loot and wind in the sails.

“Up that rigging, you monkeys!  Aloft!  There’s no chains to hold you now.  Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that’s carrying us all to freedom!”

Naughty Marietta

Originally an operetta, Naughty Marietta is the story of a rebellious eighteenth century French princess, Madame d’Annard (Elsa Lanchester).  When told that she is being forced to marry Don Carlos de Braganza (Walter Kingsford) and will be imprisoned for refusing, she takes the identity of one of her servants, Marietta (Jeanette MacDonald) who is to sail for New Orleans the next day.  In exchange, she left the real Marietta enough money to marry her love.

The ship for New Orleans is filled with young available women, destined to become wives to the new settlers.  Over the long voyage, the ladies swoon and dream of the strapping farmers and soldiers they will find.  However, Madame d’Annard, now answering to Marietta, does not want to marry or be tied down, which seems confusing to the other women.  The time for worrying about the new Marietta’s agenda is cut short when the ship is captured by ruthless pirates.

With my love for pirates, I thought the film was about to really perk up for those of us who would be more into a swashbuckling adventure.  Unfortunately, this is short lived and a group of strapping men from the colony, led by Captain Richard Warrington (Nelson Eddy) save the ladies.  Between the rescue and arrival to New Orleans, Richard and Madame d’Annard begin a sort of anti-friendship.  They sing together for the sake of the original operetta and 1930’s cinema, he flirts and she continually shoots him down.  But when men start wanting to marry her, after all that’s what this heard of women were brought for, and she refuses, it takes the help of an anti-friend to convince the men that she can be an entertainer.  Everything seems perfect, until French authorities show up looking for the missing princess.

There are some silly moments the move the plot that simply would never work, but they are all in good fun.  When the ship to New Orleans is about to set sail, the way Madame d’Annard tries to convince the authority of her fake identity is hilarious, especially when she pretends the drunk in the crowd is her brother.  Later, when Richard is helping the princess escape, they go by rowboat, slowest means of transportation possible, and he starts to sing very loudly.  Stealth is not their strong suit.  Of course, when Madame d’Annard is not very good at reading a letter aloud, she decides to sing it instead.  Whatever, if I were stuck on that ship any bit of entertainment would be appreciated.

Naughty Marietta is simply a cute tale of mistaken identities, though we do not get much story of what happens to the real Marietta.  The focus is the princess, her nearly independent woman ideals, a love story to save her and singing.  The movie is fun and has some great moments, but lacks enough substance to keep an Oscar loving film junkie satisfied.

“There went that chin to the moon again.”