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Let's Make Music

Made in 1941. Here's a swing musical with a 65 year old woman as the main character! There are some excellent big band numbers courtesy of Bob Crosby and his Bobcats or Bobalinks (as HE says anyway) and the usual excellent RKO production qualities. Dear Aunt Malvina writes a college fight song which ends up on the radio hit parade in a different tempo with added 1941 style bop and shuffle. It is generally a lovely film If I can say that without sounding twee, because it ultimately has a lot to say about a good and talented woman too long in conservative isolation (and corralled by her drone niece) who really enjoys freeing up her music and her self. Grannies who saw this on first release would have been inspired to do the same! The two main numbers are strong and the first one has a dynamite 60 secs of aerial jitterbug.

The main showpiece is the hit parade link "Big Noise From Winnetka" which is really as much a novelty song as the "fight song from Newton High" that Mulvina writes. The film is about the fleeting fame that novelty songs allow and the crash that comes if one is not aware. The scene where Malvina has the curtain dropped on her is especially fascinating as it appears to be filmed on one of either Keith or Orpheum's old theatres (that were wired for sound, dearie) in the amalgamation that came in forming R-K-O with the Radio Corp in 1928 to create this monopoly entertainment giant. Lets Make Music indeed. Malvina did and so did Bob; and if you have the chance to enjoy this gimmick musical you will smile as I did and marvel at the generosity of spirit this simple but honest musical allows. Charming...with groove and swing!
 
Always Goodbye

Made in 1938. Barbara Stanwyck gives an admirable charming performance as a young woman who survives a personal and emotional tragedy, and triumphs in the end. This film could have been very heavy melodrama, but the story is uplifted with some well placed comedy played exuberantly by Cesar Romero. Herbert Marshall is outstanding in his portrayal as the kind and sympathetic friend who helps Stanwyck's character to overcome and flourish. Most delightful is child actor Johnny Russell, who plays Roddy, the little boy Stanwyck had to give up at birth. The playfulness between Stanwyck and Russell is very sweet, genuine and adorable to watch. Binnie Barnes, Lynn Bari and Ian Hunter all play their roles adequately. Barbara Stanwyck is very beautiful and as always manages to shine through this routine melodrama with its twists and turns. A full synopsis of this film would spoil it for the reader, and although the story feels dated now, it is a must see for all die-hard Barbara Stanwyck fans and those who love films from the 1930s.
 
Tales of Manhattan

Made in 1942. For a brief period in cinema history, the anthology film was all the rage. Movies like "Flesh and Fantasy" and "O. Henry's Full House" used large casts to tell several interlocked stories. "Tales of Manhattan" is the best of the anthology films, following the adventures of a tuxedo's tailcoat as it passes through the hands of several diverse people in New York. There's Charles Boyer, the Broadway actor who is carrying on an illicit affair; there's Henry Fonda who is helping Cesar Romero get out of a sticky situation with his fiancee Ginger Rogers (along the way, Fonda and Rogers fall in love and have one of the best-written love scenes to ever hit the screen); there's Charles Laughton who seeks one shot at glory conducting an orchestra; and, in the most touching and rewarding of the tales, there's Edward G. Robinson, a down-and-out bum who has been invited to his college reunion. If you're looking for an all-star cast and a first-rate cinema experience, "Tales of Manhattan" is the one. It is one of my all time favorites.
 
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History is made at Night

Made in 1937. This mixture of suspense, comedy, and romance might seem unlikely to work, but it does, due to director Borzage's vision of a love that magically transcends even the most dire of obstacles. This movie is in love with love and the improbable, and in some ways is a Cinderella story almost in reverse (including the removal of a lady's slippers on two occasions). Jean Arthur and Charles Boyer are lovely together. Some of their scenes, luminously lit and heightened by Alfred Newman's lyrical score, are heart-breaking: their beautiful voices are almost like cellos. (Newman wrote a number of such tender and yearning scores in the thirties, including those for "Stella Dallas" and "These Three.") There's also an interesting paralleling of the love/passion that Arthur's husband has for her and that Boyer's friend has for him, although one is destructive and the other nurturing.

Charles Boyer has never been more charming and Jean Arthur never more beautiful as impromptu lovers Paul and Irene. Colin Clive is brilliant as Irene's madly jealous and obsessive husband Bruce, who unwittingly brings the two lovers together and follows desperate measures to keep them apart. Boyer's and Arthur's tender love scenes make this film one of the greatest unsung screen romances.
 
Breakfast for Two

Made in 1937. A New York playboy & a Texas rich girl enjoy BREAKFAST FOR TWO after a wild night on the town. Here is a screwball comedy which derives its humor more from the fine acting of its cast than from zany situations. When these situations do appear late in the film the characters are well established in the viewer's mind, adding extra zest to some very funny sequences. Barbara Stanwyck stars as the highly determined young woman who uses her considerable resources to save the man she loves from his improvident lifestyle. This was an actress equally adept at the grittiest drama or the lightest comedy. Her timing was impeccable and her delivery uniquely all her own. As the object of her affections, Herbert Marshall makes excellent use of his suave demeanor and marvelous speaking voice to add a soupçon of sophistication to his character's wastrel ways.

An excellent supporting cast gets fully involved in the zany proceedings. Brassy Glenda Farrell plays the dumb blonde actress who adores Marshall; good-hearted & jolly, the plot really does treat her unkindly. Eric Blore is wonderful as Marshall's faithful, scheming valet. Tiny chittering Etienne Girardot plays Marshall's elderly office manager. Donald Meek, as a flustered little Justice of the Peace, gets to preside over three of the funniest wedding ceremonies ever committed to film. RKO has given the film very fine production values, as epitomized by the mansion sets shown in the opening sequence. And what about those crazy window washers?!
 
September Affair

Made in 1950. This is my first viewing so I can't start by saying it's a favorite, but with Joseph Cotten in the romantic lead and Joan Fontaine with all her charm and understanding, you really can't be far wrong to expect the best in a love story.They meet on a plane flight, he as an untiring industrialist who has placed business and projects before his wife and son, and she as a concert pianist performing in various engagements on tour. An error in flight identity has these two fine people listed on a plane that crashed and they are mistakenly presumed dead. As their budding romance unfolds they both realize it's an opportunity for them to take hold of a new life together. That leads to complications of course, as we can expect. I marvel at the way Joan (Manina) can reflect in her features so many subtle emotions, it's as if we can hear her unspoken words, the thoughts and agonies of a love that has many hurdles to overcome. That is great acting in my opinion.
 
Enchantment

Made in 1948. Uncle Rollo finally retires to the house he was brought up in. Lost in thoughts of his lost love, Lark, he does not want to be disturbed in his last days. However, the appearance of his niece and the subsequent romance between her and Lark's nephew causes him to reevaluate his life and offer some advice so the young couple don't make the same mistake he did, all those years ago.

A melancholy love story that is a work of art. Flashbacks are often misused in movies but they are subtle and flow easily in "Enchantment", intertwining two stories. This tear-jerker flows from beginning to end a masterpiece in every way. David Niven shows his acting skills both as a dashing young officer and as the retired general (makeup is FANTASTIC!!) still carrying a torch. His facial expressions tell his portion of the story even better than the well-written lines given to his character. Jayne Meadows is the older sister you'll love to hate. Teresa Wright is a sweet unintentional heart-breaker with a voice to match. As wonderful as the acting is, the photography and lighting make this movie as magical as it is "Enchanting".
 
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