The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Yesterday I watched the 1934 movie "The Barretts of Wimpole Street," with Norma Shearer, Charles Laughton, and Frederic March. Today it is chilly, and pouring rain. On the surface, these two facts may seem unrelated. To me, however, the nasty weather makes me envy Norma Shearer, who got to play most of this role reclining on a beautiful chaise lounge in front of a toasty fire with Flush, the adorable cocker spaniel, curled up in her lap. Right now, that sounds like heaven. (I can't find a picture of Norma in the role, but her lovely chaise lounge looked something like this, only more old-fashioned, with the buttons set deep in the upholstery).

I liked the movie quite a lot. Norma was very good as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and looked just gorgeous in those long curls. I thought Maureen O'Sullivan was too shrill as her sister Henrietta. I understand Henrietta's thwarted love affair and conflicts with their father were to lend drama to the story, but O'Sullivan gave it too much drama, in the scenery eating style you often see in old movies. When she shrieks at her father, "Is it nothing to you that I shall hate you for this to the end of my life?" and he answers, "Less than nothing," I was actually a little bit on his side. And her crying jag as she clings to his knees...dear, please get up and show some dignity. For all our sakes. I found O'Sullivan delightful as a "modern" girl, Dorothy, in "The Thin Man." There, her energy works well with the character. Here, in this period drama, she seems out of place.

It has been said that the scenes between Elizabeth and her father were toned down to lessen the suggestion of his incestous feelings for her. Charles Laughton famously replied, "They can't censor the gleam in my eye," and he was so right. It's rather subtly done at first; you don't get the idea right from the start that he's panting after his own daughter. He just seems like a big old control freak, who dominates over all his children. As the movie progresses, more and more hints come out that Elizabeth is his favorite child, in both (relatively) good ways and really, really bad ways. He's a master at manipulating her (and the rest of his children) with guilt trips.

Then there is the scene near the end, right before she runs away to marry Browning, where her father grabs her and goes on and on about how the family will move away to the country and Elizabeth will be his confidant and his comfort and...okay, now it's extremely icky. Sneaking out of the house with only the clothes on her back and her dog suddenly seems like a great idea. And she does. In a final touch of evil, Laughton orders one of Elizabeth's brothers to find her dog, take it to the vet, and have it destroyed. Henrietta triumphantly informs her father that Elizabeth has taken the dog with her.

Frederic March as Robert Browning...eh, March has never really done anything for me. He was good in "Anna Karenina," and "Susan and God," but I never see a movie listing and think to myself, "oooh, Frederic March, yay!" You don't actually see Browning much in the movie, so March made his usual non-impression on me.

Overall, I would recommend this movie, and was disappointed to learn that it's not out on DVD yet. In my world, it would be released as a Norma Shearer boxset with the following other movies (I'm only choosing ones that have not already been released on DVD):

Idiot's Delight (seeing Clark Gable perform "Puttin' on the Ritz" should be on every classic movie lover's list)
Strange Interlude
Romeo and Juliet
Riptide
Private Lives

Two of Norma's movies have recently been released on DVD as part of the Forbidden Hollywood, Vol. 2 collection: "The Divorcee" and "A Free Soul."

The funniest movie I'd never heard of

Robert Osbourne said it in the introduction, so it must be true: this is a great screwball comedy, written by Billy Wilder, that often gets overlooked. Well, as it turns out, I agree with him. I'd taped it last week and got to watch it this afternoon. I wasn't familiar with the movie at all before, but I'm sure glad I am now.

I'll crib a plot summary from IMDB: Showgirl Eve [Claudette Colbert], stranded in Paris without a sou, befriends taxi driver Tibor Czerny [Don Ameche], then gives him the slip to crash a party. There she meets Helene Flammarion [Mary Astor] and her gigolo Picot, who's attracted to Eve. Helene's scheming husband Georges [John Barrymore] enlists Eve's aid in taking Picot away from his wife. It works well... at first. Meanwhile, lovestruck Tibor searches for Eve. But then he learns she's calling herself Baroness Czerny!

You could say this is a typical 30's "mistaken identity" comedy, and you'd be mostly right. I have to say, though, some of the plot twists were rather clever. Just when you think Claudette Colbert is going to be found out, she or John Barrymore come up with some spur of the moment story to save their skins. Quite creative stories, too. Barrymore is a delight, especially in the scene where he's portraying Eve's imaginary daughter Francie on the phone: "Dada? Is that you?" If you see it on the TCM schedule again, check it out (or you can, as Robert helpfully pointed out, buy it on DVD).

Inside jokes are hilarious

Today I rewatched an old favorite, "It's a Great Feeling," with Jack Carson, Doris Day, and Dennis Morgan. I love this film in part because it's one huge inside joke; Doris Day is a young girl from Gurkey's Corners, Wisconsin who's in Hollywood to become a movie star, and she's discovered by Morgan and Carson, who play themselves. As do a host of other Warner Bros. stars, such as Edward G. Robinson, Joan Crawford (whose scene I just adore, it's so funny), Gary Cooper ("Yep"), Sydney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman (and daughter Maureen Reagan), and directors Michael Curtiz (who famously said, "Bring on the empty horses!" the title of David Niven's autobiography), King Vidor, and Raoul Walsh. The running joke is that no one at Warners' wants to work with Jack Carson because he's "such a ham." Which he sometimes was, but I love him for it. He was so great in "Mildred Pierce." I love his line, "Oh, boy, I'm so smart it's a disease."

Doris Day goes through various adventures trying (with help from Jack and Dennis) to win the attention of studio head Arthur Trent. In the end (and I have to spoil the ending because it is so damn cute) she winds up going home to Wisconsin to marry her fiance, Jeffrey Bushdinkle, played in a wee little cameo by...Errol Flynn. I fall out laughing every time I see that. The movie overall is really funny, and I highly recommend it, if you should happen to come across it on TCM.

"Life Between Takes"

Right now I'm reading a great book, Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes. I've long thought that she was an underrated and underappreciated star, and it's great to see a full-length book about her. It was written with the participation of her children, Ellen and Norman Powell, so it's full of all kinds of wonderful personal details. I highly recommend it.

Check out the banner!

Is that awesome, or what? Thanks to Harry's Beef Trust for the banner.

Aw, yeah!

By a lucky accident, I have discovered the following new/about to be released DVD sets:

The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection

The Myrna Loy & William Powell Collection

Barbara Stanwyck Signature Collection

I don't know what to say, except...I'm just so happy! I have to do serious Amazon browsing more often.

Go vote! Now, right now! Now!

Turner Classic Movies does an ongoing poll of the most requested classic movies not currently on DVD. Go vote for your favorites now. Way to go, Ted Turner. This is an awesome idea.

Boys Town

I usually don't cry at movies. Sure, I'm moved by them, and tears will often come to my eyes. I can count on one hand the number of movies that have actually turned on the waterworks. Today I saw another one: Boys Town, the 1938 classic with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Oh, man. When Mickey started bawling after Pee-Wee was run over by the car...the tears began to fall. Actually, every time Mickey started bawling, I shed a few sympathy tears myself. Way to act, kiddo.

The story in and of itself is great, not in small part because it's true. Boys Town (now known as Girls and Boys Town) is still in operation today. The real Father Flanagan is buried in the school chapel. A very moving story. This DVD is going on the Amazon wish list, for sure.

Happy Birthday to me, and this blog

It was two years ago this month that I started this blog. That's a lot of Netflix and TCM ago. ;) Time got away from me, hence the lack of posts last year. I'm going to do better this year.

My birthday last month was a classic movie bonanza. Thanks, family! Here's a rundown of the loot:

Yankee Doodle Dandy (we're going to have a lengthy Cagney entry, if I ever get it done)
Lullaby Of Broadway: The Best Of Busby Berkeley At Warner Bros.: Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology

I also bought myself the Yankee Doodle soundtrack, and Cagney's autobiography. Sensing a theme, here?

Classic film website

I just discovered this site today, and I'm in love with it already: Ravin' Maven of Classic Film. Check out the awesome "If I Had A Talking Picture of You."

Also well worth watching: an excerpt from James Cagney's AFI Lifetime Achievement acceptance speech. "I'm a wreck!" Hee.

I have a sneaking suspicion this great site also sells bootlegs, though. Boo! On the other hand, I would love to see some of these movies...no, no, I'll resist temptation.