Girl 27

I was originally going to talk about a few different movies in this post, but changed my mind after watching Girl 27. The story is as horrifying as I expected it to be, based on the Vanity Fair article. In brief: in 1937 Patricia Douglas answered what she thought was a casting call for an MGM western picture. Instead, she and 100+ other girls were taken out to Hal Roach's ranch to a party for MGM's salesmen, who were in town for a convention. David Ross, a salesman from Chicago, brutally raped Patricia. Neither Ross, nor anyone at MGM, ever paid for the crime in any way.

David Stenn found footage of the actual sales convention, with Louis B. Mayer telling the salesmen they can have "anything they want," (which in light of later events becomes quite chilling), and even showed a clip of Ross arriving at the convention.

I've been reading comments about the movie on IMDB, and some of the criticisms I agree with; I didn't like the use of movie clips to "illustrate" (for lack of a better word) Patricia's story, especially the cartoons. It does distract from her story, and felt like padding. People commented that the interview where Patricia talks about David Stenn (the writer, director, and interviewer) was too much, but I actually liked that part; she talked about how she's never been in love and doesn't connect with other people, then we realize how fond she is of David. Maybe it did go on a bit too long.

One note of irony: when asked shortly before he died whatever became of "that girlie who took on MGM", Eddie Mannix, Mayer's toadie, said, "We had her killed." Not only did she survive, but she had the last word.

Winter weather watching

What better way to spend the "blizzard of '09" then watching some movies I'd taped off TCM.

The Painted Veil - I thought this one would be an automic win, what with Garbo and all, but I'm rather lukewarm about it. I'm so attached to the Somerset Maugham novel that this adaptation disappointed me. I understand they need to make Garbo the heroine, but I think that could have been done without straying so very far from the novel. In its place I would recommend the 2006 version with Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Liev Schrieber.

Her Cardboard Lover - This movie gets a bad rap, and is often cited as the reason Norma Shearer retired from movies, but I loved it. Granted, she does go over the top a bit with all the "darling Tony!" stuff, but I kind of expect that from her. Robert Taylor was abolutely delightful with the silly bits and one liners. And who better to play the cad than George Sanders? Character actor bonus: Frank McHugh (whose character was named Chappie Champagne, how can you not love that?).

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang - I'd taped this months ago, when Alec Baldwin was guest hosting The Essentials. (Suggestion to Robert Osbourne: maybe next time let the guest host get a few words in edgewise?) Finally got around to watching it, and promptly went and bought the DVD from Amazon when the movie was over. EGAD. Paul Muni is brilliant, and Alec Baldwin was so right to advise the viewer to make sure and stay for the final scene (which happened the way it does by accident; I love those kind of stories). The plot is very like "The Roaring Twenties," one of my favorite Cagney movies.

Next Up: Bedlam (Karloff runs the infamous insane asylum!), Never Say Goodbye, 84 Charing Cross Road, and Girl 27 (you can read that [horrifying and true] story here.)

Driven into exile by the Nazis, they changed Hollywood forever

I saw an excellent documentary over the weekend, Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood. The film documents the experiences of some well known (Fritz Lang, Peter Lorre) and less well known (Erich Pommer, Joseph Mai) Jews from Germany's film industry who escaped Hitler's Germany and wound up in Hollywood, with varying degress of success. Some of the history I knew, but most I didn't, and the documentary as a whole was fascinating.