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39 Steps

movieMoll — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:49:52 +0000

Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) spends an evening with spy Annabella (Lucie Mannheim), who tells him that important national security information is about to be smuggled out of England. After she’s murdered in his apartment, Hannay is on the run being pursued by the bad guys and the cops. The plot of an innocent man thrown into a web of intrique and danger through circumstances beyond his control is a favorite theme of Hitchcock’s, introduced in “The 39 Steps” and perfected in his later films, such as “North By Northwest.” Having Donat and Carroll handcuffed together while on the lam was a plot device introduced by Hitchcock that has been employed many times since by other directors. “The 39 Steps” is the best of Hitchcock’s early films, artfully weaving suspense, romance and comedy, that gives of glimpse of elements that would come to define Hitchcock’s work. (Look quick for Hitch’s cameo as a litterbug). (86 min.)

Unrated - 1935

Director:
Alfred Hitchcock

Starring:
Robert Donat
Madeleine Carroll
Lucie Mannheim
Godfrey Tearle
Peggy Ashcroft
John Laurie
Wylie Watson
Gus McNaughton
Jerry Vernon

Writers:
John Buchan (novel)
Charles Bennett (adaptation)
Ian Hay (dialogue)

A Day at the Races

GroovyMovieGuy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:11:28 +0000

Hackenbush! Hackenbush!
Calling Dr. Hackenbush, aka Groucho Marx, and his brothers Chico and Harpo who led the wild hijinks in this comedy classic set in both a sanatorium and at a horse racing track. Highlights include Groucho entertaining a young lady at a table with a centerpiece so big he has to stand on his chair to see her; Chico playing a classical piece on the piano with finger work that includes him shooting the keys with his index finger; and Chico destroying the same piano and playing it like a harp.
The Marx Brothers inspired British rock group Queen in naming two of their albums. “A Day at the Races” featured Queen’s hit song “Tie Your Mother Down.” It was the followup album to “A Night at the Opera,” which included the hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” heard in “Wayne’s World.” (111 min.)

Unrated - 1937

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Maureen O’Sullivan
Allan Jones
Margaret Dumont
Sig Ruman
Esther Muir
Dorothy Dandridge
Douglass Dumbrille

Director:
Sam Wood

Writers:
Robert Pirosh
George Seaton
George Oppenheimer

A Day at the Races

movieMoll — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:21:34 +0000

This Marx Brothers’ follow-up to “A Night at the Opera,” completes the double feature of what most critics — and fans — consider to be the comedy team’s two best films. When Dr. Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho) comes on staff at Standish Sanitarium, owner Judy Standish (Maureen O’Sullivan) hopes he can save the business from bankruptcy. Insanity ensues as Judy’s friends (including Harpo and Chico) try to keep secret the fact that Hackenbush is really a veterinarian. His medical qualifications hardly matter since his real job is to make wealthy hypochondriac Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) happy enough to lend her financial support to the sanitarium. Judy’s boyfriend Gil (Allan Jones) saves the day with a long-shot race horse, with Harpo as jockey. “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm,” featuring black cast members is painfully stereotypical today, but was progressive for the time and provided an early showcase for Dorothy Dandridge. The plot, of course, is entirely secondary to the brothers’ antics, which include Groucho choreographing some fancy footwork with two women on the dance floor at the same time, Harpo deconstructing a piano and plucking a harp from the rubble, and Chico conning Groucho while hawking his “Tootsie Fruitsie” ice cream. (111 min.)

Unrated - 1937

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Maureen O’Sullivan
Allan Jones
Margaret Dumont
Sig Ruman
Esther Muir
Dorothy Dandridge
Douglass Dumbrille

Director:
Sam Wood

Writers:
Robert Pirosh
George Seaton
George Oppenheimer

After the Thin Man

movieMoll — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:14:48 +0000

The second in the movie series, “After the Thin Man” finds Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) fresh off train from New York and back home in San Francisco after Nick’s success in solving the celebrated Thin Man murder mystery. Although it’s New Year’s Eve, all the sophisticated, cocktail-swigging couple really wants is a quiet night in bed. Instead, they come home to find a house full of revelers planning to “surprise” the Charleses with a welcome home party. If that isn’t bad enough, the pair gets summoned to a family dinner at Nora’s stuffy Aunt Katherine’s, where they’re promptly assigned to discreetly look for Nora’s cousin Selma’s wayward husband. He turns up dead and Nick and Nora are on the trail of a motley assortment of suspects — including relatives, with plenty of action and witty banter along the way. This entry in the six-movie series features a surprising performance from a young James Stewart, and Nora wraps up the film with a surprise of her own for Nick. (112 min.)

Unrated - 1936

Director:
W.S. Van Dyke

Starring:
William Powell
Myrna Loy
James Stewart
Elissa Landi
Joseph Calleia
Jessie Ralph
Alan Marshal
Sam Levene
Penny Singleton
William Law
George Zucco
Paul Fix

Writers:
Dashiell Hammett (story)
Frances Goodrich (screenplay)
Albert Hackett (screenplay)

Algiers

movieMoll — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:59:12 +0000

For viewers who only remember Charles Boyer as the old guy in “Around the World in 80 Days,” seeing him as the hot and handsome lead in Algiers will be an eye-opener. Boyer, as jewel thief Pepe Le Moko wanted by police across Europe, is hiding out in the Casbah. A sly local cop is patiently plotting Pepe’s demise in a town where it seems everyone is willing to sell their friends for a price. But, it’s Pepe’s local girlfriend and her jealousy of the very glamorous character played by Hedy Lamarr that finally brings the curtain down on Pepe. The exotic Casbah has a very studio backlot feel to it. The slow-moving film is worth a look just to see Lamarr’s debut and Boyer at his peak. And it could make for a cool drinking game if you take a shot every time someone calls out ‘PepAY.’ (96 minutes)

Not rated - 1938

Starring:
Charles Boyer
Sigrid Gurie
Hedy Lamarr
Joseph Calleia
Alan Hale
Gene Lockhart
Walter Kingsford
Paul Harvey
Stanley Fields
Johnny Downs
Charles D. Brown
Robert Greig
Leonid Kinskey
Joan Woodbury
Nina Koshetz
Claudia Dell
Bert Roach
Ben Hall

Director:
John Cromwell

Writers:
Henri La Barthe (novel)
John Howard Lawson (screenplay)

Algiers

GroovyMovieGuy — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:57:09 +0000

Waking up from a mid-movie nap, I thought for a moment I was watching a Shriners’ documentary, but it was just Hollywood actors wearing fezzes. The nap was great, the movie okay. Save it for late night fall-to-sleep fare. (96 minutes)

Not rated - 1938

Director:
John Cromwell

Writers:
Henri La Barthe (novel)
John Howard Lawson (screenplay)

Another Thin Man

GroovyMovieGuy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:12:39 +0000

Third in the “Thin Man” series, “Another Thin Man” plays it straighter with more dry wit and less alcohol-fueled humor than other movies in the series. One of the great silver screen couples, Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) add Nicky Charles Jr. (William A. Poulsen) to the family and solve the crime. But don’t forget Asta, the wire-hair fox terrier family pet, that plays his part as a furry sleuth. (105 min.)
Well worth adding to the your movie library. Get “The Complete Thin Man Collection” for all the fun.

1939

Starring:
William Powell
Myrna Loy
Virginia Grey
Otto Kruger
C. Aubrey Smith

Director:
W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:
Dashiell Hammett (wrote the story)
Frances Goodrich (wrote the screenplay)

Available as individual DVD or part of “The Complete Thin Man Collection.”

At the Circus

GroovyMovieGuy — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 05:06:02 +0000

The Marx Brothers and a circus, it seems almost redundant. However, while “At the Circus” features a kinder, gentler version of the Marx Brothers there’s still plenty of fun to go around. Although this isn’t one of the trio’s — sometimes quartet’s — wildest extravaganzas, it’s still better than a significant percentage of movies at the theater or on television today.
Unfortunately, the story line includes a lot of screen time by the co-stars when it’s the Marx brothers who make it a Marx Brothers’ movie. Musical numbers include Groucho singing about a tattooed lady, Harpo playing the harp and Chico playing the piano with his unique flair — always a favorite of mine.
If you’ve never seen a Marx Brothers film you might be surprised by the plot. If you have seen one, you know you’re not watching for the plot. Highlights include Groucho trying to retrieve a wallet stashed in Eve Arden’s bosom and Margaret Dumont as the wealthy matron wooed by Groucho’s character. Watch it. (87 min.)

Not rated - 1939

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Kenny Baker
Florence Rice
Eve Arden
Margaret Dumont
Nat Pendleton

Director:
Edward Buzzell

Writer:
Irving Brecher

At the Circus

movieMoll — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 05:08:51 +0000

Not on par with the Marx Brothers best efforts, still “At the Circus” has some laugh-out-loud moments. A usual lame plot finds Groucho, Chico and Harpo trying to help a circus owner recover a stolen $10,000 before he loses everything. This film is a testament to how much Margaret Dumont brought to the table for the Marx Brothers. She doesn’t appear for the first hour of the movie, which drags for the most part. The final half-hour of the movie, in which Dumont as Mrs. Dukesbury figures prominently, flies by like a daring quintet on a flying trapeze. Classic dialogue includes Dumont explaining the dinner seating arrangements: “The judge shall sit on my left hand and you (pointing to Groucho) shall sit on my right hand.” Groucho replies: “How will you eat? Through a tube?” (87 min.)

Not rated - 1939

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Kenny Baker
Florence Rice
Eve Arden
Margaret Dumont
Nat Pendleton

Director:
Edward Buzzell

Writer:
Irving Brecher

Bedlam

movieMoll — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:00:49 +0000

This movie is included in the roster of low-budget horror flicks produced by Val Lewton in the 1940s. Unfortunately, “Bedlam” is more of a period drama than a horror film and my least favorite of Lewton’s productions. Set in the late 1700s, Sims (Boris Karloff) is the director of the infamous London asylum. Here he abuses the inmates and misuses his authority to have his enemies committed, including the strong-willed Nell Bowen (Anna Lee). She eventually escapes and helps the patients receive more humane treatment, while Sims gets his just desserts. The last 15 minutes of the movie are pretty good, but it’s a drag up to that point. I’m a Boris Karloff fan, but feel his talents are wasted here. However, Val Lewton’s “The Body Snatcher” is a great gothic horror film with a delicious performance by Karloff. (79 min.)

Unrated - 1946

Director:
Mark Robson

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Anna Lee
Billy House
Richard Fraser
Glen Vernon
Ian Wolfe
Jason Robards Sr.
Leyland Hodgson
Joan Newton
Elizabeth Russell

Writers:
Val Lewton as Carlos Keith (screenplay)
Mark Robson