1930s

Plot: If faithful Gus can only help the racehorse BIG BOY to win the Kentucky Derby the white folks who employ him will be saved from financial ruin.
Strange, offbeat, bizarre, unique. All of these terms can describe this film which features legendary entertainer Al Jolson in blackface, playing a black man. While acted with tongue very firmly planted in cheek, and meant solely for lighthearted entertainment, this movie will definitely not be to every viewer’s taste. Not until the final minutes does Jolson appear as himself, joking with the audience and reprising the film’s dullest song yet once again.Read More »

Plot: Rookie pitcher Francis “Ike” Farrell comes seemingly out of nowhere to help the Cubs go for the pennant. His idiosyncratic ways, which include excuses and alibis for everything, drive his manager and fiancee crazy in this baseball farce. Written by Jerry MilaniRead More »

Plot:
Middle aged George F. Babbitt is a leading citizen in the town of Zenith, the fastest growing community in America according to its town sign. George is a large part of that growth as a property developer and realtor. He is lovingly married to his wife Myra, the two who have two children, Ted and Verona who are approaching adulthood. George has always had a fearless attitude, much like that of a naive child, which has led to his business success. He encounters some personal stresses when he faces what he believes is a potential home-wrecking issue, and when his oldest friend Paul and his wife Zilla deal with domestic problems. These stresses make George want to provide even more to his own family, leading to George agreeing to participate in a less than scrupulous but lucrative business dealing. George’s bravura gets him into a potential scandal. This situation makes him question his general behavior, especially toward his family.Read More »

This delightful romantic comedy, had it been made in America during this same period might have featured Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur and might have been directed by Gregory La Cava.
It gives us a Vittorio De Sica as a chauffeur, Bruno, who passes himself off as a man of importance by offering Mariuccia (Lia Franca) a ride in the car which he passes off as his own. She is the daughter of taxi driver Cesare Zoppetti. From the city of Milan they go off to the country for, spending some time at an inn, enjoying each other’s company. Bruno romances her with the song “Parlami d’amore, Mariù” or “Talk Love to Me, Mariuccia” by Cesare A. Bixio, which made the Italian hit parade of the time.Read More »

Generally thought of as a monster movie (not difficult to understand when your title character is a 50-foot-tall gorilla with a habit of killing people who get in his way), King Kong is actually an old-fashioned adventure story on the grand scale, complete with fearless hunters in search of uncharted islands, angry natives appeasing their god, damsels in distress, and a dashing hero on hand to save said damsel. Much of this story probably seemed a bit cliché even when King Kong was first released in 1933, but directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack tell their tale with two-fisted gusto, leavened with a genuine sense of wonder, and the result captures the imagination from the start and never lets go. It also helps that they had a cast capable of handling the heroics in grand form while knowing how to play the abundant comic relief in appropriate style; Robert Armstrong’s Carl Denham is ham at its tastiest, Bruce Cabot’s Jack Driscoll is a hero with his feet planted solidly on the ground (and his tongue just entering his cheek), and has any screen heroine ever screamed more eloquently than Fay Wray? Willis H. O’Brien’s stop-motion effects animation was legendary in its day, and it retains its magic today; while technology has progressed considerably since King Kong, O’Brien was able to give his great ape a personality, and Kong’s moments of fear, curiosity, pain, and occasional goofiness gave him a sympathetic, ultimately tragic dimension that adds immeasurably to the picture’s effectiveness. And Max Steiner’s bombastic score is always there to cheer the picture along when its energy starts to flag. While the 1976 remake already seems hopelessly dated, the original King Kong remains rousing entertainment with brains, brawn, and a heart. — Mark DemingRead More »

Plot: Man to Man refers to the relationship between father John Bolton (Grant Mitchell) and son Michael (Phillips Holmes) — or least, to the relationship as it should be. After serving a prison sentence for homicide (established by the screenwriters as justifiable), John starts life anew as a small-town barber. When Michael learns the truth about John’s past, it causes a rift in the relationship between the two men. But when Michael is accused of embezzlement, John gallantly shoulders the blame, even though he believes his son to be guilty — while Michael, convinced that his dad stole the money, refuses to recant his confession. Only after the true culprit is exposed are father and son tearfully reunited. Dwight Frye does his patented “Renfield” overacting in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »

“The Opium Den, from 1935, follows. Three jacked-up junkies pretend to bugger each other with sausages, dildos, and bananas. Lucky for them a lady shows up to provide them a heterosexual outlet for their desires. Oddly, they spend an inordinate amount of time smoking, laughing, and fiddling with their disguises. Yes, these folks are wearing fake noses, heavy make-up, and glasses. Their disguises lay bear the reality of how taboo pornography must’ve been in the 1930’s, especially when one considers the setting for their sexcapades, an opium den. Only junkies and degenerates have illicit sex and take illicit drugs, right? Well, at least the conflation of drugs and sex probably made the “upstanding” middle-class consumers of this stuff feel superior to the bodies projected on their walls. Eventually everyone gets nude, two of the men leave, and a chunky fellow slides his long screwdriver into The Night Mare. The fucking is pretty hot, The Night Mare seems to have mysterious gripping powers inside of her vagina–she almost consumes and spits out the junkie’s cock with every thrust. The junkie pulls out and ejaculates all over himself.”Read More »

From Channel 4 Film:
Early British Hitchcock which has the future master of suspense trying to make a living with this faithful adaptation of O’Casey’s classic play, chronicling the ups and downs of an Irish family in the Dublin of the 1920s. Most of it is a straight filming of the play – and was acknowledged as such by Hitchcock – even though handsomely photographed and acted. When the action opens up towards the end, Hitch gets a chance to flex his cinematic muscle with a predictably dramatic ending.Read More »

David Kier, one of the thieves in a sensational jewel robbery and subsequent trial, is set free when the turns King’s Evidence on the other members. Kier refuses to give reporter Simon Drake an interview, as Simon thinks he will probably be killed by other gang members, but Simon makes note of his address. Simon is fired by his city editor, MacGregor, for failing to cover another assignment and the editor says he would not believe Kier’s murder if reported by Simon even if it happened. Simon returns home and is persuaded by his wife Pat to have a drink or two. The tipsy Simon, as a joke, telephones Sim and tells him that Kier has just been murdered, and the excited Sim hangs up before Simon can explain it is just a joke.Read More »