1930s

  • Joseph Cornell – Jack’s Dream (1938)

    1931-1940ExperimentalFantasyJoseph CornellUSA
    Jack's Dream (1938)
    Jack’s Dream (1938)

    Quote:
    Jack’s Dream sees a frightful outside force enter and threaten the domestic space. Jack, the faithful dog, attempts to protect it and its inhabitants by chasing away the intruder. But his progress is blocked or retarded at several points (he views the scene through a window, a treacherous chair falls over) – evoking the familiar dream sensation of impossibly heavy feet, and suddenly multiplying obstructions. – Michael PigottRead More »

  • H.C. Potter – Blackmail (1939)

    H.C. Potter1931-1940CrimeDramaUSA
    Blackmail (1939)
    Blackmail (1939)

    John Ingram, successful oil field firefighter, is really a chain gang escapee. Someone out of his past finds him.Read More »

  • Jerome Hill – La cartomancienne AKA The Fortune Teller (1932)

    1931-1940ExperimentalJerome HillUSA
    La cartomancienne (1932)
    La cartomancienne (1932)

    Quote:
    In a European seaside village, a maiden takes clean sheets down from the clothesline. Carrying her basket of linens home, she stops to consult a fortune teller, whose been napping the the sun. The cartomancienne sees love in the cards. The young woman pauses to reflect. We then see water, swirling, and into view swims a man, as if just appearing on earth. He arrives on shore – is he just in her mind’s eye, or is he real? She weaves a garland of for her hair. Will they meet?Read More »

  • Marcel L’Herbier – Forfaiture AKA The Cheat (1937)

    Marcel L'Herbier1931-1940DramaFrance
    Forfaiture (1937)
    Forfaiture (1937)

    Synopsis:
    ‘Whilst her husband, the engineer Pierre Moret, is engaged on construction projects, Denise occupies herself with charity work in the Chinese town that has become her home. Tempted into a gambling den, she soon loses a fortune. She has no recourse but to accept a gift of money from the wealthy Prince Hu-Long, who has fallen in love with her. Realising that she cannot accept such a gift, Denise returns the money to the prince, not realising that by taking the money she has become his property…’
    – Films de FranceRead More »

  • Hisatora Kumagai – Shanhai rikusentai aka Naval Brigade at Shanghai (1939)

    1931-1940Hisatora KumagaiJapanWar
    Shanhai rikusentai (1939)
    Shanhai rikusentai (1939)

    This film attempts to reconstruct the tension of the Battle of Shanghai through an episode in an understated way, introducting its story in a documentary mode. In the film story, Japan’s marine regiment protects Japanese residents and Chinese refugees-women and young children-from rampant street fighting, Shanhai Rikusentai unsparingly uses its first eight minutes for an official-mannered self-justification of the war. From the viewpoint of explaining Japan’s military operation,the narration refers to the city s spatial division in sync with maps on screen.
    [Dissonance to Affinity: An Ideological Analysis of Japanese Cinema in the 1930s]Read More »

  • Busby Berkeley – Fast and Furious (1939)

    Busby Berkeley1931-1940ComedyMysteryUSA
    2011 1598 380.jpg
    2011 1598 380.jpg

    Joel and Garda Sloan, a husband and wife detective team, who also sell rare books in New York, take a vacation to Seaside City. At Seaside, Joel’s pal, Mike Stevens is managing and preparing for their beauty pageant.Read More »

  • Kenji Mizoguchi – Gion no shimai AKA Sisters of the Gion (1936)

    Kenji Mizoguchi1931-1940ClassicsDramaJapan
    Gion no shimai (1936)
    Gion no shimai (1936)

    Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser. She thinks that they should both find wealthy patrons to support them. Omocha therefore tries various schemes to get rid of Furusawa, and set themselves up with better patrons.Read More »

  • Roy Del Ruth – It Had to Happen (1936)

    Roy Del Ruth1931-1940DramaUSA
    It Had to Happen (1936)
    It Had to Happen (1936)

    A poor boy rises to power in politics. When the banker husband of his secret love takes money and flees the country, he replaces the lost amount and becomes implicated in the crime.Read More »

  • Marc Allégret – Entrée des artistes AKA The Curtain Rises (1938)

    Marc Allégret1931-1940France
    Entrée des artistes (1938)
    Entrée des artistes (1938)

    Synopsis:
    ‘Isabelle dreams of becoming a great actress and so she is over the moon when she is accepted into the Conservatoire, France’s leading drama school. Her talents are immediately spotted by her drama instructor, Professor Lambertin, who is appalled to hear that Isabelle may have to abandon her studies so that she can earn her keep in her adopted parents’ laundrette. Isabelle’s guardians have a change of heart when Lambertin visits them in person and convinces them that his is a noble profession and that their ward has the makings of a fine actress. At the school, Isabelle falls in love with an older student, François, who has a reputation as a lady’s man. When François begins an affair with Isabelle, his former girlfriend Cécilia is consumed with anger and jealousy. She plans to use her theatrical training to inflict on her former lover a cruel and deadly revenge…’
    – Films de FranceRead More »

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