The manager of a service agency for the wealthy clashes with–and falls for–an inventor who is seeking funding for a new kind of tractor.

Service.de.Luxe.1938.XVID-cg.avi

General
Container:	AVI
Runtime:	1h 24mn
Size:	688 MiB
Video
Codec:	XviD
Resolution:	400x304
Aspect ratio:	4:3
Frame rate:	29.970 fps
Bit rate:	1 036 Kbps
Audio
2.0ch MP3 @ 96.0 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/4554683D933E453/Service.de.Luxe.1938.XVID-cg.avi

Language(s):English
Subtitles:none

The post Rowland V. Lee – Service de Luxe (1938) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Thorne Smith is a name one hardly ever hears these days, and that’s a shame. In the 1920s and early ’30s, he was the popular author of a genre-defining series of novels in which mortal men broke out of their humdrum lives to embark on comic-erotic, supernaturally tinged adventures in the company of an exciting woman (or women). The most popular of these, Topper, was filmed in 1937, three years after Smith’s death. (Smith’s novel The Passionate Witch also became the basis for a classic film comedy, I Married a Witch (1942), and later the TV series Bewitched.)

The template Smith created in Topper and other novels dovetailed beautifully with that definitive ’30s film genre, the screwball comedy, since it too frequently featured a madcap heroine who helped her stodgy romantic interest break out of his rut. The combination of Smith’s novels (he also penned a sequel to Topper) and the screwball conventions—together with the comic expertise of producer Hal Roach—was such a success that the 1937 Topper was followed by two film sequels, the later of which, Topper Returns, is included in this two-movie set from Artisan.

Although Topper tones down the raciest features of Smith’s novel, it remains remarkably faithful to it. Smith’s scene in which the invisible Marion creates a sensation by wearing nothing but a pair of lacy step-ins appears in the film, as does the pivotal plot development in which Topper’s transformation takes off when he purchases the late Kerbys’ sexy automobile. (This car, dubbed a “painted Jezebel” by the disapproving Mrs. Topper, is surely one of the most luscious vehicles ever to appear in a film. One can definitely understand how it would change a man’s life.) To its comedic and risqué elements the screen adaptation also adds a more heartwarming tone; we genuinely care about Topper’s silly little wife and don’t want to see her lose her husband, even though he seems to be having a much better time without her. The screen writers (who included Eric Hatch, whose novel My Man Godfrey had also become a classic screwball film) do an excellent job of retaining the most engaging parts of Smith’s novel while giving the film a more tender emotional core.

Among the other elements that make Topper so successful, the cast is one of the greatest. Who but Cary Grant and Constance Bennett could embody the glamorous, high-spirited Kerbys so well? Bennett charmingly brings to life (or afterlife) that quintessential ’30s combination of elegant sophistication and sass, and Grant displays an infectious, boyish energy. As Topper, Roland Young is completely endearing. From the hint of sulkiness with which he confronts his breakfast egg to the nimble little dance steps he executes under the influence of champagne, he shows us the inner rascal trying to break through the pressures of respectability. In one bravura sequence in which the inebriated Topper is being half carried by the invisible ghosts, Young navigates precariously down a flight of stairs and through a hotel lobby in a brilliant piece of physical comedy. As Mrs. Topper, Billie Burke shows off her unmatched talent for quivery vocalizing and tremulous anxiety. We’re also treated to a hefty roster of familiar faces in supporting roles, from Hedda Hopper and Hoagy Carmichael to bullfrog-voiced Eugene Pallette (The Lady Eve) as a confused hotel detective and a pre-Blondie Arthur Lake as a hapless elevator boy.

Norman Z. McLeod - (1937) Topper.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 37 min
Size: 	1.66 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	790x576 
Aspect ratio:  	1.372
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	2 225 kb/s
BPP: 	0.204
Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/475F7D10A500E9D/Norman_Z._McLeod_-_(1937)_Topper.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English

The post Norman Z. McLeod – Topper (1937) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Plot Synopsis by Paul Brenner
Attempting to Americanize Greta Garbo to appeal to American audiences (since most of the foreign markets for Hollywood product had been cut off due to World War II), M.G.M.’s Two-Faced Woman succeeded in making Garbo angry enough to announce her retirement from the screen. Two-Faced Woman was Garbo’s final screen appearance, as the legendary actress slipped into a reclusive existence that lasted until her death. This George Cukor romantic comedy casts Garbo as ski instructor Karin Borg Blake. She gives lessons to wealthy American playboy Larry Blake (Melvyn Douglas), and the two fall in love and marry even though Larry has a girlfriend named Griselda Vaughn (Constance Bennett) waiting for him back in New York. Returning to New York, Karin fears that Griselda will win Larry back. In an effort to foil Larry’s imagined dalliance, Karin poses as her own twin sister, Katherine, hoping to get Larry to fall in love with her instead of Griselda. Larry is onto the scheme and plays along with her, pretending to fall in love with Katherine. But this infuriates Karin, who can’t believe that her husband would fall in love with her sister, and she storms back to her ski resort..

https://nitro.download/view/58771CB18FE8DCF/Two-Faced_Woman_(1941)_WAC_DVDRip_BBM__CG_.avi

Language:English

The post George Cukor – Two-Faced Woman (1941) first appeared on Cinema of the World.