Carole Lombard October Star of the Month

[knitwit45]

In the opening scenes of Nothing Sacred check out Margaret Hamilton's knitting needles....those puppies could kill somebody! Only another knitter would get a kick out of that scene, but it is hilarious. The needles actually extend to under her arms!.

[srowley75]

It's been a while since I last saw Nothing Sacred, but I remember being left with the impression that this was certainly one classic that's retained its relevance over the years. The film's satiric portrayal of the American media's manipulation of the public just about nails today's mainstream and cable news shows squarely between the eyes. And I love the doctor's line about newspapermen: "The hand of God, reaching down into the mire, couldn't lift one of them into the depths of degradation!"

As the thread is about Carole, though, I guess I should bring it back to her contribution to the film. Unfortunately, I don't think she's as much of a presence as in other comedies - Fredric March appears in most of the memorable scenes (of course, the "boy bites man" scene stands out), and I do remember Margaret Hamilton's brief bit, but other than March and Lombard's silly fight, nothing really rates as memorable as her work in Twentieth Century, My Man Godfrey, To Be, etc.

[inglis]

There is a movie that I really love but don't know the name of it .James Stewart is in it with her and they are a young married couple and her Mother in law and her don't get along at first .They have achild and the child gets sick A pilot has to fly in a storm to bring some medicine. Its one of my favorite movies with Carole Lombard. Can somebody help me with the name .Thanks Kindley .Carol

[moira finnie]

There is a movie that I really love but don't know the name of it .James Stewart is in it with her and they are a young married couple and her Mother in law and her don't get along at first .They have achild and the child gets sick A pilot has to fly in a storm to bring some medicine. Its one of my favorite movies with Carole Lombard. Can somebody help me with the name .Thanks Kindley .Carol

Made For Each Other (1939). I liked it too, Carol. It seems to be on affordable dvd too!

[traceyk]

Everybody seems to have sung Carole's praises quite thoroughly, so I'll just say I'm looking forward to seeing Lady By Choice and No Man Of Her Own especially.
Someone mentioned Garson Kanin earlier. He wrote a book (several in fact) but this book is called Hollywood and is a fictionalized (maybe) account of his earliest years in Hollywood. He spends a lot of time singing the praises of Lombard and includes several acecdotes about her. She sounds like she would have been a lot of fun to hang out with.

[inglis]

There is a movie that I really love but don't know the name of it .James Stewart is in it with her and they are a young married couple and her Mother in law and her don't get along at first .They have achild and the child gets sick A pilot has to fly in a storm to bring some medicine. Its one of my favorite movies with Carole Lombard. Can somebody help me with the name .Thanks Kindley .Carol

Made For Each Other (1939). I liked it too, Carol. It seems to be on affordable dvd too!

Thankyou so much for the name of the film and the picture as well.Carol

[moviemagz]

MADE FOR EACH OTHER is a dollar store staple like MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE, TIL CLOUDS ROLL BY, STAGE DOOR CANTEEN, etc. You shoudl be able to pick it up easily and cheaply locally.

I think Carole Lombard may hold the record for most major films in public domain by a star of her era - MADE FOR EACH OTHER, MY MAN GODFREY, NOTHING SACRED, SWING HIGH SWING LOW.

[inglis]

MADE FOR EACH OTHER is a dollar store staple like MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE, TIL CLOUDS ROLL BY, STAGE DOOR CANTEEN, etc. You shoudl be able to pick it up easily and cheaply locally.

I think Carole Lombard may hold the record for most major films in public domain by a star of her era - MADE FOR EACH OTHER, MY MAN GODFREY, NOTHING SACRED, SWING HIGH SWING LOW.

thanks for the tibit I want to buy that movie

[molo]

Moira,
I remember us discussing Virture and Mayo Methot over at TCM. Oddly, it was in an Ida Lupino thread! Anyway I agree that this is a great little film and Carole is very good in it but Methot's performance was a real eye opener for me.

When I think of Carole Lombard's career, I first think of her four big, relatively well known comedies: Twentieth Century, My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred and To Be or Not To Be. All of them top notch films. I didn't warm to the first two until I had seem them a few times. Now I really enjoy them. It's strange how that goes sometimes.

The fun for me has been discovering all the other great films she made. In Name Only, which is my favorite of her dramas so far, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith have gotten pretty regular play on TCM. I think she made four films with Fred MacMurray. Two of those will be shown: Hands Across the Table which aired last Monday and Swing High, Swing Low. I don't know how long it's been since TCM showed No Man of Her Own .

I'm looking forward to these rare pre-codes airing later this month:

Brief Moment - 1933 with Gene Raymond and Monroe Owsley (who appeared in the Kay Francis film The Keyhole )

The Eagle and the Hawk- 1933 a war drama with Fredric March and Cary Grant

No More Orchids - 1932 with Lyle Talbot, This doesn't have a single user comment over IMDB which suggests it's rarely seen.

The Racketeer - 1929 a top role in an early talkie.

I've never seen these.

I did watch Hands Across the Table. I like Carole and Fred together. It's light fluff but very entertaining. I didn't give Mitchell Leisen enough credit for Easy Living but he did have a talent for directing comedies. It's always nice to see William Demarest and Ruth Donnelly even in small roles. What really caught my eye was Marie Prevost playing ditzy Nona. She was funny but it was also sad at the same time.

I also watched The Gay Bride again. I hadn't seen it in several years. I was surprised that RO said Carole thought it was her worst film (it's not), and that it didn't do well at the box office. Maybe the "gold digging heroine involved with unsavory characters theme" had played itself out by the end of 1934.

It holds up pretty well and has more in common with a Warner's film than an MGM one. Perhaps that was part of the problem. I thought Carole and Chester Morris made a good team. I enjoyed the give and take between the two. I am always forgetting about Chester Morris until he shows up in a film I'm watching, and then I remember: "hey, this guy was good".

Nat Pendleton was amusing as his usual doltish character. They might have gotten a little more mileage out of Zasu Pitts' role but that's a minor quibble. There's lots of snappy dialog and interesting characters. There's even a brief, slightly risque running gag concerning the station attendant's misunderstanding of Morris's actions. Mister Burnham!?!

RO mentioned that this was Lombard's only film for MGM. Apparently she wasn't happy with the results. I think viewers today would feel otherwise.

Vigil in the Night and Made for Each Other I have seen only once and need to re-evaluate them.

[molo]

Well I watched No Man of Her Own last night and found it a little dull. I saw it many years ago and wasn't thrilled by it but I thought I might find more to it after all this time. Nope. It wasn't bad but it lacked a certain oomph. The scenes in the library were more cute than racy. I also never got the sense that Gable was in any real danger from his card sharping. The main problem here seems to be a script that just goes through the motions and never gains any traction.

Gable seemed to talk in a muffled way at times, like he was afraid to open his mouth. It's a far cry from his performance in Red Dust that same year. It was nice to see Dorothy Mackaill. This was only two films removed from her great turn in Safe in Hell and she's reduced to a supporting part here.

Gable and Lombard have some moments, but people tuning in to see the legendary couple in their only screen outing might not be too impressed. They both did better work in that year (1932) alone. Gable in the aforementioned Red Dust and Lombard in Virtue which is airing later this month. No Man of Her Own is worth watching at least once for the rarity of seeing the two leads together, just don't set the bar too high going in. What a shame they didn't get a chance to do more films together. I'm sure they would have made a great team, probably doing comedies, if Carole had lived.

[moira finnie]

Just a reminder that The Eagle and the Hawk (1932) with Carole Lombard in a small role, a troubled flying ace Fredric March, (in what seems to be his full romantic brooding mode), a very young Cary Grant, (not to mention Jack Oakie!) is airing tonight, 10/20 on TCM at 8pm EDT. This sounds quite interesting if you like WWI pacifist movies, (which I do).


Later in the evening you can catch the interesting, fast-paced Virtue, with Lombard exploring a pre-code world with Pat O'Brien and Mayo Methot at 10:30pm EDT. I enjoyed this one a lot, and am curious about the impressions of others.


No More Orchids (1932) with Carole caught in the romantic thrall of Lyle Talbot (they must be kidding) at 11:45pm. Okay, I'll give it a few minutes.


Having seen The Racketeer (1929) which follows No More Orchids at 1am pretty recently, I'm afraid I couldn't recommend it to anyone; unless you are a completist when it comes to Lombard, someone who loves Robert Armstrong, (maybe there are a few of you), or one of those who likes to see how not to use sound in an early talkie. To be honest and not such a wise guy, this is an incredibly dull movie, though I watched it just to see how Lombard was cast in her early movies. But then, maybe it was just me.

[jdb1]

Well, friends, I have to tell you the truth: I'm still not a Lombard fan, even after seeing some of these very good movies so far during her month in the spotlight. I just find her stagey and cool-ish on the screen, and I can't get as emotionally involved with her characters as I'd like to. Also, I am really turned off by the way she talks -- sort of back in the throat and unarticulated, to try to sound "cultured" or something. I wish I could say my opinion has been radically changed by this month, but alas, it has not. It's strictly a matter of perception, and you can't like 'em all.

[ChiO]

Hoping to watch, or at least record, a couple of them tonight.

Just a reminder that The Eagle and the Hawk (1932) with Carole Lombard in a small role, a troubled flying ace Fredric March, (in what seems to be his full romantic brooding mode), a very young Cary Grant, (not to mention Jack Oakie!) is airing tonight, 10/20 on TCM at 8pm EDT. This sounds quite interesting if you like WWI pacifist movies, (which I do).

What caught my attention was that Mitchell Leisen is the Associate Director.

No More Orchids (1932) with Carole caught in the romantic thrall of Lyle Talbot (they must be kidding) at 11:45pm. Okay, I'll give it a few minutes.

This is the one I'm excited about. Lyle Talbot may be no Whit Bissell, but anyone with Love That Bob, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, GLEN OR GLENDA and PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE on his curriculum vitae is...well, let's just say he's been a long-time favorite.

[moira finnie]

What caught my attention was that Mitchell Leisen is the Associate Director.

Actually, ChiO,
In David Chierichetti's terrific bio Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director, he mentions that Stuart Walker had less to do with direction of this movie than did Leisen. Paramount even changed the billing in 1939 when they reissued the film (after excising the usual choice moments), to read "Directed by Stuart Walker and Mitchell Leisen". During extensive interviews with Leisen, Chierichetti found that Walker apparently had his name attached to several projects during this period, but had next to nothing to do with the film, though it was done to allow the theatrical director to enjoy a kind of well paid apprenticeship while he was being groomed as a possible film exec. According to this book, "Stuart Walker had been a highly successful producer-director of stock companies and had not adjusted well to the motion picture medium". Leisen, who had been a costumer and a production designer with De Mille and was longing to direct had been asked to assist Walker, beginning with the Claudette Colbert-Fredric March film, Tonight is Ours; after which Leisen continued his "co-directorship" with Walker as a figurehead and Leisen as the camera savvy actual director. I don't know if this is entirely accurate, but having seen Tonight is Ours, it seems to reflect Leisen's signature style. In any case, it makes me more curious about The Eagle and the Hawk.

ChiO, Bissell-boyos like you would cut Lyle Talbot some slack. The only time he ever interested me was in some interviews I've seen of him when he was quite elderly in which he talks about the beginnings of SAG, his dour assessment of Humphrey Bogart's chances of succeeding at Warner Brothers when the actor was hired for The Petrified Forest, and his comments on the underrated Loretta Young in her friskier years during her naughty pre-code phase. Now, if only I could remember where I saw this documentary footage with his comments...aargh!

[ChiO]

In one documentary, I believe it was The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. (1996), Mr. Talbot gives a very loving and sympathetic tribute to Mr. Wood. Actually, everyone did with the notable exception of Bela Lugosi's son, who was savage in his denunciation.

And whaddya mean Bissell-boyos like you?

"God" Hilliard in '08 and beyond!