Gregory LaCava Day - March 10th, 2011

[JackFavell]

I'm very excited that on Thursday, March 10th, TCM is showing an entire day of Gregory LaCava films (Plus four great directors films in the evening).

I have always been curious about LaCava, but have never had the opportunity to see many of his films together like this. I've only seen one of the movies showing on Thursday, so it should be interesting.


6:45 AM Laugh And Get Rich (1931)
A man drives his family wild with get-rich-quick schemes. Cast: Hugh Herbert, Edna May Oliver, Dorothy Lee. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-72 mins, TV-G

8:00 AM Smart Woman (1931)
A woman plots to make her cheating husband jealous. Cast: Mary Astor, Robert Ames, Edward Everett Horton. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-68 mins, TV-G

9:15 AM Age of Consent, The (1932)
College co-eds learns to handle the responsibilities of romance. Cast: Eric Linden, Dorothy Wilson, Richard Cromwell. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-63 mins, TV-PG, CC

10:30 AM Symphony Of Six Million (1932)
A doctor fights his way from the slums to Park Avenue. Cast: Irene Dunne, Ricardo Cortez, Gregory Ratoff. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-95 mins, TV-PG

12:15 PM Bed Of Roses (1933)
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin . Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Pert Kelton. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-67 mins, TV-G

1:30 PM Half Naked Truth, The (1933)
A carnival pitch man turns a sideshow dancer into an overnight sensation. Cast: Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-77 mins, TV-G

3:00 PM What Every Woman Knows (1934)
An ambitious wife backs her husband's political career. Cast: Helen Hayes, Brian Aherne, Madge Evans. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-90 mins, TV-G

4:30 PM She Married Her Boss (1935)
A secretary who handles the boss' business perfectly marries him and tackles his home life. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Walburn. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-88 mins, TV-G

6:00 PM Living In A Big Way (1947)
A returning GI and his war bride finally get to know each other and don't really like what they see. Cast: Gene Kelly, Marie McDonald, Charles Winninger. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-104 mins, TV-G

[moira finnie]

Thanks for the heads up! I love La Cava movies too.

Laugh and Get Rich is the one that features Edna Mae as a polo-playing Grandma. (She steals the picture). Btw, I don't think that the then recent Olympic champion Buster Crabbe appears fully dressed in that movie more than a moment or two, which really seemed bizarre and funny after awhile. Symphony of Six Million does not have the freshest script, but there are some poignant moments when Ricardo Cortez rediscovers his Judaic roots. Cortez,who never hid the fact that he was really Jacob Krantz of NYC, was a great bad guy at this stage of his career(as seen in Midnight Mary, Wonder Bar and The Fire Bird), but his tendency to express both sincerity and romantic interest with a facile smirk really made him a quirky leading man. I suspect he enjoyed being a wise guy more. I don't think that I've never seen Smart Woman or The Age of Consent, so I think those might be interesting.

The Half Naked Truth is pretty wild and funny, with Lee Tracy playing the same role he played in most movies--the whip-smart reporter/publicity hound/con man with the fastest motor mouth this side of Jimmy Cagney. I think that you will like What Every Woman Knows (1934) quite a lot. Brian Aherne and Donald Crisp were both good in this J.M. Barrie story and Hayes is much better than usual as "the little woman."

[JackFavell]

I'm most curious about the Mary Astor and Constance Bennett selections.

And I ADORE Ricardo Cortez.

[moira finnie]

I'm most curious about the Mary Astor and Constance Bennett selections.

I hope you enjoy Bed of Roses since Bennett and McCrea make an appealing duo, but I think Pert Kelton is the best thing in the movie.

And I ADORE Ricardo Cortez.

Yes, but do you like the good or the bad Ricardo? Or don't you care :!:

[JackFavell]

I thought his good guys were a little bad and his bad guys are a little good.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him as a real good guy, through and through.

I have to admit it - I love him bad.

[movieman1957]

I want to see "She Married Her Boss." It's a Colbert picture I've not seen. LaCava is a bonus.

[JackFavell]

And Raymond Walburn is always fun!

[movieman1957]

I had to look him up. I never knew his name. He is fun.

[JackFavell]

Well, perhaps after today, I will learn to add a space in La Cava's name.

It turns out I had seen Smart Woman before, on a previous Mary Astor tribute. I found it very enjoyable the first time and even more so this time. Somehow the idea of a woman getting her man back by tossing him aside like a wet dishrag appealed to me. Perhaps someone in Hollywood could remake this one starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. They've made so many remakes lately, it might be nice to see one recycled from a charming tale of the early thirties.

I had also seen Laugh and Get Rich, a little piece of fluff that showcased Edna Mae Oliver and Hugh Herbert as a couple who run a boarding house but dream of riches. It's nice to see what La Cava does with great actors and a skimpy story line. So far, I can find no fault at all with his direction, his movies seem to go by breezily and there is an effortless, light quality that is very comfortable to watch, even when the films aren't as good as My Man Godfrey. He gets you personally involved in his cast of characters - many films of this early period use long shots so much that it feels like watching a play rather than investing in a story. La Cava is very good at making his characters feel immediate and close to the audience through the judicious use of closeups. He also seems to have GREAT timing... this may be the thing that draws me to him most of all.

[moira finnie]

I realized this morning that I mistook the title Laugh and Get Rich for another and more enjoyable Edna May Oliver movie, We're Rich Again. Sorry! I hated Laugh and Get Rich--in part because Edna had little to do, but I always have a visceral reaction to Hugh Herbert, whose dithering act sets my teeth on edge. I watched this one in its entirety last time it was on because of Russell Gleason (Jimmy Gleason's son).

I recorded Smart Woman and am so glad to read that you found it enjoyable. Now I'll have to get around to seeing it (someday).

[JackFavell]

I agree with you on just about everything in Laugh and Get Rich. I was trying to be kind in my review. I had thought it was We're Rich Again too. The story is not good, but La Cava gets through it pretty well, considering. Hugh Herbert drives me mad, and Edna doesn't get anything to do, even at the end when she's drunk, it's just no fun. I can't fault the direction, I don't see that there is anything to be done with this mess except get it over with quickly, which La Cava does. And I have to add, Dorothy Lee is another who grates on my nerves.

[JackFavell]

Well, I fell asleep during Ricardo Cortez' big serious movie this morning, but the ending was a hoot. Maybe if I watch the whole thing it will be less funny to me.

But Bed of Roses - WOW! This one is just great! Youthful, broad-shouldered Joel McCrea in a T-shirt, Constance Bennett quick with a line and sleek as a cat, and naughty Pert Kelton, who just steals the whole thing.... wonderful! A knockout, especially the department store scene which shows a bit of Godfrey-like zaniness thanks to Franklin Pangborn.

I just love Constance Bennett, she's got that deep voice, a razor-like way with a bored quip, and that waistline! I couldn't take my eyes off of her, except of course when Joel McCrea's rival waistline was on board. Perfection, both.

Favorite lines:

Bennett (after being kissed for a long time by McCrea): Was that a tidal wave?
McCrea: No, That was just me.

Kelton: Can you imagine her drowning like that? And in water too.

Kelton: (on getting engaged) I had to give in sometime, you see the hips was gettin' away from me. You know, I can't stand obesity.

Kelton: (explaining why she played the phonograph loudly during Bennett's and Halliday's argument in the next room)
I was just trying to drown out your domestic happiness.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'd love to know what people think of Living in a Big Way, I love Kelly but have only seen one of his none dancing roles.

[movieman1957]

I don't know anything about the film except a book I have rates it well and mentions that Gene has a great dance sequence. I don't know if that is the only number in it but I would doubt it.

[JackFavell]

I've never seen it either! I find it amazing that none of us has even heard of the movie, especially if it has a great number in it.