Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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JackFavell
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by JackFavell »

Ooh! Thanks! I haven't seen it! I have been neglecting Francis lately.

I see that it was from a story by Gene Raymond, that's cool! I like him very much too.
feaito

Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by feaito »

Theresa, thanks for posting that 1948 film; it has some interesting reviews. The producer and co-writer of the story, Matty Kemp, was an actor who appeared in some late 1920s Mack Sennett comedies in which Carol(e) Lombard was featured. Gene Raymond directed. Super-intriguing.
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CineMaven
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by CineMaven »

Hi Wendy, Fernando...hoped this'd make you happy. Good. I've got to check it out for myself.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by CineMaven »

Could you stand just one more Lederer film? How about:

[youtube][/youtube]

Have you seen it?
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by JackFavell »

Thanks T! I actually have this one queued up in my youtube favorites already.... ah so many movies to watch!
feaito

Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by feaito »

I have seen this one; I watched it after my surgery last year while I was in the clinic and this is the small opinion I wrote back then; You must see it!:

"
One Rainy Afternoon” (1936) is a highly amusing frou-frou with a Casanova-Don Juan character (played expertly by Francis Lederer, who’s very good in the role of a mischievous actor who falls for socialite (Ida Lupino)). A very charming movie, with a gallery of appealing supporting characters –Donald Meek Hugh Herbert, Erik Rhodes, Roland Young, Mischa Auer et al. A very worthwhile little gem of a film in which Lederer proves his charm and talent, which was produced by Jesse Lasky and Mary Pickford and released through UA, just like those other gems “The Gay Desperado” (1935) (Lupino and Nino Martini directed by Mamoulian) and “The Gay Deception” (1935) (Frances Dee and Lederer directed by Wyler).
"The Gay Deception" (1935) is another very good Lederer film worth seeking.
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JackFavell
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by JackFavell »

I've seen Gay Desperado and loved it, and I have Gay Deception somewhere around here too, just waiting to be watched! Ach, I am so far behind with my movies! It kills me that there are only 24 hours in a day!
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moira finnie
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

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Image
Romance in Manhattan (1935), a deceptively simple, but quite charming and touching romance is being shown on TCM on Wednesday, June 14 @ 05:00 AM (ET). The 77 minute RKO movie features Francis Lederer as an illegal immigrant and Ginger Rogers as a struggling chorine who is trying to make a home for herself and her brother in Depression era New York City. The film, with a story that could just as easily been told today, showed that Rogers could act as well as sing and dance beautifully. Her chemistry with Lederer is excellent.
Image
Lederer's characterization of this Czech immigrant is full of quiet moments as he observes the people and the hubbub the city. The movie manages to avoid many of the usual cliches as the comic-romance takes off. Co-written by at least four good scenarists, Jane Murfin, Edward Kaufman, Norman Krasna, and Don Hartman, the reluctance of Rogers' "Sylvia Dennis" to become involved goes against her better judgment. Her character is a bit put off by the emigre's naivete, but the movie is interesting because for once it is the girl who is a tough cookie and the boy is a more than a bit of a softie. Lederer's Karel Novak exhibits a certain lack of guile that makes him rather vulnerable and his real desperation is never far away, nor is the chronic worry for Rogers living a hand-to-mouth existence. As the story develops, Lederer awakens something tender in Rogers almost against her will, as his desire for her grows along with his longing to be a part of the often frightening new world where he finds himself. Rogers and her brother, well played by Jimmy Butler share a natural sibling give and take that is refreshingly not cloying [Butler, a child actor who was in 35 movies between 1933 and 1943, died in combat during the liberation of France at age 23]. The supporting work of the often vile Arthur Hohl as an exploitive mouthpiece, the endearing J. Farrell MacDonald as a good-hearted cop, and Donald Meek as a minister add to the film with their skills as old pros who inhabit their roles convincingly. It's not a great film, but you might enjoy it.

The director, Stephen Roberts, died of a heart attack at age 40 only a year after making this movie. That was kind of a shame, because this man, who was a pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille in WWI and became a barnstormer touring the hinterlands with his plane after the war, had considerable potential and his career was building nicely throughout the thirties. In the early '20s he became a Hollywood stunt man, was briefly an actor, and directed at least 105 known movies (mostly two-reelers and mostly lost now) between 1922 and 1936. Among these were quite a few nifty comedies, along with some powerful crime thrown in for added interest. Among them were the the "Violet" and "Grandma" segments in the episodic If I Had a Million (1932), the controversial [if watered-down version of Faulkner's] The Story of Temple Drake (1933), One Sunday Afternoon (1933) with Gary Cooper and Fay Wray, Star of Midnight (1935) with William Powell and Ginger Rogers and the enjoyably elegant crime flick, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936) with William Powell and Jean Arthur.
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by feaito »

Excellent review Moira. I'm going to check if I have this one somewhere. Thanks for enlightening us about Stephen Robert's career. I Have seen all the films you mention and they are indeed very good. A great early loss.
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JackFavell
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by JackFavell »

I watched it. It's a charming film, benefiting greatly from the stars gentle handling of the subject matter, the super supporting cast (love those cops!)and the simple, uncloying writing and direction.

What a shame about Stephen Roberts! I remember looking him up after watching Star of Midnight. He also directed The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. I guess though if I were going to go, I'd rather go on the upswing, like he did.
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moira finnie
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

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Thanks for responding, Fernando and Wen.

I was pretty bummed when I read about Stephen Roberts life and career, but you are right, at least his work was humming along when he checked out at such a young age. I kept wondering if he and William Wellman were friends because of their shared experiences, but didn't find any connection in the literature available to me.

I've never known anyone who has seen the Ronald Colman movie directed by Roberts, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935). Have either of you seen this one?
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by feaito »

Dear Moira, I did in April 2011 & I posted this on the Colman thread:
Today I watched the barely "sixty-sth" minutes "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1935) a 20th Century/United Artists picture. While not first rate Colman it is still a highly entertaining story of an impoverished Russian Aristocrat who breaks the Bank at a MC Casino, winning 10 million francs (for him and fellow Russian emigrés)...But he commits the error of swearing that he'll never gamble again and saying that people who do so are fools....thus the Casino owners at MC get mad and plot to make Ronnie take his statement back....they'll do anything to lure him back to the Baccarat Tables....enter Joan Bennett and Colin Clive, brothers whom he meet on his way back to Paris...the film kept my attention until the end, although I did not like what happened at the Casino....Joan Bennett is fine as Ronnie's love interest and Nigel Bruce is endearing as Ronnie's valet....Ferdinad Gottschalk plays another of those weird characters....This makes for much better entertainment than most of the garbage being released nowadays.
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moira finnie
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

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Thank you for posting that review of The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935), Fernando. I was probably on the sick list then (or have simply been a dolt again) and didn't realize or forgot you had seen this movie. It would be fun to see Nigel Bruce as Ronnie's valet. I am always partial to anything with Colman as well as Joan Bennett, who I seem to remember made her tremulous film debut in Colman's delightful first talkie, Bulldog Drummond (1929). This later movie sounds quite appealing, especially with that great cast. I'll have to track it down now. Maybe we could get together a Stephen Roberts Film Society. :wink:
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by feaito »

moirafinnie wrote:Thank you for posting that review of The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935), Fernando. I was probably on the sick list then (or have simply been a dolt again) and didn't realize or forgot you had seen this movie. It would be fun to see Nigel Bruce as Ronnie's valet. I am always partial to anything with Colman as well as Joan Bennett, who I seem to remember made her tremulous film debut in Colman's delightful first talkie, Bulldog Drummond (1929). This later movie sounds quite appealing, especially with that great cast. I'll have to track it down now. Maybe we could get together a Stephen Roberts Film Society. :wink:
Indeed :D
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JackFavell
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Re: Francis Lederer (1899-2000)

Post by JackFavell »

Thanks for responding, Fernando and Wen.

I was pretty bummed when I read about Stephen Roberts life and career, but you are right, at least his work was humming along when he checked out at such a young age. I kept wondering if he and William Wellman were friends because of their shared experiences, but didn't find any connection in the literature available to me.

I've never known anyone who has seen the Ronald Colman movie directed by Roberts, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935). Have either of you seen this one?
I was wondering about Wellman and Hawks myself, when I read your post, since they were all flyers....Wellman and Roberts were born within 3 months of each other and Roberts was in the Lafayette Escadrille, Wellman in the Lafayette Flying Corp.... it must have been a shock for Wellman even if he didn't know Roberts.
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