WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[charliechaplinfan]

That screen capture is gorgeous, I can see everything you describe in that one picture. Von Sternberg wasn't the only man who knew how to light her.

[feaito]

Indeed Marle looks quite gorgeous in that picture, much better than in the stills of "Der Blaue Engel" (1930). Has the film subs in English?

[Ann Harding]

No the titles are in German with French subs. The film was broadcast on Arte TV.

[feaito]

Thanks for the info Christine...ARTE seems to be THE network for Vintage films in France!

[feaito]

I revisited "Faithless" (1932) with Talloo and Bob Montgomery. An interesting Pre-Code soaper where Miss Bankhead gets the glossy MGM treatment. The ending would have been unthinkable after the Code and that's what I liked the most about the film. Both players have good chemistry. Hugh Herbert as a lecherous man is something new too.

[intothenitrate]

I like Faithless a lot, Fealto. It's interesting to see MGM tell a gritty story a.la. Depression Era Warner Brothers. Tallulah does a great job raking in the schadenfreude. And you're right, seeing Hugh Herbert as a brute is a refreshing departure from his usual, bumbling persona. Even Robert Montgomery is a little bit "against type" himself, so thoughtful and serious.

[feaito]

I agree Intothenitrate and it's indeed a pity that Talloo did nota make more films during the Pre Code Era; most of her Paramounts aren't widely available either...

[JackFavell]

That's a beautiful frame of Marlene, Ann! Wow, you are right. She never looked as good.

I think my favorite scenes from Faithless are the ones where Tallu and Robert Montgomery decide to leave everything behind them -" what's past is past". There is a real relaxed charm about them that one doesn't always associate with Tallu. Very natural and I love to see them laugh together.

[feaito]

Hi Wendy, Bob Montgomery has grown on me as gifted actor and comedian, who could also deliver fine dramatic performances such as the one he gave in "Night Must Fall" (1937).

I'm in debt though, because STILL I haven't gotten around to watching "Lady in the Lake" (1946), "They Were Expendable" (1945) and "Ride the Pink Horse" (1947), which contain some of his better-known serious dramatic performances.

[JackFavell]

He's just brilliant in Night Must Fall! As much as I would love to see Emlyn Williams in the role, Bob is so good it's hard to imagine anyone matching him.

My favorite of those you listed is They Were Expendable. It's a very subtle performance he gives in the film, very moving and heroic in a soft spoken way. Many vets of WWII say that this movie is how it really was.

As for the others, they are both good. Lady takes some getting used to, since it's all told from his point of view, without actually showing him on screen except for a mirror shot and the brackets of intro and outro. None of these films is standard fare, all are what I would call above average, but they each are very different from any other of his performances, certainly not his light comedies, at which he excelled.

[feaito]

Thanks for your opinion Wendy. I appreciate it.

[Gary J.]

My favorite of those you listed is They Were Expendable. It's a very subtle performance he gives in the film, very moving and heroic in a soft spoken way. Many vets of WWII say that this movie is how it really was.

I couldn't agree more. Montgomery gave many fine, nuanced performances during his career but never one with such quiet dignity as Lt. Brickley. I would have to attribute that to his working relationship with his director. And I guess the feeling was mutual since Ford felt comfortable enough to hand the reins over to his star to finish a few scenes when Ford was called away for OSS spy business.

[charliechaplinfan]

Night After Night which I watched this morning, I really liked it, I think it's because I have a partiality to precodes and precode this was, Mae West for one was hardly wearing that gown and George Raft was filmed in a far more revealing way before getting in the bath, in both cases I got the impression of the film makers getting away with as much as they could show without making it smutty. I felt that apart from Mae West exploding on the screen this was George's movie and he's a good actor in what must have been one of his earliest screen outings. With Alison Skipworth in a Pygmalion side step, I thought those scenes were both touching, elegantly played and for once in those scenes Alison Skipworth is restrained, saving it up it seems for later. George's character was so sweet you can't but root for him all the way along. Constance Cummings is so elegant and refined and Mae West, barely contained in her clothes, I have preferred her here than in her two movies with Cary Grant where I felt she was just to cliched with time, the only bit I cringed at was the oft repeated 'Goodness had nothing to do with it'. George said she stole everything but the cameras, she did but she only has a few short scenes. Great cast, fun story and happy ending (who'd want Louis Calhern over George Raft anyhow )

[feaito]

I'm glad you liked it Ali, it's indeed a very underrated film due to West's debut attracting all the attention; it is much more than that

[JackFavell]

Oooh that one sounds good! I wonder if I've seen it before, back when movies like this showed up on TV.... I don't remember, but I did try to catch all the Mae West movies at some point early on.

Alison, was it you who I was talking with about the George Raft section of If I Had a Million? He's just flat out great in that vignette.