The almost forgotten Nancy Carroll

[feaito]

When I was a kid and was "introducing" myself in the world of the Classic Cinema, there were names that intrigued me much more than others, especially those of certain actresses whose heyday had been in the late '20s and early '30s. One of those names was Nancy Carroll.

I had seen only a few pictures and read very little about her, but I knew she was an important Paramount star from the early talkies period and that her downfall in popularity had been abrupt, around 1933.

Thanks to a Collector I've had the opportunity of watching her in three of her early films: "Sweetie", "Follow Thru" and "Honey", but I feel that none of them does full justice to her charm and talent. I "feel" that there's more to Nancy than what I've seen in those features.

"Sweetie" and "Follow Thru" are of that kind of amiable, harmless, College Musicals that used to be very popular in those days; some good songs and plenty of comic situations with gifted comedians like Jack Oakie, Helen Kane and Jack Haley in their casts.

"Honey" is another thing. A so-so comedy that deals with brothers Nancy and Skeets Gallagher having to lease their southern estate due to money problems, to a rich matron (Joby Howland) and her lovely daughter (Lillian Roth), and to pose as servants (This film is totally devoid of Political Correctness by nowadays standards, due to the fact that the rich matron does not want the "darkie" (referred to in this way in the movie) servants of the owners but demands a totally "white" set of new servants).

Nancy's love interest in this film is aptly played by Stanley Smith, who already had been paired with her in "Sweetie" and ZaSu Pitts plays an eternally sobbing maid. Mitzi Green (whom I had seen previously in Clara Bow's "Love Among Millionaires") is one of those child performers whose appeal I don't get. I found her obnoxious and irritating. I tried to like her but I couldn't. I felt that Ms. Howland more or less stole the film from everybody else and that the couple played by Lillian Roth (who sings the famous "Sing You Sinners") and "Skeets" Gallagher was much more interesting than the one formed by the leading players. I had only seen Miss Roth as a Jeanette Mac Donald's maid in "The Love Parade" and I think she's good here.

I'd like very much to see Nancy Carroll playing one of her more meatiest roles, like those she purportedly played in films like "Laughter", "Broken Lullaby" or "Hot Saturday". But then, Universal (which owns the right to all Paramount films made between 1929-1948 I believe) seems to be not interested in restoring properly and releasing these lost (to modern generations) gems of that Era.

Any of you have seen Nancy Carroll in any of her best films? Any thoughts?

[moira finnie]

Hi Fernando,
I've only seen Scarlet Dawn (1932) on TCM in which Nancy Carroll plays an appealing and loyal, (overly loyal, I'd say) servant to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s dashing White Russian blackguard during the revolution. She's a cutie in this early talkie, though her character is exceptionally simple. I must admit that I was a little too dazzled by young Doug's divine bad boy in this movie to take much notice of Nancy's endearing qualities, but promise to check it out more carefully next time I see this pre-code on TCM. Btw, Scarlet Dawn is available on vhs in the states, so you might be able to find it for purchase here. I think that you'd like it alot.

I noticed that another film of Ms. Carroll's, There Goes My Heart (1938) with Fredric March & Virginia Bruce in the leading roles, (Miss Carroll is a second lead at this point in her career.), is also being shown on July 7th at 11:30pm EDT on TCM. I'm not sure what to expect from this Hal Roach movie since Mr. Roach's work can be wildly uneven, but will try to check it out when it's broadcast. I unfortunately can't record any movies from tv right now, or I'd offer to do so for you if I could.

I have only read a little about Nancy Carroll's rise and sudden fall, (said, in part, to be due to her own case of believing her publicity), but I think that you might like to see this article about her on Leonard Maltin's site. I certainly would like to see several of the early films with this legendary performer, especially Easy Come, Easy Go (1928) with that endearing blockhead, Richard Dix. Here's a picture of the pair in that film:



I'd also like to see Carroll opposite Gary Cooper in the partially silent version of The Shopworn Angel (1928), in which she played the part later undertaken by Margaret Sullavan opposite James Stewart--whose part was taken by a very young Gary Cooper in the '28 version. I wonder if Cooper might've been pretty good as the callow hayseed soldier who worms his way into the star's cynical heart in that story..."ah, l'amour, l'amour", as Mary Boland was wont to exclaim repeatedly in The Women!

[feaito]

As always, thanks for your insight dear Moira and for that article & stills too! Hopefully I'll be watching "Scarlet Dwan" soon!

What bothers me about Nancy's Paramount pictures is the poor condition of most prints that are circulating among Collectors. Why Universal does not care to restore them properly and put them out on the market? I bet there is market for Nancy's films.

Today I got to see "The Dance of Life" and let me tell you that this was it! Here Nancy is terrific in the part that was originated on stage (and made a star of her) by Barbara Stanwyck. It's quite a compelling and engrossing film, with some very good musical numbers. Hal Skelly is excellent too! And we even get to see Oscar Levant in a small role. Totally entertaining film with a very strong performance by Nancy.

[moira finnie]

Fernando, was The Dance of Life (1929) on dvd or vhs? It's odd that Hal Skelly, who starred in Burlesque on Broadway with Barbara Stanwyck in her breakthrough role, was awarded the film part while Babs seems to have been left out in the cold, don't you think? A little research turned up the factoid that Miss Stanwyck turned down the part in the film! Well, I guess Paramount knew a good vehicle for their contracted star (Miss Carroll) when they saw it.

Two other reasons to see this film: it is the marvelously entertaining Oscar Levant's first appearance in a movie and it is the second film directed by one of my faves, John Cromwell, (with A. Edward Sutherland directing the musical numbers, as was the custom then). Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Your mention of Hal Skelly's likability in this film and his untimely demise, led me to do a quick search on the man, and this articleturned up on the internet about him, if anyone's interested.

What bothers me about Nancy's Paramount pictures is the poor condition of most prints that are circulating among Collectors. Why Universal does not care to restore them properly and put them out on the market? I bet there is market for Nancy's films.

I'm not sure of all the corporate reasons why some worthwhile films are allowed to moulder, while others are given such loving attention. The only rational reasoning that I can see, is that the executives in charge of such decisions can't see any substantial potential market for restored prints, the ownership of original negatives is in dispute legally or have been lost, or the organizations that perform film restoration are overwhelmed with the sheer number of movies in need of rescuing and can't deal with all the disintegrating films that are out there quickly enough. This seems an ideal question for our "industry insiders" Lynn or Kyle to answer!

[feaito]

Moira,

I obtained it on DVD, but the source is for sure a VHS and I bet it was taped from a very old TV airing. I think the print is complete but it is faded and damaged.

Thanks for the article on Hal Skelly.