"Stingaree" or "Stinkaray"?
Posted: April 14th, 2007, 2:30 pm
I guess I'm in the distinct minority about this one, but I enjoyed Stingaree (1934). It was funny and (I think) it may have been meant as a parody at the time of its production.
Some Good Elements:
Una O'Connor, especially when it took her five minutes to leave a room, thanks to her bustle & when she pulled her ear muffs out of her drawer when Mary Boland started singing. Another good thing about Una's performance: she didn't squawk as much as usual.
Irene Dunne: Looked pretty and sang sweetly, but also invested her scenes with a romantic ardor and determined intensity that was quite exceptional. I never liked her much until recently. I think she's growing on me.
Richard Dix: Okay, he's unbelievably hokey, but he's like a human time machine--a throwback to that 19th century Romantic style of acting that probably went out with John Drew, but jeez, he's sort of fascinating & likable, despite this. And he fits the Big Head theory of acting too. We certainly won't see his like again, (perhaps mercifully). And that beautiful white horse he rode in the moonlight!
Speed:
Like alot of the early Hollywood crowd, William Wellman knew how to keep a story zipping along, even when it didn't necessarily make complete sense. I especially liked the montage tracing Irene's rise as the toast of Europe, complete with swirling headlines, & lots of stock shots of Berlin, Paris and Rome flying by.
Some Not-So-Hot Elements:
Mary Boland: I like ol' Mary, especially in Pride and Prejudice(1940) and, to a lesser extent, in The Women (1939), but Wellman may have encouraged her to let her inner hamminess out to play a bit much in this film. Her singing's unbelievably bad, which of course, it's supposed to be, but that probably took alot of work too.
Conway Tearle: Okay, he's supposed to be an upper crust British stiff, dripping with culture, but sometimes I think the guy's comatose. And what's with his eyebrows? Don't you think that he was a little too understanding about Dunne's abiding passion for a brigand?
The Music Box:
Nicely incorporated into the story in the first part of the story set in Australia, but whenever it was utilized later, it literally ground the action to a halt, and the tune grew a wee bit tiresome.
Am I missing something vital? Don't be shy: I know lots of people hated this one. Maybe I should too.
Some Good Elements:
Una O'Connor, especially when it took her five minutes to leave a room, thanks to her bustle & when she pulled her ear muffs out of her drawer when Mary Boland started singing. Another good thing about Una's performance: she didn't squawk as much as usual.
Irene Dunne: Looked pretty and sang sweetly, but also invested her scenes with a romantic ardor and determined intensity that was quite exceptional. I never liked her much until recently. I think she's growing on me.
Richard Dix: Okay, he's unbelievably hokey, but he's like a human time machine--a throwback to that 19th century Romantic style of acting that probably went out with John Drew, but jeez, he's sort of fascinating & likable, despite this. And he fits the Big Head theory of acting too. We certainly won't see his like again, (perhaps mercifully). And that beautiful white horse he rode in the moonlight!
Speed:
Like alot of the early Hollywood crowd, William Wellman knew how to keep a story zipping along, even when it didn't necessarily make complete sense. I especially liked the montage tracing Irene's rise as the toast of Europe, complete with swirling headlines, & lots of stock shots of Berlin, Paris and Rome flying by.
Some Not-So-Hot Elements:
Mary Boland: I like ol' Mary, especially in Pride and Prejudice(1940) and, to a lesser extent, in The Women (1939), but Wellman may have encouraged her to let her inner hamminess out to play a bit much in this film. Her singing's unbelievably bad, which of course, it's supposed to be, but that probably took alot of work too.
Conway Tearle: Okay, he's supposed to be an upper crust British stiff, dripping with culture, but sometimes I think the guy's comatose. And what's with his eyebrows? Don't you think that he was a little too understanding about Dunne's abiding passion for a brigand?
The Music Box:
Nicely incorporated into the story in the first part of the story set in Australia, but whenever it was utilized later, it literally ground the action to a halt, and the tune grew a wee bit tiresome.
Am I missing something vital? Don't be shy: I know lots of people hated this one. Maybe I should too.
she may be growing on me after all!
Thank you!
Thanks, Chris! This place is so wonderful, I feel like I have died and gone to heaven.