The theatricality of The Man with Two Faces was enormous fun to see. I loved seeing Robinson as a fairly vain but talented actor who was quite a tyrant at home and in the theater (I liked the way the rehearsals kept erupting at home at the drop of a hat). Mary Astor's somnambulist really had a haunted quality--though who can buy Ricardo Cortez as a kindly agent? Well, maybe that's not so far-fetched. Mae Clarke's persistent but badly treated actress was amusing--especially since Eddie kept telling her to "blow, fade, sister!" Louis Calhern just slithered across the screen asking for it. Maybe this film lacked weight and punch, but I loved the actors and their jaunty approach to what was clearly a play meant for stock companies to play on a rainy Wednesday matinee.
@kingme, I was able to get a copy of it(you can tell it was recorded off of TCM, it has the TCM bug on it) from this guy I know, I get alot of my old films from him and a couple others.
http://precodevixen.blogspot.com(my blog, come and visit)
I really enjoyed this one even more after I saw the opening credits - Alexander Woolcott wrote the play. It may not have been the greatest one ever, but the story had a certain lively charm about it.
though who can buy Ricardo Cortez as a kindly agent?
me too!
The theatricality of The Man with Two Faces was enormous fun to see. I loved seeing Robinson as a fairly vain but talented actor who was quite a tyrant at home and in the theater (I liked the way the rehearsals kept erupting at home at the drop of a hat). Mary Astor's somnambulist really had a haunted quality--though who can buy Ricardo Cortez as a kindly agent? Well, maybe that's not so far-fetched. Mae Clarke's persistent but badly treated actress was amusing--especially since Eddie kept telling her to "blow, fade, sister!" Louis Calhern just slithered across the screen asking for it. Maybe this film lacked weight and punch, but I loved the actors and their jaunty approach to what was clearly a play meant for stock companies to play on a rainy Wednesday matinee.
I guess you're right! I also enjoyed the players' obvious delight at playing together. But, I watched this film after Manpower and Five Star Final and the direction looked really bland in comparison. Louis Calhern's performance is perfectly polished in every little details that I wonder if he had not played the part before in the theatre.
It certainly doesn't have the impact of those two, I can certainly see your point.
And thanks Moira, for the George S. Kaufman credit - I somehow lost that bit of information out of my brain and couldn't think of who it was that I was goggling over. What credentials!
I guess you're right! I also enjoyed the players' obvious delight at playing together. But, I watched this film after Manpower and Five Star Final and the direction looked really bland in comparison. Louis Calhern's performance is perfectly polished in every little details that I wonder if he had not played the part before in the theatre.
Omigosh! Compared to Manpower and Five Star Final this movie would not stand up by comparison. It would have been better if they showed The Man With Two Faces before those as an "Eddie appetizer."
Christine, have you seen Two Seconds (1932), which has been issued on DVD here in the U.S.? Another collaboration of Mervyn LeRoy and Edward G. Robinson, it has a rawness and impact that positively sizzles with the talent of the actor and director, capturing an intense '30s vibe. It's not a polished film, but it is unforgettable.
Thanks to Knitty during last week at last I was able to see the long-anticipated & notorious Pre-Code “Kongo” (1932).
One thing I did not like from the film is that it did not run along smoothly, due to rough editing and abrupt cuts. I guess that this Pre-Code underwent many cuts before its original release (and I very much doubt that it was ever released during the enforcement of the Production Code).
The film has a suffocating, slimy quality that makes it almost unbearable at times. Since it is set in Africa, all the players are heavily sweating all the time and their totally unglamorous, decadent appeareances (Lupe Vélez notwithstanding – her looks are more “sexily” civilized with an appealing hairdo, wearing heavy make-up and a beautiful sarong). This film along with Freaks must have been the two most disliked features that carried the MGM logo -of them all- by movie-mogul Lous B. Mayer (I can imagine his horror while watching this film! -If he ever dared!)…If Thalberg hadn’t been in charge of production these two films wouldn’t have been made.
The film is a remake of “West of Zanzibar” (1929), the excellent Silent directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, but it is even bolder, more bizarre and violent.
Walter Huston, although sometimes bordering a florid performance, is very good in the role of the embittered cripple who only lives for vengeance. Sexy Lupe Vélez has little more to do than being a sexy, mischiveous flirt- Huston's lover and also in hot pursuit of the character played by Conrad Nagel (supplying him with dope as well) . Virginia Bruce tackles the difficult role of the young woman who is raised in a Convent only to be turned into a wretched prostitute and alcholic by Huston (her dramatic moments are most effective,which is quite an accomplishment for a rather inexperienced actress). Conrad Nagel is a doctor addicted to drugs who befriends Bruce -I never saw the dapper Mr. Nagel so messed-up and looking like a human wreckage. C. Henry Gordon is Huston's nemesis.
A truly lurid ,exotic and sadomasochistic flick. Must watch it again!
Thanks to Knitty during last week at last I was able to see the long-anticipated & notorious Pre-Code “Kongo” (1932).
A truly lurid ,exotic and sadomasochistic flick. Must watch it again!
Hey, folks, all I did was record it....didn't watch it
feaito wrote:Walter Huston, although sometimes bordering a florid performance, is very good in the role of the embittered cripple who only lives for vengeance.
What do you mean--"sometimes!?" And the amazing thing is, I believed every lurid moment of his performance. Huston was a force of nature on film. I thought the whole thing was as nutty as a Snickers bar, and you could practically smell the moral rot.
