WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[Rita Hayworth]

My Man Godfrey (1936) verses Bringing Up Baby (1938)


Baby was clearly a better comedy than Godfrey - Having watched both movies tonight and I enjoyed both of them for different reasons - but in reality Baby was the clear winner in this outcome. I just loved these two movies and I wished Hollywood can go back and making these movies once again ... we all need good humor in our lives and I'm happy to see these wonderful movies tonight on TCM.

[JackFavell]

Clearly? I try never to make these kind of blanket statements about movies that other people might have affection for. I don't want to get into an argument here over these two movies, because in the long run it doesn't matter, and they are both classics, but if I were you, Erik, I'd be more careful how I word my posts. Both comedies have merit.

[Rita Hayworth]

Clearly? I try never to make these kind of blanket statements about movies that other people might have affection for. I don't want to get into an argument here over these two movies, because in the long run it doesn't matter, and they are both classics, but if I were you, Erik, I'd be more careful how I word my posts. Both comedies have merit.

Okay, I see where you are coming from - I understand that and I did not intend to offend anyone here about these two movies. I just find that Godfrey is not as good as Baby - but they both have its own moments here and there. And, I do understand where you are coming from. Its a rare treat to see these two outstanding comedies back to back on TCM and I wanted to compare these two movies at the same time and I was laughing more in Baby than in Godfrey.

I was stating the facts when I wording my posts - and I do have an opinion on movies time after time and having these two enduring classics shown together and I did not see that when I re-read my initial post in the first place and I was being honest in my opinions on these two movies.

So, you are correct on that on many ways ... and I do understand where you are coming from and believe I did not intend to do this at all. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and that alone my humble thanks.

[feaito]

Did anyone see Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men this morning?

I thought Wynne Gibson was TERRIFIC cast in the kind of role Marion Davies would get just a few years after this. I've always wanted to see Gibson's movies, having seen her photos in my movie books for years. The films I've seen her in so far have been so so, but her performances really stand out - in The Captain Hates the Sea especially she caught my eye and I kept watching her.

In Aggie Appleby, Wynne plays a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who finally gets fed up with her street-wise lover, William Gargan. Gargan isn't a bad sort, but he's constantly losing the rent money, either gambling or misplacing it as soon as there is a fight to be had. He's TOO tough. Enter Charles Farrell, a milksop who likes classical music and wears glasses. Wynne gets him a job as the bulky boss of a roughneck crew, teaches him street talk, and falls in love with him. She goes noble, deciding he needs the girl back home, rather than the used goods she is. Heartbreak ensues as Gargan and the girlfriend descend on the couple's brief happiness.

All the players are great. Zasu Pitts gets to do a little bit different spin on her gawky character, this time street-wise and sassy - in fact her first line had me laughing out loud - "Men are like trees. If you tap them, the sap runs out." Gargan is swell as usual, very natural but bigger than life as the tough guy who smacks Gibson around. I am constantly surprised at how much I like this actor, how good he can be. Charles Farrell is darn near perfect, broad-shouldered and square, in more ways than one. His good looks are toned down, and his masculine factor is amped up later in the movie, without losing any of his sweetness. The role seems written specially for him. Betty Furness is the jilted girlfriend, who turns out to have been waiting for Farrell to stand up for himself. She's a pip, very good natured and down to earth, looking for a he-man lover.

I really enjoyed this film so much, mainly for Wynne Gibson's performance, who is spot on, and could have been a big star in my book. She's pretty, has a great natural voice, and is super at dialogue and street slang. She can make you laugh like a platinum Pert Kelton, or she can make you cry like baby. Her emotions are very truthful and lovely. I kind of wish she had taken all those parts Marion Davies got. Director Mark Sandrich keeps the pacing going fast until the denoument, but picks it back up for the ending...I especially liked the scene in the last five minutes when Gibson slowly realizes that if she made the milksop a bit more of a tough guy, maybe she can make the tough guy... fit to live with. Along with Professional Sweetheart, Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men is on my list of underrated pre-codes.

Great write-up WEN and I agree with you 100%. I saw this film back in June 2011 and this is what I wrote then:

"Aggie Appleby Maker of Men" (1933). This one is a an absolute knock-out, starring Wynne Gibson as a tough dame who after a brawl falls for strong, big, no-good, con-man Bill Gargan (terrific as well). But his bad ways get him to jail leaving Wynne (Aggie) penniless and without a roof. ZaSu Pitts, who's her pal, invites her to visit her in the boarding house she works in and Aggie ends up mixed up with a mousy, fussy, blue-blooded character impersonated by Charlie Farrell (he's good!) and in the process she turns him into a red-blooded man and they fall for each other quite naturally....Also in the cast are Blanche Friderici as Farrell's aunt, Betty Furness as Farrell's blue-blood fiancée and Jane Darwell as a landlady...A real discovery with excellent dialogue, acting, and a good, believable plot...Wynne Gibson's impersonation is truly superb.

[JackFavell]

Oh Fernando, you and I once again are in synch with each other! I just loved the movie. I really wish Wynne Gibson was a household name today, she stood shoulders above the rest in a cast of excellent actors. She really was the whole movie. The dialogue, as you mentioned, was super sharp, by Joseph Kesselring (who wrote the play) Humphrey Pearson and Edward Kaufman. Kesselring also wrote a popular little play called Arsenic and Old Lace.

I am wondering what happened to Gibson? Maybe she's one of Bob's 'lost women of film' ? Though perhaps she doesn't quite fit the frail quality of those actresses. I guess she made some B pictures, then she then became an actor's agent. I really feel somehow she should have had a bigger career. Remember her in If I Had a Million? She plays the prostitute who, on receiving the money, checks into a fancy hotel, removes her stocking and plops into bed for a well deserved good night's sleep! She's also the wife of the rich guy in The Captain Hates the Sea, the one who everyone shuns on board ship? Another excellent performance.

I just loved the gentle humor of the film, how hapless Farrell pretty much becomes the thing he's impersonating, but really through no fault of his own. None of the characters are all 'bad' or all 'good', which makes it a really rich film. This movie and Professional Sweetheart have been such finds!

[feaito]

Dear WEN,

In a world like ours, full of all kinds of people -some of them utterly disagreeable-, it's an honor to be in synch with a human being such as you: friendly, cultured, smart, intelligent, caring and always willing to share your experiences. Thanks for being here (like my other pals who are still posting regularly here) and making me want to post at SSO, not just read the many posts (in spite of being very, very busy most of the time). Your posts are so very motivating to me (a consequence of being "in synch")

Wynne Gibson is clearly an unsung talent, perhaps due to the fact that most of the films she made during the thirties were produced at Paramount, whose films of the period are owned by Universal, who's been quite stingy with their releases. Physically (IMO) she resembles a bit Miriam Hopkins with "touches" of Betty Compson, with an ounce of Gladys George .

She first came to my attention with one of the underrated small gems of the period (to me at least): "Night After Night" (1932) with George Raft, Constance Cummings, Alison Skipworth and Mae West. A film that's been unfairly hailed of sole worth due to West's "walking out" with the flick on her debut. Honestly, for me it's much more than that: an absorbing drama with a senstive portrayal by Raft as a man who yearns to better himself for the sake of Cummings. Then I saw her in "Man of the World" (1931) with Bill Powell and Carole Lombard, playing another tough dame (she's very fine and outshines Lombard, who hadn't become the tremendous actress she became circa 1934). You must also check her in Mamoulian's "City Streets" (1931) which has wondrous cinematography by Lee Garmes. And, as you mention, she's wonderful in the episodic "If I Had a Million" (1932). I would definetly like to see more of her. I'll look for some of her films on youtube. Thanks for highlighting her talent.

[JackFavell]

Well, gee, that's very flattering, Fer! I'm choked up.

I do wish you had time to post more, because I feel the same way, inspired by your reviews to jump in, or to see the movies I haven't seen, which is what it's all about here! It's an honor to chat with you too, and also with the others here at the Oasis who are all so much more knowledgeable than I. But mainly, what I like is that you have fun when you watch films, you enjoy it, it's not a dry thing when you write about movies you've seen, and you are never demeaning to the films you don't like. The core members here at the SSO are the same way, and man, that's worth so MUCH. I love to see the passion and the thought, no matter what the movie may be. It's exciting. You bring so much heart and soul to the group.

You know, I think I have Man of the World somewhere around here, but never got to watch it. If it was on during William Powell month, I got it recorded. I need to take a look (ugh, my movie collection is so unsorted) to see if I can find it. It's amazing the movies I haven't seen.

I haven't seen Night After Night except years ago on TV, back when you could watch these films often without a thought about who owned the rights...

I am pretty sure I have City Streets, I have to dig it up and look at it. I've been wanting to see it anyway, now there's another reason to find it. I can remember seeing it at some point, I have a picture in my mind of how it looked, but sometimes I get it confused with Street Scene, title wise so it might be that I have two copies of Street Scene! I hope not. I don't remember Wynne at all unfortunately.

Anyway, thanks for mentioning those films, they aren't on my Wynne Gibson radar! I really want to go headlong into finding these movies, I'd love to chat about them with you. I just wish we all had enough time to watch all the movies we wanted, and to come here and chat about them to our hearts content.

[feaito]

As you might have realized, I am pretty straightfoward and honest, thus, what I've said to you is the whole truth . And many people have praised your write-ups here and at FB. You have a way of saying things.... otherwordly!

You nailed it. The thing about films in general is being honest about what you felt after watching a film and having the ability of putting it into words (which sometimes can be very difficult, especially to a non-native English speaker like me) and share it with people who are interested in films and then exchange views; when for example people copy reviews from other sources or write somewhat dry opinions, which lack passion for the subject matter, I am not interested. I am eager to exchange views and most of the people around here are like that, which is a haven on the net! When besides tha,t I get to know people like you, Alison, Tess, Christine, Moira, Christy, CarrieLiz, Kevin, Robert et al, with whom I share fondness for the same type of films and who express and convey their films so well on the written language (be it Pre-Codes, Silents, Borzage, Ann Harding's or Ronnie Colman´s flicks, etc.) it becomes heaven.

Besides, I have been very lucky to have had the chance of seeing films that are difficult to find in Chile, due to the kindness of people like Christine, Alison, Moira, Fossy, CarrieLiz, Nancy, Tess and many others, who have always been so very willing to share them with me.

And you wrote about other clue: not being demeaning to films or actors I don't like, or expressing those opinions within a context, with due respect. If I haven't anything nice to say I prefer to shut up; which doesn't mean that one's not entitled to give an opinion; but one has to exercise that pregorrative with care, (emotional) intelligence, kindness, maturity and sobriety. You'll never see me writing with hatred against a film or actress/actor after a person praises it her/him; no matter if I hated it/him or her, because it obviously would be perceived like a personal attack.

Again, thanks for your nice words towards me.

[JackFavell]

Now see? You wrote that beautifully. It always impresses me that you write in a different language, and you do it so well! Ann Harding and Masha as well. We have such a high class personnel here.

I'd be so afraid to try writing in another language, I know I'd end up saying something accidentally rude or at the least unintelligible.

[feaito]

[JackFavell]

Oh my gosh, Masha, your story of the Japanese patient made me laugh! I am so impressed that you are able not only to write in English, but have your own unique and very funny voice as well.

[Rita Hayworth]

Music in My Heart - Tony Martin and Rita Hayworth

It was so heartwarming and a very delightful fun musical with great singing from Tony Martin and some dazzling dancing with Rita Hayworth when she on her way to greater pastures. This is a very warm and with nice blend of drama, humor, and wonderful dancing from Hayworth. I know it was not much a movie - but I loved it even more now than I saw it over a decade ago and has great photography and filmography too.

I just find it a lovely film to watch and rightly so.

[RedRiver]

THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON sounds enthralling. Ironic, I suspect. I'm not familiar with it. THE ELEPHANT MAN is exceptional. Maybe the only David Lynch film I like, it's gentle, poetic and touching. One of the best movies of the 1980's.