Dead End, 1937 (Grade B)

Director: William Wyler
Awards --when it was a play it won awards--but I don't think the movie did
Cast: Humphrey Bogart; Joel McCrea; Ward Bond; Sylvia Sidney; Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor; Allen Jenkins; Marjorie Main; Billy Halos; Huntz Hall; Bobby Jordan; Leo Gorcey; Bernard Punsly; Charles Peck; Minor Watson  Dead End

sez says: ALERT SPOILER REVIEW (this will tell you what happens, so if you haven't seen the movie you might not want to go on) -- When the murderer Baby Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart) gets a face lift, so he is not so easily recognizable to the police, he returns to his old stomping ground, thinking about settling down.  He is still a bad guy, but he is "tired of the things money can buy"--and he wants to find his mother and his old girlfriend and maybe settle down. His mother rejects him and his old girl ain't no nice girl any more.  She's been making her living on the streets. (Best line of the movie is when Bogarts say to his old girlfriend 'Why did you do it, Why didn't you let yourself starve?"  She replies "Why didn't you let your self starve?")   So Babyface, hurt to core, lashes out and plans to kidnap a local rich kid --to make the trip home worthwhile.  In the meantime he share inside info about living a wild life with the local kids on the street.-- (the old Dead End Kids Gang are assembled here!) all of whom already have one foot on the wrong path.

The poit seems to be who would not go wrong trying to grow up on these mean streets? Even good-guy (Joel McCrea), who went to college for 6 years and became an architect, is having trouble getting off this Dead End Street, because he has no connections. When he wins an award for helping to capture Babyface  the girl he's got a crush on tells him its enough money for them to have a year's spree together but when the money runs out she will go back to her rich boyfriend.   And the hard working older sister (Wendy Barries) of one of the young street hooligans, is out on strike from her job, and has been beaten by the police, all so she could earn the a few dollars more that would allow her to move her brother out of this neighborhood. An unequal distribution of wealth, a fear of poverty and an over emphasis on  money are destroying this world according to this movie. And all of that might be true. (Grade B)

Captains Courageous, 1937 (Grade B)

Director: Victor Fleming
Awards Academy Award for Best Actor Award to Spencer Tracy, plus other nominations
Starring:  Spencer Tracy; Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Micky Rooney. Melvyn Douglas, John Carradine

sez says: After the splashy titles (pun intended, you'll have to see the movie to see what I mean) this movie took off in an unexpected direction. I thought would be a swashbuckler--but it is not.  It is really a nicely done tale of a boy, who app eras to be a brat, but who in fact just needs someone (a father) to be in his life as a model. Amazingly it  avoids the worst sort of the schwarmy sentimentality that you might expect. It focuses in on the real work done on fishing boats and how a crew works together, how they resolve conflict, how they can seriously compete with out malice. It demonstrates the importance of honesty and integrity as functional aspects of human behavior--not just because it is"good" for its own sake, but because it makes everyone safe if we all cooperate and treat each other fairly.  Add to that some truly amazing photos of fishing ships flying through the ocean. Plus there is general, all-around good acting--including Spencer Tracy as a Portuguese fisherman--Having seen him in so many other movies it is, at first, hard to get use to him in this unusual role, but he pulls it off. (Recommended with a strong B)

San Francisco, 1936 (Grade C-)

Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Awards: Won Academy Award for Best Sound, and niminated for multiple otehr Academy Awards
Starring: Clark Gable; Jeanette MacDonald; Spencer Tracy; Jack Holt


sez says: this is overflowing with Jeanette McDonald Singing--so if you like her voice you'll probably really like this movie.  I am not a fan--sure she has talent--but her gift is not my cup of tea..so I just try and be patient while she warbles. (She does do a rousing version of the song San Francisco toward the end of the movie which had enough energy to make me smile.)  Meanwhile the story is predictable and sappy--daughter of a minister and all around good girl Mary Blake (MacDonald) brings bad-boy Blackie Norton (Gable) to God, with the help of Blackie's child hood pal --Spencer Tracy--who has become a priest.  There are some better than average twists and turns before we get Gable on his knees --best of all are the special effects depicting the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.  Overall  I wouldn't call it a bad movie--nor would I say it is a good one.  It occupies that land of limbo, being a sort'a interesting old movie if you don't expect too much. (Grade C-)

Les Miserables, 1935 (Grade B+)

Director: Richard Boleslawski
Awards: none that we know of
Cast: Frederick March, Charles Laughton, John Carradine; Cedric Hardwicke; Rochelle Hudson, John Beal, Francis Drake, Ferdinand Gottschalk

sez says: this was a surprise, I didn't expect it to be as good as it is.  I do not know how well it follows Hugo's story (and I suspect it does not follow it well because it is 1) a movie and 2) it was approved by the Film Codes which tended to tear down any good story).  But, here are messages delivered via the film: 1) following the letter of the law will lead to unjust outcomes.  2) Life is given to us NOT to take for ourselves, but so we can give to others, trust in that and all will be well. 3) you will be tempted by selfish concerns but stay the course and even your most pugnacious adversary will succumb.  Done in black and white and well acted this is an enjoyable old film.  (Grade B+)

Of Mice and Men, 1939 (Grade A)

Director Lewis Milestone
Awards: Nominated for multiple academy awards 
Stars: Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr.. Charles Bickford, Betty Field, Bob Steele



sez says: origianlly a short story by Steinbeck ( Of Mice and Men,) then a Broadway play produced by George S Kaufman, then made into a move directed by Lewis Milestone.  Those are some impressive names to be attached to a single work.  The story is an American classic--and Milestone brought his genius to the telling of it. It is a sad, yet heroic story of good men facing hard realities while holding on to a dream.   Meanwhile, men need to help each other to achieve their dreams, and few men ever get past the imagining of another life. Women are trouble.  Every man should have a dog. It is full of stuff like that.
One of my favorite scenes is when an old man tells about a night, long ago, when he visited a brothel. He is asked how much did that cost you. He says $15.  The men laugh at him and say that was a  whole weeks wages.  He looks up and says I've worked a lot of weeks in my life and I don't really remember many of them. But after all these years I still remember that one night, so one of my week's work got me something. 
You can like or dislike the story--but Milestone serves it up beautifully in B&W. The end is also altered, no doubt, to meet the film code, which is annoying.  But it is still beautifully done. Chaney is a little over the top as Lenny, but not so much so as to be distracting -- and the rest of the cast is excellent.  (Grade A)

 

Modern Times, 1936 (Grade A)

Director Charles Chaplin
Awards --many accolades but no awards I know of
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard

sez says: this is nothing short of a classic, if you haven't seen it you really should.  What an incredible talent Chaplin had for physical comedy.Plus he wrote it, directed it, starred in it, wrote the music for it, etc etc . But I still don't know why it was done as a semi-silent film?  It has a music sound track, and  a voice track--and signs that pop-up like a silent movie... The little guy often get the shaft in life but they also get the girl and true love and that is what really matters.

Libeled Lady, 1936 ( Grade B+)

Director: Jack Conway
Awards: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture
Starring: Jean Harlow; Spencer Tracy, William Powell, Myrna Loy

sez says: This is a fun movie--and one I'd never heard of before,  Tracy & Powell have chemistry as two at-odds newspapermen who need each other to get out of their respective trouble (Powell needs money -- Tracy needs to stop a law suit against his paper)  Tracy hires Powell to frame Myra Loy (who is suing the paper) In the mean time Harlow is waiting impatiently for Tracy to keep his promise to marry her --but she is needed for the scam, so she has to marry Powell (just for the week, then she can go to Reno, get a divorce and marry Tracy).  Of course Powell falls in love with Loy --etc.  The plot is fun, but rather predictable. What makes the movie is the script itself and the bantering way Powell and Tracy go at it. Harlow is really not much of an actor--she is brassy and obvious-but they sure dressed her up in some wild 1930's fashions for this movie!  Loy holds her own with the boys--but it is the boys movie--and well worth watching.