The Cocoanuts.

Review #1850: The Cocoanuts.

Cast: 

Groucho Marx (Mr. Hammer), Harpo Marx (Harpo), Chico Marx (Chico), Zeppo Marx (Jamison), Mary Eaton (Polly Potter), Oscar Shaw (Bob Adams), Margaret Dumont (Mrs. Potter), Kay Francis (Penelope), Cyril Ring (Harvey Yates), with Basil Ruysdael (Detective Hennessy), the Gamby-Hale Girls, and the Allan K. Foster Girls. Directed by Robert Florey (#531 - Murders in the Rue Morgue) and Joseph Santley.

Review: 

Admittedly, my knowledge of the Marx Brothers is limited in all-around know-how when compared to other classic comedians of film in the 1920s and 1930s like Charlie Chaplin. And yet, the story of how a group of brothers succeeded in vaudeville, Broadway, and film for decades is inherently compelling. They were the sons of Jewish immigrants (their father was a tailor, and their mother handled the affairs of her older brother to enter show business before handling the Marx affairs). Obviously, each of the children had nicknames that stuck with them for their act: Leonard "Chico" Marx, Adolph "Harpo" Marx, Julius "Groucho" Marx, Milton "Gummo" Marx, and Herbert "Zeppo" Marx. Their act had started in the early 20th century with vaudeville before it would start to include comedy in 1912. Gummo and Zeppo left the act in favor of business interests (and World War I). The four Marx brothers made their debut in Broadway with I'll Say She Is, a 1924 musical comedy revue. There were thirteen feature films with the Marx Brothers as the key focus, with two distinct phases (five with four Marx Brothers and the rest with just three). This was their first feature film, but only by accident: they had done a film in 1921 called Humor Risk that was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey but was never formally released (research from better sources reveal that the film was either not finished or not released). Years went by with attempts by studios to offer up a Marx movie such as with First National Pictures in 1926 and United Artists in 1928. The movie is an adaptation of the 1925 play of the same name, which had been written by George S. Kaufman with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin; Morrie Ryskind served as writer for the movie (obviously not the parts where the Marx brothers came up with things themselves). Florey was born in France but raised in Switzerland before he moved to America at the age of 20 (after writing articles on film and doing film-work in Switzerland), which resulted in a career filled with mostly B-productions (this was his sixth feature after a couple of shorts) along with a handful of television credits before he retired in 1964. Santley on the other hand was an actor, writer, singer and dancer from a young age in the early 20th century before he did his first feature with this movie, his most famous work in a career that ended in the 1950s.

Paramount Pictures would release five films with the Marx Brothers that ended with Duck Soup (1933), and they did not listen to the apparent desire of the Marxes to buy the negative and discard the movie when it was shown in previews, which resulted in success for all. It should only make sense that turning it into a sound feature would be perfect for the growing age of sound movies, which would have two directors responsible to balance out the dialogue in Florey and Santley for the musical elements (such as "When My Dreams Come True", sung by Oscar Shaw and Mary Eaton). The other thing that is important to know about early sound (besides needing static shots with glass booths) is that they actually had to find a way to make sure paper wouldn't ruin the sound quality. Believe it or not, they actually dampened the paper by making it wet. So, with all that in mind, one will probably find this movie to be a moderately engaging experience in differing returns with music and comedy. Obviously, there would be refinements made with the next few Marx vehicles, who kept the sense of anarchy going with sharp lines that wouldn't be just the best thing standing in the way of okay supporting people. Groucho is the easy one to follow with his sharpness in wit, one that maneuvers the 96-minute run-time with efficient hustle, while Harpo utilizes props (like a horn) to wordless effectiveness to go alongside the verbal charmer in Chico, particularly with the "viaduct" scene or with the auction scene (where telling one to keep putting a bid goes wrong). This was the first of seven pairings of the brothers with Dumont, who would basically serve as the straight man (woman in this case) that endured long after the other narrowly straight one (Zeppo, who left in 1933) wasn't there. She handles the humor thrown her way (mainly by Groucho) with refined timing. Zeppo was one described as "handsome, obtuse, slightly wooden" by his brother Groucho, and perhaps one might be forgiven for sometimes forgetting there were four brothers in these movies. But there he is, on the side near Groucho; the plot not involving the Marxes is absorbed by Eaton, Shaw, Francis, and Ring, who are only marginally compelling. As a whole, it is the comedy that drives the movie forward more so than the chorus sequences or the plot involving jewels and would-be romances, but it never teeters too much in general quality (sound is marginable, but this was 1929). It doesn't quite gel into just a "good" movie, but it makes a reasonable start for Marx mayhem that will prove a useful start to further digging in terms of seeing the zany outsider personas of the Marxes, and that makes it a sure winner.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

People Will Talk.

Review #1378: People Will Talk.

Cast: 
Cary Grant (Dr. Noah Praetorius), Jeanne Crain (Deborah Higgins), Finlay Currie (Shunderson), Hume Cronyn (Prof. Rodney Elwell), Walter Slezak (Prof. Lyonel Barker), Sidney Blackmer (Arthur Higgins), Basil Ruysdael (Dean Lyman Brockwell), and Katherine Locke (Miss James) Written and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (#750 - All About Eve)

Review: 
A good movie comes from a variety of aspects, whether through its actors or through its director in telling a story worth experiencing on screen. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. He had started in Hollywood as a titles writer because of his brother Herman (an accomplished writer in his own right, notably co-writing Citizen Kane), eventually moving on to writing scripts such as Skippy (1931, where he earned his first Academy Award nomination). He worked for Paramount for a few years before moving to MGM to write and eventually produce films as a well (although he did un-credited work on numerous productions of his). He shifted to 20th Century Fox and found his chance to direct, which he did with Dragonwyck (1946). He soon reached prime success with A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). Both films won him Academy Awards for Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. In total, Mankiewicz made twenty films (with one documentary and one TV film) from 1946 to 1972 before his death at the age of 83 in 1993, with other notable films of his being Julius Caesar (1953), Cleopatra (1963), and Sleuth (1972).

The film was adapted from the German play Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius by Curt Goetz, which had been adapted into a film one year prior in West Germany (which Goetz co-directed along with playing the title role) and would be done again in 1965. The 1950s were still a time for a Production Code (with power that withered considerably) that tended to butt itself in to films touching certain aspects of life , such as wedlock pregnancies or taking one's life, but that didn't mean films couldn't find ways around it with cleverness or some amiable star power, which works itself out with folks like Mankiewicz and Grant at the helm. This is an interesting comedy-drama, one wrapped in casual composed charm from Grant (as one could expect) and a measured presence from Crain that makes for a sly and clever time that aims for sophistication over convention in terms of life with medicine. It has a foundation that can still be applied today, where a good film is like medicine in being more than a bunch of parts to jam together but one that needs good care and belief in one's director, which works adequately enough for 110 minutes. Currie carries through with support as a careful presence that isn't forgotten from the screen for too long, while Cronyn contributes an adversarial role with the right sense of condensation and envy and Slezak delivers some light charm. There are quite a few interesting moments to highlight, such as Grant dealing with composing music with a student/faculty orchestra, or the misconduct hearing with composed sly tone and humor. It might not be the best film in the Mankiewicz portfolio, but it is still a worthy one worth checking out for its charm and reach for drama alongside comedy that stands for itself as a fair gem for the 1950s.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Broken Arrow (1950).

Review #1376: Broken Arrow.

Cast: 
James Stewart (Tom Jeffords), Jeff Chandler (Cochise), Debra Paget (Sonseeahray), Basil Ruysdael (Gen. Oliver Otis Howard), Will Geer (Ben Slade, Rancher), Joyce MacKenzie (Terry, Scatfly Proprietress), Arthur Hunnicutt (Milt Duffield, Mail Superintendent), and Jay Silverheels (Geronimo) Directed by Delmer Daves.

Review: 
There have been plenty of Western directors, and one who had his own place with stars was Delmer Daves. He started his film career as a prop boy on a Western with The Covered Wagon (1923), having aspired to be a lawyer in California. Despite finishing his studies, he decided to become a screenwriter for MGM in 1929. Through various studios such as MGM and Warner Bros, he wrote numerous films such as The Petrified Forest (1936) and Love Affair (1939). Although he did not receive the kind of nominations and awards like other directors of his time, he still found time to make a 22-year career worthwhile while directing numerous stars in his films, revolving from Gary Cooper to George C. Scott in his 22-year directing career, with highlights including 3:10 to Yuma (1957), The Hanging Tree (1959), and Spencer's Mountain (1963). This film was not different when it came to stars, in terms of Stewart, who started the decade with a renewed output in films that evolved his everyman persona with a bit more ruggedness (with this being the first of his Westerns for the era), while Chandler was a relative unknown with physicality and radio (and a bit of film) experience that lifted him to stardom.

The film was adapted from Elliott Arnold's novel of the same name by Albert Maltz (who used a front name due to blacklisting), which told the story of a peace agreement between Cochise and the U.S. Army that occurred for a few years, with dramatizations of historical figures such as Jeffords and Cochise, particularly with the former in terms of a romance. However, it is the attempt to show Native Americans in a balanced manner that made it stood out from the hostile manner of other Westerns in previous years. It is dignity that encompasses the film in its portrayal of attempted peace in the face of prejudice that has its own merits now as it did then, where understanding is the real key to a just land as opposed to a whirlwind of strikes and revenge. Stewart is the fiber of the film, one with growing principles towards a future besides the status quo of war. Chandler (who would play the role again alongside Silverheels in The Battle at Apache Pass two years later) proves to be just as interesting with fiber, giving credence to a fairly balanced historical role with a sense of presence that makes him compelling to watch. Paget seems a bit too young for this particular role, since there is a considerable age difference of 25 years between her and Stewart, which ends up with a bare sense of chemistry that tangles up the climax a bit. Ruysdael and the others lend a fair hand at giving credence and differing tension to a film that yearns to tell a story beyond just fighting for a Western - which works itself out most of the time. On the whole, the film works itself for 93 minutes without too much trouble, a careful film that stands competently after eight decades with structure worth looking forward to now among the usual Westerns of its time.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.