The Love Parade.

Review #1881: The Love Parade.

Cast: 

Maurice Chevalier (Count Alfred Renard), Jeanette MacDonald (Queen Louise), Lupino Lane (Jacques), Lillian Roth (Lulu), Eugene Pallette (Minister of War), E. H. Calvert (Sylvanian Ambassador), Edgar Norton (Master of Ceremonies), and Lionel Belmore (Prime Minister) Produced and Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (#1026 - The Shop Around the Corner and #1358 - To Be or Not to Be)

Review: 

"I made sometimes pictures which were not up to my standard, but then it can only be said about a mediocrity that all his works live up to his standard."

So, here we are with an example of film directors honing their craft with the dawn of sound in features. Ernst Lubitsch had been a director after honing his craft in the early 1910s as an actor in his native Germany, doing so with a mix of comedies and historical dramas before notice abroad led him to leave for Hollywood in 1922. He directed for various studios over the next two decades, and one wouldn't be surprised that his first part-sound film in The Patriot (1928) earned him an Academy Award nomination. The Love Parade, which premiered in late 1929 but not released to the public until January of 1930, is his first true sound feature. Go figure that his first sound film featured two singers for actors. Chevalier became a performer in his native France since the turn of the 20th century, with only a stint as a prisoner of war in World War I serving to interrupt his career (apparently his two years as a POW is where he learned English). He did appear in a number of films before this one, which included Innocents of Paris (1929), but it is this film that made him a key name, although he had to be convinced by Lubitsch that his voice (a working-class one) would fit the style that Lubitsch wanted with a fantasy-land European sounding country. As for MacDonald, she was in the business of performances since she was a child, complete with touring in kid shows before becoming a teenager and soon doing stints on Broadway. Strangely enough, the way to her becoming involved with this film came from a screen test for a film she wasn't allowed to do (due to contract), since Lubitsch happened to look through old screen tests and found the one he wanted with her, with this being her debut feature. MacDonald and Chevalier would do a couple of films together (most notably with The Merry Widow (1934), which had Lubitsch as director).

The film is based on the play The Prince Consort, a French play written by Jules Chancel and Leon Xanrof (which in turn had been a Broadway play in 1905). Guy Bolton and Ernest Vadja wrote the screenplay for the film. Lubitsch made a musical different from the early approaches of doing a sound movie that folks saw with The Broadway Melody (1929) in having songs performed in front of a static camera. In other words: sometimes to tell a story, you tell it with a song, complete with a solid supporting cast to back them up in amusement. When it comes to good-natured escapism, you can't go wrong with something like this, one that makes for a solid achievement of entertainment. It does so with gusto of energy from its director that gives its main stars things to do beyond just being vehicles to sing, as their chemistry together proves quite refreshing. It is a romance of assessment, one where the wooing isn't as important as the process of finding out just what love really means to people living in a royal place where everyone seems to have their noses in business. Chevalier makes a quality rogue to follow with from the very first sequence we see and hear of him in the 107-minute feature, which involves him dealing with a scorned lady and even sees him address the audience for a moment (singing won't come for quite a while, and he isn't even the first one to sing) before fake weapons get used for playful fun. He has a sly charisma that seemed exotic for audiences in need of someone like him in a time for new sounds and charms. Of course, MacDonald isn't to be lost in the shuffle, because her self-assured charm and collected confidence make a worthy match, one who can sing as well as she can delegate with him in graceful charm. Being a royal is one thing, being a happy royal is another, one might say. Lane and the others (including the distinct voice of Pallette) make worthwhile contributions in chuckles along with a bit of singing that make it a splendid romp across romance and the lines between being just someone's spouse and being in love. In that sense, it works out quite well, complete with having Lubitsch find ways to get around early sound quirks, complete with directing two couples to sing the same song in alternative places by having two sets built (orchestra between them off camera) that he could then piece together with editing. As a whole, it may move within the expectations that encapsulate romantic musicals, but it still manages to move with resourceful timing and pace from cast and crew that worked beyond the dreams of what one thought sound movies could be that still seems engaging today. For that, Lubitsch seems just as interesting to look back now more than ever.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Thunderbolt (1929).

Review #1837: Thunderbolt.

Cast: 

George Bancroft (Thunderbolt Jim Lang), Fay Wray (Ritzy), Richard Arlen (Bob Moran), Tully Marshall (Warden), Eugenie Besserer (Mrs. Moran), James Spottswood ('Snapper' O'Shea), Robert Elliott (Prison Chaplain), Fred Kohler ('Bad Al' Frieberg), E. H. Calvert (Dist. Atty. McKay), and George Irving (Mr. Corwin) Directed by Josef von Sternberg (#1325 - Underworld and #1337 - Shanghai Express)

Review: 

It is interesting to consider what the turn of a decade or the turn of new technology can do to (or for) a director. In the case of Josef von Sternberg, going from silent films to sound would only keep him right where he needed to be to express his vision of filmmaking. This is his ninth feature film (three are lost, with two of them not even having a full release), one that started in 1925 that would span three decades over various studios; he had a distinct style that did not always lead to box office success, but most of his films generally still seem ripe for further research and curiosity, with the level of that depending on just what film of his you see, whether that was his debut with The Salvation Hunters (1925) or Underworld (1927) or The Last Command (1928, where he directed his lead actor to an Oscar) or The Docks of New York (1928). If you remember, Bancroft was the star in Underworld, and this film was the fourth and final collaboration between him and von Sternberg, with all of them featuring him getting swept up in crime (two as gangsters, one as a brawler, and one as a police captain) with two of them involving him trying to cope with the loss of his girl. He went from serving on merchant ships and a stint in the Navy to becoming an actor on Broadway and film, having a career in the latter for seventeen years, but it was the early parts of his career that saw him as a name star (complete with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor with this film) before moving into supporting roles before moving into ranching full-time in 1942, which he did until his death at the age of 74 in 1956.

One can say that the transition into sound did not hinder the qualities shown by von Sternberg when it comes to making curious features of entertainment (there was a silent version of this film made for theaters without sound). He doesn't seem stilted by the addition of a microphone for sound, if only because he utilizes his sets and actors for interesting arrangements and dialogue that makes its 85-minute run-time go by fairly smoothly. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman and Herman Mankiewicz while the story was done by Charles and Jules Furthman. So yes, the movie is about a guy named "Thunderbolt" and his attempts at trying to get what he wants from his girl and the law before a fateful climatic decision; the movie spends a good chunk of its time in a prison set with a small assortment of characters that used for a bit of humor, since a musical group does play in certain scenes, for example. As such, it is Bancroft who dominates the film with the way that he commands attention with his ego that makes him a curious figure to view in the lines of crime, because there are layers that come out in a rough exterior without falling into easy sentiments (granted, there is a dog that he has a soft spot for, but this isn't too distracting). Wray got into acting as a sixteen-year-old Canadian in 1923, which can't be forgotten in a six-decade career that saw her known for being a "scream queen". She does fine with what is needed here in terms of calm allure, one who seems perfectly fine with "normalness" without being wrapped in hokum. Arlen makes an ideal square without falling into mockery, looking just fine when paired with Wray for their scenes together (Besserer being paired as his on-screen mother is a bit amusing, if only because one doesn't usually see mother figures...for non-criminals in these kind of movies). Marshall proves a worthy foil for Bancroft in generating a bit of amusement as bumbling authority, such as letting a prisoner get out of their cell to subdue a prisoner who grabbed a gun...which results in a punch-out. No matter how much the climax could be thought of as inevitable, the movie does handle its final moments well without springing for maudlin overkill. As a gangster film, it proves okay when compared to his previous work Underworld was in terms of overall excitement, but even being a minor work in von Sternberg's lineup is still a nice compliment to hand it for recommendation, proving a useful curiosity with a suitable lead presence that makes for a relatively charming time.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The First Auto.

Review #949: The First Auto.

Cast:
Charles Emmett Mack (Bob Armstrong), Patsy Ruth Miller (Rose Robbins), Russell Simpson (Hank Armstrong), Frank Campeau (Mayor Jim Robbins), William Demarest (Dave Doolittle), Paul Kruger (Steve Bentley), Gibson Gowland (The Blacksmith), E. H. Calvert (Elmer Hays, the inventor), and Barney Oldfield (Himself - The Master Driver) Directed by Roy Del Ruth (#395 - The Maltese Falcon (1931), #432 - The Babe Ruth Story, and #807 - The Alligator People)

Review:
The transition of technologies is always a strange one for certain types of generations to handle, whether from transitioning from landline phones to cellphones, or horse carriages to automobiles; the latter is featured here, and while the movie isn't anything too great it is at least acceptable entertainment. Contrary to the promoted billing, Barney Oldfield (pioneer automobile racer who also served as the technical coordinator for the movie) is neither the main star nor does he have too much on screen, aside from a scene where he drives an automobile at one mile a minute, which is quite fast for the time depicted in the film (1904); in real life he was the first to reach a speed of 60 mph (97 km/h). The film mostly revolves around Mack and Simpson and their conflict over the transition from horses to "horseless carriages", which works alright for the 75 minute run-time. Miller is fairly alright, though nothing too special. The rest of the cast is fairly decent in their roles. Mack was killed in a car accident while driving to work, which occurred near the end of filming, with the movie premiering three months later.

What is interesting about this silent film is that it has a Vitaphone sound-on-disc soundtrack, complete with a musical score and sound effects (synchronized to the movie) that also contains spoken words (three) and laughter at some points. This is a fairly adequate comedy-drama, having a few tidy gags while also being relatively serious enough without going too overboard; the climax has a few thrills, even if it sounds a bit odd: Simpson and Miller are attempting to get to the automobile race before Mack's car (filled with sulfur) explodes, while they are on horse carriage. The automobile action (such as the race against a horse and the races at the end) is neatly executed, and I imagine this will appeal to fans of old automobiles (one particular photo of Oldfield and Henry Ford is shown near the end, featuring the Ford 999). The whole transitioning technologies aspect of the plot is still fairly applicable now, albeit with a few changes (such as the climax). On the whole, this is a mildly entertaining movie that works best alongside other silent movies of the time while not requiring too much to invest in. It's not hard to recommend, if you're looking for a movie with some old-fashioned automobiles.

My condolences go out to the families of the seven members of the USS Fitzgerald who were killed in a collision this weekend. This especially hurts to write considering that Noe Hernandez, one of the men that died, came from my home city of Weslaco. No one should have to go through a saddening tragedy like this. They will be missed and they will never be forgotten; may they rest in peace.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.