The Milky Way (1936).

Review #2369: The Milky Way.

Cast: 

Harold Lloyd (Burleigh "Tiger" Sullivan), Adolphe Menjou (Gabby Sloan), Verree Teasdale (Ann Westley), Helen Mack (Mae Sullivan), William Gargan (Speed McFarland), George Barbier (Wilbur Austin), Dorothy Wilson (Polly Pringle), Lionel Stander (Spider Schultz), and Marjorie Gateson (Winthrop Lemoyne) Directed by Leo McCarey (#085 - Duck Soup, #1350 - Love Affair, #1394 - An Affair to Remember)

Review: 

It does hurt, in a sense, to reach the near end of the Harold Lloyd run. The Milky Way was the fifth sound movie that he starred in, which if you remember correctly, were not exactly comparable to his silent output in terms of audience appeal. By this point, he wasn't even the producer of his own movies and now he was 43 (to say nothing of the fact that every movie made after 1919 was done with a special glove to hide the fact that he had just eight fingers). The year after this movie was released, Lloyd sold the land of his studio to the Latter-day Saints, and the year after that saw him star in his last sound movie for nearly ten years. With this movie, it was based off Lynn Root & Harry Clork's 1934 play of the same name*, and three screenwriters are credited with this adaptation: Grover Jones, Frank Butler**, and Richard Connell. Evidently the movie was the byproduct of casting shuffles, as apparently it was originally developed in mind with Jack Oakie to star, and somehow Ida Lupino was in talks to play the role ultimately played by Dorothy Wilson before Lupino got sick and bowed out. This was the tenth of thirteen movies that McCarey made in the 1930s, one made in between Ruggles of Red Gap [1935] and Make Way for Tomorrow [1937] (incidentally, McCarey actually was the son of a fight promoter; the USC law school graduate even tried boxing before trying his hand at getting involved with film and went from gagman to director). A handful of cast mates and McCarey got sick during production and apparently it fell to Norman Z. McLeod and Ray McCarey to shoot a few sequences (uncredited). The play has been filmed one time since, with The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), as produced by Samuel Goldwyn with Danny Kaye in the lead role of a musical comedy (Lionel Stander happened to appear in both movies). As you might expect from the old days of trying to corner the market, Goldwyn had purchased the original negative of the 1936 movie, pulled them from circulation and nearly every print in order to destroy them. Of course, he didn't get all of them, and the best version of the movie actually is one that came from a print preserved by Lloyd himself. 

It does help to have some zip for a comedy, yes. The last of his sound movies with The Cat's Paw (1934) was relatively successful in having a pairing of Lloyd with an established supporting presence (George Barbier) that wasn't about just bumbling around with middle-ground romance, and even Movie Crazy (1932) had some promise too. The 88-minute runtime for this movie basically leaves the film with two distinct segments: Lloyd doing Lloyd elements (to a point) and the attempts at verbal jabs and occasional visual stuff. The movie does pretty well, for the most part, mostly because it has the composure of confidence for both filmmaker and in cast, mainly because it isn't just bumbling around with misunderstandings (it instead plays on one guy trying to hustle both the media and a fighter) that might be Lloyd's most accomplished movie since oh, probably Speedy (1928). You've got a guy being trained to fight by playing it tune to the waltz and antics with a horse to go with brief interludes in the ring (and a horse, I suppose). I like the distinct difference Lloyd gets to play before and after getting in the ring in terms of heightened confidence. Menjou and Stander makes their moments count with such worthy timing in terms of huckster pride (with the latter having a voice practically made for it) that keeps the movie fresh beyond just looking at Lloyd or the varying moments spent around Teasdale, Mack, or Wilson (who are equally fine). While you might know just what is coming around the corner for a chunk of its tenure, there is still enough interest generated by the energy that is present on screen, such as with its resourcefully quick ending to generate a worthwhile ending. As a whole, Lloyd's one play at the screwball movie with McCarey in tow is a fine one, having enough fun with antics and a game cast to make a worthwhile curiosity worth looking into.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

*It's funny to be semi-reminded of Battling Butler (1926), which dealt with Buster Keaton playing a guy being involved with a deception involving boxing, although that was based on its own play and is clearly distinct from The Milky Way; by coincidence, Chaplin also did a boxing sequence with City Lights (1931). But hey, never hurts to name drop.

**That would future Academy Award-winning writer Frank Butler to go along with future Academy Award winning director/writer McCarey, as Butler's collaboration with Frank Cavett for the screenplay to McCarey's Going My Way [1944] won an Academy Award, although that was a weird year in general, because McCarey's story for the film also wound up getting him an Academy Award for "Best Story" which well, goes to show what awards come and go.

Blind Adventure.

Review #2057: Blind Adventure.

Cast: 

Robert Armstrong (Richard Bruce), Helen Mack (Rose Thorne), Roland Young (Holmes the Burglar), Ralph Bellamy (Jim Steele), John Miljan (Regan, Gang Leader), Beryl Mercer (Elsie, the Maid), Tyrell Davis (Gerald Fairfax), Henry Stephenson (Major Archer Thorne), and Laura Hope Crews (Lady Rockingham) Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (#283 - King Kong, #604 - Mighty Joe Young, #709 - The Most Dangerous Game, and #914 - Son of Kong)

Review: 

Okay, so remember Son of Kong (1933)? That was the rushed sequel to King Kong that retained the uses of Ernest B. Schoedsack as director/producer while featuring Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack (replacing Fay Wray from the original film) as the stars to basically be second-nature to the big effect (the film itself, well, was pretty disappointing, but that was a long time ago). Of course, there was one other aspect retained from the original Kong in Ruth Rose (familiar to Schoedsack, because she was his wife) as screenwriter. You may wonder just what does this have to do with Blind Adventure? Well, that was the other 1933 movie released by RKO Radio Pictures that had Armstrong and Mack as stars with Schoedsack as director, and Rose as a writer (Robert Benchley delivered uncredited work for the film); oddly enough, Cooper didn't produce the Kong sequel but did produce Blind Adventure. Schoedsack was a most curious filmmaker, as one would expect from somebody that honed their skills in the Signal Corps in World War I. He directed various films with a good chunk in collaboration with Merian C. Cooper (they met in Europe in 1918 and coincidentally were both pilots during the war), whether that involved producing films spent in the wilderness such as Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927) or dramas such as The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) or effects-driven features such as Dr. Cyclops (1940) and his last key effort in Mighty Joe Young (yet another movie with Armstrong, Rose, and Cooper). Schoedsack died in 1979 at the age of 86.

The movie is perhaps too fitting for B-movie status within its 65-minute runtime and a premise involving "An American in foggy England all by himself". The enjoyment of the film depends on just how much you can take the film at face value with such little time to allow it to coat in interest. But B-movies were a dime a dozen, so those familiar with hazy surroundings will probably just be fine with what the film is selling, and I did eventually go with it, perhaps because sometimes one really does just go with the flow. So here we are with a plot about wrong houses wrapped in pea soup fog, incriminating cigarette cases, and friendly burglars. Armstrong I think is confident enough to hold the ship together with being thrust into such a strange time, which mostly means competent timing that is played for a bit of contrast with everyone that isn't about bluster with the previous Schoedsack ventures. Mack makes a casual lead to get thrust into the proceedings that mainly involves a bit of going along with whatever is happening and a bit of relief when it comes to "trifles". Of course, Young makes for a pleasant bundle of chuckles as the sly fox in the middle of pursuers and bumblers. This includes a minor adversary in Bellamy, who at least seems game within the mild diversion that comes when packed with other minor heavies that see one of them get bonked on the head at one point. As a whole, the enjoyment of the film depends on just how much a diversion one finds within such a short and measurable time, and I think it works out just alright, so take that for what it is worth.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

She (1935).

Review #1841: She.

Cast: 

Helen Gahagan (She Who Must Be Obeyed), Randolph Scott (Leo Vincey), Nigel Bruce (Professor Horace Holly), Helen Mack (Tanya Dugmore), Gustav von Seyffertitz (Billali, She's mortal Governor), Lumsden Hare (Dugmore), Samuel S. Hinds (John Vincey), and Noble Johnson (Amahaggar Chief) Directed by Lansing C. Holden and Irving Pichel (#617 - Destination Moon, #709 - The Most Dangerous Game, and #1374 - Quicksand)

Review: 

There are certainly a few weird distinctions that come with this film, if you think about it. For one, it was produced by Merian C. Cooper, who worked in film for over four decades in a variety of positions that ranged from director to producer; King Kong (1933) is undoubtedly the one he is remembered for and for good reason, so one isn't surprised to see Cooper involved with this film, which was meant to be an fantasy adventure epic (complete with a score by the same composer as Kong in Max Steiner). The movie is an adaptation of the 1886 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard (likely best known for King Solomon's Mines, which he wrote one year prior), with the screenplay written by Dudley Nichols and Ruth Rose; you may recognize the latter name as the co-writer of the screenplay for King Kong (she met Ernest B. Schoedsack, a collaborator with Cooper on numerous films on the production of Grass in 1925 and thus wrote a total of six scripts for Cooper's productions after Schoedsack and Rose married), and Nichols would win an Academy Award that year for another script with The Informer. The most unusual pairing of directors might be with this film, since it features a journeyman director in Pichel and Holden, with the latter being more known for his service in World War I for the 95th Aero Squadron, where he shot down seven enemy pilots. As it turns out, Cooper was also serving in the War as a pilot. For Holden, this was his first and only feature film while also serving as a production illustrator; he worked on two other films in the art department alongside one short directed before he died in a plane crash in 1938 at the age of 42. 

Of course, the main thing to remember is that the film was meant to be shot in Technicolor, complete with sets and costumes ready for its lavish fantasy adventure, but RKO Radio Pictures at the last moment cut Cooper's budget (instead of $1 million for this film and another production with RKO, he now had just $1 million combined to make two films). However, a recent re-release by Legend Films presents the film in "colorized" form by screen legend Ray Harryhausen, who was a friend to Cooper, so one technically has the option to see the film as it might have been if it the film was shot in color (having seen what the color print looks like, I cannot actually agree with the idea, but folks will be folks). RKO wanted to have Joel McCrea and Frances Dee for the leads, while Cooper wanted to borrow Greta Garbo from MGM for the title role, but Randolph Scott (borrowed from Paramount) and Helen Gahagan make a fair compromise. The film failed at the box office, costing the studio over $180,000, although it did break even after it was re-released in 1949 when paired with The Last Days of Pompeii (the other RKO production Cooper produced in 1935), although twelve minutes of the 102 minute run-time were cut. It was feared that the film was lost because of a fire that wiped out a print from the studio vault. The original film only exists because of the efforts of Raymond Rohauer. He had invited filmmakers and stars to attend showing and discuss their contributions to film, and it was during one of these tributes that he was approached by Buster Keaton, who asked him if he would be interested in his "garage full of film", and one of the prints found was this film.

Haggard wrote three further novels involving the title character before his death at the age of 68 in 1925. Five adaptations of varying length were constructed before the making of this feature, with the 1925 version (the first feature-length adaptation) even having intertitles written by Haggard himself. Since the making of this film, three further adaptations have followed, with one occurring in 1965, a sequel to that film in 1968, and a post-apocalyptic version in 1984. The striking difference between the film and novel is that the book was set in the Artic rather than Africa, and the film reportedly takes elements from the previous She works. So, we have a pursuit for a fountain of youth-I mean a Flame of Life involving Art Deco decoration and one prominent prop utilized from King Kong that features a dance sequence with choreography that was nominated for an Academy Award. It results in a production that obviously deserved better from RKO that nevertheless makes for useful spectacle. It eventually turns from general pulp to useful curiosity in romance when Gahagan finally appears, but the general trio of Scott-Bruce-Mack do prove worthy in setting the movie up without falling prey to all of the wooden dialogue they sometimes have to say to get the adventure going. Scott walks through the role with the kind of "strong, silent type" of patience that makes one see why he would become an ideal man for the Western for years to come. Bruce had moved to Hollywood from Britian in 1934, and he cultivates a stuffy but always diverting piece of the puzzle, while Mack makes for an assertive romantic interest that serves a worthy spark with Scott. Speaking of which, there is Gahagan to consider. A stage actress before she became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, her icy demeanor in the face of immortality and diminishing humanity certainly jumps the movie's interest level when she shows up to engage with Scott; her appearance and cadence would inspire the look of the Evil Queen for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). While the sets and effects generally work out well for the movie, I would say that the lessened budget does affect the scope of certain scenes, where one wonders just what would have happened with the right amount of staging, but I do think there is still a worthy flair for adventure and allure present to push the film with enough conviction to make the eventual climax more than just someone deciding their future on a flame. In that sense, She (1935) is quite the fascination to hear about along with actually watch as a whole, serving as an interesting example of the quest feature with dutiful fascination fit for a hidden gem.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Son of Kong.

Review #914: Son of Kong.

Cast:
Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham), Helen Mack (Hilda Petersen), Frank Reicher (Captain Englehorn), John Marston (Nils Helstrom), Victor Wong (Charlie), and Ed Brady (Red) Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (#283 - King Kong, #604 - Mighty Joe Young, and #709 - The Most Dangerous Game)

Review:
I will watch Kong: Skull Island next week, and as such it makes sense to do a review of a Kong movie. Enjoy, and I would encourage checking out the other Kong reviews done over the years: #283, #604 (made with the same creative team), and #726 - King Kong (1976).

Released just nine months after the first film had been released into theaters, Son of Kong is a sequel that isn't as well known (nor well-liked) as the original film. The movie begins with a brief recap of the first film (in dialogue), with the premise being set up by the time 10 minutes pass by. At least they didn't just take footage from the end of the movie. Some of the cast from the first film (Armstrong, Reicher, and Wong) appear in this one, and this is certainly one that gives Armstrong a bit more in terms of characterization. The tight budget and shooting schedule (screenwriter Ruby Rose described doing the movie as this: "If you can't make it bigger, make it funnier") meant that several models from the first film were reused, though Willis O'Brien does contribute stop-motion animation once again. It isn't until around 43 minutes that the Son of Kong appears in the movie, looking noticeably lighter skinned than his larger father, with facial expressions that seem to go with any sort of comedic moments the movie tries to do. The best thing I can say about the movie is that it isn't just a simple repeat of the first film, with semblances of romance and adventure taking the mantle this time. Unfortunately, it doesn't really have much of the tension nor importance the first film. Simply put, it's obviously not as good as the first one. It doesn't have too much spectacle and is quite rushed, giving a product that could have had potential had there been more time and length (this is only 69 minutes long) given to the movie. By releasing the movie quickly in order to ride off the memories people had of the original film, Son of Kong manages to be a middling sequel that could have been so much better.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.