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.

An Affair to Remember.

Review #1394: An Affair to Remember.

Cast: 
Cary Grant (Nicolò Ferrante), Deborah Kerr (Terry McKay), Richard Denning (Kenneth Bradley), Neva Patterson (Lois Clark), Cathleen Nesbitt (Grandmother Janou), Robert Q. Lewis (Himself), Charles Watts (Ned Hathaway), and Fortunio Bonanova (Courbet) Directed by Leo McCarey (#085 - Duck Soup and #1350 - Love Affair)

Review: 
Do you ever feel like you're watching the same film twice? Honestly, the only things that really need a remake are films that were clunkers the first time around, not movies that were good enough once already. But hey, maybe one really did want to see another version of a love affair with the same director and nearly the same script 18 years later. At least this time around I knew what to expect when it came to the climatic point of the film, since not only had I seen the original only two months ago but it happened to be prominently referenced in another overrated tearjerker that I saw years ago in Sleepless in Seattle (1993). Of course this particular film happens to be longer at 115 minutes, with the second easiest difference being that it has a steeper fall in its second half than its predecessor after it leaves the boat. This is a film that has the luster of starpower to try and hide its mediocrity that makes it quite a frustrating film to sit through, because one knows that it is going to be completely fine and nothing else, complete with CinemaScope to hit that final shiny mark to play for its audience (this of course is not meant to be a iconoclastic jab at films of that era). Grant and McCarey had done two previous films with each other, while Kerr and Grant were in their second of three collaborations with each other. As was the case with numerous McCarey films, improvisation was something to be encouraged when on camera, with some improvised lines finding their way into the film. The movie does seem to flow better when it focuses on just these two together, with a slow-but-fruitful chemistry that makes a majority of the film fairly palpable. One always has a fine time with Cary Grant when it comes to seeing him on screen, seeing how he never really seems to age too particularly as a leading man in terms of charm that is hard to resist to smile with. Kerr, a versatile actress if there ever was one (having been nominated six times for an Academy Award) catches up with Grant fairly well in elegance despite having to deal with silly stuff such as having to sing with a kid's choir or the end scene. Denning and Patterson, constricted in roles that firmly neutral in romantic chemistry that seem more fitting somewhere else, prove okay. Nesbitt provides a quietly sweet presence for the moments that bridge an interesting first half before it gets sluggish. Maybe one has more patience for its contrived turning point, where a lover suddenly hit by a car decides to not tell the other about their condition until that big scene at the end where Grant puts two-and-two together (any longer and he would've needed a picture book) that leads to an intended tearjerker scene that just makes me roll my eyes. There is passion present here, but there must've been a better way to do all of this (let's go full absurd and just have the lead go into a coma or fall into a manhole with alligator captors while we're at it) than the same thing again. I can't get mad at it being average for doing things again with a capable duo to back up material just like before, so I suppose that the nicest thing I can say is that this is a film comprised of fair and clunky attitudes about romance that will prove adequate for those who want an average crowd-pleaser for their time.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Love Affair (1939).

Review #1350: Love Affair.

Cast: 
Irene Dunne (Terry McKay), Charles Boyer (Michel Marnet), Maria Ouspenskaya (Grandmother Janou), Lee Bowman (Kenneth Bradley), Astrid Allwyn (Lois Clarke), Maurice Moscovitch (Maurice Cobert), Scotty Beckett (Boy on Ship), and Frank McGlynn Sr. (Orphanage Superintendent) Directed by Leo McCarey (#085 - Duck Soup)

Review: 
Sometimes, one just needs a quaint romance film. In that sense, I suppose it shouldn't be surprising to have it be from Leo McCarey. A graduate of USC Gould School of Law, he tried his hand at various professions from law to songwriting before being hired by Tod Browning as an assistant director in 1919, based on a referring by actor and future director David Butler. His subsequent work with Hal Roach at his studio helped with skills in humor for gags, such as with the Our Gang series or shorts with Charley Chase (who McCarey felt appreciation for helping him in his career). He started his feature career with Wild Company (1930) and had a career of four decades with numerous headline stars ranging from the Marx Brothers (Duck Soup) to Dunne and Cary Grant (The Awful Truth, 1937) to Bing Crosby (Going My Way, 1944), with his work resulting in three Academy Awards (twice for direction, once for story). This film was the work of five writers: Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart, S.N. Behrman for screenplay and director-producer McCarey and Mildred Cram for story.

I will admit that this film does succeed in working some of its charm on me to win me over. In lesser hands, this could have proven to be a mawkish and overly sentimental mess, particularly with its second half turn. However, a smooth duo and gentle direction makes this worth a look, particularly with a fair pace at 87 minutes. Dunne does a tremendous job here, pulling off an expressive and graceful performance that resonates with the charming and absorbing Boyer. The rest of the cast is decent enough, such as a warm but quick appearance from Ouspenskaya. Of course the turn with having one of the leads being run over nearly derails the experience. I suppose not telling your lover about the fact you couldn't walk to avoid being a burden could make sense (I favor brutal honesty), but McCarey manages to make the eyes focused on how these two will adjust apart rather than rolling over, where improvisation rules the day more than predictability. When it reaches its end, one will find satisfaction with how it served for entertainment, accomplishing what it sets out to do without too many troubles. At least one can say its main stars liked their experiences, since Dunne and Boyer both described it as their favorite in their careers, and the two would later star in two more films together. Interestingly enough, this film has been remade twice. The first was in 1957 with An Affair to Remember with Grant and Deborah Kerr directed by none other than McCarey again. It was then remade under the original title in 1994 with Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, and Katherine Hepburn with direction by Glenn Gordon Caron. In any case, one can find this in the public domain and not regret their decision, a film with some passion and effectiveness from its stars and director that go together nicely.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Duck Soup.

Review #085: Duck Soup.

Cast
Groucho Marx (Rufus T. Firefly), Harpo Marx (Pinky), Chico Marx (Chicolini), Zeppo Marx (Lt. Bob Roland), Margaret Dumont (Mrs. Gloria Teasdale), Louis Calhern (Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania), Raquel Torres (Vera Marcal), Edgar Kennedy (Lemonade vendor), Edmund Breese (Former President Zander), and Edwin Maxwell (Former Secretary of War) Directed by Leo McCarey.

Review
This is a classic comedy film, pure and simple. It was underrated in the 30's, but it has developed a rating of highness as time goes by. Things get better as they grow old, and new people like myself will like the first time they see it. It's funny to the last. My favorite scene is the mirror scene as it just makes me giggle as the scene progresses. I recommend it for comedy buffs as it is a comedy all around. Happy New Years.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.