The Thin Man.

Review #1887: The Thin Man.

Cast: 

William Powell (Nick Charles), Myrna Loy (Nora Charles), Maureen O'Sullivan (Dorothy Wynant), Nat Pendleton (Lt. John Guild), Minna Gombell (Mimi Wynant Jorgenson), Porter Hall (Herbert MacCaulay), Henry Wadsworth (Tommy), William Henry (Gilbert Wynant), Harold Huber (Arthur Nunheim), Cesar Romero (Chris Jorgenson), Natalie Moorhead (Julia Wolf), Edward Brophy (Joe Morelli), Edward Ellis (Clyde Wynant), and Skippy (Asta) Directed by W. S. Van Dyke (#231 - San Francisco)

Review: 

Admittedly, a movie with a director known as "One Take Woody" sounds like a recipe for an interesting time. W. S. Van Dyke entered film in 1915 after a wide variety of time spent in business school and numerous part-time jobs and theater company tours. He went from assistant director with D. W. Griffith to director in the span of two years. When it came to sound, he was adept in his craft that made him a solid company man for Metro Goldwyn Mayer that served him well until his death in 1943. Of course, this is something worthwhile to mention because of the fact that he was one of the key parts behind what ended up becoming a film series. The Thin Man saw five further features: After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man Goes Home (1945), and Song of the Thin Man (1947). Van Dyke would direct three of the sequels while its main stars in Powell and Loy starred in each of the movies (one would notice that the "Thin Man" actually originally refers to a missing man played by Ellis, but people referred to Powell as "Thin Man" pretty early on). The movie, if you didn't know, is an adaptation of the 1934 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Hammett was a member of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency (both private law enforcers and aggressors against organized labor) before he was a writer, which led him to write numerous stories and novels with characters such as Sam Spade (as it turned out, this was the last novel written by Hammett, who dealt with tough health and other struggles before his death in 1961). Husband-and-wife duo Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich wrote the feature, with instruction by Van Dyke to loosely adapt the novel while having concentration on providing witty banter for its lead actors, with Van Dyke often shooting the first take due to his belief that actors lose spontaneity with every passing take.

Go figure that a movie shot in less than three weeks ended up being a complete success for all involved.  The chemistry between Powell and Loy in banter is one that other filmmakers would be jealous enough to wish they could steal for themselves. Van Dyke knew he had magic with these folks, so he made a movie with resourceful pacing and spontaneity that makes for a capable mystery with chuckles to go around. Powell may have been considered a bit too old for the part (42) when compared to Loy (29), associated with exotic roles at the time. But they are so dazzling here, zinging off each other without serving as distraction for tired plotting. Powell knows exactly what to lend to the material in his timing and mannerisms, sophisticated in deduction without coming off as a Sherlock pastiche. He glides through 91 minutes as if the plot wasn't particularly important to having fun. It wasn't his first crack at playing a detective (he had played the character Philo Vance in four films from 1929 to 1933), but it was his first crack at having a film that wanted to show him with sophistication and charm. Powell and Loy would star in fourteen total movies together. Loy makes a quality partner in her own wiry charm that pushes things along with easygoing flair that matches wit (and alcohol) with Powell all the same in pure escapism. O'Sullivan and the others have to play a bit of catch-up in maintaining the plot to some sort of believable level (i.e. things that you've probably heard from a detective story but not completely cliche), in order to not be completely overshadowed by the duo, much less the dog and his paw movement. The dinner sequence where all are seated in order to gradually explain the whodunit is particularly effective in execution in closing the romp. This is the kind of movie where a guy can sock someone from behind before getting into a scuffle or have lines like "didn't come anywhere near my tabloids", you should have a real good time with this movie. Regardless how the follow-up films went, Dyke cultivated in record time a work of useful entertainment that saw one of the best pairings in film history (Powell and Loy) come together for one of the most interesting films of its era that practically walks on air with its sophistication that all would be proud to be part of.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

Just Imagine.

Review #1334: Just Imagine.

Cast: 
El Brendel (Single O), Maureen O'Sullivan (LN-18), John Garrick (J-21), Marjorie White (D-6), Frank Albertson (RT-42), Hobart Bosworth (Z-4), Kenneth Thomson (MT-3), Mischa Auer (B-36), Ivan Linow (Loko/Boko), Joyzelle Joyner (Loo Loo and Boo Boo), and Wilfred Lucas (X-10) Directed by David Butler. 

Review: 

Sometimes you need to look to the future to find something to escape with. What better way to do so than a science fiction musical comedy? The writing work of this film comes from Buddy G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson, who were a well-regarded trio of songwriters. This is a film with plenty of production value and not much else. The Art Deco cityscape came from a former Army balloon hanger, wired with thousands of mini light-bulbs (some of the footage from this film would find itself re-used in future productions such as Flash Gordon) The art direction from Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras even received an Academy Award nomination, while the electrical equipment from Kenneth Strickfaden would be seen again and again in film, most notably with Frankenstein the following year. It also happened to be one of the first major sound science fiction films ever made. It can't, however, be thought of as much of a standout in the same way that others before and after (like Metropolis and Things to Come, respectively) it would prove to be, and it would not be until the 1950s that studios would come to make major science fiction films again (it did not stop them from making them on the cheap or as film serials, however). It also happened to be one of the few films with El Brendel in a starring role. He had been a vaudeville comedian for over a decade prior to signing a contract with Famous Players Film Company in 1926. His shtick was a character with nonsensical dialogue through a dialect routine, which was usually Swedish (he did not have Swedish heritage, rather being born to Irish and German parents).

I should have known something would be amiss early with the way it goes from 1880 to 1930 to 1980 in its opening with a joke about speed. Or perhaps it is way it depicts its future (and treats it for the 109 minute run-time) that really should have made me roll my eyes. It is a hard thing to try and predict the future, one might say (try doing one for life in 2070, for example). What did they guess would happen? Pill form food and drinks (with Prohibition still around), vending machine babies, people with numbers for names and marriage tribunals. The last one seems more of a substitute for the cliche of "disapproving father doesn't want daughter to marry someone beneath her" than anything, particularly since the lady doesn't get a choice in the matter. But hey, everyone gets a happy ending, so what does it matter to think about changing the status quo like those other future challenging films (never let it be said that I don't prefer some sort of rebellious action in films). With stiff leads in tow, one is doomed with a mediocre piece of entertainment that never leaps in the air to soar because it spends too much time on the ground. Brendel does technically provide laughs, but one can find his act to be tiresome if wanting to find something more interesting than him talking about "the good old days" when he was around in 1930 or being silly. O'Sullivan and Garrick don't help matters, one already finds the whole affair silly and hamhanded to begin with, and they barely have any chemistry to go with it. White and Albertson seem more at home with this, with "Never Swat a Fly" being at least tolerable to sit through as a song. This is barely a musical anyway, since the songs seem more forced-in than anything, and none of the songs are really that interesting to hear anyway. If the film didn't find time to spend on Mars, one would almost desire to become an antique like this movie perpetuates itself to be. With the metallic print and big shoulder design (combined with evil twins), who can not resist giggling a bit? It seems better to giggle at it than to actually laugh with it, honestly. By the time the film creaks to its predictable outcome, one will find themselves a bit impressed at the film decoration rather than the human elements. It wasn't a success with audiences (thereby keeping Brendel in supporting roles), and it has not received a proper release on home video (I found a copy on the Internet that occasionally showed a Fox Movie Channel imprint). It is a strange curiosity - an antique that tries to present the future. Whether that works or not to your sensibilities is up to you, but I find that it hasn't quite worked out so well for itself 90 years later.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

The Big Clock.

Review #882: The Big Clock.

Cast:
Ray Milland (George Stroud), Charles Laughton (Earl Janoth), Maureen O'Sullivan (Georgette Stroud), George Macready (Steve Hagen), Rita Johnson (Pauline York), Elsa Lanchester (Louise Patterson), Harry Morgan (Bill Womack), Harold Vermilyea (Don Klausmeyer), Dan Tobin (Ray Cordette), Richard Webb (Nat Sperling), Elaine Riley (Lily Gold), Luis Van Rooten (Edwin Orlin), Bobby Watson (Morton Spaulding), and Lloyd Corrigan (McKinley) Directed by John Farrow.

Review:
The Big Clock utilizes its main actors (Milland and Laughton) to great effect, in a movie that manages to work a film noir in part due to its sharp and quick pace. Laughton portrays this villain with a great kind of villainy, in part because how mean he comes off. It's so easy to see parts of this man in other people, but Laughton manages to make him seem so compelling. You know from the gecko that he's a villain, but the way he oozes the lines makes him so watchable. Milland shouldn't be forgotten either, as he makes for a good everyman protagonist. He's a believable character who isn't overplayed from reality. It is a film noir, but it also has some good snappy dialogue along with melodrama. O'Sullivan is okay, though she doesn't really get much screen time. Corrigan is pretty noteworthy, especially around the climax, alongside Macready's effort with a sniveling character. The ending of the movie is swift, after a good deal of buildup and suspense. It's a clever film where the hunter becomes the hunted, but it also is a nifty little look into newspaper editorials of the time, with a serviceable length of 95 minutes and some nice shots (such as the clock) which work well enough for me, and I'm sure it will work well enough for you as well.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.