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The Lady Eve (1941) Directed by Preston Sturges

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 4:37 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 16 May 2009)

Romantic-comedies such as this movies flourished in the '40's and even though they are basically all much alike, they are still quite enjoyable to watch all, due to their simplistic and fun nature and the fact that there were often some great directors and big name actors involved.

The screwball genre isn't really my favorite and I also wouldn't exactly rank this movie among my favorites but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a movie like this one. I had seen some Preston Sturges screwball movies before, that are widely being regarded as classics and I must admit that I wasn't too greatly impressed with any of these movies. I must say that this movie is actually one I did liked much better for some reason though. It's definitely the best Preston Sturges movie I've seen so far.

Perhaps it are the movie its settings, perhaps it are the movie its actors. Who knows. But the movie does definitely entertain better than most other genre movies did. Still I feel that the movie with some more clever written could had been a far funnier one. The movie could had used some more comical moments, involving mistaken identity for instance. The movie didn't had enough laughs in it for my taste and the movie its comedy relies more on its dialog and performances by the actors, rather than its writing.

Luckily the movie does have some great actors in it though. Henry Fonda of course wasn't best known for his comedy roles but that is perhaps what makes him so perfect for his role in this movie. Barbara Stanwyck is truly excellent as well and to me was the heart and soul of this entire movie.

I enjoyed it more than any other Preston Sturges movie,

8/10

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My Man Godfrey (1936) Directed by Gregory La Cava

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 12:16 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 20 May 2008)

This is a very fun multiple Oscar nominated entertaining movie from 1936, starring William Powell in the title role.

It's not the type of comedy that makes you laugh out loud but more the type of movie that keeps you entertained throughout, through its charm and the no-worries type of atmosphere.

But its definitely a movie that has its flaws. It certainly isn't the classic must-see comedy that everybody says it is in my opinion. One of the movie its problems are its characters. Godfrey himself is one great character but all of the others are mostly over-the-top and stereotypical comedy characters. Also the main love-interested, which plays an essential role in the movie, isn't really what I would call a likable one. It's a young spoiled rich brag, who cries and screams to get what she wants. And we are supposed to root for this girl to get married to Godfrey? Also the movie is quite moralistic and does have a message in it. This really wasn't necessary and feels forcedly fabricated and things lay too much on the top.

Having said that, it's not really a movie you could ever hate. Through its simplicity you can be nothing but entertained by this movie. It's also true though that its very same simplicity and story are a reason why I just don't see this movie as a perfect genre movie of its era.

It's a movie with a good cast (it also received 4 acting Oscar-nominations) and especially William Powell does a good job with the movie its main character. All of the other actors go a bit over-the-top in their roles but their obviously some fine actors, so you sort of tend to look through it.

It's a fun movie, although its certainly is receiving more praise at the moment than I would ever give it.

7/10

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Shanghai Express (1932) Directed by Josef von Sternberg

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 2:11 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 5 February 2008)

The movie has an original concept of a story set almost entirely aboard a train. It nevertheless knows to keep things going in a fast pace and to keep things interesting at all times. This is also thanks to the many characters that are pleasant in the movie. The much present light humor in this movie also makes this an entertaining one to watch as well. It's a movie in which there is always something happening.

But no, not everything in this movie works out as it should and it prevents this movie from being a true classic must-see in my opinion. Basically the core of the movie is that Shanghai Lily and Captain Harvey are still madly in love with each after haven't seen each other for years, before meeting again by coincidence on the Shanghai Express. However the love-story is ridiculously unbelievable, since Clive Brook is too wooden in his performance and Marlene Dietrich is too much of a femme fatale.

The movie is further more a good looking one, with especially some nice Oscar winning cinematography. Von Sternberg's movies from the '30's were among the most visionary of the era. It's one of the reasons why he is such a much praised director.

Movies in which Josef von Sternberg is directing Marlene Dietrich are always something above the usual, this movie forms no exception to this. They made quite a few movies together in the '30's. Von Sternberg by the way also directed quite some movies with Asian themes in them. He must have really liked the culture and he also seemed to have been inspired by its politics, much to the annoyance of the Chinese government itself, who wanted to ban this movie globally

A real good movie to watch!

8/10

Young Tom Edison (1940) Directed by Norman Taurog

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 3:22 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 8 August 2007)

This movie is a biopic about the young years of famous inventor and movie-making pioneer Thomas Alva Edison but above all this movie is an entertaining one to watch.

The movie could had also be easily named "The Adventures of Young Tom Edison", since the movie itself is quite adventurous, with young Tom Edison embarking on some adventurous dealings in the normal world and in his own world of inventing and experimenting.

It above all is a movie that at all times entertains, with also some comical characters in it and some fun typical comedy dealings. Guess its also insightful about the early years of Thomas Edison's life, though its hard to tell how much in this movie actually also occurred in real life. Some things are certainly hard to believe and obviously fabricated for the movie, to also make it more fun and tense. This is really not a bad things, since it definitely improves the movie so much. I'm sure the movie would had been really boring and simplistic if it was done in a completely serious dramatic kind of biopic style. It's entertainment value is mostly what makes this movie such a great watch.

It's a typical '40's movie, made in typical '40's movie style, with typical '40's way of story-telling, typical '40's kind of characters, typical '40's kind of humor and a typical '40's musical score. Needless to say, fans of '40's movie shall probably enjoy the most watching this movie.

Mickey Rooney fits the role really well, even though he at the time was already much older than the character in the movie was supposed to be. He carries the movie mostly and handles everything in it very well. He especially seems at ease with the comical aspects in the movie. Other child-star Virginia Weidler also plays a good role. The parents of Tom Edison are also portrayed nicely by Fay Bainter and George Bancroft. The movie provides a good view of the home situation which also definitely helps to make the more dramatic and serious aspects of the movie work out.

The movie is followed by "Edison, the Man", starring Spencer Tracy in the role of Thomas Edison, who also makes a cameo at the end of this movie, to prepare- and get viewers to the theater for its sequel. An in-movie teaser trailer!

A really greatly made and entertaining movie to watch! Very recommendable.

8/10

The Golden Arrow (1936) Directed by Alfred E. Green

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 1:44 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 27 October 2006)

At first sight this movie doesn't look like a particular great one. After all a Bette Davis movies with only 166 votes on IMDb and a rating of 6,5 must be a rather bad one. But the movie turned out to be a delightful and original surprise.

You would at first expect that this is a normal average typical '30's movie with a formulaic love-story but the movie is surprisingly well constructed and has an unusual and original story, which also helps to make this movie a very pleasant one to watch.

The story is carried by its two main characters played by Bette Davis and George Brent. Their helped by a cast of mostly amusing characters but the movie mainly involves just around them two. Their character are involved in a most unusual and clever written love-story that work humorous as well. It makes this movie a delightful little comedy to watch, that is perfectly entertaining.

The movie is quite short (just over an hour long), which means that the story doesn't waste any time on needless plot lines, development and characters. It makes the movie also rather fast paced, which helps to make this movie a perfectly watchable one by todays standards as well. It does perhaps makes the movie a bit of a simple one at times but this never goes at the expense of its entertainment or fun.

A delightful pleasant simple romantic-comedy that deserves to be seen by more!

8/10
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