1930s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 3)

[zedz]

It's clearly a conspiracy. If Glen Falls Sequence somehow makes it into the top ten of this list, be very suspicious, people!

[movielocke]

I've got two animation shorts on my list, The Old Mill and Who Killed Cock Robin. I've got all six of the Looney Tunes sets, but have never gone through and viewed them methodically, any suggestion for the standout 1930s films I should see that are available on those sets?

[knives]

I'm just glad there's going to be a third (fourth?) Swing Your Sinners voter. It might just barely edge on.

Edit: Porky in Wackyland.

[swo17]

Where is Cock Robin available? IMDb has recently made the infuriating decision to do away with its DVD links which makes it really difficult to seek out shorts that are hidden away in collections.

[sinemadelisikiz]

Pretty sure that's on the Silly Symphonies Vol. 1, one of those Walt Disney Treasures sets. It's OOP though, so used prices will probably be steep.

[lubitsch]

I never said don't discuss this or that. It's just that in 2011 discussing Cukor isn't that thrillingly new anymore with books, DVDs and threads behind us.

In order not to play the destructive asshole, I throw in a few observations on the 30s by country, not attempting to be objective like in my entry post but totally subjective.

China

Strange that almost all available films of the 30s are vaguely leftist progressive. Apparently many of the film personnel had sympathies for the Communists, but one really has to wonder if the official classics selection isn't heavily infleunced by Communist scholarship. Anyway few films survived the ravages of time and the Japanese invasion of the Chinese mainland ended this part of film history.
As far as I can see there's no major director active during the 30s, Sun Yu is the most popular name but his films are often undermined by propaganda and comic relief. In his oeuvre Daybreak is the best of the lot offering some vivid views of Shanghai and country life as well and it stars Lili Li who is one of the two actresses every participant of this poll should try to see, a remarkably modern, fresh, young and lively not to forget very pretty girl. As always the melodrama is laid on heavily but Li remains vivacious despite all hardships and the final part is obviously massively influenced by Sternberg's Dishonored which is a bit jarring, but nevertheless fun.
The super classic of the decade is obviously The Goddess featuring the other great leading lady Ruan Lingyu and the DVD has by a wide margin the best picture quality. The film centers again on a woman becoming a whore, but is more focused and dramatic than Daybreak though no less schematic. The direction is good not great, but it's again a one woman show with Ruan Lingyu playing the whole scale from desperation to happiness in full Lillian Gish mode. The actress can also be seen in the very interesting New Woman playing a modern woman being crushed by the men's world. Like Lili Li in Queen of Sports (a lesser film unfortunately) we watch here the rise of a new role model for women which is pretty interesting, it's the best of the commercially not available films.
Another film worth watching is Street Angel again jarringly mixing genres part romantic comedy and partly again the prostitution melodrama. The sunny scenes between the young lovers are contrasted by the descent of the girl's sister into prostitution and being ruled by criminals which also threatens the younger sister. Again a young leading lady and very popular singer of its time, Zhou Xuan, helps the story roll along. The film isn't really that Borzageesque as is often said (probably the title and the poor young couple brought up the comparison), but it's pleasent to watch.
Finally there's Crossroads again mostly romantic comedy and a bit a bleak study of the difficulties young people encounter in Shanghai. Not quite as accomplished as the other films lacking a charismatic star, but worth a look.
Some famous other films like the "let's work for our troops" The Big Road or the Phantom of the Opera version Song at Midnight are a bit too heavyhanded. Those who have a perverse delight in truly bad films should take a look at Twin Sisters a film that probably holds the world record for the film with most scenes where people are crying and National Style is a pitiful attempt to make a Nationalist film where Western clothing and makeup lead to the downfall of a community which really has to be seen to be believed.

Is there a must-see masterpiece? No, not really I'd say, there's a lack of genius, but a few enjoyable films. None would make a list of mine, but the films offer a very interestíng look at the moloch of Shanghai, social realism, the pleasures of genre filmmaking and world class leading ladies.

[Saturnome]

I agree both Daybreak and The Goddess are the best, though I may prefer The Goddess. I have seen a few more films by Sun Yu (Wild Rose, Little Toys (this one is pretty heavy on the propaganda but feature both Lili Li and Ruan Lingyu) , The Big Road and Loving Blood of the Volcano (the ending is as over the top as the title, featuring a climax on an erupting volcano!)) but none really captivated me.

Porky in Wackyland is probably the greatest classic among Warner's 1930s cartoons, there's not a lot more worth checking out, but I'd say I love to Singa, Daffy Duck in Hollywood, Porky's Romance (first hints at the Warner style right there) and Old Glory for an interesting case of Chuck Jones before Chuck Jones (not list worthy, but worth checking out... in particular on 4 of July). They're all on the Golden Collection sets.

I went to my video club and found Un Grand Amour de Beethoven, so I'm back in the game.

[Tommaso]

I personally prefer hearing recommendations from more people (including lubitsch), especially since there's no constraint on the total amount of discussion we can have. Everyone comes to these projects with different backgrounds and so we shouldn't presume that certain films are too established in the canon to merit discussion. I don't know how many of my provisional top 50 might be considered "too mainstream" but there are 30 of them that I'd never seen before this project started and so they are great recent discoveries for me, even if some of them have been readily available for years. Bear in mind, our recommendations serve little purpose if there aren't eager and receptive film novices out there to take us up on them.

I simply quote this in full, because I totally agree with it. Some 'disruptive' posts may be found irritating by some, but after all they may serve to alert people to fields of filmmaking they haven't considered before. Thanks, swo, for handling all this in your usual calm and considerate manner. And now back to the films.

[matrixschmatrix]

I'm just glad there's going to be a third (fourth?) Swing Your Sinners voter. It might just barely edge on.

I'm going to vote for it, as I have a firm policy of voting for anything that gives me nightmares.

Who Killed Cock Robin? is the one that appears briefly in Hitchcock's Sabotage, right?

[swo17]

Speaking of nightmares, you've all seen Happiness, right?

[Wu.Qinghua]

I don't have the time to comment Lubitsch's post on Chinese 30s films at the moment, but I feel compelled to throw in a few words:

That's mean to choose such a nick, writing about Chinese films and not being from China .

Well, I have to admit that I somewhat regret to have chosen this nick. I joined the forum one or two years ago, because I intended to ask Michael a few questions. I hadn't anticipated, that I would post that often, so I chose a virtual identity, I had originally built up during a short foray in online gaming (cough cough).

A retrospective with good prints would be very, very wonderful.

D'accord. Unfortunately, I am not part of 'Canine Condition', so I can't contribute further information at the moment. I've only heard, that in some cases (like Street Angel), prints will be used which are stored in German archives - and that negotiations with Chinese archives are hard going.

Is there a must-see masterpiece? No, not really I'd say, there's a lack of genius, but a few enjoyable films.

Well, I've never claimed that those movies were 'masterpieces'. In fact, I do like them, because, in my eyes, they are nearly perfect examples of imperfect and committed film-making under oppressive conditions. (Edit: Oh, I forgot about Espinosa. I have to admit I've not read his manifesto yet ...)

[Cold Bishop]

I'd hate to jump in now that the vitriol has died down... but what better way to get us to talk about all these great unknown German films than withdrawing from the project and not discussing those films!

One of the reasons I've stayed out of this project (and I'm still not sure I'm making a final list) is that I don't feel like I have the full energy to cheerlead for my obscure favorites the way they deserve. Fine. But I'm not coming on here and blasting the forum for having only mentioned Dorothy Arzner twice in the last 30 pages (you bastards!).

I like you, Lubitsch. From what I've seen, you're definitely knowledgeable and passionate about the films you like. Which is why its disappointing that your response is to simply withdraw. If you want to expand the canon, you need to come at it with a battering ram, not simply stand outside the gates and shake your fists.

[knives]

Azner's a good one? I encountered her name somehow recently, but just passed it by. Do you have any recommendations?

[Cold Bishop]

Working Girls!... which is unfortunately one of the last major pre-code films that's seemingly not available even in bootlegville The main reason I haven't pushed harder for it. Both Merrily We Go to Hell and Christopher Strong are available on DVD(-R) and are fantastic, with the former edging ahead of the latter. Craig's Wife is one of the great Women's Films (and out there in the ether of the internet). Really, pretty much anything she did that decade: she perhaps never made a "towering" masterpiece like Stagecoach or Shanghai Express (and that depends on what you call "towering"), but she may have the most uniformly strong filmography of any American filmmaker of the 30s.

[knives]

I'll definitely be checking Merrily just for you. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze the other two in, but I'm already pretty squished. with Afraid to Talk being tonight's '30s film.

[Cold Bishop]

And if anyone has a line on Working Girls, consider it a DESPERATELY SEEKING SO AND SO.. perhaps less for my sake (I was lucky enough to see it in 35mm) than the people I'll inevitable share it with.

[movielocke]

Where is Cock Robin available? IMDb has recently made the infuriating decision to do away with its DVD links which makes it really difficult to seek out shorts that are hidden away in collections.

it's on Silly Symphonies vol. 1

presumably because it is racier material, it's hidden as an easter egg. I'll see if I can figure out how to find it if you like. It's not complicated, just pressing left or up or down on a screen to cause an 'invisible' icon to appear that takes you to one of the naughtier shorts Disney decided not to include on the actual menus.

[drakula]

I'd like to second lubitsch's (semi)recommendation of Street Angel. It starts out as a slapstick comedy but quickly darkens (quite literally) into social melodrama. And the wonderfully disorienting effect of discovering Zhou Xuan's not actually the main character of the film... Add to that is the lovely scene that was later quoted in Lust, Caution.

And count me in as a fan of Crossroads, with its deliciously stilted mise-en-scène and (ironically) soaring ending.

I've never quite understood the appeal of the Ruan Lingyu films though. Her mysterious tragic life intrigues me, but it doesn't come through in the films for me. I find the films themselves bland and tedious, but that might just be my initial impressions...ripe for rediscovery.

Lastly, speaking of German films...I can't stress enough the brilliance of Kuhle Wampe. It is absolutely sublime- (and what I thought Tree of Life should have been :-#)

Sorry I guess I haven't added much to the thread huh.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Grand Slam Opera (1936: Buster Keaton/Charles Lamont)

Thanks a lot for recommending this. I had indeed written off Keaton after The Cameraman but that Lost Keaton set adds an important addendum I think. This film in particular is a hoot, and I think your analysis (of how it echoes the frustrations of a mostly physical performer in an era of sound) is spot on. If nothing else, this is essential viewing for anyone who likes Top Hat (aka everyone in the world but knives ).

Thank you. I'm just glad that someone else watched this. That and One Run Elmer are my two favorite of the Educational shorts with Keaton. There are two Columbia shorts Keaton did in the 30s that could be watched for this 30s list as well: Pest from the West (1939) and Mooching Through Georgia (1939). Top 50 or 100 material? No But for some strange reason I tend to prefer them over the 1930s Stooges shorts (with a few exceptions like Punch Drunks (1934) which The Stooges would rehash the plot several times later; that short is in my top 100 but not top 50).

I don't have any deep analysis why I like it but my favorite Harold Lloyd of the 1930s is Movie Crazy (1932: Clyde Bruckman). I think Clyde Bruckman is an underrated comedic director (doesn't hurt that his name is attached to Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) and a few other W.C. Fields films that I hold dear)

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Bringing out an old review (for anyone interested, no real spoilers) of mine for Street Angel which, so far, is my favorite Mainland film from the 1930s:

Street Angel/馬路天使 (1937: Yuan Muzhi : China)

Since I had been enjoying the Hiroshi Shimuzu films from the Eclipse box-set I thought it was a good opportunity to watch a similar era-film from Mainland China (the Japanese would occupy Shanghai in 1937 around July or after during the Sino-Japanese War). There are some similarities between the two directors. There is a realist feel between both this movie and comedic aspects from several of Shimuzu movies. There certainly are some differences though. The quick early montage of daily life and the plot seems influenced by a cross of Soviet Realism, Frank Borzage's Street Angel (reading over the plot summations I can tell that this movie is not a remake) and traditional Mandarin Theater.

This is the earliest Chinese language film I have now seen and I found it interesting, well made and surprisingly funny. It is too bad that much of the early Chinese cinema is has been lost and what is remaining appears to not be in great shape. While this film is not quite an artistic success that the later Spring in a Small Town (1949) is I do hope western viewers give this movie a chance. It is quite popular among Chinese-language critics and usually appears on many "best of" lists when dealing with Mainland China cinema.

Xiao Chen (Zhao Dan) is a musician who makes very little money, has very loyal friends (whom he dubs the Three Stooges; I have no idea how accurate are the subtitles but comedies of those type were popular in China) and is in love with a Xiao Hong (Zhou Xuan) who lives across the street in the local tenement. However she is stuck in a very bad situation with her sister (who is a prostitute and looks like Lam Ching-ying) and are basically involuntary servants to the people they live with (I will need a second viewing to exactly figure this relationship out; several reviews on this are quite bad and have misleading information). Xiao Hong is promised to a local thug who at first intrigues her with a purchase of expensive cloth and puts her at odds with Xiao Chen but then frightens here when she finds out he does not have good intentions. This lead her, her sister and Xiao to escape to a different place, but with very little money can they hide for long?

While there is pathos to the film, there is a lot of fun situations between the friends and their relationships. The direction is actually quite good with a fluid moving camera and some solid editing.

Zhou Xuan who performs as the sing-song girl (an entertainer in restaurant or brothel) was quite popular during the 30s and 40s and was nicknamed the Golden Throat for her popular singing. While she is absolutely adorable in her petulant way in this film her life outside of theater was quite sad and marked with tragedy, bad relationships, suicide, mental institutions and ending with her early death at the age of 39. Now what is interesting in this film and common for these films was that whenever she sang in the film (called chaqu) it would be accompanied by subtitles for the songs lyrics and according to Chinese film critic Stephen Teo this was done to get the audience to sing along with the singers.

The director has one other DVD available (this is the only other movie listed in IMDB) called Stories of the City though there is very little information on this movie and the quality of that DVD. I will look into getting that at some future date. The DVD I saw is from Cinema Epoch and is a R0. While it has many issues I do not think there is a better version out there.

------------------------------------------

On a side note I enjoyed Queen of Sports (1934) weirdly more than Yu's The Big Road which has the greater academic appreciation. Both were filled with propaganda, but the soundtrack for The Big Road irked me as well as the ending. Li Li-li was just darling in Queen of Sports though I'm not sure what to take from that film.

[zedz]

Two more down: one in; one out.

In: Naruse's Morning's Tree-Lined Street. Typical economics-obsessed Naruse material, but what really puts this in contention for me is the fluidity of Naruse's filmmaking. In terms of the way it's shot and cut, this is easily the most modern film on my list. Whereas in some of his silent films it often felt like he overdid one or other of his startling technical innovations (e.g. the crash-track or racked focus shots), by 1936 he's managed to sew everything together into an effortless syntax.

Out: Svengali. Sorry folks, but a couple of shots aside, I found this clunky and drab. If you want to nominate a film on the strength of one bravura sequence, for heaven's sake beg, borrow or steal Dainah la metisse.

[Michael Kerpan]

Naruse's Morning's Tree-Lined Streets is stunning and charming and touching. There are a few Naruse films from the decade that I like more -- but not a _lot_ more. I suspect that if this were more available, it would be a contender.

[Murdoch]

For fans of City Girl I suggest checking out Josef Berne's Dawn to Dawn aka Black Dawn (another discovery from the Unseen Cinema box from the "Inverted Narratives" disc). The film is like a sexually explicit companion to Murnau's film, following a vaguely similar narrative about a young woman in the countryside under the authoritarian rule of her puritan father. She falls for a drifter and the expected complications arise. It features some gorgeous photography of the country landscape and the plot unfolds with a poetic realism, and it has one hell of a tragic finale. I've read it bears a similarity to Machaty's Ecstasy as well, but I still have to see that one.

[zedz]

Oh yes, that film is really beautifully shot. I need to watch it again. It was on my (long) short list but it's been nudged way down by all the newcomers.

[matrixschmatrix]

The Devil is a Woman is supposed to be funny, right? Because I am cracking up throughout, I've never seen anyone so amusingly castrated.