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

[Gropius]

If you really want to see Sturges shine through in something where it makes no sense for it to you have to check out The Invisible Man. He didn't get any credit for it, but he doctored the whole script into this grand comedy (nuts in May) that fits Whale like a glove.

Not that I would wish to diminish Sturges's contribution, but the 'rural comedy' flavour is already very much present in Wells's novel (all the slapstick stuff of villagers chasing a flying shirt), making it the lightest of his early 'scientific romances'. In fact, although it cuts out at least one significant character and crowbars in the obligatory hetero romance, the film strikes me as a pretty faithful adaptation of the book.

Like you, I'd like to include The Invisible Man*, but there isn't really enough room for it, what with Bride of Frankenstein and The Mummy already on the list. The Old Dark House is another Whale title full of brilliant moments, but it strikes me as a bit uneven over all. I still hold out hope for Remember Last Night? and Show Boat, neither of which I've yet seen.

*[Finally shifting to the convention of bolding titles, rather than italicising them. I'd noticed that Zedz and I were two of the few who did the latter: it'd be the standard convention in written prose, but on a screen one must admit that bold does stand out more.]

[Rev.Powell]

[De-lurk...]

Since no-one seems to have mentioned it, I'll break my habitual silence to stick a word in for They Drive By Night (1938). Not to be confused with the 1940 Raoul Walsh film of the same name, this is one of the most worthwhile British flicks of the decade.

It's a crime film - newly-released ex-con stumbles upon dead body and is accused of the murder. He goes on the lam and sets out to find the real killer. Blah blah blah. But what's interesting is how all this plays out. This is a Film Noir avant la lettre: low-life hero, fatalistic tone and expressionist-influenced lighting: lots of source lighting and shadows. All the interiors are shabby and downmarket and despite being studio bound, it's very attuned to the British climate, with loads of rain and wind.

It goes slightly off the boil in the final half-hour, where it resolves itself with

Spoiler

Ernest Thesiger as a proto-serial killer

but since he's so sleazy, it's easy to forgive. Wikipedia tells me Graham Greene admired the film for its realism and lack of romanticism that evoked French cinema; it's surely closer to Carne than to American films of the era. But director Arthur B Woods manages to assimilate these influences into something distinctively British. Fans of Patrick Hamilton (Hangover Square) will love it.

I think Lubitsch is a little too harsh on British film of the 1930's; much of it is indeed rubbish but it's worth doing some digging. They Drive By Night certainly upended a lot of my preconceptions about British films of the era.

Oh, while I'm here - and while Frank Wisbar/ Wysbar is getting some love for Anna und Elizabeth - I'll strongly second Tommaso's recommendation for Wisbar's haunting masterpiece Fährmann Maria. It's a triumph of tone and texture; while the obvious comparisons are Der müde Tod and Vampyr (it stars Sybille Schmitz), Wisbar conjures up a unique atmosphere that is all his own. Definite top ten material for me, if I contribute a list.

[...Re-lurk]

[swo17]

*[Finally shifting to the convention of bolding titles, rather than italicising them. I'd noticed that Zedz and I were two of the few who did the latter: it'd be the standard convention in written prose, but on a screen one must admit that bold does stand out more.]

To make a pedantic point, bolding titles rather than italicizing them makes it a lot harder for someone else to miss them when trying to play catch up, skimming through the tremendous amount of writing in this thread looking for recommendations, or even when you're just trying to remember films you enjoyed to include them on your list. I like what lubitsch appears to have been doing lately too, italicizing the films he is merely mentioning but bolding the ones that stand out to him.

Back to the films, while you guys are listing off Whale titles, don't forget Waterloo Bridge, available on Volume 1 of the Forbidden Hollywood collection. I think it's especially helpful to watch this one if possible on a good sound system, with the air raid scenes played good and loud. There's a real eerieness to the soundtrack in those scenes that I missed on a first viewing.

Oh, while I'm here - and while Frank Wisbar/ Wysbar is getting some love for Anna und Elizabeth - I'll strongly second Tommaso's recommendation for Wisbar's haunting masterpiece Fährmann Maria. It's a triumph of tone and texture; while the obvious comparisons are Der müde Tod and Vampyr (it stars Sybille Schmitz), Wisbar conjures up a unique atmosphere that is all his own. Definite top ten material for me, if I contribute a list.

The only reason I didn't mention this earlier is because I hadn't yet seen it! Another great film and perhaps even more accessible than Anna.

[Tommaso]

Absolutely, Fährmann Maria is certainly more accessible, with it being so deeply steeped in the German (filmic) romanticism and horror. And after all it's telling us something like a 'gothic' tale; as pointed out, the "Der müde Tod" comparison is probably inevitable. Anna und Elisabeth, on the other hand, is like nothing else made at the time that I can think of, not even like "Mädchen in Uniform". But be that as it may, I of course have both films on my list.

And if you want to complete your Wysbar viewing, don't miss the third of his really important films: Die Unbekannte (1936), also starring Sybille Schmitz, in a 'realistic' tale about an explorer falling in love with a mysterious woman, told with little dialogue, but with ravishing camerawork caressing the actress whose performance here might be one of the best of her whole career. This is subtle, very melancholy, and in the end we see Wysbar in his 'transcendental' mood again; completely stunning images there. The film floats around without English subs yet, but bush drums may reassure you that these will appear very soon, so that there's enough time to watch the film before the end of the voting period.

[zedz]

. . .there's one intensely curious film and that's Feher's Robber Symphony which is ... erm ... let's say a kind of musical. Shot silently, dubbed but anyway relying on music and eccentric to the nth degree this defies easy description. Not my cup of tea, but fans of unusual films should search this film on the Dutch Film Museum DVD.

I've been wanting to see this film for ages, great to know it's available on DVD, though I probably won't be able to obtain it before the deadline.

Otherwise, I completely agree with you regarding the relative importance of British documentary and experimental film in the 30s. Even what I'd suggest is the best British feature of the decade, Edge of the World, has more of a foot in the GPO documentary camp than in the mainstream of British fiction filmmaking of the era.

[matrixschmatrix]

Working my way further through von Sternberg, I watched Blonde Venus-

Spoiler

I wasn't expecting it to be so brutal. It's certainly whiplash inducing to hate Herbert Marshall so much so soon after watching The Good Fairy- particularly since he seemed like he would be a likable character, for a while at least.

It seems to resolve any questions about feminism in von Sternberg's filmmaking, as I've rarely seen anything so outraged about women's legal status, the limited options they had for supporting themselves, the way they were forced to allow to men sexually exploit them and then condemned for it. It contextualizes all of the ice queen portrayals not only in von Sternberg, but in Hollywood movies of the era generally, by demonstrating how limited any other means to power were. It's implicit in, say, The Devil is a Woman, but there Dietrich controls the system so easily that it's difficult to imagine the way it's stacked against her presenting any real problem- here, we have to watch her suffer. However powerful, charismatic, lovable, maternal, and heroic her character is, men control everything, and she has virtually no options for affecting anything without brokering through a man, be it her husband, her agent, the detective, or Cary Grant.

I'm not sure I liked the movie very much- for one thing, it's difficult to believe that I'm expected to forgive Marshall's character and view what happens as a happy ending, and for another it lacked a lot of the sly humor that animated my favorites among von Sternberg's work- but it's interesting if only because of the degree to which it makes von Sternberg's viewpoint clear.

[knives]

I have never forgiven Marshal and never will if that helps matters. This is the film where they manage to break Dietrich, even if there's a glimmer of strength still present.

[matrixschmatrix]

(Sorry for spoilering so much, but this was a move that was not at all what I expected it to be going in, and it feels like I should preserve the left turns for anyone who hasn't seen it.)

It's one of those moves where it's hard not to apply the "everything past a certain point is a fantasy" template-

Spoiler

In this case, everything after the shot of the water after she gives the old woman the $1500 seems to come from a different film. It seems as though the real ending is that Marlene, recognizing that there's no way she can define things on her terms, gives back the kid, gives away the money, and jumps into the lake in a grand, nihilistic gesture. The ending as is requires that we think Grant's character is selflessly sacrificing, Marshall's capable of forgiveness (after he spends months hunting his wife down as though she were a thief), and that Marlene manages to work her way through South America and into Europe in what must be a very short time, given that the kid hasn't aged any.

The ending feels like something tacked on by the production code, though that explanation doesn't make any sense given that the movie is from '32.

[knives]

Spoiler

At least in Marshal's case it's not the bastard has forgiven her, but he feels like he owns her again. It's a slave relationship with the runaway being in that same sort of thing. He doesn't see her as a wife, but as property and she has no power, but to accept it for now. That's a far darker ending than any suicide.

As to Grant, I don't remember the specifics of his last scene, but his behavior was pretty blase throughout and maybe he simply didn't care about her and gave that empty gesture to make himself look better.

[matrixschmatrix]

Spoiler

Yeah, the way that ending runs he may as well have given Grant a receipt for the property transfer. I still don't buy that he would accept having been cuckolded any more at that point than he did when he first found out, though, unless we're meant to read that as him having finally figured out that he doesn't know how the fuck to raise a child.

[knives]

Spoiler

She's a god damned nanny unfortunately. He's gotten his psychopathic revenge by castrating (or so he thinks) her free will. It's a very nasty eye for an eye thing. he knows the personal torture that lack of freedom will give her and so any perceived punishment he has he probably feels like having her in grasp will allow him to 'return the favour'.

[matrixschmatrix]

It's funny that Marshall is infinitely more likable as an out and out con and cad in Trouble in Paradise than he is as a theoretically virtuous character in Blonde Venus. It's hard to read where exactly von Sternberg's sarcasm begins and ends, but I certainly wouldn't put it past him the have a deliberately unsettling 'happy' ending- as you pointed out, what we get is much the darkest possibility, and as such it's a more systematic criticism, highlighting that it's not just exceptional women and obvious sufferers who are getting a raw fucking deal.

Spoiler

It also problematizes Marshall's initial, prideful objections to Marlene going on stage in the first place, and his dickish way of getting a date with her in the first place- though obviously unacceptable from a modern viewpoint, it would probably have glided by unnoticed in any other movie. Here, it implies that though he was willing to overlook it to save his asshole life, he never wanted to let Marlene out of her bottle under any circumstances. Nor, for that matter, did Grant, who rushed to get her off the stage as soon as possible at every opportunity.

[matrixschmatrix]

Reminder for anyone who's looking at the Barnes and Noble sale: the Eclipse sets Lubitsch Musicals, Silent Ozu, Mizoguchi's Fallen Women, Travels With Hiroshi Shimizu, Korda's Private Lives, Presenting Sascha Guitry, and Silent Naruse all include 30s relevant movies and are expensive enough to qualify for the $8 off $39.99 coupon. Thank Christ we got that extra couple weeks, I could spend it all on Eclipses.

[knives]

I didn't even realize that was the same person. Wow, I desperately need to rewatch both. Given von Sternberg's general statements on these films I'm doubtful the sarcasm ever really stops even when he's earnest as with her plight. One bit of true humour that's central to the film (especially if one is to take it as seeing monogamy as a form of slavery) is that for freedom she moves not just to the south, but the super rural south. Even the court scene is essentially a joke as far as I remember it. Going with what you've said the humour is in the systematic oppression.

[matrixschmatrix]

Not only is it the same actor in both, he did one immediately after the other, and in the same year.

[knives]

The year thing explains how they got away with the ending for Trouble in Paradise though.

[matrixschmatrix]

For the second half of Men Who Suck night, I watched Dracula. I'd heard that it was stagey, that the performances outside of Lugosi's were wooden, and that it lacked any of the directorial intelligence that went into most of the other tentpole classics- and honestly, I think I pretty much agree with all of those criticisms (though I enjoyed Renfield, too.) It's really, really obvious that it's an adaptation of a play, as it's like 90% people standing around and talking to each other in a room.

What really came through, though, is how unheroic Van Helsing and Harker are- I'm not sure that Harker accomplishes a goddamn thing throughout, and Van Helsing seems to win through sheer dumb luck. Both of them treat Mina like a child- does anyone ever think to mention to her what's going on?- but neither of them succeed particularly well in actually protecting her (nobody seems to have thought that maybe they shouldn't keep letting Mina out of their sight.) The huge, spectacular stupidity is the one that gets Renfield killed, but I don't know that there's a single moment that doesn't make all the men look impotent at best.

[knives]

That scene on the boat though is just perfect though, huh?

[Tommaso]

For the second half of Men Who Suck night, I watched Dracula. I'd heard that it was stagey, that the performances outside of Lugosi's were wooden, and that it lacked any of the directorial intelligence that went into most of the other tentpole classics- and honestly, I think I pretty much agree with all of those criticisms

Me, too. But watch the alternate Spanish language version. Much more engaging.

[domino harvey]

Night Court (W.S. Van Dyke 1932) I saw this under ideal circumstances, at the end of a horrible day, and this nasty little pre-Coder about bad things happening to good people hit just the spot. Walter Huston shines as a corrupt judge who single-handedly ruins the lives of a young couple just on the mere suspicion that they might hold a small piece of evidence against him. The film spends so much time setting these two young parents up in ridiculously Christlike perfection that you just know they're going to get screwed good, and the film does not disappoint. For a studio hack, Van Dyke shows previously unrevealed proficiency here, and the film moves swimmingly through every delightful mean-spirited complication. This clever bit of cinematic clockwork is absolutely making my list.

Not so lucky is True Confession (Wesley Ruggles 1937), which has such a grand premise and game performance by Lombard, only to run up against a brick wall in the narrative half-way through. The film never seems sure of how far to take Lombard's lies, and while I am an ardent supporter of the Code in general, here's a film where it absolutely ruined any latent potential by declawing Lombard's pathological liar and shoehorning in a ludicrous series of plot-turns via Barrymore's character. Ah well.

[lubitsch]

And the next country

France

French cinema of the 30s became the critical darling to a degree which grew a bit out of proportion. Indeed the fragmented but modern industry allowed the flowering of creative talents throughout the decade, but the 30s also see thee seeds of all vices of french cinema. These are talkiness, a forced poetic-philosophical approach, a self-congratulatory anarchistic stance and especially hard to overlook an extremely misogynistic cinema favoring male stars. It's quite ironic that the two militaristic regimes of the era, Japan and Germany rather excelled with actresses, the men being a step behind.
First I have therefore to confess about all the great directors I don't like. Vigo seems insanely overrated, one and a half rough features with a few poetic and anarchic moments don't really amount to that much, while the efforts of Cocteau and Bunuel are cute but not necessary enough to carry a 50-60 minute film. Carne's endlessly talking villains go on my nerves as does Michel Simon's hammy acting ploughing his way through every film he's in. Also the emigre directors mostly didn't quite made it in France which is surprising seeing their immense contribution to US cinema in the next decade whatever the reason. And Renoir's fame has really grown out of proportion, bad acting and blocking in Toni, a radical left wing stance in Monsieur Lange, the silly colportage in Bete Humaine, the endless exposition in Regle du Jeu ... it seems to me that the critical writing on him could do with a more realistic assessment. Finally I don't get Gremillion except to a certain degree in an intellectual way, but it's not hard to understand why these slow dedramatized films not always had a success with the audience.
Anything good left? Yes quite a few films. First of all Rene Clair's early trio which has gotten a lot of attention for its sound experiments, but you can enjoy these films also for what they are, evocative, funny fantasies with a clever idea, a graceful camera movement or a gag lurking every minute around the corner. I wish Prix de Beaute would be available in a silent version because its only deficiency is the dubbed soundtrack. I like the best films of Pagnol and Guitry to a certain degree though one is always aware of the machinery behind the pleasently random talk or the witty voiceovers. However I am very pleased that the forgotten genius of Raymond Bernard was pulled into the limelight, Croix de bois may be two years late but it's really techically first class, suspenseful, disorienting, arguably more a whole than the two predecessors by pabst and Milestone while Les Miserables is obviously a knockout whose few vices are rather Hugo's than Bernard's fault. The other great professional, Julien Duvivier, is probably one of the grossest misogynists of cinema history which has an unfortunate impact on his cinema, but despite all the respect here he's still scandalously underrated and underrepresented on home video though his willingness to experiment, his bleak stories and the acting in his films surpass Renoir's or Carne's abilities. I'd like to point out Fin du Jour as his most classical, bitter and coherent film of the decade, a film that uses the hamminess of male french acting in this decade to its advantage. Also a rather less known film which hardly needs any subtitles is Hallo Berlin ici Paris which solves the language problem by handling the few dialogue in a cleverly reptitive way, so that if you understand either French or German, you really needn't understand the other language. Because it's just a comedy it has received less attention, but it's a nice example of Duvivier's inventiveness. Another quite obscure film today is La Maternelle which however successfully continues the trend of Feyder or Duvivier to represent children adequately on the screen instead of turning them into symbols of cuteness. It's quite and sensitive, not flashy, the director's not known today, so again it fell through the cracks. And since we are at obscure features I'd like to mention the few emigre features I thought are really good though Siodmak's Pieges features a radiant Marie Dea and would belong in this lineup, too. They are Fejös' Marie legende hongroise (technically a Hungarian film), Litvak's Mayerling and Otsep's Amok and towering above all of them Ophüls' Werther. Fejös and Otsep display a deliciously sensual texture being masters of the silents soaking their films in Sternbergesque atmosphere. Mayerling is a surprisingly touchingly film not the least thanks to Danielle Darrieux' quietly forceful performance. Werther is finally a really briliant adaptation of Goethe's novel, subtly enhancing its strengths with camera and decor, but also with simple changes, e.g. in the novel Werther shoots himself in his house while Ophüls shifts the place logically out into nature which Werther loves so much. But to fade on more well known films I like Drole du drame very much and Partie de campagne is also very lovely.
Finally as always one has to put in a good word for animation in this case Alexeieff's Night on a Bald Mountain with its beautifully textured images and especially for Starewicz' knockout short Fetiche which is a surprisingly disturbing puppet animation, kind of a dark Toy Story.

[swo17]

Der Student von Prag [The Student of Prague] - Arthur Robison 1935
Robison's last film and his expressionistic heritage from the silent era is evident, especially in the finale. (I haven't seen the previous versions of 1913 and 1926.) The first part might look like an ordinary and slightly stuffy musical comedy in a Biedermeier setting, but on subsequent viewings the film takes on a dark mood right from the beginning, even the carousing at the inn seems hectic and false and desperate. Anton Walbrook's best performance of the 30s, he acts his final scene "with beauty and grace", to quote an eminent connoisseur from IMDB. And all over it Theodor Mackeben's elegiac soundtrack.

Um, this was amazing. I'd seen the Wegener version as well, but this deviates from it enough that you really don't know where it's headed throughout. Which kind of reflects where the titular student (Anton Walbrook of The Red Shoes fame) is coming from when he makes his incredibly vague deal with the devil (So you'll...make me rich or something by covering up that mirror with a blanket? Whatevs.) A lot of the effects and compositions look back to the finest moments of the silent era, but there are some very modern elements as well, like a great moment where Walbrook's character goes all Jack Torrance on some dice. Oh, and that score!

Per IMDb, I was only the swo17th person in the world to see this, so you probably haven't. Well, now you can.

[reno dakota]

Per IMDb, I was only the swo17th person in the world to see this, so you probably haven't.

I love it too, swo, and I agree that it improves upon the Wegener version. This will certainly make my list.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Me, too. But watch the alternate Spanish language version. Much more engaging.

The biggest issue I have had with this one is that Carlos Villarías is not as engaging (to me) as Bela Lugosi and certainly does not have the panache of Lugosi even though the direction of the Spanish language is more sagacious. I'm also a Dwight Frye fan as well. Though Dracula will not be in my top 50 there are just too many great horror films for the decade.

[matrixschmatrix]

That scene on the boat though is just perfect though, huh?

Frye is definitely one of the other strengths of the movie, so anything between him and Lugosi was a high point- but I kind of missed the poetic elision of Nosferatu, as seeing the sailors alive and watching Dracula in a dialog scene takes away the metaphysical aspects of the character.

I should watch the Spanish one, as I think one of the strongest points of the movie was the set design, and as I understand it that carries over.