Makes me want to do more research on Pancho Villa. They paint him as a far more nuanced character than one might expect from a movie from 1934. He's shown as a patriotic warrior, a murderous simpleton, a womanizer, and a loyal citizen. This film held my attention more than most from this era.
15 to go...
Surprisingly charming. Though less surprising when I realized this film earned Frank Capra his first Oscar nomination for directing. A poor woman who makes a meager living by selling apples on the street learns her daughter is coming from Spain to visit her. She had put her daughter up for adoption when she was born and, though they regular correspond, she has convinced her daughter that she is a well-to-do society woman. To avoid ruining the daughter's engagement to the son of a Spanish Count, the community rallies around Apple Annie to make her a... lady for a day.
A little too serious for a comedy, but a little too silly for a drama, I'd say it's mostly going for comedy and I did laugh out loud multiple times. Solid film.
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At first glance, this is a simple tale of a good cop trying to take down a mob boss in the days of Prohibition. But it manages to pack a surprising amount of depth and hints at systemic corruption into its short runtime. While the pacing doesn't quite hold up and everything seems pretty cliche, I can definitely see this one being hip and fresh at the time. There were a few moments that I still found pretty darned cool - two rival gangs circling each other in public place, guns openly hidden in their jacket pockets like kids pretending to have guns; the lackey from the corrupt D.A.'s office turning on the main villain before he can expose them. Again, it's a little slow, but a strong film from the silent era.
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After many pleasant surprises in the recent old films I'd seen, this one was a real disappointment. Imagine the film Whiplash, but Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons fall in love. That's essentially this film. An American girl moves to Italy with hopes of becoming an opera singer. A firm and famous teacher takes her under his wing. After two years of growing to hate him and his harsh methods, she decides she's in love with him and he with her. There's not the slightest whiff of chemistry in any of it or in any other interactions in the film. I can only imagine it was nominated for the elaborate musical scenes throughout. This movie sucks.
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The most pleasant surprise in this film was realizing early on that it is based on a true story. The main character is the eldest daughter of the Barrett family. She mentions that a new friend with whom she's been exchanging letters is coming to visit - Robert Browning, a writer. I thought the name sounded familiar and a Google search confirmed that he was the right age to have been in London in 1845 when the film is set.
Then I realized the protagonist's name was an even more familiar one once you assume she marries this Browning chap - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the poet who gave us "How do I love thee, let me count the ways..."
So while the film doesn't particularly hold up, I greatly appreciated the historical context and that it was very much based on a true story. The incomparable Charles Laughton plays the tyrannical father of the Barrett clan (though he was just 35 years old at the time) who insists on making all decisions about all aspects of the lives of his many children.
Elizabeth (or Ba, as her siblings call her) is played by Norma Shearer, an actress who was no doubt a household name in the 1930s, a decade during which she was nominated for best lead actress at the Oscars six times. The pacing in this film left me on the verge of falling asleep, but the performances were all strong and I did enjoy the story itself.
19 to go...
Cagney's character joins the Navy because he wants to fight an officer he runs into while working in Seattle. Then, of course, he falls for the guy's sister. Despite being the protagonist and saving the day a couple times, Cagney's character has few redeeming qualities and is really just a horrible human being.
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All this while their ma and pa are willing awards for their pickles, minced meat, and prized hog. The film moves at a fairly modern pace and isn't a bad watch.
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