February Movie Mania...

This month I spent revisiting films I havent seen in a few years to upwards of more than a decade! It wasnt my initial intention but it ended up basically being "Joan Blondell Month" as all but ONE of the 22 films viewed had her in the cast!

Artman's rating system:
**** = awesome!
*** = solid!
** = watchable!
* = lame!
BOMB = sucked!

February 3^rd

“I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang” 1932 WB

The great Paul Muni gives the performance of his career as James Allen, a decorated WWI veteran, falsely accused of robbery and sentenced to hard labor on a chain gang. The harrowing and tragic true story of Robert Burns is taken as a base and fashioned into one of the most potent and unforgettable Hollywood films ever made. First rate direction, editing, screenplay, cast and performances and a knockout finale that will leave you stunned! ****

Paul Muni received an Oscar nomination for his incredible performance but lost out to Charles Laughton for "The Private Lives of King Henry the VIII"

February 7^th

“Sinner’s Holiday” 1930 WB

Interesting early talkie about carnival life was the screen debut of James Cagney. He is quite good even though he did go a bit over the top in the more emotional scenes. This was also the first pairing of Cagney with Joan Blondell and she is totally perfect as a bottom of the barrel floozy. Evalyn Knapp is fine but Grant Withers goes a bit overboard with the Eddie Cantor style bug eyes. I like the carnival atmosphere and quirky characters. Good little film. ** ½

February 8^th

“Other Men’s Women” 1931 WB

James Cagney’s first film with Wild Bill Wellman is an engaging and fast moving little drama. Star Grant Withers gives a much better performance in this than “Sinner’s Holiday” and with people like Mary Astor, Reegis Toomey and of course, Cagney and Joan Blondell in the cast you really can’t miss! Joan and Withers did a great drunk scene together. As always Wellman added those special visual touches that set him apart from all other film makers. ***

“The Public Enemy” 1931 WB

James Cagney deservedly became a star with his powerhouse performance in William Wellman’s tough, fast moving gangster classic. Top-notch support from Joan Blondell, Mae Clark, Eddie Woods, Leslie “Nails Nathan” Fenton and Robert Emmett O’Connor. The only off note is Jean Harlow, she just does not fit in this picture at all in my opinion but she can't bring it down! For a 1931 production Wellman’s camera was amazingly mobile and the overall energy and toughness of the picture remains potent to this day. ****

February 10^th

“Blonde Crazy” 1931 WB

Fast-moving, fast talking pre-coder with James Cagney and Joan Blondell hooking up as a team of con-artists working their way from small town to big city and getting into all sorts of money and trouble along the way! Flirty, sexy and highly enjoyable! This picture is one of the best showcases for Joanie and Jimmy’s wonderful chemistry! *** ½

February 11^th

“The Crowd Roars” 1932 WB

Fast-paced Howard Hawks film set amidst the sport of car racing. First-rate cast with James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Eric Linden and especially Ann Dvorak all giving out with fine performances. The story is nothing new but its well-done and entertaining. Blondell and Dvorak are both so fucking easy on the eyes! **1/2

February 12^th

“Footlight Parade” 1933 WB

The apex of the 1930’s musical is this near manic-paced masterpiece about the ups and downs of a Prologue production company, run by James Cagney and his ever so devoted secretary Joan Blondell. Many of the best of WB stock company fill out the cast including Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Claire Dodd, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert and on and on it goes! Three show-stopping Busby Berkley numbers finish off the film in grand style! Masterfully directed by the great Lloyd Bacon! It just doesn’t get any better than this! **** 

Joan Blondell, James Cagney and Ruby Keeler in "Footlight Parade"

Joan Blondell behind the scenes during the making of "Footlight Parade"

February 16^th
“He Was Her Man” 1934 WB
James Cagney and Joan Blondell team up for the very last time in this odd downbeat melodrama about a safecracker looking to get back at the guys who let him take a rap for something he didn’t do. A chance meeting with down-on-her luck Joan Blondell complicates things. A good cast makes the most of the material. It is rather leisurely paced, especially considering that it was directed by Lloyd Bacon, but I enjoyed it much more this time than when I first saw it many years ago. ** ½

A Lobby Card I WISH I Owned!

“Havana Widows” 1933 WB
Highly entertaining, over the top tale of two Gold Diggers, played by Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell, high-tailing it down to Cuba to hook a millionaire or two. Silly, fast-paced and a whole lot of fun and Joan is shown in some of Orry Kelly’s most revealing and outrageous fashions. She’s pure sex on a stick! ***

Frank McHugh, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Lyle Talbot, Ruth Donnelly and Glenda Farrell in "Havana Widows" 1933

February 17^th
“Were In The Money” 1935 WB
Silly, light-hearted fluff with Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell getting into all kinds of mischief as process servers. Hugh Herbert gets a bit tough to take after a while with his over the top hoo-hoo antics but it’s all in fun and the gals look fantastic! **

Joan Blondell with Ross Alexander in "We're in the Money" 1935

“Three On A Match” 1932 WB
Ann Dvorak gives a tour de force performance in one of Warner Bros. most quintessentially “WB” films of the 1930’s. The remaining cast – Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Warren William, Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins, Jack LaRue and Edward Arnold are all superb as well but this was Ann’s moment to shine and she is utterly compelling. The film itself is a marvel of economic storytelling showing the lives of three women from childhood to adult and what happens when their paths cross. A fantastic picture on every level. Should be required viewing for any classic film fan! ****

Joan Blondell and Bette Davis out on location while filming "Three on a Match" 1932

February 18^th
“Night Nurse” 1931 WB
Ultra-hard boiled William Wellman picture with the always excellent Barbara Stanwyck playing a night shift nurse. Joan Blondell is her gum-smacking sidekick, Ben Lyon a bootlegger with the hots for her and Clark Gable, in a rare “Heavy” role, really lets her have it on the chin! Off-beat picture has plenty of Wellman visual touches and humor, plus Babs and Joanie spend a good percentage of the picture in their shreddies! And on top of everything else my coveted Art Deco “DESK” makes an appearance! ***

Ben Lyons, Joan Blondell and Barbara Stanwyck in "Night Nurse" 1931

I think Joan Blondell spent more time on-screen in her underwear than any other actress of her era!

“The Famous Ferguson Case” 1932 WB
Hard-boiled look at sensationalistic journalism pulls no punches right to the end! A fantastic performance by Joan Blondell and an ace supporting cast with ever the slimeball Kenneth Thomson, Leslie Fenton, Grant Mitchell, Adrienne Dore, Vivienne Osborne, Leon Ames and Tom Brown. Unflinchingly shows what can happen when newspapermen start “making” the news instead of reporting it! I like to call this the small town version of “Five Star Final” ***

Joan Blondell, Kenneth Thomson and Adrienne Dore in "The Famous Ferguson Case" 1932

“Miss Pinkerton” 1933 WB
Fun little comedy-mystery film with Joan Blondell as a nurse working in a house full of odd people and even odder goings on! George Brent is a detective investigating a murder/suicide that occurred in the house. I get the distinct impression this was meant to be a series but never made it past the first film. **

“Union Depot” 1931 WB
Joan Blondell, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Guy Kibbee excel in this fast-moving drama that takes place during one day at a train depot. When a drunken Frank McHugh accidentally leaves his suitcase in the men’s room, hobo Doug gets to play “Gentleman for a day”.  Excellent performances, gritty atmosphere and no cop-out at the finish make this a winner. ***

February 19^th
“Kansas City Princess” 1934 WB
Silly, fast-moving nonsense with Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell up to their gold digging antics again. Robert Armstrong, Hugh Herbert and Vince Barnett all give broad performances as various types of dim wits. Once again, Joan is dressed by Orry-Kelly and looks killer! ** ½

February 20^th
“God’s Gift To Women” 1931 WB
Fairly limp Frank Fay comedy vehicle is of interest mainly for the rare talking film appearance of Louise Brooks. She looks great but still, Joan Blondell takes top honors in the looks department and has a really funny scene with Fay about midway through the picture. There’s also a nice catfight with Joan, Louise and Yola D’Avril! Of other interest is the stunning Deco art direction by Robert M Haas, including my beloved “DESK”!!! **

February 21^st
“Lawyer Man” 1932 WB
The one and only teaming of Joan Blondell with William Powell is this fun, fast-moving little film about a, you guessed it…Lawyer! Joanie is his faithful, devoted and of course ever-loving secretary that he is, of course, completely clueless about. Supporting cast includes Claire Dodd, David Landau and an uncredited (and unlisted at IMDB!) appearance by Patricia Ellis as one of Powell’s other secretaries. This info is now in the process of being added to the IMDB Database! ***

February 23^rd
“Gold Diggers of 1933” 1933 WB
Joan Blondell, Warren William, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Aline MacMahon and Guy Kibbee star in this spectacular depression era musical extravaganza. Three showgirls trying to find work stumble into all sorts of interesting situations while producer Ned Sparks tries to “put on the show”! Several Busby Berkeley numbers throughout, including the opener “We’re in the Money”, where Ginger Rogers spouts pig-latin and the absolutely jaw-dropping, show-stopping, unforgettable finale “My Forgotten Man”. A first-rate job by director Mervyn LeRoy! ****

February 24^th
“Smarty” 1934 WB
Joan Blondell and Warren William team up for the last of their four films together and its one of the most whacked and bizarre of the entire pre-code era! I wouldn’t think of giving away the plot (if you can call it that) but it’s certainly a unique picture with a great supporting cast including Edward Everett Horton, Frank McHugh and Claire Dodd. Joan’s anatomy is generously and gloriously on display for pretty much the entire film! ** ½

A publicity pic I own for the TV release of "Smarty" in the 1950's signed by Joan.

“Goodbye Again” 1933 WB
Silly, sexy, fast-moving fun with Warren William as an author being reunited with the woman, wonderfully played by Genevieve Tobin, who thinks she is the inspiration for his novels. Joan Blondell is of course his devoted, loving and under appreciated secretary. Great supporting cast with Wallace Ford, Hugh Herbert, Helen Chandler and Hobart Cavanaugh. Despite this being a comedy, the dramatic scene where Joan gives Willy a piece of her mind (and two slaps in the face!) is the best part of the film! ** ½

Helen Chandler, Wallace Ford, Genevieve Tobin, Hugh Herbert, Warren William and Joan Blondell in "Goodbye Again" 1933

February 26^th
“Blondie Johnson” 1933 WB
An ace cast including Joan Blondell, Chester Morris and Allen Jenkins makes the most of the uneven story of a down on her luck dame getting wise and going for the dough at all costs! This could have and should have been a better film but its still decently entertaining and of course Joan looks fantastic! ** ½

To date this is my one and only Joan Blondell Lobby card. I've had it for about 15 years now.

In March its back to "New to Me" films including a slew of Esther Williams films I have on deck! I figure if Esther cant get me ready for spring NO one can! But I'm 6 films behind for February so first up is to play catch up on a few more films I havent seen in a while!

New Fun Stuff!

A few new items that have made their way into my collection in the past couple of weeks...

A vintage 8x10 still for WB "Bright Lights" (1935) showing stars Joe E. Brown and Ann Dvorak, Whoooopeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Vintage 8x10 still for WB "Union Depot" (1932) which I just had the pleasure of seeing for the first time on the very same day that this still came in the mail! Very fast-moving and fun pre-code picture with a great cast, I thoroughly enjoyed all 67 minutes of it!

Last but certainly not least, a vintage 11x14 Lobby Card for "Torrid Zone", this makes 2 lobby's and a One-sheet I now own for this film, one of my very favorite of Cagney's later WB period and one of the absolute best showcases for Ann Sheridan, who nearly steals the show from everyone!

Happy Birthday James Cagney!

My all-time favorite actor was born on this day in 1899!

I think Cagney more than any other star of his era defined and shaped "acting" as it applied to motion pictures. He brought an energy and physicality to the medium that had never been seen at the time and has never been equalled since.

Jimmy gave an unforgettable performance as mother-fixated psychopath Cody Jarret in Warner Bros "White Heat", 1949 - directed by the great Roul Walsh. It is absolute must-see Cagney!!!

"SCHLEMMMMERRRRR!"

In Billy Wilder's outrageous "One, Two, Three" Cagney, age 62, exudes the energy of 10 men half his age!

Cagney as George M. Cohan, his quintessential non-tough-guy role. If ever there was a part an actor was born to play, hell yeah this is it!

"You're a smart lawyer Frasier....very smart...only dont get smart with me!"

If I had to pick only one Cagney film I could watch for the rest of my days "Angels with Dirty Faces" would be the one. Friggin' awesome movie, period!

Did Rocky really turn Yellah?

No Fucking way man!!!

"Hey, lets ask da Fadduh!"

Cagney with Ann Sheridan and lifelong friend Pat O'Brien

For anyone who might be interested, last year I did a guest blog about Cagney at Raquelle's excellent "Out of the past" classic film blog. I really enjoyed writing that piece, brought back a lot of memories!

Happy B-day James Cagney!

I'm right now VERY busy getting some artwork ready for the local show I do here every year but today woulda been Cagney's 110th b-day so I MUST post a few pics to celebrate!

I missed the Cagney fest on TCM this afternoon (had to work, god I hate that!) but I DID manage to see a short film he made at MGM in 1943 that I had never seen before! It was called "You, John Jones" , his co-stars were Ann Sothern and little Margaret O'Brien and it was directed by Mervyn LeRoy! Very cool to see some new Cagney on his b-day!!!

So now the only Cagney films I havent seen are: "The Millionaire (1931) , "Great Guy" (1936) , "Johhny Come Lately" (1943) , "The Seven Little Foys" (1955) , "Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) , "The Gallant Hours (1960) , "Ragtime" (1981) and the made for TV film "Terrible Joe Moran" (1984)

So often playing the tough guy but Jimmy could dance and sing and was a gifted comedian as well. And few actors could rattle off dialogue as fast as he could!

"Made it MA!...Top of the World!"

Thank You James!

Happy 4th of July!

While celebrating this holiday weekend I hope the movie lovers out there will also pause for a moment and remember the great Karl Malden who passed away the other day at age 97.

Guest Blogger...

It's "guest blogger" month over at the excellent classic film blog "Out of the Past", and so I thought it would be fun to see something I wrote on someone else's blog. Plus I can never resist an opportunity to blabber on about old movies anyway! The subject of my post is my first and still favorite movie idol, James Cagney.

check it out here:

http://outofthepastcfb.blogspot.com/

many thanks to Raquelle for allowing me to participate!

Movie Alphabet - part I

I saw this thing a while back on "Blog Cabins: Movie reviews" about "Name a fave film for each letter of the Alphabet" and so I thought that could be fun and then I thought I would take it a step further and post my list but with pics for each of the films listed scanned from stills, lobby cards, books or magazines in my collection. So I'll list 4 or 5 at a time until it's done, probably with other blog posts mixed in between so no one gets too bored. Some choices were no-brainer's other's were tough, anyway here goes . . .

A - "Angels with Dirty Faces"(1938)

My all-time fave Cagney film! This one had me enthralled as a 3 or 4 year old kid, sitting in front of the TV completely and utterly oblivious to any and all things going on around me, totally mesmerized by Cagney's "Rocky Sullivan"! Almost 40 years later and it still has the same effect on me! This was one of the "no-brainers" I mentioned!

Rocky in the Death House on his way to the Chair! Will he turn "Yellow"? This is one of those instances where every aspect of a film; direction, writing, casting, acting, cinematography, music, etc, meshed perfectly.

Cagney with frequent co-stars Ann Sheridan and Pat O'Brien. Cagney and O'Brien made several very enjoyable films together but this easily stands at the top of the list for me.

B - "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935)

"Yes, I want friend . . . like me!"

Karloff in between takes. Arguably the greatest monster movie ever made and certainly one of the most unique! And what a performace by Karloff! Btw, they used to use the same kind of board for Jean Harlow over at MGM because sometimes her dresses were so tight she could not sit down between takes while wearing them!

A great shot of Elsa Lanchester as the "Bride"! I would nominate her and husband Charles Laughton as possibly the most bizarre Hollywood couple ever!

"Do you like gin?... it is my only weakness!"

One of my fave lines, spoken in inimitable fashion by the utterly outrageous Ernest Thesinger as "Dr Pretorious", here in a neat pic with director James Whale.

C - "Captain Blood" (1935)

A great publicity shot of Flynn and Olivia. Neither were Warner Bros. first choices to appear in this film but afterwards there was no looking back for either of them. I rate this as one of the greatest action-adventure-romance films ever made. Pure escapist entertainment and great fun!

Even at this very early point in her film career Olivia gave honest, 3-dimensional characterizations. She continued to excel at that in the years that followed without resorting to scenery-chewing histrionics and became, in my opinion, one of the finest actresses that ever worked in Hollywood. And she sure was beautiful *sigh*!

D - "Diary of a Lost Girl" (1929)

Louise Brooks in what appears to be a wardrobe test pic. This is my fave of her films and also one of my fave silent films as well. Totally bizarre and filled with reprehensible examples of humanity (or more precisely, a lack of!) and through it all Brooksie mezmerises with her black helmet haircut, flawless face, imperious neck and unsettling mix of innocence and candor.

Louise Brooks, the Kansas farmgirl who wanted to be a dancer and became one, who never wanted to be in films but did anyway, who went to Germany and became an actress, who then became a has-been, then a streetwalker, then a recluse, then a writer and then finally, a legend!

Apparently Louise never considered herself an "actress" until she worked with director G.W. Pabst. He treated her with respect and guided her through 2 remarkable performances, first in "Pandoras Box" in 1928 and then this film. It didnt hurt that Pabst fell for her and according to Louise she gave "the greatest sexual performance of my life" during the one time she spent the night with him!

The scenes of Louise at the "Home for Wayward Girls" are utterly bizarre and totally unforgettable, the "orgasm scene" will change your life as you know it! Two books I highly recommend as essential reading for anyone interested in old Hollywood are "Lulu in Hollywood" by Louise Brooks and the bio of Louise written by Barry Paris. Both are fascinating reading!