Tag Archives: 1930’s

#168- The Adventures of Robin Hood

Quick recap: Robin Hood- that guy who stole from the rich to give to the poor and who also had an enormous tights budget, apparently.

Seriously, I rip my tights just trying to get them on. Either he was loaded and bought an endless supply or he was magical and never ripped them.

Seriously, I rip my tights just trying to get them on. Either he was loaded and bought an endless supply or he was magical and never ripped them.

Fun (?) fact: The sound of Robin’s arrow can be found in nearly all of the Star Wars films.

I too am a mere commoner! Watch as I put my hands on my hips and throw my head back for a hearty laugh!

I too am a mere commoner! Watch as I put my hands on my hips and throw my head back for a hearty laugh!

My thoughts: The Disney version of Robin Hood was a favorite of mine as a kid so it was neat to see where so many of the scenes came from and to appreciate how perfect the animals were for each role. Robin Hood is totally a fox! Bess is definitely a hen! This is normally where I would put up a picture as reference but even I was surprised by the amount of Furry pictures related to this movie.

Errol Flynn....IN TECHNICOLOR! I hope they just said this over and over again in the trailer, with an echo for added effect

Errol Flynn….IN TECHNICOLOR! I hope they just said this over and over again in the trailer, with an echo for added effect

The lore of Robin Hood has been around for centuries, proving that people always love a good hero story. After watching the movie, even I briefly considered learning how to sword fight because it looked so badass. Despite being made in 1938, I think the film could still have an impact on younger generations, if they would give it a chance. Youths, you know. The story is a bit more complicated than your typical adventure movie, but I think it still resonates.

Errol Flynn made for a great Robin Hood, and I loved how amused he seemed by everything, even when he was captured at the archery tournament. From what I have seen in these early adventure films (The Thief of Bagdad comes to mind), heroes didn’t take themselves too seriously, despite knowing that they were fighting evil. I can see how the story of Robin Hood could’ve been a dark one, and there is plenty implied in this version about the suffering of the Saxons, but I prefer something a little more lighthearted.

The few drawbacks from the film were little things, like the weird accents that faded into different nationalities and the use of TECHNICOLOR. I love color as much as the next guy, but this was a bit overkill. When it is called TECHNICOLOR though, I wouldn’t expect any less.

Final review: 4/5.

Up next: The Day the Earth Stood Still

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#157- Swing Time

Quick recap: A dancer, Lucky Garnett, moves to New York City in order to raise $25,000 to marry his fiancée. Instead he ends up falling for his dance partner and making a huge mess, although no one seems to care in the end.

and a little Blackface thrown in for good measure.

and a little Blackface thrown in for good measure.

Fun (?) fact: During the scene where Lucky sings ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, Penny (played by Ginger Roberts) can be seen washing her hair. After several attempts using egg whites, shampoo and various other ingredients, the director settled on whipped cream since it didn’t run down her face so quickly.

My thoughts: After being pleasantly surprised by Singin’ in the Rain, and maybe swooning a bit over Gene Kelly, I’ve wanted to see something by Fred Astaire. While both are talented beyond measure, it is Astaire who I have always thought of as the classier of the two, more likely to be found waltzing in a ballroom than tap dancing on top of some piano. I’m not sure if that belief still holds true after watching Swing Time, but Astaire is definitely classy.

Swooning may have happened a few times

Swooning may have happened a few times

When people sat down to watch this movie in the 30s, most people weren’t too concerned with the plot. Throughout the course of their career, Astaire and Roberts made a total of 10 films together so I’m not really sure how many scenarios there could possibly be for the two of them to dance and fall in love. At any rate, people came for the dancing and musical numbers. Think of it like porn, the 1936 version. I got a little confused at times as to what exactly was going on because I felt like I was watching an I Love Lucy episode rather than a movie. The chemistry between the two of them felt real, however, and charmed me despite the ridiculousness of it all.

Oh my god, the dancing. THAT is what it is all about. The first time the two of them dance is magical and I could watch it a million times without getting tired. These numbers, especially ‘Never Gonna Dance’ is what I think of when I think of Old Hollywood- ballroom dresses, tuxedos, diamonds. It’s just beautiful. I can’t imagine all the hours and pain the two of them went through to film this, yet they do the dances so effortlessly, like they were taking a stroll. The musical numbers themselves were catchy. Overall, a wonderful experience to see something like this.

Final review: 3/5. If it was just the dancing and singing I would have given it a 5, but the end of the movie is mainly everyone laughing for 10 minutes straight and the whole thing seemed ridiculous. Also, Fred Astaire’s character was kind of a jerk to Penny, in the 30s way of how men treated women.

Up next: Terminator 2

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#152- The Life of Emile Zola

Quick recap: Emile Zola was a French writer in the 1800’s who wrote several books about the state of his country. He was most famous for an article called ‘J’Accuse’ where he condemned France for wrongfully imprisoning  Alfred Dreyfus for suspected treason.

This movie is chock full of newspaper montages!

This movie is chock full of newspaper montages!

Fun (?) fact: Emile Zola was maybe murdered? OOPS, sorry.

*spoiler alert* Zola dies and was maybe murdered. You know how much I hate giving away the endings to films almost 80 years old.

He looks like a more dignified Colonel Sanders. Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

He looks like a more dignified Colonel Sanders. Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

My thoughts: Although I love getting to watch some old favorites like my last film review, there is something satisfying about sitting down to watch a movie that I know nothing about. Before last night I had never heard of the name ‘Emile Zola’ or any of his works. I won’t go so far as to say that I am a fan, but it’s nice to have knowledge about something previously unknown to me.

I thought The Life of Emile Zola was a French film but actually it’s an American one about someone French, which means British accents for some reason. That’s a pretty common thing even now (I’m looking at you Tom Cruise in Valkyrie) but it still annoyed me a tiny bit. Despite this, the acting was superb. Even though this film was made in 1937, it felt like it could’ve easily been made in the 50’s. Paul Muni, who played Zola did a remarkable job, especially during his 6 minute speech in the courtroom at the end of the movie.

Emile Zola waters down actual events into something less complicated, a fact that makes sense given the time but also makes me a little angry. For example, in real life Dreyfus was wrongly accused and convicted partly because he was Jewish. This film came out right in the middle of the rise of Hitler and so movie execs didn’t want to take a stand. So the word ‘Jew’ is seen exactly one time in reference to Dreyfus and never uttered once. Like I said, it makes sense but also diminishes from the story a little.

Final review: 3/5. I really did enjoy this film and stayed interested almost the entire time, considering this was just about a writer’s life.

Up next: Straw Dogs

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#148- The Story of a Cheat

Quick recap: An older man recounts his life as a cheat and all the ups and downs that went with it.

Think Forrest Gump, but a classier version because it's French

Think Forrest Gump, but a classier version because it’s French

Fun (?) fact: The only lines of dialogue between characters occur in the ‘present’ day. The rest of the film is voiceover narration by The Cheat.

The Cheat......is grounded

The Cheat……is grounded

My thoughts: So, here’s what Netflix told me this movie was going to be about:

“After learning at a young age that unbridled dishonesty leads to great success, a charismatic rogue (Sacha Guitry) spends the rest of his life pursuing lucrative criminal endeavors — giving rise to comical adventures and romances with gorgeous women. Written, directed and narrated by French auteur Guitry, this charming vintage soufflé also stars Marguerite Moreno, Jacqueline Delubac and Roger Duchesne.”

Vintage soufflé? Wtff? Anyway, this seemed like the worst movie ever if I was just going by the description. Let me tell you, there were many audible groans as I popped the DVD in and hoped for the best.

If nothing else, The Story of a Cheat has the most interesting opening credits that I have ever seen. Instead of a scrolling list of who’s who, the narrator introduces people on the set of the movie and has them wave at the audience. It sounds silly, but it totally comes off as clever because if there is one thing I hate more than opening credits, it’s opening credits in a foreign film.

The story starts with The Cheat explaining about his first act of dishonesty: stealing money from his family’s store to buy some marbles. His father finds out and bars the boy from eating mushrooms with the rest of the family at dinner. The boy is heartbroken until he learns that the mushrooms were poisonous and subsequently kill everyone off, except for him. What a life lesson! So naturally this starts him on the path of criminal activity. I loved how macabre the beginning was, and it reminded me of the book We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which you should go read RIGHT NOW if you haven’t yet. GO! What are you waiting for?

This movie was hilarious, and I say that in the most non-sarcastic way that I can. It was witty and charming and I think is the most underrated movie on this list so far. One of my favorite aspects was how closely it resembled a live action play. It sort of reminded me of Wes Anderson’s films and his flair for the theatrical. I doubt this is where he got his inspiration, but I can definitely see a connection. In many ways, The Story of a Cheat was way ahead of its time and maybe that’s why it isn’t as well known as it should be.

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Final review: 5/5. I would definitely watch again!

Up next: Back to the Future

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