Yesterday I finally got around to seeing Room Service, the only Marx Brothers film I hadn’t seen, and was just as disappointed with it as I was afraid I would be. I wanted to watch a better film that would restore my faith in the Marxes and also continue watching them in sequence. Fortunately, the [...]
With the forth film in the film in the Blondie series, it is clear that the producers felt confident that little Larry Simms, who played Baby Dumpling, was getting old enough to remember longer lines, and this film is centered mostly around him. Blondie is struggling to teacher her son the alphabet over breakfast and [...]
It is a busy week for me where I live, in Tokyo. It is Japan Fashion Week now, and I am out covering multiple fashion shows every day. What better way to unwind after a long day than some ’30s escapist entertainment. Dagwood losses his job (again), Blondie goes to see the boss to get [...]
By the third film in the Blondie Series, the producers must have realized they were in a peculiar situation. In order to milk the popularity of the series for all it was worth, they had to deliver a recognizable product, and so in each installment there are a number of common plot points. Dagwood makes [...]
I’ve really been enjoying Bette Davis movies lately, and I finally got around to seeing one of her most famous films of the ‘40s, Dark Victory. I almost gave up on this when I saw Ronald Regan’s name in the opening credits. But this is Bette’s party, and I wasn’t about to let Ronnie ruin [...]
Gone With The Wind is certainly one of those films, like Citizen Kane, that I occasionally feel compelled to watch every year and a half or so, just because it seems like my duty to do so. While Kane is always an emotional work out and bowls me over with its technical mastery, Gone with [...]
After seeing the lovely Rita Hayworth in Blondie on a Budget a while ago, I wanted to see more of her films, and decided to go back to the beginning, or at least near enough to the beginning. In 1939, Hayworth had already appeared in nearly two dozen movies, under her real name Margarita Cansino, [...]
This is a film I have wanted to see for a long time, and seeing François Ozon’s 8 Femmes recently made me finally seek out a copy of it. Although he reportedly did not care much for this label, George Cukor was known as a “women’s director” due to his numerous collaborations with Katharine Hepburn [...]
Year in Film: 1939
At the Circus
Yesterday I finally got around to seeing Room Service, the only Marx Brothers film I hadn’t seen, and was just as disappointed with it as I was afraid I would be. I wanted to watch a better film that would restore my faith in the Marxes and also continue watching them in sequence. Fortunately, the [...]
Blondie Brings Up Baby
With the forth film in the film in the Blondie series, it is clear that the producers felt confident that little Larry Simms, who played Baby Dumpling, was getting old enough to remember longer lines, and this film is centered mostly around him. Blondie is struggling to teacher her son the alphabet over breakfast and [...]
Blondie Meets the Boss
It is a busy week for me where I live, in Tokyo. It is Japan Fashion Week now, and I am out covering multiple fashion shows every day. What better way to unwind after a long day than some ’30s escapist entertainment. Dagwood losses his job (again), Blondie goes to see the boss to get [...]
Blondie Takes a Vacation
By the third film in the Blondie Series, the producers must have realized they were in a peculiar situation. In order to milk the popularity of the series for all it was worth, they had to deliver a recognizable product, and so in each installment there are a number of common plot points. Dagwood makes [...]
Dark Victory
I’ve really been enjoying Bette Davis movies lately, and I finally got around to seeing one of her most famous films of the ‘40s, Dark Victory. I almost gave up on this when I saw Ronald Regan’s name in the opening credits. But this is Bette’s party, and I wasn’t about to let Ronnie ruin [...]
Gone With The Wind
Gone With The Wind is certainly one of those films, like Citizen Kane, that I occasionally feel compelled to watch every year and a half or so, just because it seems like my duty to do so. While Kane is always an emotional work out and bowls me over with its technical mastery, Gone with [...]
Only Angels Have Wings
After seeing the lovely Rita Hayworth in Blondie on a Budget a while ago, I wanted to see more of her films, and decided to go back to the beginning, or at least near enough to the beginning. In 1939, Hayworth had already appeared in nearly two dozen movies, under her real name Margarita Cansino, [...]
The Women
This is a film I have wanted to see for a long time, and seeing François Ozon’s 8 Femmes recently made me finally seek out a copy of it. Although he reportedly did not care much for this label, George Cukor was known as a “women’s director” due to his numerous collaborations with Katharine Hepburn [...]