POINTED HEELS

William Powell and Fay Wray

POINTED HEELS (1929). Director: A. Edward Sutherland. Colorized.  

"I was so afraid you were going to be sensible -- and go away." -- Lora.

Broadway producer Robert Courtland (William Powell) is interested in the mildly talented Lora Nixon (Fay Wray of King Kong and Queen Bee) but she leaves the show to marry the wealthy Donald Ogden (Phillips Holmes of Beauty for Sale). Learning of his marriage, Donald's furious mother cuts him off without a penny and he and his new wife move into a dingy flat. Lora's brother, Dash (Richard "Skeets' Gallagher), has an act with his wife Dottie (Helen Kane), and they interest Courtland -- who is still attracted to Lora -- in their show, which they threaten to sink by suddenly deciding to act all "refined." Courtland can't help but notice a rift in the Ogden's marriage -- musician Donald can't quite deal with Lora being the breadwinner -- but will he take advantage of the situation? 

Phillips Holmes

Pointed Heels is a charming old musical, an early sound film, that features some good performances from the three leads although it frequently eschews logic. For instance, why would Donald feel out-classed by Lora when his score is being used for the new musical and she only has a supporting part? And one could certainly raise their eyebrows at Courtland's technique for loosening up the Nixons -- he gets them drunk before sending them out on stage on opening night! As well, Donald is working on a "symphony" but the passages we hear don't exactly sound like classical music. The songs in this include "Ain't Ya" and "I Have to Have You." Helen Kane only appeared in eight films but she became famous as the basis of Max Fleischer's cartoon character Betty Boop and even originated the phrase "Boop-boop-deboop." She sued Fleischer but lost, even though Betty Boop was clearly inspired by her. A. Edward Sutherland also directed Follow the Boys and many others. 

Verdict: Minor but fairly nice old musical with interesting players. ***. 

BEYOND TOMORROW

BEYOND TOMORROW (1940). Director: A. Edward Sutherland. 

Three elderly millionaires (Charles Winninger, Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith) get involved in the life of a handsome young singer, James (Richard Carlson), whom they meet on Christmas Eve, even after all three are killed in a plane crash. This rather silly, occasionally touching, movie presents the after-life as a misty limbo with voices calling you either up or down to you-know-where. There is a big difference between honest sentiment and sappiness, which this movie doesn't seem to realize. Jean Parker and Helen Vinson are the two women who get involved with Carlson. Frankly, it's irritating watching these ghosts trying to influence what a grown man should do, just as it's somewhat misogynous to suggest that the supposedly "bad" (or sexier) woman in the story is responsible for every terrible thing that happens. It's a pleasure to see Maria Ouspenskaya being warm, pleasant and grandmotherly instead of muttering gypsy curses. 

Verdict: This is no It's a Wonderful Life but it has its moments, however rare. **.

FOLLOW THE BOYS

FOLLOW THE BOYS (1944). Director/co-writer: A. Edward Sutherland.

"Little things that one man may not even notice can be irresistibly alluring to another."

Ex-vaudevillian Tony West (George Raft) hooks up with a movie star Gloria Vance (Vera Zorina) and becomes her partner in movies and life, but trouble ensues when he's judged 4-F when war breaks out and decides to do his bit by organizing camp shows full of celebrities entertaining "the boys." He can't understand why Gloria won't join him on his travels and the two nearly break up, all of which could have been avoided had Gloria only told the fellow she was pregnant. Obviously the framing story for this variety propaganda film is piss poor, but there are some entertaining moments in its nearly two hour running time: an amazing canine trapeze act; Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich doing a comical magic act; the Andrews Sisters; Louis Jordan and his band; the all-black Delta Rhythm Boys singing "The House I Live In." When Jeanette MacDonald does "Beyond the Blue Horizon" the line "my life has only begun" has a certain irony when many of the very young soldiers she's singing to won't make it back from the war. The film's low-point is Peggy Ryan and Donald O'Connor doing a lousy hep cat number. As usual, star George Raft makes little impression, although he does do a creditable dance number to "Sweet Georgia Brown" in a rainstorm. Vera Zorina means so little today -- she also makes little impression in the film -- that it's Marlene Dietrich who's featured on the VHS cover and not Zorina. It's significant -- and admirable -- that the film includes black entertainers, although these sequences were probably deleted in prints sent to southern theaters. What doesn't make sense is why a film that's meant to boost wartime morale should have such a downbeat ending. Other cast members/entertainers include W. C. Fields, Dinah Shore, Ted Lewis of Hold That Ghost, George MacReady of Gilda, and Elizabeth Patterson, Mrs. Trimble of I Love Lucy.
Verdict: Hit or miss, but well-meaning one supposes. **1/2.

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (1940). Director: A. Edward Sutherland.

Essentially unrelated to the first two Invisible Man movies, this is an out and out comedy starring John Barrymore -- giving a very funny performance -- as an absent-minded professor who advertises for a human guinea pig for his invisibility machine. Kitty Carroll (Virginia Bruce, pictured), a model who's fed up with her nasty boss Growley (Charles Lane, playing his usual grumpy Gus and playing it well), volunteers because she wants to get even with Growley without his knowing that it's her. A racketeer in exile, Blackie Cole (Oskar Homolka), also wants the machine so he can return home literally without being seen. Then there's the not-so-wealthy millionaire playboy Rich Russell (John Howard) who has been sponsoring Barrymore, and his ever-suffering butler Charles Ruggles. This is a very cute picture with many amusing moments and lines, some of which sneak up on you, and John P. Fulton's effects are as good as ever. The whole cast is quite good, including the bellicose Donald MacBride and Shemp Howard (of 3 Stooges fame) as Blackie's henchmen. Margaret Hamilton plays Barrymore's housekeeper and she and "the Great Profile" make a very funny team. Terrific ending!

Verdict: If you're in a silly mood on a rainy Sunday. ***.

FLYING DEUCES

FLYING DEUCES (1939). Director: A. Edward Sutherland.

Ollie proposes to French waitress Georgette (Jean Parker), unaware that she already has a husband, Francois (Reginald Gardiner). Broken-hearted, he decides to commit suicide, and Stan -- who'd be lost without him -- has to take the plunge into the Seine (where a shark is somehow on the loose) with him. But they wind up in the foreign legion instead, where they have to deal with a jealous Francois and a stern commandant (Charles Middleton, better-known as Ming the Merciless). Not a classic by any means, but this does have many amusing moments, especially the mountain of laundry! Stan makes like Harpo Marx and plays the bed springs of a mattress like a harp at one point. Amusing wind-up.

Verdict: Mostly for L & H enthusiasts; all others beware. **1/2.