SUZY

Jean Harlow and Cary Grant's hand

SUZY (1936). Director: George Fitzmaurice.

"I don't dance much and I don't sing so well, but I can be awful cute when I want to be." -- Suzy

Suzy (Jean Harlow), an American entertainer in London on the eve of WW1, eventually finds herself married to two men at the same time: Factory foreman Terry (Franchot Tone), who at one point gets shot by a spy; and wealthy French playboy and war hero, Andre (Cary Grant) who distinguishes himself as a flier -- and a heel. How this bizarre situation came about and how it is resolved is the stuff of Suzy, a wartime soap opera that mixes dogfights, Mata Hari-types, inadvertent bigamy, adultery, German spies, and music halls -- and it's still a meandering bore. Jean Harlow is delightful in the first half of the film but director Fitzmaurice is unable to get her to properly handle some of the tougher scenes in the second half, although she certainly had the ability to do so. Tone and Grant are both fine -- although Tone is as unconvincing as an Irishman as Grant is as a Frenchman! --  but Lewis Stone walks off with the movie as Grant's stern but loving father, who eventually comes to care very much for the showgirl he at first disapproves of. [The picture eliminates Stone from the finale and shouldn't have.] Inez Courtney [The Reckless Way], Una O'Connor [Stingaree], and Benita Hume are also notable as, respectively, Suzy's pal, landlady, and love rival. Fitzmaurice also directed Mata Hari with Greta Garbo. The most unforgivable thing about Suzy is that it tries to rip off the "I was reading a book" scene from Dinner at Eight!

Verdict: Melodramatic claptrap that seems cobbled together from scenes from better movies. **.

ONE HEAVENLY NIGHT

Evelyn lays a big egg in "One Heavenly Night"

ONE HEAVENLY NIGHT (1931). Director: George Fitzmaurice.

Flower girl/usherette Lilli (the amusingly named Evelyn Laye) aspires to be just like the notorious man-hungry chanteuse Fritzi (Lilyan Tashman), and she gets her chance when Fritzi asks Lilli to impersonate her on a trip to the tiny kingdom of Zuppa. There Lilli meets the handsome Count Tibor (John Boles), and the two fall in love after an initial unpleasant encounter. One Heavenly Night is, alas, not an example of one of your more memorable operettas, having an uninteresting story, tedious comic relief, and songs that are only vaguely pleasant at best. Playing a young ladies man, Boles is sexier than in such dramas as Back Street and Stella Dallas, in which he was convincingly middle-aged only a year later. Neither Laye nor Tashman are terribly attractive by Hollywood standards; although Laye isn't a bad actress, she lacks distinction. One problem with Laye in this movie is that she's rather affected even before she begins her impersonation of the haughty Fritzi. Leon Errol is on hand as Lilli's vocal coach and loving buddy, but even the great comedian isn't able to do anything to save the picture. Laye made a few more films in the thirties, and then wasn't seen again for twenty years. That same year Fitzmaurice directed Greta Garbo in Mata Hari and he guided Barbara Stanwyck in her second film and first sound picture, The Locked Door.

Verdict: A not-so-heavenly hour and a half. *1/2.

THE LOCKED DOOR

THE LOCKED DOOR (1929). Director: George Fitzmaurice.

This was Barbara Stanwyck's second film and first sound picture. It's easy to see why she became a big star, because even in this somewhat creaky movie she manages to give a strong and effective performance, and contrary to some reports, does not play it in a "hammy" silent style at all. Ann Carter's (Stanwyck) young sister-in-law, Helen (Betty Bronson, who is rather hammy), has become involved with a slimy character, Frank Devereaux (Rod La Rocque), who once tried to slap the make on Ann (who seems to think that knowledge of this would make her seem like a fallen woman or something!). Lawrence (William "Stage" Boyd, whose last screen credit was the serial The Lost City) -- Ann's husband and Helen's brother -- confronts Devereaux with melodramatic but more or less happy results. Boyd and La Rocque aren't bad at all.

Verdict: This mostly tiresome timewaster is of interest primarily because of Stanwyck's appearance.

MATA HARI

MATA HARI (1931). Director: George Fitzmaurice.

A romantic film fashioned from the legend of the famous spy Mata Hari, here enacted by the equally legendary Greta Garbo. Mata is a German spy working in Paris in 1917, taking her orders from Lewis Stone. Her latest assignment is the boyish Russian soldier, Lt. Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Navarro). Lionel Barrymore is an aging General who is obsessed with Mata and Karen Morley is Carlotta, another, ill-fated German agent. The second half of the film turns into a surprisingly poignant love story with Garbo and Navarro both giving excellent performances. It takes a while to accept both of these actors in their respective roles, but once you do they are very creditable and convincing. This probably has very little to do with the real Mata Hari, but it's a very compelling movie. Lewis Stone is also excellent as the head of the spy ring.

Verdict: One hanky tearjerker at least. ***.