THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (1932). Director: Edward H. Griffith. Based on the play by Philip Barry.

"A foolish virgin, me. Well, foolish anyway." -- Daisy.

Tom Collier (Leslie Howard), scion of the very wealthy Rufus Collier (Henry Stephenson), has had a casual if intimate relationship with aspiring artist Daisy Sage (Ann Harding) for years, a relationship of which his father does not approve. Tom seems to think that he and Daisy are, first and foremost, best friends and nothing more, but he discovers that Daisy is actually in love with him and wants to marry him just at the moment that he comes to tell her he's gotten engaged to the more "respectable" Cecelia (Myrna Loy). Tom just doesn't get that Daisy needs to be apart from him to mend her broken heart, but his feelings for her just won't recede even as he realizes he may have made the wrong choice. The Animal Kingdom begins quite well but it's mostly the wonderful acting from the three leads and supporting players alike that put this over, as its contrivances and false theatricality eventually do it in. Played sympathetically by Loy [Lonelyhearts], Cecelia is treated especially horribly by both Tom and the film, which contrasts her unfavorably with a prostitute. As usual in these triangle dramas, one wonders if the utterly weak man in the middle is really worth all the hand-wringing from the ladies, as Tom seems a superficial sort content to churn out bestselling potboilers even as Daisy and others seem to think he can and should be writing "literature." Stephenson [Tarzan Finds a Son] scores as the father; William Gargan is the comedy relief prizefighter turned butler; and Neil Hamilton is as bland and puffy as ever as a friend who is in love with Cecelia. Ilka Chase, Leni Stengel and Don Dillaway [Platinum Blonde] have smaller roles and are effective. The character of Cecelia is, I believe, intended to be the unloving, social climbing wife who cares little for what her husband wants as long as she's well-dressed, but Loy's playing gives the character much more dignity and subtlety than that, and in an early scene she admirably defends Tom against all the negative remarks made by his father. But these attempts to make things a little less black and white don't quite succeed.

Verdict: Interesting in spots, and very well-acted, but also pretentious and dated. **1/2.

KING OF THE TEXAS RANGERS

Slingin' Sammy Baugh

KING OF THE TEXAS RANGERS (12 chapter Republic serial/1941). Directors: William Witney and John English.

Texas ranger Tom King Jr. (Slingin' Sammy Baugh) learns that his father (Monte Blue) has been murdered by fifth columnists who are out to sabotage certain oil fields. Since these fields  are out of his jurisdiction, King decides to fight against the saboteurs as a private agent. Working with King are Pedro (Duncan Renaldo of Zorro Rides Again) of the Mexican Rurales; intrepid reporter Sally Crane (Pauline Moore of Arkansas Judge); and Wichita Bates (Kermit Maynard). Working against King, although King is unaware of it, is John Barton (Neil Hamilton), who secretly reports to "His Excellency" (Rudolph Anders of She Demons) from his dirigible. Sammy Baugh was a football star who had a very brief career as an actor, and is perfectly adequate in this serial. Cast in the Lyle Talbot role of smooth bad guy, Neil Hamilton is slightly more interesting than Talbot, but hardly riveting. Duncan Renaldo probably makes the best impression as the likable Pedro, and others in the cast, generally Barton's henchmen, include Roy Barcroft and Jack Ingram. Chapter one has a great cliffhanger in which oil fields are set ablaze and a flaming derrick falls on top of a cabin with King and Sally inside. Even better is the explosion at the end of chapter two, which blows up both ends of a tunnel containing a train. There's a tense business involving a hood holding a grenade in order to force a man to obey his orders. In chapter seven a truck smashes into a shed with King inside. Cy Feuer's music helps keep things moving at a rapid pace. The serial's suspense is minimized, however, because we're clued into the ultimate bad guy's identity from the very beginning.

Verdict: Republic serial is not bad and not great. **1/2.

TARZAN AND HIS MATE

Cheeta gives Tarzan a kiss

TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934). Director: Cedric Gibbons.

In  this first sequel to Tarzan the Ape Man, Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton), who is still in love with Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) returns to Africa to try to get her back, as well as to get some ivory. His slimy friend, Martin (Paul Cavanagh), is broke and after ivory as well, and has no moral values whatsoever. Harry wants Jane to importune Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) to take the men to the elephants' graveyard -- which Holt was trying to find in Tarzan the Ape Man - but Tarzan won't allow the place to be desecrated -- besides, Jane's father is also buried there. Then there is an angry tribe of nasty natives who go after the party and kill many of their number after first murdering two rival ivory hunters, whose corpses are left to rot, hanging from trees and covered with crawling insects. Tarzan and His Mate is essentially a retread of the first, more interesting picture, but it is also intense and violent, and has several good scenes: Tarzan battling a truly humongous crocodile; Jane taking a sensual nude swim with Tarzan (in his loincloth); and a climactic attack by a pride of hungry lions. The original Cheeta, who appears almost man-sized, dies in the film and is replaced by a new, smaller Cheeta, who at one point, in the movie's funniest scene, rides on the back of an ostrich! Considering some of his actions, Martin's death isn't nearly horrible enough. The performances are adequate, with Cavanagh [Son of Dr. Jekyll] having the edge. Cedric Gibbons was originally an Oscar-winning art director [Mad Love] and reportedly Jack Conway and others worked on this film uncredited. Gibbons only directed this one film.

Verdict: For heaven's sake -- stay away from the elephant's graveyard. Nothing good ever comes of it! **1/2.

TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932)

Maureen O'Sullivan and Johnny Weissmuller

TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932). Director: W. S. Van Dyke.

James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith), his daughter Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), and Parker's associate Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) are in Africa trying to find the mystical elephants' graveyard where valuable ivory can be appropriated. They find a treacherous way past a certain escarpment, encountering a horde of hippos and hungry gators, then eventually come afoul of a group of mean dwarfs. Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) doesn't put in an appearance until 23 minutes into the running time, and naturally helps save the day when Jane and the others are lowered by rope into a pit with a huge and violent ape. While he could never be considered a great actor, Weissmuller's pantomiming in this is highly effective, getting across both his primitive aspects as well as a charming shyness towards Jane. The movie reveals absolutely nothing of Tarzan's background, and doesn't follow the plot of Burroughs' first novel except for the business with Tarzan swinging away with a frightened but mesmerized Jane in his arms. The film reveals its incredible racism in at least one scene, when a native porter falls to his death from a horrifying cliff and Holt wonders first what was in the man's packs, and then says "poor devil." Tarzan never actually says "Me Tarzan, You Jane" but keeps repeating "Tarzan, Jane" as he taps her on the shoulder over and over again, revealing his sense of humor. O'Sullivan [Payment Deferred] gives a good performance, although she does get so whiny at times you wish Tarzan would throw her out of a tree. Smith [Little Lord Fauntleroy] and Hamilton are okay -- the only time I ever really liked Hamilton was when he played Commissioner Gordon on Batman -- and Cheetah, of course, is absolutely wonderful. At one point Tarzan murders a poor native guide as retaliation for Hamilton shooting one of the ape man's pets! A bit slow-paced at times. This was not the first movie to feature Tarzan, but it led into a long series with Weissmuller [Jungle Jim] and then other actors. Tarzan of the Apes must have been pretty strong stuff in 1932, although it was probably eclipsed the following year by King Kong.

Verdict: Compelling if uneven fantasy. ***.

WHEN STRANGERS MARRY/BETRAYAL

Neil Hamilton confers with Robert Mitchum

WHEN STRANGERS MARRY (aka Betrayal/1944), Director: William Castle.

Mildred Baxter (Kim Hunter) marries in haste and then has reason to worry. Her new husband, Paul (Dean Jagger) is [unnecessarily] secretive and she comes to suspect that he may be the notorious silk tie strangler. Fred Grahm (Robert Mitchum), who has always loved Millie, tries to be supportive and also has meetings with Lieutenant Blake (Neil Hamilton), who suggests he knows more than he's saying. When Strangers Marry is a pretty dull alleged suspense film whose twist comes as little surprise. The only lively scene takes place in a black jazz club, supposedly in Harlem. Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is good, Mitchum is very good, Jagger [The Brotherhood of the Bell] is hamstrung by his role, and Hamilton is Hamilton. When Millie moves into her new apartment there's a photo of director William Castle [Macabre] on the mantle.

Verdict: A Monogram cheapie and it shows. *1/2.

WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD?

Neil Hamilton, Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman

WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? (1932). Director: George Cukor. Based on a story by Adela Rogers St. John.

"By midnight you'll have forgiven me."

"By midnight I'll have forgotten you."

Before there was A Star is Born -- all three versions -- there was What Price Hollywood?, which had a similar plot line and was greatly influential on the later films. Mary Evans (Constance Bennett), who works as a waitress at the famous Brown Derby, is a Hollywood hopeful who meets famous, heavy-drinking director Max Carey (Lowell Sherman) at the restaurant. Carey takes Mary under his wing, and after a false start or two, gets her started in motion pictures. But as her star rises, alcoholic, unreliable Carey's is on the wane. In the meantime Mary marries wealthy Lonny Borden (Neil Hamilton), which leads to rather stupid developments.  Sherman and Bennett are okay -- Hamilton is Hamilton -- but their characters are one-dimensional and not very likable, and Bennett was always a cold fish as an actress, talented but not sympathetic [and portraying innocence is not in her metier]. Gregory Ratoff is cast as Julius Saxe, essentially the same kind of producer part he would essay years later in All About Eve. The picture does have some sharp and on occasion daring dialogue. When Borden sarcastically suggests that Carey would be more comfortable in his bed instead of the guest room, it's as easy to imagine Borden is suggesting Carey wants to sleep with him as it is that he wants to sleep with Mary. Interestingly, there is no hint of a romance between the two main characters -- A Star is Born would fix that problem -- and if Carey has any particular feelings for Mary, Sherman never quite gets it across. George Cukor later directed the second version of A Star is Born with Judy Garland and James Mason.

Verdict: Gets credit for its influence, but much better movies about Hollywood were to come. **.