DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935)

Freddie Bartholomew and W. C. Fields

DAVID COPPERFIELD (aka The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger/1935). Director: George Cukor.

"They seem rather obstinate oysters!" -- Aunt Betsey.

After his beloved mother's death, little David Copperfield (a wonderful Freddie Bartholomew) finds himself at the mercy of his hated stepfather, Murdstone (Basil Rathbone) and his equally loathsome sister (Violet Kemble Cooper), then sent off to work in a factory where he is befriended by the benevolent Micawber (W. C. Fields, pictured). Then the poor boy has to make his way on foot, penniless, to the home of his peppery Aunt Betsey (Edna May Oliver). The problem is that when David grows to manhood and is played by the relatively colorless Frank Lawton, he becomes a supporting character in his own story, which on the whole is full of too many characters that you just don't care about. For the most part, the acting is excellent, however, with Oliver and Rathbone as good as ever -- not to mention Jessie Ralph as nurse Peggotty -- and Roland Young making a striking Uriah Heep. Lewis Stone, Elsa Lanchester, Lionel Barrymore, Una O'Conner and others are lost in the episodic and sometimes dull picture, but Fields and Bartholomew make an engaging pair. Even at 130 minutes' running time there's simply too much plot crammed into the movie, and the second half is not nearly as good as the first. I generally like honest sentiment, but in David Copperfield the sentiment is often treacly, the characters' affection for one another bordering on the cloying. Everyone is just too "cutesy." However, the movie certainly has its admirers.

Verdict: Has its moments, but it's no Tale of Two Cities. **1/2.

STAR DUST

A waiting game: John Payne and Linda Darnell

STAR DUST  (1940). Director: Walter Lang.

Thomas Brooke (Roland Young) was once a leading man in silent movies but now is a talent scout for Amalgamated Pictures and his boss Dane Wharton (William Gargan). Brooke sends two hopefuls to Hollywood -- college football star Ambrose Fillmore, better known as "Bud" (John Payne), and singer Mary Andrews (Mary Healy) -- but he fears that Carolyn Sayres (Linda Darnell) is too young, Convinced she has talent, Carolyn goes behind Brooke's back and writes to Wharton on her own, therefore there are three new candidates for stardom who wait anxiously outside Wharton's office after filming their screen tests. It may be surprising which if any of the three will be offered a contract. 

"Secrets in the Moonlight:" John Payne sings 

Star Dust was loosely based on Linda Darnell's life, as she was also told she was too young to work in movies. The rest is pure fiction, of course. There are those who will tell you that Darnell wasn't much of an actress but I have to disagree, as she does some very good work in this and in other films. John Payne, one of the handsomest leading men in Hollywood, could actually sing and you can hear him doing a very nice rendition of "Secrets in the Moonlight." He also gives a smooth and charming performance. Mary Healy, who married Peter Lind Hayes, is a bit too odd-looking to be attractive and has a voice that is way too deep without being sexy. She is best-known for The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. 

A face meant for radio? Mary Healy

Roland Young of Topper fame is splendid, as is Charlotte Greenwood as his colleague, the acting coach for Amalgamated's young hopefuls. Donald Meek scores as one of Young's rivals at the studio, as does Mary Beth Hughes as a contract actress, June Lawrence, who acts snotty with Carolyn and gets her comeuppance. George Montgomery plays an actor who has learned that the studio dropped his option, and Robert Lowery is another actor who came out to Hollywood and wound up just another bellboy. Jessie Ralph and Irving Bacon each have a couple of good scenes as, respectively, Carolyn's non-nonsense aunt and the clerk at a small college town hotel. At one point 21-year-old Bud gives a big smooch to 16-year-old Carolyn, which is not seen as anything significant in 1940 but today would get a guy arrested! (Payne was actually 28 and Darnell 17.) 

Verdict: Snappy and entertaining musical comedy with some basic truths about Hollywood. ***.  

ST. BENNY THE DIP

Nina Foch and Dick Haymes

ST. BENNY THE DIP (1951). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

Benny (Dick Haymes), Monk (Lionel Stander), and Matthew (Roland Young) are three con artists trying to pull a rather mean score when the law intervenes and they take it on the lam. The trio hide out by disguising themselves as priests, and wind up running an abandoned mission for the indigent. Benny has trouble staying in character when he meets pretty illustrator Linda (Nina Foch), and the three men's fates just might turn out differently than expected. The premise might be a bit sappy, but it has possibilities that aren't overly plumbed in this quaint comedy that has some good performances. Haymes [Irish Eyes Are Smiling] is a cast standout, and is given one nice number, "I Believe," which is not to be confused with the more famous song of the same name; he's also in fine voice. Young and Stander are also good, with the latter less gross and tiresome than usual. He has a good scene reuniting with his long-suffering wife, Mary (a notable Jean Casto), late in the picture. Nina Foch [Illegal] is given an odd part, and at times she seems demented in her determination to marry a man she hardly knows. A shockingly bad performance is given by a grown-up Freddie Bartholomew, once a wonderful child actor, who plays a geeky young priest named Wilbur. Bartholomew could give good adult performances, as he did in The Town Went Wild, but in this he just tries too hard to be funny; it was his last picture. The odd thing about this movie is that it has a certain quality and appeal despite the fact that it's really not that good. Robert W. Stringer's interesting score, especially the excellent theme music, may have something to do with that.

Verdict: Oddly interesting comedy with some good performances. **1/2.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1945)

Walter Huston and Barry Fitzgerald

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1945). Director: Rene Clair.

Several people receive invitations to the very isolated Indian island, and find themselves accused of murder and of escaping justice. One by one, in accordance with a nursery rhyme on "Ten Little Indians," the members of the party are killed as the diminishing survivors become increasingly paranoid. This somewhat light-hearted version of Agatha Christie's classic novel has perhaps too much humor, and changes the grim and uncompromising ending of the book, but it manages to work up considerable suspense along with atmosphere and a certain tension. The actors are generally good, with Barry Fitzgerald as a judge, Walter Huston as a doctor, Louis Hayward as an adventurer, June Duprez [The Brighton Strangler] as a secretary, and Judith Anderson [Rebecca] as a prim and proper if rather heartless middle-aged woman. Richard Haydn [Dear Wife], C. Aubrey Smith, and Roland Young also have important roles. Most of the actors have been directed to play it rather "cute," but for the large part Clair's direction is quite adroit. Christie created her own little sub-genre with this very influential book, which was filmed several times both as "And Then There Were None" and "Ten Little Indians." Most of these were pretty bad. There was a creditable British mini-series in 2015.

Verdict: The fascinating and macabre situation carries this along. ***.

THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES

Roland Young

THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES (aka H. G. Wells' The Man Who Could Work Miracles/1936). Director: Lothar Mendes.

"I must have a whiskey. If I don't have a whiskey my mind will give way." -- Colonel Winstanley, upon discovering that all of his whiskey has turned to water. 

British clerk George Fotheringay (Roland Young) suddenly finds himself with the ability to make whatever he wants come true, and everyone around him tells him what they would do if they were him. Should he make himself master of the world, or recreate the world for the greater good? The vicar Maydig (Ernest Thesiger) has some definite ideas on that score, but George won't allow himself to be overly influenced, unless it's by Ada (Joan Gardner), upon whom he has a crush. H. G. Wells adapted his own short story, adding many new characters as well as a framing sequence which shows that George's power was a gift from the gods [apparently the filmmakers felt that the audience would want to know exactly how Fotheringay got his powers, even if the answer isn't a terribly satisfying one]. Wells somewhat destroys a modern audience's sympathy for George when he has him trying to use his power to make Joan fall in love with him instead of the man she prefers, which is equivalent to using a date rape drug. Still, even if you've read the story, the film is unpredictable, has some fine effects work, and is very well-acted  by all. Topping even Roland Young [Topper Takes a Trip] is Ralph Richardson [The Heiress] in his excellent portrayal of the rather buffoonish Colonel Winstanley. Thesiger is also fine as the vicar, and there are notable appearances by George Zucco as the colonel's butler, Ivan Brandt as the Power Giver, and an impossibly young George Sanders and Torin Thatcher as his heavenly and cynical associates. Wells gives George a memorable speech at the climax, and the story is in its own way as influential as other works in the brilliant Wells' canon. Lothar Mendes also directed Payment Deferred.

Verdict: Intriguing and amusing. ***.

CALL IT A DAY

Olivia de Havilland has a crush on Walter Woolf King

CALL IT A DAY (1937). Director: Archie Mayo.

"For utter indecency, give me the high-minded!"

Spring is in the air and romantic thoughts are surrounding the members of the veddy British Hilton family. Catherine (Olivia de Havilland) is thoroughly and painfully infatuated with a married painter named Paul (Walter Woolf King of Swiss Miss). Her brother Martin (Peter Willes) is smitten with the pretty next-door neighbor, Joan (Anita Louise). His father, Roger (Ian Hunter), finds himself pondering the possibility of an illicit relationship with a flirtatious client, while his wife Dorothy (Freida Inescort of Juke Box Rhythm) is pursued by Frank (Roland Young), who thinks she is the prospective bride his sister has picked out for him. You really want to like this movie with its memorable cast but it just sort of sputters along without reaching any great comedic or dramatic highlights and generally the characters are more types than real people. Yet de Havilland is wonderful, limning young unrequited love with unbridled passion, and King expertly portrays the man who is sorely attracted to her but also respectful of his wife, Ethel (a notable Peggy Wood of The Bride Wore Boots). Inescort, Hunter and Young also give excellent performances, and there's fine support from Bonita Granville and Una O'Connor. Archie Mayo also directed the superior Give Me Your Heart.

Verdict: Great cast and some good scenes but it's just nothing special. **.

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS

Marlene Dietrich and Theresa Harris

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS (1941). Director: Rene Clair.

In old New Orleans lady of leisure Countess Claire (Marlene Dietrich) has set her cap for the wealthy older banker Charles Giraud (Roland Young). But Claire has left behind quite a reputation in St. Petersburg, and to deflect Giraud's suspicion she also pretends to be another notorious woman from Russia, Claire's lookalike and [kind of] cousin, Lily. Complicating matters is a lusty sailor named Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot), who has an eye for Claire (and Lili)  and vice versa. One could say that Flame of New Orleans is Dietrich's Two-Faced Woman [in which Greta Garbo pretended to be two different women] not just because of the plot but because Flame is similarly mediocre. However, the actors, especially a surprising Cabot, all do a good job, and they are backed by such stalwarts as Franklin Pangborn, Mischa Auer, Anne Revere, Laura Hope Crews, Andy Devine, and a host of talented black actors, including Theresa Harris [Baby Face] as Clarie's saucy, sexy maid Clementine. However, the film is predictable and not as much fun as it sounds. Clair also directed It Happened Tomorrow.

Verdict: Pleasant in many ways but minor. **1/2.  

GIVE ME YOUR HEART

GIVE ME YOUR HEART (1936). Director: Archie Mayo.

Belinda Warren (Kay Francis) is in love with Bob Melford (Patric Knowles) who has a disabled wife, Rosamond (Freida Inescort). When Belinda becomes pregnant, Bob's father, Lord Farrington (Henry Stephenson) makes a deal for Belinda to give up the child to Bob and Rosamond, telling her that otherwise she has little to offer the child. (It never occurs to Belinda to make the point that the child will be his grandchild no matter who raises it, and you'd think he'd want to provide for it no matter what.) Traveling on a train, Belinda encounters Jim Baker (George Brent) and marries him, but her brooding over the past threatens their marriage until an old friend drastically takes matters into his hands.

Give Me Your Heart is a likable, at times touching, movie that is greatly bolstered by some fine dialogue and an excellent cast at their best. Kay Francis gives one of her best performances as Belinda, and Roland Young is terrific as her buddy "Tubbs." Francis and Brent always made a good team, and in this Young and Helen Flint (as Belinda's doctor Florence Cudahy) also make a grand screen couple. (The protracted scene when the two "meet cute," nearly grabbing the same cab, then keep bumping into each other until they realize they're going to the exact same place, is one of the best scenes in the movie.) Zeffie Tilbury scores as Belinda's grumpy Aunt Esther. Francis has a sublime moment when she looks at a picture of her little boy at a very awkward gathering, and she and Freida Inescort have a very good scene as the two women manage to bond with each other despite the events of the past. Warm, humorous and sentimental in the right way, Give Me Your Heart is one of Francis's best features. Nice score, too.

Verdict: Kay fans should pounce. ***.

TOPPER TAKES A TRIP

TOPPER TAKES A TRIP (1939) Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

The first sequel to Topper is a charming and amusing film in which Roland Young as the harried banker Topper discovers that lady ghost Constance Bennett is not quite through with him, taking him to the French Riviera to win back the delightfully befuddled Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke, pictured), who has decided to divorce her Cosmo. It seems that Mrs. Topper's “friend,” Mrs. Parkhurst (Verree Teasdale), is part of a group who match young gigolos with wealthy widows and divorcees, and there's a certain baron (Alexander D'arcy) who has his eye on Cosmo Topper's millions by way of his wife. [The baron asks Mrs. Parkhurst if Clara Topper is pretty. “Well, she has scads of money,” Parkhurst replies. “She's pretty,” says the baron.] Franklin Pangborn is his usual riot as the hotel manager who is an associate of the baron's and Teasdale's, and Alan Mowbray is as excellent as ever as the wise, long-suffering Topper butler. Burke, Young, and Bennett are all in top form as well. While the movie isn't full of belly-laughs as such, it is consistently entertaining and funny. The third and final movie in the series, Topper Returns, is also worthwhile and well-acted.

Verdict: Great fun! ***.