LADY OF THE NIGHT

LADY OF THE NIGHT (1925). Director: Monta Bell.

Norma Shearer is excellent playing dual roles (although there is no reference to the two characters actually looking alike) in this touching silent drama which segues back and froth from high to low society. Molly Helmer is the poor daughter of a convict, while Florence Banning is the daughter of a wealthy judge. Molly has an "understanding" with a clunky [if kind-hearted] kind of boyfriend "Chunky" Dunn (George K. Arthur) but longs for a more romantic relationship, which she finds with David Page (Malcolm McGregor). Unfortunately, Page meets and falls in love with Florence, and sees Molly just as a friend. Florence, however, upon meeting Molly, immediately grasps the truth of the other woman's feelings. Both women turn out to be much more alike than they are different in the poignant conclusion. TCM presented this with an excellent new musical score.

Verdict: Another home run for Norma. ***.

SHOW BOAT (1929)

SHOW BOAT (1929). Director: Harry A. Pollard.

This first film version of Show Boat is actually based on Edna Ferber's novel, and not on the stage musical, although there is some singing late in the picture (in scenes where the characters would sing naturally, such as when performing). The photography is excellent, and the strong, sensitive performances of the two leads -- Laura La Plante as Magnolia and Joseph Schildkraut as Gaylord Ravenal -- are what really put this over. Alma Rubens is also fine as Julie; in this version she is apparently not a mulatto. Stepin Fetchit is Joe; Otis Harlan is Captain Andy; and Emily Fitzroy plays his wife as a sneering termagant. This was filmed part silent and part sound; the sound for many of the latter sections are lost. Shown on TCM.

Verdict: Has it charms -- and fine actors. ***

BLOOD FREAK

BLOOD FREAK (1972). Directed and written by Steve Hawkes and Brad F. Grinter. 

"He's not Hershell anymore -- he's changing!" 

Hershell (Steve Hawkes, who also co-wrote and co-directed), an Elvis wannabee with a curled lip, eats some contaminated turkey meat and turns into -- you guessed it -- a homicidal monster with a turkey head. Judging from the acting and production values, this looks like it was put together by a very low-budget porn unit. Mentally arrested gorehounds may enjoy the grisly and graphic scene when Hershell cuts off a man's leg with a buzz saw. A narrator talks pretentiously about what's going on and keeps looking down at the script while smoking and choking on a cigarette. There are some attractive cast members but this isn't funny enough to be a parody and not entertaining enough to be anything else. This is the worst movie reviewed on Great Old Movies so far. Admittedly TCM can sometimes be accused of running the same movies over and over and over again, but surely there's better stuff out there than this! IFC would have been more a more appropriate venue. 

Verdict: A literal turkey. 0 stars.

THE MEN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: KING VIDOR

THE MEN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: KING VIDOR. TCM. 2001.

This is a profile of the great director and his films; there isn't much about his personal life, which might have enriched an already fascinating program. However, this is still a solid look at the man behind the helm of such films as The Crowd, The Big Parade, The Champ (with its moving performance by Jackie Cooper); Our Daily Bread, which Vidor financed himself when MGM found the subject matter too unglamourous; Show People (with Marion Davies); The Citadel; all the sepia sequences in The Wizard of Oz; Solomon and Sheba with its great "mirror" battle scene; and The Fountainhead with Cooper and Neal. Vidor discusses the tragic life of James Murray who starred in The Crowd, and even talks a bit about the much-maligned Beyond the Forest, which doesn't deserve the scorn heaped upon it if for no other reason than Vidor directed it and his direction is as vivid as ever. He even talks about working with David Selznick on Duel in the Sun (Vidor was co-director) which started out as a small, unusual western and ballooned into an epic that Selznick hoped would rival Gone With the Wind.

Verdict: Quite entertaining and informative. ***.

CLASSIC LAUREL AND HARDY SHORTS

CLASSIC LAUREL AND HARDY SHORTS.

TCM recently held a Laurel and Hardy all-day festival in which they showed Pardon Us, Swiss Miss (still with several minutes cut) and quite a few classic shorts. Some of the more memorable ones include: Tit for Tat, in which the boys have a hilarious war with the owner of the grocery that's next to their electrical appliance store; Hog Wild, in which they try to put up a radio antennae and nearly wreck the house to Mrs. Hardy's furor; Our Wife, in which Ollie elopes with a large, economy-sized bride whose wealthy father disapproves of the union; and Be Big!, in which the boys try to sneak off to a party when their wives want them to accompany them to Atlantic City (one sequence has Stan hysterically trying to get Ollie's boot off of his fat foot). In Night Owls, a cop blackmails the boys into robbing his sergeant's house, so he can capture them and impress the boss, and in Their First Mistake they adopt a child to save Ollie's marriage, only to learn that his wife is not only suing him for divorce, but suing Laurel for alienation of affection! "Now that you've gone and gotten me into this trouble, you want to walk out and leave me flat!" Oliver whines to Stan.

Verdict: Some very, very funny stuff. ***.

ANNA MAY WONG: Frosted Yellow Willows

ANNA MAY WONG: Frosted Yellow Willows -- Her Life, Times and Legend (2008). TCM documentary. Director: Elaine Mae Moo.

Narrated by Nancy Kwan, this is an interesting if somewhat superficial look at the life and work of Anna May Wong (pictured), whose career spanned silent films to the early 1960's. The film does give biographical details, and shows clips from some of her more interesting movies. Anna May Wong is at its best showing how difficult it was for actors who were not Caucasian to achieve and maintain stardom in Hollywood, sometimes even being passed over for ethnic roles they would have been perfect for (Wong was herself passed over for two roles in the film adaptation of The Good Earth). Wong was a talented woman who had some of her greatest successes overseas, but we don't learn too much of her private life in this film, which mentions such things as her younger sister's suicide and Wong's possible alcoholism (she had cirrhosis of the liver at the time of her death) but provides few details. Still this is a worthwhile, entertaining introduction to the Chinese-American actress who helped open doors for those of her race who followed.

Verdict: Not great but not bad. **1/2.