OUR BETTERS

OUR BETTERS (1933). Director: George Cukor.

"Think of the people who have married for love. After five years do they care for each other any more than those who married for money?"

An American gal named Pearl (Constance Bennett) marries an impoverished British Lord and becomes Lady Grayston, only to learn on her wedding day that all her husband is interested in is her money and that he already has a lover on the side. Thereafter cynical, sophisticated Pearl becomes the giver of some of England's most notorious parties. Her friends include gossipy Thornton (Grant Mitchell, the father in The Man Who Came to Dinner); Duchess Minnie (Violet Kemble Cooper) and the gigolo, Pepi (Gilbert Roland), that she's keeping; and Arthur (Minor Watson), a pleasant middle-aged man who's in love with her. Then there's the dance instructor, Ernest (Tyrell Davis), who shows up at the end and is as ludicrous a gay stereotype as anything in The Producers. Taken from a play by Somerset Maugham, the movie is full of good dialogue and has some funny scenes, especially a rib-tickler involving Pepi. Bennett is arch and hard and very good, Roland is amusing, and Cooper nearly steals the picture as the somewhat unrealistic, addle-pated, but hopelessly romantic Minnie. As Pearl's more upright younger sister, Bessie, Anita Louise gives one of the worst and most affected performances ever seen in a movie.

Verdict: An amusing, occasionally trenchant, trifle. **1/2.

THE INVISIBLE RAY

THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936). Universal. Directed by Lambert Hillyer. Screenplay by John Colton.

For some reason this picture – although I've always wanted to see it – has eluded me for decades until I came across something called the “Bela Lugosi Collection” on DVD. The movie is hardly a great showcase for Bela, however, because – even though he's billed above the title with [Boris] Karloff – he isn't given much to do in the film, which is pretty much a stinker despite some interesting elements. In an early sequence Janos Rukh (Karloff) demonstrates an invention that can offer glimpses into the distant past by bringing back light waves from Andromeda. This alone would make for an interesting feature – think of the possibilities – but instead the movie inexplicably veers into a completely different direction. Rukh has somehow come to the conclusion that a unknown element -- Radium X – has fallen to Earth from a meteorite and can be found in Africa [sure]. He joins an expedition to find this element, and from it eventually fashions a ray that can both heal and cure. As a side effect, he also winds up with a poisonous touch which drives him mad [actually madder] and he sets out to kill virtually all of his associates, including his wife, who's fallen for a younger, if duller, man. There are some arresting scenes – Karloff using the ray to give his mother back her sight, for instance – but generally the picture is tedious and predictable. Although Karloff isn't bad in the film, Lugosi – who plays another, sympathetic scientist – would have given the role more bite and vigor. Lugosi tries to imbue his characterization with a sinister quality for the sake of his fans, but it's a losing battle. The script completely fails to develop the story's many sub-texts. Violet Kemble Cooper adds a note of grace as Karloff's dignified mother, and it's always a pleasure to see Beulah Bondi [a friend of Lugosi's], although her reaction after her husband is found dead is a bit too muted.

Verdict: Forgettable. *1/2.