Famed for its part in leading to the end of outlaw John Dillinger’s life, and revered by movie buffs as the first of the William Powell-Myrna Loy team-ups, MGM’s Manhattan Melodrama is a solid underworld effort highlighted by a top performance from Clark Gable.
Frank Capra’s Broadway Bill (1934) Starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
A look at Frank Capra’s follow-up to It Happened One Night, the 1934 holiday release Broadway Bill starring Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy and a horse named Broadway Bill. With comparison to 1950 remake Riding High and explanation of why Bill wound up out of circulation until 1992.
Test Pilot (1938) Starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy
Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy live up to expectations in MGM’s Test Pilot (1938). One of the most popular films of 1938, the Academy Award-nominated Best Picture directed by Victor Fleming allows all three stars to shine in strong parts that they enliven with strong performances. Time well spent, no matter the length.
Brief Impressions: No Other Woman – Side Streets – Evelyn Prentice – Millionaires in Prison
A quick peek at four movies I’ve watched recently: No Other Woman (1933); Side Streets and Evelyn Prentice (both 1934); and Millionaires in Prison (1940).
Night Flight (1933) with John and Lionel Barrymore, Gable and More
An all-star cast may be advertised but Night Flight (1933) is mostly Barrymore, John with a dash of Lionel. Not much for Clark Gable and the rest with the exception of Robert Montgomery.
Penthouse (1933) Starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
Warner Baxter stars as a mobster’s mouthpiece in Penthouse (1933) also featuring Myrna Loy. And, in one of his best, Nat Pendleton plays the mobster.
“She Came from Montana” – Myrna Loy as Covered by Newspapers of the 1920s
Local girl Myrna Loy featured in a Helena, Montana, newspaper article from 1926, plus some other old Loy clippings and pre-Thin Man biography and information.
The Wet Parade (1932) Dramatizes the Evils of Liquor … and Prohibition
The Wet Parade (1932) from MGM takes a stand against the evils of both liquor and Prohibition towards the tail end of the Prohibition era. Starring Walter Huston, Lewis Stone, Robert Young, Dorothy Jordan, Neil Hamilton, Jimmy Durante and Myrna Loy.
Myrna Loy – The Only Good Girl in Hollywood vs. Being and Becoming
Myrna Loy’s 1987 autobiography Being and Becoming is an all-time favorite here. 2011 brings the first Myrna Loy biography since that time, Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood by Emily W. Leider. Here’s a look at both titles, side by side.
First Impressions: Arrowsmith (1931) with Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes
Brief first impressions of Arrowsmith (1931) written shortly after a first viewing. Starring Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes with Myrna Loy.