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.
Helen Twelvetrees is Millie (1931) – With Joan Blondell and Lilyan Tashman
Helen Twelvetrees stars in pre-Code sizzler Millie (1931). Millie leaves her husband after she catches him cheating and she puts monogamy behind her once her boyfriend is caught with another woman too. Can Millie be an independent woman in 1931 and protect her daughter from an even more perilous relationship?
The Constant Nymph (1943) Starring Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer
Concentrating on Joan Fontaine’s wonderful performance as teenage Tessa in The Constant Nymph (1943) with a look at the literary origins of the story and resulting complications in making the title available for public consumption.
First Impressions: King Vidor’s The Big Parade (1925)
Thoughts upon watching King Vidor’s 1925 epic of love and war, The Big Parade, for the first time. The MGM classic stars John Gilbert and Renee Adoree with Karl Dane and Tom O’Brien.
Jewel Robbery (1932) – Kay Francis and William Powell for a Sixth Time
A look at Jewel Robbery (1932), a unique heist-romance from Warner Brothers starring William Powell and Kay Francis. It’s a sophisticated yet often silly and almost always sinful pre-code classic.
One Way Passage (1932) – Glass Stems & Spoilers: The Final Minute
A look at the final scene of One Way Passage (1932) starring William Powell and Kay Francis. How did those crossed glass stems get there anyway?
One Way Passage (1932) Starring William Powell and Kay Francis
One Way Passage (1932) focuses on a shipboard romance between the equally doomed William Powell and Kay Francis characters. Frank McHugh is also on the scene and never allows the movie to get too sentimental. Aline MacMahon shines as well.
The Razor’s Edge (1946) Starring Tyrone Power, A Success Story
A long article about a personal favorite attempts to tell the story of The Razor’s Edge from Somerset Maugham’s novel to Darryl F. Zanuck’s on-screen vision with a focus on both the adaptation and Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell.
Somerset Maugham’s The Narrow Corner (1933) Starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
A personal look at this Somerset Maugham fan’s discovery of The Narrow Corner (1933) from Warner Brothers starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Patricia Ellis, and Ralph Bellamy. A Maugham tale of the South Seas on film with all the sex and sin of the pre-code era.
The Valley of Decision (1945) starring Greer Garson and Gregory Peck
A look at MGM’s The Valley of Decision (1945) a look at love and steel in Pittsburgh of the 1870’s starring Greer Garson and Gregory Peck with Donald Crisp.