A look at the 1935 Warner Brothers comedy Going Highbrow includes a June Martel biographical aside. Plus how Guy Kibbee was discovered and Gordon Westcott’s untimely death later that same year.
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.
Stage Struck (1936) Starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell
Busby Berkeley’s Stage Struck (1936) is a Warner Brothers musical missing the typical Berkeley flare. Starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell with Warren William it’s an at times bizarre movie that doesn’t measure up to earlier classics Berkeley worked on, but still entertaining at times providing a few laughs.
The World Changes (1933) Starring the Many Faces of Paul Muni
Paul Muni stars in First National’s 1933 multigenerational film The World Changes. Also starring Mary Astor. Muni earns a fortune in the meat-packing industry but is led too far from his roots and watches his children stray even further from what he considers a good life.
Bright Leaf (1950), Gary Cooper Takes Over Big Tobacco
Gary Cooper shines in “Bright Leaf” a story of tobacco in the late 19th century. Not so brilliant is Cooper’s love triangle with Lauren Bacall and Patricia Neal.
Lawyer Man (1932) Starring William Powell and Joan Blondell
Warner Brothers’ Lawyer Man (1932) starring William Powell and Joan Blondell is one of a series of pre-code era lawyer films. Loosely based on the life and style of real-life mouthpiece William J. Fallon.
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.
Stranger in Town (1932) – Chic Sale Takes on a Big Grocery Chain
The small grocery Chic Sale runs in Boilsville is threatened in Warner Brothers’ Stranger in Town (1932) when a big competitor comes to town. Also starring Ann Dvorak, David Manners, and Noah Beery.