Skyscraper Souls (1932) Film Review - Warren William

Plot Summary - Precode starring Warren William as unscrupulous banker David Dwight, builder of a hundred-story NYC skyscraper that now houses his bank, Seacoast National, and all sorts of other businesses. The building is sort of a little world all it's own - crowded with people all bumping into each other, busy elevators, a drug store, newsstand, restaurant, sauna and pool. Dwight even keeps an apartment in the building where he can lure young women from office to bedroom with nary a walk. He hopes to "own" the building outright, and while he's into shady mergers and big business deals, all in the name of a 30 million loan he can't pay, the story focuses around several characters who have jobs in the building. Pretty young secretary Lynn (Maureen O'Sullivan) is aggressively being pursued by brash, clumsy (running gag is him knocking stuff down) bank teller Tom Shepherd (Norman Foster) who won't take no for an answer. Yeah, another of those filmland romances that start with a woman who hates the guy who chases and chases 'til he gets her. Dwight, though married, is currently in a long-time affair with his female assistant/Lynn's boss - but that doesn't stop him from chasing Lynn, making her stay late to type up some report, then sending her to a party at his apartment upstairs where he doses her with oodles of champagne and she ends up (much to his delight) passed out cold in his bed. Lynn is torn between $50 a week Tom who offers to "marry" her and the older, much wealthier Dwight who offers to "keep" her.

Review - The movie is very entertaining and loads of fun to watch. It includes lots of pre-code elements like wisecracking career girls, and young women stripping down to their lace undergarments. Anita Page appears in a small part as a loose woman/"model" ("clothes get you further than brains", she advises pal Lynn). Warren William is magnificent as usual - one of my favorite classic film actors these days. I'm pretty sure that most people I know (except for big film buff types) have never heard of him, but I try not to miss one of his films when it shows up. I enjoyed the champagne scene - Maureen O'Sullivan makes a cute drunk. Rating - 9/10 stars

Gentleman's Fate (1931) Film Review - John Gilbert

Plot Summary - Pre-code melodrama starring John Gilbert as Jack Thomas, rich, penthouse-dwelling playboy with a brand new fiancee named Marjorie (Leila Hyams) and his own English "gentleman's gentleman" (just given orders to burn his gallery of photos and phone numbers). Called to meet his guardian "Papa Mario", Jack is informed he has a brother named Frank and a father who has been shot and is calling for his long-lost son from his deathbed. This is all news to Jack who didn't know about this family at all (he thought he was an orphan). Arriving at the rundown Hotel Ritzi, Jack finds out the whole truth - that his father and brother are bootleggers/gangsters, that he is actually an Italian, and his real name's not Jack, it's Giacomo! Okey dokey. Frank (Louis Wolheim) is a (very) rough-faced, tough talker who forces Jack to take the rap for some stolen emeralds given to Jack by the dying dad. Unfortunately Jack had already gifted the emeralds to Marjorie, who finding out he's a "thief", writes him a "Dear John" letter and leaves town. So - Jack decides to join the racket with his brother, then ends up saving his brother's life from a rival gang. Now the rivals are out to get the man who shot one of their own, and it all comes to brew at a "Peace Banquet" at the hotel.

Review - This is an entertaining watch. The film is basically stage-play like, there's no background music - it's all about the acting. Silent star John Gilbert is rather dashing and handsome here, he does quite an excellent job in this "talkie" role, I thought. Louis Wolheim, however, steals the film as usual - he's so great in every single role I have seen him in. In addition to Leila Hyams (who isn't really given a huge amount to do here), the film includes two other actresses from the silent era - Anita Page, who is fine as a rival gang moll who comes to the hotel to find out where Giacomo/Jack is, then is rather taken with him. And Marie Prevost also steals some scenes, she's pretty funny as this sort of moll gal who works the desk of the Hotel Ritzi. Rating - 8/10 stars

Free and Easy (1930) Film Review - Buster Keaton

Plot Summary - Buster Keaton talkie about Elvira Plunkett (Anita Page), a small town beauty contest winner, "Miss Gopher City", Kansas heading for Hollywood and travelling with her goofball manager Elmer J. Butts (Keaton) and her very overbearing Mama. On the train she meets handsome movie star "Larry Mitchell" (Robert Montgomery) who brings her to a premiere of his new film, MGM's "The Love Call", at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Soon Elvira and mom are at the studio, watching Larry filming a musical. Elmer has all sorts of trouble getting into MGM and gets himself chased around the lot by a guard, managing to wreak havoc on several films being shot. Larry tries to help Elmer by getting him a small part - but Elmer can't hack his one line "the Queen has swooned". After a Hollywood party, Larry invites Elvira to his place, but turns out to be just a wolf in innocent Elvira's eyes. And Elmer ends up getting a screen test in Larry's film, for the comedy part - soon just about everyone has gotten a part in this film but Elvira! A love triangle with Larry and Elmer both in love with Elvira is in the works too, but gee, that "Larry" sure is a good-looking one.

Review - Okay, here's the good - the film shows a nice glimpse of Hollywood circa 1930, including behind-the-scenes at the MGM studio, outside of the Chinese Theatre, not to mention some neat to see cameo parts by such silent era stars as Jackie Coogan, William Haines, Lionel Barrymore, director Fred Niblo, and more. Robert Montgomery is oh so young and handsome (he's one of my personal faves), Anita Page is charming and beautiful, Buster Keaton made me laugh several times (I thought his dance moves were pretty good too!), even the actress, Trixie Friganza, who plays the Mama is very funny. The bad - the sort of "film within a film" stuff just goes on too long. And by that I mean the movie that everyone is starring in which looks like a complete dud, and they show way too much of scenes being filmed from this - I was getting quite bored with it. Okay movie, not up to Keaton' silents though. Rating - 7/10 stars

Reducing (1931) - Film Review

Plot Summary - Comedy/melodrama starring Marie Dressler and Polly Moran as two sisters, Marie and Polly, who haven't seen each other in years - now hard-up for cash, Marie and her family travel from South Bend to New York to stay with sis Polly, who runs a successful beauty parlor business. Marie's family including husband Elmer, beautiful twentyish daughter Vivian (Anita Page), and two rambunctious young boys are plenty loud and cause lots of havoc and typical filmland trouble in the upper berths they are sharing on the train. On arrival, Polly's stuck-up daughter Joyce (Sally Eilers) thinks her relations are "awful people" and soon Marie and Polly are living together, working together, bickering and quarreling to the breaking point. The film takes a turn for the more melodramatic when real trouble comes between the two daughters in the form of Joyce's rich playboy boyfriend who meets Vivian one evening and is soon in hot pursuit of her.

Review - This film is light entertainment, a fun watch featuring quite a bit of slapstick in the earlier scenes followed by some more serious melodrama later in the film. The "reducing parlor" that Polly runs includes a bevy of quack treatments and contraptions not limited to a reducing track, mud bath, electric belt, steam cabinet, plaster treatments, salt baths, cold showers - and of course, an opening shot of the parlor featuring a blonde exercising in a "reducing belt" - oh what fun! Marie Dressler has a face so full of expression in this, she's really entertaining to watch - she and Polly Moran have a chemistry together that makes them seem like real (yes quarrelsome) sisters. Actress Anita Page, who goes back to the silent era, is a lovely and appealing star who is still living, and today just happened to be her 98th birthday! Rating - 7 stars