Herbert Mundin, Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, and Una O'Connor in Cavalcade (Frank Lloyd, 1933)

Cast: Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Beryl Mercer, Irene Browne, Tempe Pigott, Merle Tottenham, Frank Lawton, Ursula Jeans. Screenplay: Reginald Berkeley, based on a play by Noël Coward. Cinematography: John F. Seitz. Art direction: William S. Darling. Film editing: Margaret Clancey.

There are lots of forgettable best picture Oscar winners: Who today watches The Great Ziegfeld (Robert Z. Leonard, 1936), The Life of Emile Zola (William Dieterle, 1937), or Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947)? But Cavalcade may be the most forgettable (and forgotten) of them all. Based on a play by Noël Coward adapted by Reginald Berkeley and Sonya Levien, it's the saga of 33 years in the lives of a wealthy London couple, Robert (Clive Brook) and Jane Marryot (Diana Wynyard). Its portrait of their lives and the lives of their servants may have inspired the popular British TV series Upstairs Downstairs, and through it the even more popular Downton Abbey, both of which cover pretty much the same time period. In Cavalcade, as in the two TV series, the families suffer losses from the sinking of the Titanic and from World War I, and experience the social upheaval of a changing class system. But Cavalcade tries to cram it all into less than two hours, and tends to be more blatantly nostalgic about the passing scene. Unlike the creators of the later TV series, Coward and his adapters didn't have the benefit in 1933 of seeing what effect the events of the first third of the twentieth century would have on Britain and the world. It settles for a bit of prophecy in the form of a montage in which various talking heads rant about disarmament, communism, atheism, Christianity, and other ideologies, including a rather corny scene in a louche night club where same-sex couples seem to be on the verge of making out. (The film is pre-Code, so the strictures against depicting homosexuality haven't kicked in yet, though it's clear that the film -- despite Coward's own sexual orientation -- disapproves of it.) In addition to the best picture Oscar, Cavalcade also won a second Oscar for its director, Frank Lloyd, who had been the first director to be so honored, for The Divine Lady (1929). Wynyard also received a nomination for best actress, losing to a newcomer, Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (Lowell Sherman, 1933). Wynyard had a more successful career on stage than in movies. In Cavalcade she tries to register emotion by staring meditatively into the middle distance, often seeming like she has spotted something troubling on the wallpaper. The rest of the cast includes Herbert Mundin and Una O'Connor as the Marryots' servants, and Frank Lawton as Joe Marryot, the younger son, all three of whom would be reunited in a much better movie, David Copperfield (George Cukor, 1935). For the record, some of the films that Cavalcade beat for best picture include 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon), I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy), and Little Women (Cukor), all of which are more highly watchable today.

Chandu the Magician (1932) William Cameron Menzies & Marcel Varnel

July 31st 2022

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒐𝒅: Patric Knowles, Herbert Mundin and Errol Flynn, 1938.

3 years ago I discovered Errol Flynn through a friend of mine. He played Errol in a TV series in the 90s. I found it on Youtube and downloaded it. I am glad I did as it is no longer on Youtube. I watched it and got curious about the real Errol. So I bought a boxset with 4 movies. The first movie I saw was The Adventures of Robin Hood.

I was in for a treat. Errol leaped onto the screen and into my heart. It was a great movie. It might be an old one, but I loved it. Basil Rathbone was a great evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne, Claude Rains a cunning Prince John, Eugene Pallette a very funny Friar Tuck (I love the scene in which Robin steals his fish), Herbert Mundin and Una O'Connor are a great couple as Much and Bess. Olivia DeHavilland an outstanding Maid Marian. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Maritime Films #6

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Director: Frank Lloyd

Starring: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin, Dudley Digges, Eddie Quillan, Movita, and Mamo Clark

What a breath of fresh (sea) air! After slogging my way through Captain Blood (1935) recently, it was a real delight to watch this historic drama, in which everything - acting, cinematography, special effects, storyline - were just spectacular.

The yeaahhh-not-quite pride of the British Navy’s royal fleet, the HMS Bounty, is ordered to sail to Tahiti to collect breadfruit trees and transplant them to the West Indies as a food source for British slaves. The ship is captained by the brutal tyrant, William Bligh (Charles Laughton in what can only be described as a perfect performance) and his first mate lieutenant, Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable). After pressing - aka kidnapping and forcing - several local sailors into service aboard the Bounty, the ship sets sail for what is expected to be a 2-year journey. 

Among the crew are the lovelorn Ellison (Eddie Quillan), who is loathe to leave his wife and newborn baby behind, the always drunk and always spinnin’ a yarn surgeon, Bacchus (Dudley Digges - also perfect), and the amiable, newly minted midshipman, Roger Byam (Franchot Tone), who quickly befriends Christian.

As the journey progresses, Bligh’s cruelty becomes increasingly unbearable - regular floggings, keelhauling (dropping sailors overboard and dragging them beneath the ship via a rope), and other tortures are meted out daily. Tempers start running short, and tensions are on the verge of exploding when the Bounty finally reaches Tahiti.

Welcomed to the island by the local communities, Byam and Fletcher both fall in love with indigenous women, Tehani (Movita) and Maimiti (Mamo Clark), respectively, and tensions aboard the ship are momentarily forgotten in the heavens of a tropical paradise. But alas, the crew must return to the Bounty, and it doesn’t take long for Bligh’s reign of terror to resume.

Fed up with the cruelty, Christian decides to take matters into his own hands. But not everyone is on his side in this fight, most notably his best friend, Byam, who wants the British navy to court martial Bligh when they return home. So, when the mutiny unfolds, it is more than just a tyrannical captain who has to survive - friendship, love, trust, loyalty, and freedom are all on the line.

And what a line! I loved this movie from the opening scene to the end credits!! As I mentioned above, Charles Laughton is absolute perfection. He is so loathsome as the evil Captain Bligh, but he also infuses a sense of sympathy and vulnerability in the post-mutiny scenes that really make his performance stand out. Clark Gable is also great, but two more favorites of mine were the surgeon Bacchus - his drunken yarns were much needed comic relief - and the hapless cook, Smith (Herbert Mundin), who didn’t say much, but still managed to make his mark in every scene he was in.

I also can’t get over the effects! What a long way filming sea epics has come since Down to the Sea in Ships (1922) and Moby Dick (1930). All the scenes of the Bounty at sea were absolutely stunning, including the detail paid to the sails and rigging. Someone put out a documentary STAT on how they filmed this movie because I am impressed beyond words. Well, maybe not beyond words since I have managed to pour a bunch of them here, but still!

4 out of 3 masts for this one! 

Herbert Mundin, Errol Flynn & Billy Bevan Film: Another Dawn (1937) Credit to WARNER BROS.

@tcmparty live tweet schedule for the week beginning Monday, January 10, 2022. Look for us on Twitter…watch and tweet along…remember to add #TCMParty to your tweets so everyone can find them :) All times are Eastern.

Monday, Jan. 10 at 9:15 p.m. ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932) An ocean voyage leads to romance for a dying heiress and a condemned criminal.

Friday, Jan. 14 at 8:00 p.m. HELL DRIVERS (1957) A trucker tangles with a corrupt boss and his thugs.

Una O´Connor-Herbert Mundin "En Capri nació un amor" (All men are enemies) 1934, de George Fitzmaurice.

(Hier ist ein anders als englischssprachiges Plakat eigentlich ganz besonders unangebracht.) Gerade feiert man den Beginn eines neuen Jahrhunderts, und wie wir immer zu singen pflegen: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, la la la la la la?”

Schon 30 Jahre später überkommt Noel Coward der 20th Century Blues. In einer nie dagewesenen Kavalkade von Kriegen, persönlichen Trägödien, Schiffsunglücken, allgemeinem Sittenverfall und dergleichen halten sich die Marryots jedoch tapfer, und glauben an die Zukunft Englands. Mit zahllosen bekannten und beliebten mehr oder weniger patriotischen Melodien fügen sie sich zum Epos einer Generation.

(In diesem Zusammenhang fällt uns überdeutlich auf, daß die Last Night of the Proms stattgefunden hat, wir aber nicht daran gedacht haben. So wird das natürlich nichts mit der Zukunft Englands).

"THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD" (1938) Review

”THE ADVENTUERS OF ROBIN HOOD” (1938) Review Eighty-one years ago, the 1938 film, ”THE ADVENTUERS OF ROBIN HOOD”, was released in theaters for the first time. For many fans and film critics, the swashbuckler is considered the definitive Errol Flynn movie. They also view his character, Sir Robin of Locksley, as the pinnacle of the Australian actor’s career.

There have been previous versions of the Robin Hood tale before and after. The other most famous versions are the 1922 silent film that starred Douglas Fairbanks and the 1950s TV series that starred Richard Greene. Like the other versions, the movie told the story of the young Saxon nobleman (Flynn) who created a band of outlaws to protest against the reign of Prince John (Claude Rains) in England during the early 1190s. With King Richard the Lionhearted (Ian Hunter) a hostage of Austria’s king, John usurps the royal power to oppress the English poor – especially the Saxons – with the help of Sir Guy Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper). Robin and his right hand man, Will Scarlett (Patric Knowles), recruits the likes of Little John (Alan Hale, Sr.), Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette), Much the Miller's Son (Herbert Mundin) and a band of outlaws. Soon, Prince John and his Norman cronies find their cruelties opposed and themselves harassed beyond all bearing. Robin also finds the time to fall in love with the Norman noblewoman and royal ward, Maid Marian Fitzwalter (Olivia de Havilland). To be frank, ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” is a glorious triumph not only for the Warner Bros. studio, but for Flynn as well. It has everything that the moviegoer could possibly want in a swashbuckler – great action, rich color, a superb score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and a leading man who more than embodied what the main character stood for. Warner Bros. executives Jack Warner and Hal Wallis had originally cast James Cagney in the lead. But the actor became embroiled in one of his many feuds with the studio and two years later, Flynn won the role. I cannot say how Cagney would have portrayed Robin of Locksley. But Warner and Wallis certainly struck it rich with Flynn in the lead. Not only did he look the part, he handled the physical aspects of the role, perfectly. And he managed to inject Robin with a great mixture of roguish humor and sincere compassion. The rest of the cast were also superb. Olivia de Havilland was never more lovelier. Even better, her Maid Marian became more than just the love interest and damsel-in-distress. Once Robin had swayed her to his cause, she turned out to be a valuable recruit. Not only did she managed to come up with a plan to save Robin from execution, she was the one who discovered a plot by Prince John, Sir Guy and the Sheriff to assassinate the returning King Richard. Claude Rains, with his soft voice, made a deliciously sly Prince John. Basil Rathbone was tough enough to serve as a physical adversary for Robin. Their duel in the final scene at Nottingham Castle is considered a classic, thanks to the fencing choreography staged by Fred Cavens. And Melville Cooper was his usual funny self as the buffoonish Sheriff of Nottingham. Although I find it odd that he was the only one who was able to come up with a successful plan to capture Sir Robin. And where would ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” be without its supporting cast that portrayed Robin’s Merry Men? The handsome Patric Knowles made a sly and witty Will Scarlett. Alan Dale Sr. returned as Little John, a role he had first made famous in the 1922 film. Eugene Pallette made great use of his frog voice and gruff demeanor as Friar Tuck. And Herbert Mundin, as Much the Miller’s Son, seemed to be the best of the bunch. Not only did he proved to be as brave as Robin, he also won the hand of Marian’s nurse, Bess, portrayed by the always memorable Una O’Connor. Surprisingly, ”THE ADVENTUES OF ROBIN HOOD” had two directors. Hal Wallis first assigned the film to William Keighley, who had directed Flynn in ”THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER” (1937). But Hal Wallis felt slightly dissatisfied with Keighley’s slow handling of the action sequences and replaced him with Warner Bros’ reliable warhorse, Michael Curtiz. Flynn, who detested the Hungarian-born director, must have screamed in frustration. But Curtiz’s direction gave the film a tighter pace and better action sequences for which the movie is famous. ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” was one of the first films of the studio to use the old three-strip Technicolor process. And it paid off, giving the movie a rich color and vibrancy. And what would this version of Robin Hood be without Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Academy Award winning score. I am still surprised that Korngold had originally turned down the assignment because he felt that his score could not live up to the movie’s action. Thankfully, he proved himself wrong. ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” seemed to have everything going for it – great cast, great photography, great action and great music. And it all seemed to blend seamlessly. Yet . . . it is not my favorite Errol Flynn movie. I had come across a review of the film in which a critic stated that one of the reasons this was his favorite Flynn movie was its light-hearted tone and simplistic characterizations that allowed the audience to escape from the more complex, modern world. And I could see those traits in the movie. But as much as I had enjoyed it, there were times when the movie came off as a little too light or simple for me. Sir Robin of Locksley may be considered Flynn’s best role, but I must admit that I found his portrayal of Geoffrey Vickers in ”THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE” (1936) and Geoffrey Thorpe in ”THE SEA HAWK” (1940) more complex and interesting. In fact, I consider the two movies to be my favorites that Flynn ever made. However, I do love ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” and consider it one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen.

Frank Lawton, W.C. Fields, and Roland Young in David Copperfield (George Cukor, 1935)

Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, Edna May Oliver, Jessie Ralph, Basil Rathbone, Herbert Mundin, Una O’Connor, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lanchester, W.C. Fields, Roland Young, Lewis Stone, Madge Evans, Hugh Williams, Maureen O’Sullivan. Screenplay: Howard Estabrook, Hugh Walpole, based on a novel by Charles Dickens. Cinematography: Oliver T. Marsh. Art direction: Cedric Gibbons. Film editing: Robert Kern. Music: Herbert Stothart. 

As long as there are novels and movies, there will be people trying to turn novels into movies. Which is a task usually doomed to some degree of failure, given that the two art forms have significantly different aims and techniques. Novels are interior: They reveal what people think and feel. Movies are exterior: Thoughts and feelings have to be depicted, not reported. Novels breed reflection; movies breed reaction. Novel-based movies usually succeed only when the genius of the filmmakers exceeds that of the novelist, as in the case, for example, of Alfred Hitchcock's transformation (1960) of Robert Bloch's Psycho, or Francis Ford Coppola's extrapolation (1972) from Mario Puzo's The Godfather. We mostly settle for, at best, a satisfying skim along the surface of the novel, which is what we get in Cukor's version of Dickens's novel. I'm not claiming, of course, that Cukor or the film's producer, David O. Selznick, was a greater genius than Dickens, but together -- and with the help of Hugh Walpole, who adapted the book, and Howard Estabrook, the credited screenwriter -- they produced something of a parallel masterpiece. They did so by sticking to the visuals of the novel, not just Dickens's descriptions but also the illustrations for the original edition by "Phiz," Hablot Knight Brown. The result is that it's hard to read the novel today without seeing and hearing W.C. Fields as Micawber, Edna May Oliver as Betsey Trotwood, or Roland Young as Uriah Heep. The weaknesses of the film are also the weaknesses of the book: women like David's mother (Elizabeth Allan) and Agnes Wickfield (Madge Evans) are pallid and angelic, and David himself becomes less interesting as he grows older, or in terms of the movie, as he ceases to be the engaging Freddie Bartholomew and becomes instead the vapid Frank Lawton. But as compensation we have the full employment of MGM's set design and costume departments, along with a tremendous storm at sea -- the special effects are credited to Slavko Vorkapich.

Angel (1937) Ernst Lubitsch

November 29th 2022

Films Watched in 2019:

26. Chandu the Magician (1932) - Dir. William Cameron Menzies/Marcel Varnel

365 Day Movie Challenge (2019) - #47: Cavalcade (1933) - dir. Frank Lloyd

Probably remembered today only by film buffs who know it as the Best Picture Oscar winner sandwiched between Grand Hotel (1932) and It Happened One Night (1934), the Fox studio drama Cavalcade relates the often tragic histories of a well-to-do British family and their servants à la “Upstairs, Downstairs” and “Downton Abbey,” spanning several generations from New Year’s Eve 1899 to New Year’s Eve 1932.

Adapted by Reginald Berkeley and Sonya Levien from the hit stage play by Noël Coward, Cavalcade splits its story between the family of the upper-class Marryots, headed by Jane (Diana Wynyard) and Robert (Clive Brook), and the family of the Marryots’ chauffeur and cook, Alfred (Herbert Mundin) and Ellen Bridges (Una O’Connor). We see the two couples and their children navigate their experiences during such traumatic events as the Second Boer War, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I. In one of the film’s more inspired sequences, we see the passing of time between 1914 and 1918 as a repetitive montage of death in the trenches, the effects for which were designed by William Cameron Menzies.

It is understandable why Diana Wynyard received a Best Actress Oscar nomination in the sense that she has the largest lead role and the most emotionally charged scenes, but personally I find her style overwrought in the extreme. Margaret Lindsay, putting on an English accent for a job in between her contracts at Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., is far more effective in the small but impactful role of Wynyard’s daughter-in-law, Edith Harris. (For those of you who listen to film historian’s Richard Schickel commentary track on the DVD, you will note that apparently he had no idea who Lindsay was, since he misidentified her as another, markedly older character.) To be honest, most actors in the cast are preferable to Wynyard, including an underused Clive Brook and Ursula Jeans, who movingly sings the original Coward tune “Twentieth Century Blues.” As Schickel’s commentary points out, throughout Cavalcade we really only see the grimmest incidents in the main characters’ intersecting lives, which is a shame since that makes it hard to evaluate Cavalcade as something other than an old-fashioned, superficially sketched-out melodrama with occasional flashes of greatness.