Thursday, May 30, 2013

Now Playing: MAY 30, 1933

This week's highlight is a snappy twin bill at the Warner.


Here's what I thought of William Wellman's Lilly Turner and Archie Mayo's Life of Jimmy Dolan -- the name is spelled Jimmie in some markets.

Elsewhere in Milwaukee, the Riverside offers audiences a trade-off: no vaudeville, but free candy.


The Wisconsin presents an interstudio crossover.


Gary Cooper was loaned to M-G-M by Paramount for Howard Hawks's film of a story by his buddy William Faulkner, the author himself contributing to the screenplay. While the publicity boasted of Cooper's compatibility with Crawford, the actress actually fell in love with fourth-billed (in the credits) Franchot Tone, whom she married. The film flopped, and so, eventually, did the marriage.

Also from M-G-M this week:


The advertising boasts of the American context, but the title is pure political exploitation. Clarence Brown's Looking Forward is actually set in England, and the description on Wikipedia makes the story sound like a tamer, tweedier version of Employees' Entrance.  And no, Barrymore and Stone are not a romantic team in this picture.

Finally, the Garden's attraction starts in London but ends up in Africa. If you can believe the advertising, we're looking at prime Pre-Code material here.


From the synopsis available at TCM.com, I get the impression that none of the questions asked in the ad are answered by this Equitable Pictures production. The site also says that the film wasn't as risque as advertised, but at least it gives us Alan Hale Sr. wielding a whip, and having it wielded on him. That has to count for something.

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