Teapot Dome Scandal Rocks America

Now Jesse Walker looks back a hundred years to 1922.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2023/01/has-it-really-been-whole-century-i-have.html

We're solidly in the silent era, and it was actually quite a year, I'd say.

Here's his top ten:

1. Salome

2. Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror

3. Dr. Mabuse Part 2

4. Dr. Mabuse Part 1

5. Cops

6. The Blacksmith

7. Grandma's Boy

8. Pay Day

9. Jumping Beans

10. Witchcraft Through The Ages

Because 1922 films aren't shown that often, Jesse has no list of honorable mentions, though he does bring up the experimental advertisement Der Sieger.

He then goes back even further and mentions The Cameraman's Revenge from 1912 and La Voyage Dans La Lune in 1902.  For that matter, in 1892--yes, 1892--there's Pauvre Pierrot and from 1882 The Kiss.  By this last, we're in motion picture pre-history.

There's only so much to say about 1922.  Many silent films are lost and most of the others aren't that easy to see.  Still, this was a year when filmmaking was in full bloom, full of innovation and excitement.

I haven't seen Salome, but Nosferatu still holds up--in fact, it's fun to see Dracula before he was Dracula. Speaking of spooky stuff, I'm also a fan of Witchcraft Through The Ages (which I know better as Haxan).

Dr. Mabuse is still fascinating, though I can't remember the difference between parts 1 and 2.

The greatest films of the silent era come from the clowns. Jesse lists two from Buster Keaton, who was still making shorts in 1922.  Cops is perhaps his best known (even if Keaton didn't consider it anything special) but there's nothing wrong with his other films that year--The Paleface, My Wife's Relations, The Frozen North, The Electric House and Day Dreams.

Meanwhile, Harold Lloyd was making full-length films, and Grandma's Boy, being his first true feature, always meant a lot to him. His second feature from 1922, Dr. Jack, is also worth looking at.

Pay Day was a short Chaplin made--his last true short--to help finish off his contract with First National so he could start working for his own company, United Artists.  It ended up working pretty well.

I haven't seen Jumping Beans, but the Fleischers, in general, were doing good work at their studio in the 1920s.  Speaking of animation, there was also the highly popular Felix The Cat films as well as the beginning of the Our Gang series.

There are a number of other titles from 1922 worth seeking out.  Some I've seen, some not.  Some I'm surprised aren't on Jesse's list, but maybe he hasn't had a chance to watch them.  Here are some notable titles:

Foolish Wives

The Loves Of Pharaoh

Manslaughter

Mud And Sand

Nanook Of The North

Oliver Twist

One Exciting Night

Phantom

The Prisoner Of Zenda

Robin Hood

Sherlock Holmes

Smilin' Through

Tess Of The Storm Country

The Three Must-Get-Theres

So I guess that's it.  Please resume normal activities.

Almost One In Four Unemployed

Jesse Walker now takes a look at 1932.  I love the 1930s--for Hollywood movies, anyway--though this is an early enough year that the talkies are still figuring out a few things.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2023/01/prosperity-is-just-around-corner-weve.html

Here's his top ten:

1. Vampyr

2. Island Of Lost Souls

3. Ivan

4. Freaks

5. Love Me Tonight

6. Horse Feathers

7. Boudu Saved From Drowning

8. Trouble In Paradise

9. Million Dollar Legs

10. Blood Of A Poet

People didn't know what to make of Vampyr back then, and I'm not sure if they do yet.  Still, quite something.

Island Of Lost Souls (which I saw recently) is fun not just because it's pre-Code, but because, like Laughton, the filmmakers have something wild on their hands and they're not sure how to control it.

Haven't seen Ivan.  I've certainly seen Freaks, and watching it you can see what it was a flop in its day but a cult classic now.  Certainly one of the creepiest films ever.

Love Me Tonight holds up better than most other musicals of the era, partly for Mamoulian's trickery, but mostly due to a great Rodgers and Hart score.

I'd put up Horse Feathers (which I saw yet again last week) against any other Marx Brothers film, so you can probably guess it's my #1 of the year.  It's essentially one classic comedy routine after another.

Boudu is early Renoir--maybe before he knew he was a classic, which is a good thing.

Trouble In Paradise is perfection (and Lubitsch knew it).  It would be #1 if the Marx Brothers hadn't made a classic.

Million Dollar Legs is an oddity well worth watching. (What a year Paramount was having, even if they were going bankrupt.  They put out four of Jesse's top ten.)

Blood Of A Poet still stands as a surrealist classic.

Honorable Mentions:

11. Betty Boop, M.D.

12. Shanghai Express

13. American Madness

14. Betty Boop For President

15. One Hour With You

16. Minnie The Moocher

17. Red-Headed Woman

18. Night At The Crossroads

19. Murders In The Rue Morgue

20. The Idea

11, 13, 16 and 20 are shorts. (And if you're going to list shorts, it wasn't all Betty Boop--these were prime years for Disney and Laurel and Hardy.)

12 is my favorite Dietrich/von Sternberg film. 13, with its memorable bank vault set, shows Capra didn't start doing socially conscious films with Mr. Deeds (though in those days he pretty much took whatever they threw at him). 15 is the second fine film from Lubitsch this year (and he made one and a quarter more). 17 is the film that made Harlow a major star, though she'd become famous as a platinum blonde, and it's not her best film of 1932 with "Red" in the title. 18 shows Renoir was pretty busy, too. 19, like Island Of Lost Souls, showed Hollywood was capable of doing weird stuff in the early 30s.

Other films that might make my top ten:

Grand Hotel

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

One Way Passage

Red Dust (The best Harlow film of 1932)

Scarface (Jesse is bothered by the instructional scene forced upon the movie. First, it's only a minor part of the film, easily ignored.  Second, I consider the big scene mostly comic.  Third, the scene is fascinating since it probably plays today as the most offensive part of the movie. Fourth, the scene was only forced upon the film because the movie was so damn crazy and violent--other gangster films are calm and controlled next to Scarface.)

Other films I like:

Broken Lullaby, The Crowd Roars, Jewel Robbery, Movie Crazy, The Mummy, Night After Night, The Old Dark House, Skyscraper Souls, Tarzan The Ape Man, Tiger Shark

Other films of note:

20,000 Years In Sing Sing, Air Mail, The Animal Kingdom, Arsene Lupin, As You Desire Me, Back Street, The Big Broadcast, A Bill Of Divorcement, Blonde Venus, Chandu The Magician, Doctor X, A Farewell To Arms, Flesh, Forbidden, The Greeks Had A Word For Them, If I Had A Million, The Kid From Spain, The Lost Squadron, The Mask Of Fu Manchu, Me And My Gal, The Miracle Man, The Most Dangerous Game, No Man Of Her Own, No More Orchids, The Passionate Plumber, The Phantom President, Polly Of The Circus, Rain, Rasputin And The Empress, Rich And Strange, Ride Him Cowboy, Scarlet Dawn, Sherlock Holmes, Shopworn, The Sign Of Four, The Sign Of The Cross, So Big!, Speak Easily, State's Attorney, Strange Interlude, There Goes The Bride, Thirteen Women, This Is The Night, Three On A Match, Three Wise Girls, Union Depot, What Price Hollywood?, White Zombie

The Battle Of Midway And All That

Jesse Walker has now reached back four score years, to 1942.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2023/01/we-are-entering-war-zone-we-have.html

America had just entered the war, but Hollywood was working at full speed.  Europe wasn't doing quite so well.  Here are his top ten films of that year:

1. Cat People

2. The Magnificent Ambersons

3. The Talk Of The Town

4. Casablanca

5. The Man Who Came To Dinner

6. The Palm Beach Story

7. The Major And The Minor

8. La Nuit Fantastique

9. To Be Or Not To Be

10. The Male Animal

In previous lists this year, I often note I haven't seen the films since they were originally released.  Now that we're in an area well before I was born, I can't help but notice I rewatched most of these films in the past few months.  Maybe it's the TCM effect.

Cat People isn't at the top of my list, but it's an excellent B movie (and the start of a series of other fine B movies).

Ambersons has an amazing start but, of course, an ending that was butchered by the studio.  Though rewatching it (just last week) I could see why the studio did what it did.  This is a dark film that was never going to make money.

The Talk Of The Town is a good film, though it's already starting to get the sense of self-importance that would mar a lot of Stevens' post-war work.

Casablanca should be rated higher.

The Man Who Came To Dinner (also watched last week) is very enjoyable, but mostly for capturing the performance of Monty Woolley, who originated the title role (and was hardly the first choice for the film).

I consider The Palm Beach Story second-tier Sturges, though that's good enough for the top ten.

The Major And The Minor is the first film directed by Billy Wilder, so he made sure to make an extra-charming confection.  If anything, I'd rank it higher.

Never seen La Nuit Fantastique.

To Be Or Not To Be is a Lubitsch masterpiece--maybe the top film of the year.

The Male Animal is enjoyable enough, I suppose, but nothing that special. (I don't think much of the play, either.)

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. The Road To Morocco

12. The Murderer Lives At Number 21

13. Random Harvest

14. This Gun For Hire

15. Holiday Inn

16. Went The Day Well?

17. The Early Bird Dood It

18. The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

19. Symphony Hour

20. Headlights In The Fog

11 is the best of the Road pictures (and I just watched it last week).  Should be top ten (almost is). Haven't seen 12.  13 is considered a Hollywood classic, which I guess is okay.  14 is pretty good. 15 should probably be top ten. 16 is a pretty special film.  17, 18 and 19 are animated shorts.  Haven't seen 20.

Other films that would make my top ten or twenty:

Bambi

For Me And My Gal

Saboteur

You Were Never Lovelier

Other films I like:

I Married A Witch, It's All True, Jungle Book, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Blonde, Yankee Doodle Dandy

Other films of note;

A-Haunting We Will Go, Across The Pacific, The Affairs Of Martha, Alibi, Andy Hardy's Double Life, Arabian Nights, The Battle Of Midway, Cairo, Cowboy Serenade, Flying Tigers, Four Jacks And A Jill, Gentlemen Jim, George Washington Slept Here, The Ghost Of Frankenstein, The Glass Key, I Married An Angel, In Old California, In This Our Life, In Which We Serve, Johnny Eager, Journey For Margaret, Kings Row, Lady For A Night, The Magnificent Dope, Manpower, Miss Annie Rooney, The Moon And Sixpence, Mr. And Mrs. North, Mrs. Miniver, My Gal Sal, My Sister Eileen, Now, Voyager, Once Upon A Honeymoon, Orchestra Wives, Panama Hattie, Pardon My Sarong, Pittsburgh, The Pride Of The Yankees, Reap The Wild Wind, Ride 'Em Cowboy, Rio Rita, Roxie Hart, Springtime In The Rockies, Star Spangled Rhythm, Tales Of Manhattan, Tarzan's New York Adventure, Tennesse Johnson, There's One Born Every Minute, Tomorrow We Live, Tortilla Flat, The Tuttles Of Tahiti, Wake Island, We Are The Marines, What's Cookin'?, White Cargo, Woman Of The Year, The Young Mr. Pitt

Eisenhower Elected

Jesse Walker has gone back to 1952, which only seems forever ago.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2023/01/52-card-pickup-so-far-ive-blogged-my.html

Here are his top ten films:

1. Ikiru

2. The Tragedy Of Othello, A Moor Of Venice

3. Singin' In The Rain

4. Viva Zapata!

5. The Lusty Men

6. My Son John

7. Water, Water Every Hare

8. The Narrow Margin

9. Rancho Notorious

10. Casque d'Or

Hard to argue with Ikiru (even if it's a bit long).  Now that it's dropping off critics' lists, I feel even better about it.

Welles' tends to wrestle Shakespeare to a draw, which is why his adaptations of the Bard tend to be my least favorite films of his. Further, Othello was made under trying circumstances and I think it shows.

Singin' In The Rain should be #1.  In fact, there are very few years where it wouldn't be #1.

Marlon Brando gave a number of fine performances early in his film career.  While Emiliano Zapata isn't my favorite, it's still pretty good. Same for the movie. (Is it worth noting he wouldn't be allowed to do it today?  Same with Welles above?)

There were a lot of Westerns in the 50s, but The Lusty Men stands apart.

I wouldn't call My Son John a good film, but I don't know if you can judge such an oddity by normal standards.

Water, Water Every Hare is a short.

The Narrow Margin reminds you how much fun film noir could be.

Rancho Notorious, while not a classic, is one of a number of films that makes me think maybe Lang was better in America than Germany.

Casque d'Or holds up pretty well.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Magical Maestro

12. Forbidden Games

13. Umberto D

14. A Phantasy

15. Bells Of Atlantis

16. Son Of Paleface

17. The Beast Must Die

18. La Jeune Folle

19. Scaramouche

20. The Happy Family

12 and 16 might make my top ten.  13 and 19 definitely would. 11, 14 and 15 are shorts.  Haven't seen 17, 18 or 20.

Here are other films that might make my top ten or twenty.

The Bad And The Beautiful

The Crimson Pirate

The Life Of Oharu

This Is Cinerama

The White Sheik

Other films I like:

5 Fingers, The Belle Of New York, The Golden Coach, Hans Christian Andersen, The Importance Of Being Earnest, Jumping Jacks, Mexican Bus Ride, Park Row, Pat And Mike, Road To Bali, Sailor Beware

Other films of note:

Abbott And Costello Meet Captain Kidd, Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla, Bend Of The River, Beware, My Lovely, Big Jim McLain, The Big Sky, The Big Trees, Bloodhounds Of Broadway, Breakdown, Bwana Devil, Clash By Night, Come Back, Little Sheba, Deadline--USA, Don't Bother To Knock, Europa '51, A Girl In Every Port, The Greatest Show On Earth, The Happy Time, Here Come The Marines, Here Come The Nelsons, High Noon, Hold that Line, Holiday For Henrietta,  Invasion, USA, Ivanhoe, Jack And The Beanstalk, Kansas City Confidential, The Las Vegas Story, Limelight, Lone Star, Lovely To Look At, Ma And Pa Kettle At The Fair, Macao, Mandy, The Marrying Kind, Meet Danny Wilson, The Member Of The Wedding, Million Dollar Mermaid, Monkey Business, Moulin Rouge, O. Henry's Full House, Plymouth Adventure, The Quiet Man, Room For One More, Ruby Gentry, Scandal Sheet, The Sound Barrier, The Star And Stars And Stripes Forever, Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie, We're Not Married!, Where's Charley?, The White Reindeer, With A Song In My Heart