The Wizard of Oz

Posted on 6 November, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1939

Director: Officially Victor Fleming, although there were more: George Cukor, Mervy Le Roy, Norman Taurog and King Vidor who did the black and white beginning scenes in Kansas.

Cast:

Judy Garland (Dorothy)

Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz)

Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow).

Bet Lahr (The Cowardly Lion).

Jack Haley (The Tin-man).

Although it may not seem true, I remembered very little from this film. I think I saw it at a very young age, and my brother’s tale of what happened to him must have also happened to me; that upon seeing the scenes with the witch in the cinema, he was so scared that he had to leave. I barely remembered some of the scenes, for example even the part with Dorothy’s red shoes or, of course, the famous “Over the Rainbow” song.

Last week I proposed to my daughter of 22 years that we watch this movie together at home one afternoon. I am buying all the “Movie Wednesday” films on Amazon, and this section has provided a perfect excuse for the family to spend some afternoons together enjoying good classic cinema.

I’m getting carried away with something else here, however, why I made the previous comment is because I found it curious that neither my daughter at 22 years or me at 50 could take our eyes off the screen for even a second. We both thoroughly enjoyed Dorothy and her friend’s adventures.

I was impressed by the excellent characterization of the personalities: the Scarecrow, the Tin-man, and the Cowardly Lion. What charming and timeless characters! I’m sure that all children would fall in love with them if they saw this children’s cinema classic today, and of course they would all want a “Toto” at home.

Judy Garland is at her best. Her marvelous voice nearly makes you cry when, right at the start of the film, she sings “Over the Rainbow”.

Due to the use of this warm sepia black and white in the scenes in which Dorothy really lives, and the contrasting color in the fantastical scenes, together with the fantastic special effects in the Emerald City scenes and the music and the simplicity of the story itself, make an immortal children’s cinema classic of “The Wizard of Oz”.

Although referred to as corny by many, one cannot deny the intense emotions of a film thought of for a children’s public. It is film where the adult enters the world of the film with the same eagerness as the smallest of human beings.

Very few times, if ever, has a film thought up for the smallest and youngest, been kept so alive and continues to keep us stuck to our seats.

To those of you with children I propose to you a night of classic cinema with the youngest in your household. I would love for you to then tell me if they were at all frightened, or if the children of this generation don’t get scared as easily as we did.

Awards:

Oscar for the Best Original Song (Over the rainbow) to Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg (music and lyrics). Oscar for the Best Original Soundtrack.
Nominated Oscars for the Best Film, Best Photography, Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects.
Nominated at the Palme d’Or Cannes Film Festival for the Best Director (Victor Fleming) in 1939.

Curious Facts:

Many of Margaret Hamilton’s (the witch) scenes were deleted from the final editing, as they resulted too frightening and, after all, this was a film meant for young children.
Judy Garland had to wear a very tight corset to reduce her chest size, in order to give her a more infantile appearance. She was 17 year old.
Whilst the munchkins received a salary of 50 dollars per week of work, the dog got 125 dollars for the same period.
The song “Over the Rainbow” was nearly excluded from the recording for being too long. On one occasion, Judy Garland started to cry in the scene, together with all the film crew, due to the song’s sadness.
This same song is in the list of 100 best Hollywood songs of all time, according to the American Film Institute.

The jacket worn by Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz) has a very curious story. Whilst looking for a jacket that would adapt to the character’s personality, they found it in a second hand shop. Later, on one of its tags, the jacket confirmed that it belonged to L. Frank Baum, the author of the original “The Wizard of Oz” books. Upon terminating the filming, the jacket was given to his widow.
Judy Garland wanted to keep the dog (Toto) after two weeks of living together during the filming, however, unfortunately the owner refused.
Despite Judy Garland being the favorite for the role of Dorothy, Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin also came close to getting the role.
In 2007 the American Film Institute placed it at number 10 of the Best Films of all times.
The lion costume weighed nearly 50 kilos and was made of real lion fur.
Walt Disney arrived too late to get the rights to the movie. Louis B. Mayer made sure to get them before, with the objective of improving the enormous success of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”.
MGM paid 75,000 dollars for the rights to the film, an enormous sum for the time.
The film was reedited in 2013 in 3D, making it the oldest film to which this has been done.

Vídeos:

Somwhere over the rainbow:

Movie Trailer:

Complete Film (in English):

http://youtu.be/zYVau8-POS0

Images: cineol.net, cupon.es, diario-de-una-cinefila-wordpress y dr-macro

Ninotchka

Posted on 30 October, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1939

Director: Ernst Lubistch, with script by Billy Wilder

Cast:

Greta Garbo (Ninotchka)

Melvyn Douglas (León)

Ina Claire (Swana)

Bela Lugosi (Razinin)

Ninotchka is perhaps Greta Garbo’s greatest film. She spent her whole life playing dramatic roles. Even in this film we are made to wait a good while to see her laughing and smiling, as a fair amount of time seems to pass until we see her roar with laughter in the scene where Melvyn Douglas falls of the chair. I can just imagine what happened on the day of the film’s premiere, the scene must have caused resounding laughter in all the cinemas at the time.

In this scene Garbo showed that she was not only prepared to act out all the dramatic scenes, but she also showed, as only an actress of her rank could, that she was more than capable of making her audience roar with laughter.

Under the sharp criticism of the Communist system in the grasp of the Bolshevik Revolution, only Ernst Lubitsch and Billy Wilder (both exiled from the Nazi barbarism and enormously warlike with totalitarian doctrines), were able to make a movie that loaded with cynicism, cunning and elegance, in a period in which the Soviet Union was governed by Stalin.

Greta Garbo, one of the great stars, in this interpretation of “Comrade Ninotchka”, shows us that she is capable of passing from a icey and inexpressive affiliate of the Communist party, to the most tender, mischievous and fun woman of a most exciting and genuine Paris.

She is a unique actress who we can enjoy in pure state in this intense and critical work.

Awards:

Nominated an Oscar for Best Film, Best Actress (Greta Garbo), Best Original Script and Best Adapted Script.
NBR Award from the National Board of Review in 1939 for one of the 10 best films of the year.
Award from the National Film Preservation Board in 1990.
Second Award from the New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Director and Best Actress.

Curious Facts:

The film used “Garbo laughs!” as its slogan, in reference to her first talkie for which the slogan was “Garbo speaks!”. In addition, until then hardly any comedies had been made.
Greta Garbo filmed the entire film without makeup.
It was seriously considered that Spencer Tracy be contracted to play the part of Leon. Cary Grant, William Powell and Robert Montgomery were also serious candidates.
Greta Garbo was very nervous about making a comedy and especially in the scene where she appeared drunk, for being considered excessively vulgar.
The film was prohibited in the Soviet Union and its Satellite States.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was studying Greta Garbo’s acting to prepare the character of Ivan Danko in the film “Danko: Red Heat”.
The hat worn by Greta Garbo, although made by her usual tailor, was designed by her.

Dialogues to remember:

Ninotchka: We don’t have men like you in my country.

Leon: Thank you.

Ninotchka: That is why I believe in the future of my country.

Ninotchka: Why should you carry other people’s bags?

Porter: Well, that’s my business, Madame.
Ninotchka: That’s no business. That’s social injustice.
Porter: That depends on the tip.

Ninotchka: The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians.

Leon: Ninotchka, it’s midnight. One half of Paris is making love to the other half.
Ninotchka: As basic material, you may not be bad, but you are the unfortunate product of a doomed culture. I feel very sorry for you.

Cafe Owner: Now, what shall it be?

Ninotchka: Raw beets and carrots.
Cafe Owner: Madame, this is a restaurant, not a meadow.

Videos:

Film Trailer:

Film:

http://vimeo.com/39063669

Images: Cinema.de , Imdb.com y Wikipedia

Bringing Up Baby

Posted on 23 October, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1938

Cast:

Director: Howard Hawks

Katharine Hepburn: Susan

Cary Grant: David

Leopard: Baby

Photography by Russell Metty

With all its trip-ups, stuttered words, costumes, nonsensical dialogues and unbelievable situations, the first few minutes of the film already indicate that we have before us one of the most enjoyable comedies in the history of cinema.

First we have the splendid Katharine Hepburn playing the role of a capricious, reckless and perhaps somewhat hyperactive rich heiress. Then we have the absent-minded, elegant and attractive Cary Grant.

It is a film charged with vitality and optimism, one of those which raises your spirits on a sad Sunday afternoon, and that makes your roar with laughter more than once whilst truly enjoying yourself.

These are three of my most memorable scenes:

The broken dress scene: a crazed Katharine that does not allow an absent-minded, muddle-headed and innocent Cary Grant speak, as he gullibly falls into Hepburn’s grip whilst she handles his every whim.

The scene of the robe, when Katharine’s aunt unexpectedly presents herself at the house to discover Cary Grant covered in feathers and gossamer.

Also, the prison scene, which nearly reminds you of a scene from one of the Marx Brother’s famous movies.

It is a comedy in which everything complicates itself to unexpected levels of romance and pure disorder, so absurd and silly that it makes you laugh. All this, together with splendid photography, an incredible atmosphere and, above all, a masterful interpretation by the two starring parts, make an unforgettable film that still provokes us to roar with laughter today.

Awards:

Awarded in 1990 by the National Film Preservation Board.
According to Entertainment Weekly it is placed at number 24 in the best films of all time.
Premiere magazine voted it “One of the best 50 comedies of all time”.
In 2007 the American Film Institute placed it at number 88 of the Best Films in history.

Curious Facts:

Katharine Hepburn had never done a comedy before. She had to be taught by various Vaudeville specialists, such as Howard Hawks. On the other hand, Cary Grant was already a specialist in comedies.
Katharine had no problem doing the scenes with the leopard, whilst Cary Grant was always substituted by a double.
In many scenes a baby leopard was used, however, in others a partitioned set technique was used, and mounted together later on. A real feat for the period.
It was a box office failure. Howard Hawks was fired and the nickname of “Box Office Poison” was given to Katharine Hepburn.
Howard Hawks modelled Cary Grant’s character around the actor Harold Lloyd’s personality, he even gave him glasses.
Cary Grant’s character makes references to Pato Donald and Mickey Mouse. RKO was the Disney distributor at that time.
The film has no soundtrack.
The scene in which Katharine Hepburn breaks the dress and Cary Grant helps her to cover up is based on a real situation that happened to Grant: he caught the zipper on a woman’s dress in a theatre and, impulsively, went behind her. Howard Hawks found it so amusing that he decided to include it in the movie.
Cary Grant was so scared of the leopard that in order to torture him, Katharine Hepburn placed a stuffed leopard toy in one of the open air vents. “He ran out of there like lightning”, she wrote in her memoirs.
The scenes in which the leopard moves freely (especially those in Susan’s apartment) were filmed inside a cage, in which the cameras were strategically placed.
It is the second of four films that saw Grant and Hepburn united.
In its day, although many now consider this to be Hawks’ best film, its director stated that Bringing up Baby was no good due to its characters being over-“irrational”.

I leave you with a few of the funniest scenes:

Images:

jamd1973.blogspot.com y http://www.imdb.com/

My Man Godfrey

Posted on 16 October, 2013 by María López Linares

Cast:

William Powell (Godfrey Parke)

Carole Lombard (Irene Bullock)

Alice Brady (Angelica Bullock)

Gail Patrick (Cornelia Bullock)

Eugene Pallet (Alexander Bullock)

Allan Mowbray (Tommy Gray)

Director: Gregory La Cava

One of the most zesty, sparkling and brilliant satires of America’s high society ever to be filmed. Although for my taste it was perhaps a little exaggerated and with over-the-top acting.

An attractive tramp is contracted to work as a butler by a wealthy family, in their luxurious mansion on the Fifth Avenue in New York.

The film is scattered with masterful gags worthy of the best and most classical American theatre. A “screwball” that would be loved by Groucho Marx.

We find ourselves before an entertaining comedy, in which the characters brush closely to being bizarre, reflecting the superficial and mundane life of the most wealthy families of the Great Depression period in America with extreme intensity.

Lively, delicious, intelligent and elegant. It is an absolute jewel of classic cinema. The incredible glamour of the costumes and room’s decorations, together with the absurd situations through which its people live and the nonsense that follows, makes one of the most well-remembered comedies of black and white cinema.

Awards:

Six Oscar nominations (of which the film did not win any):

-Best actor (William Powell)

-Best actress (Carole Lombard)

-Best supporting actor (Misha Auer -the protected-)

-Best supporting actress (Alice Brady)

-Best director (Gregory La Cava)

-Best adapted script

National Film Preservation Award in 1999.

Curious Facts:

William Powell was substituted in the scene in which he carried Carole Lombard on his shoulders.
Premiere magazine voted it to be “one of the best 50 films in the history of cinema” in 2006.
Although the two main actors were divorced, Powell declared that Carole Lombard was the only woman who could play the role of Irene.
The film was based on the book “1101 Park Avenue”, by Eric Hatch.
Jane Wyman (Angela Channing from “Falcon Crest”) makes an appearance in the film, although she is not in the credits.
In 2002 the film was remastered and colored.
Carole Lombard had the habit of saying curse words in the dialogues, resulting in many scenes having to be repeated.
It was William Powell that suggested for Lombard to play the role of Irene, as he said that she had many things in common with the character.
The “Waldorf-Ritz” Hotel does not exist. It is an amalgamation of two hotels in New York, The Waldorf-Astoria and The Ritz-Carlton.
Due to an error with the original copyrights, the film was of public domain, meaning that anyone could make a copy and sell it.

Slip-Ups:

Godfrey’s bedroom door, which opens to the kitchen, opens in both directions.
When the police arrive to resolve the necklace case, three officials appear. Upon leaving, we apparently only see two.

I leave you the the video of the film:

Images: www.c1n3.org

Jezebel

Posted on 9 October, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1938

Director: William Wyler

Cast:

Bette Davis (Jezebel, or Julie)

Henry Fonda (Preston Dillard)

George Brent (Buck Cantrell)

Margaret Lindsay (Amy)

William Wyler makes Bette Davis the indisputable main star of this Southern melodrama.

Bette plays the role of an authoritarian, impulsive and capricious mother. Her character is a disobedient young girl who refuses to follow the strict rules of the late nineteenth century Southern American society. Julie is astute, proud, intelligent, but above all she is provocative and manipulative. All this makes her an immature and capricious youngster, who is ready to do anything in order to reach her objectives.

The need to always be the center of attention and to push every situation to its limit is what provokes her fiancé, Preston Dillard, the cold, calculating and workaholic role starred by Henry Fonda, to abandon both her and the city upon not being able to dominate such a tornado of a woman.

There are scenes which brush with perfect interpretation; always, of course, with Davis as the main star.

These are my most memorable scenes:

The dance scene when she decides to attend wearing a red dress instead of the white dress requested by the dress code.

The entrances where she takes control of the screen, and brightly and elegantly descends down the staircase are spectacular.

I do not have the words to describe Bette Davis’ face when her ex-lover introduces her to his wife: astonished, cold, desperate, hateful… all these feelings mixed into one and shown in a few seconds on the screen.

Bette Davis’ expression when she’s dressed in white, singing at the foot of a staircase surrounded by children, broken by pain and trying to hide it, is simply unforgettable.

This is not only a story of impossible love in the life of a rebellious and manipulative woman, but also a critique of the archaic strict and almost medieval customs of the time; a time when Julie is despised for dressing inadequately, whilst facing the conventionalisms and not caring for the social rejection that it provokes. All in all, she is a rebellious and brave woman.

Bette is immense on each level. Those enormous dresses framed by a refined bourgeois style convert her into a real Queen of the film, eclipsing everyone who comes beside her. Bette fills every corner of the screen with a sublime interpretation that is worth watching if only to enjoy her gaze.

Awards:

Oscars:

Award for Best Actress (Bette Davis)

Award for Best Supporting Actress (Fay Bainter – Aunt Belle)

Nominations: Best Film, Best Soundtrack and Best Photography.

It was one of the 10 Best films of 1938, according to the National board of Review.

Jezebel was awarded by the National Film Preservation in 2009.

A special Award went to William Wyler in the 1938 Venice Festival for his career. There was also a nomination for the Mussolini Cup in the same year.

Curious Facts:

A rumor that Bette Davis was offered the part of Jezebel upon having lost the opportunity to star in Gone with the Wind, is false. Jezebel began filming before they even decided who Scarlett would be.
According to Robert Osborne, the “red” dress was actually bronze, as it showed up better in black and white.
Henry Fonda was a last minute addition. The role was originally going to be played by Jeffrey Lynn.
The Oscar won by Bette Davis was auctioned by Christies for 57,800$ in 2001. Steven Spielberg bought it and immediately returned it to the Film Academy.
Bette Davis took 45 takes of the scene in which she lifts her riding skirt with the whip. An unforgettable shot that will definitely not go unnoticed.
One of the reasons for the film’s delay was due to the birth of Henry Fonda’s daughter Jane.
Warner Bros bought the rights of the film at a very low price as the Broadway Show had been a failure.

I leave you with a tribute video to Jezebel:

And a trailer for the film:

Images: Cine patas, wikipedia, lorenagil.com, unapizcadecmha, retornoamanderleyblogspot,

Top Hat

Posted on 2 October, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1935

Director: Mark Sandrich

Cast: Fred Astaire (Jerry Travers), Ginger Rogers (Dale Tremont), Edward Everett Horton (Horace Hardwick), Helen Broderick (Magde)

We could not miss out a Fred Astaire film in our “Movie Wednesdays”. Astaire was considered to be the all-time King of Musicals and the best tap dancer in history.

From all the characters in this film, I would choose to highlight Helen Broderick’s role as Magde. I love the elegance and kindness with which she interprets her fun, rich, free, and easy fifty-something year old character. I also adore the good taste and distinction with which she shows off each and every one of the beautiful 1920s models that she wears throughout the film; they are all exquisite.

Although script-wise the film is perhaps a little weak, it is worth seeing for the fantastic dance numbers with the most glamorous, elegant and romantic couples of the Hollywood dance floors: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The couple literally eats up the whole screen. Unparalleled in style, elegance and class they masterfully interpret the catchy songs that Irving Berlin composed especially for this film. This would be the composer’s first collaboration with the couple, another five were to come later.

However, speaking of “Top Hat” is, above all, to speak of a song and a dress “Cheek to Cheek”, a feathered dress that is already an icon in the history of film. It is a dress so flowing that it seems to take on a life of its own when Ginger Rogers starts to glide over the dance floor.

If you are a fan of dance and good music, I assure you that only to see this dance number is already worth seeing the entire film.

Awards:

Nominated for the following Oscars: Best Art Director, Best Choreography, Best Original Song and Best Film. It was the first film in history to get four nominations. Although it did not manage to finally win any of them.
National Film Preservation Award 1990.
Satellite Award for the Best Classic DVD of 2005 and 2006.

Curious Facts:

For the “Cheek to Cheek” number Ginger Rogers wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily adorned with ostrich feathers. When the director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they thought it would be unpractical for dancing. However, Ginger went through with her wishes and danced in the sophisticated blue dress.

As there was little time for rehearsals Ginger Rogers wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during the filming and, just as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, the feathers became increasingly unstuck from the dress. Later on, Astaire commented that it was similar to a “chicken being attacked by a coyote”. In the film you can see a few feathers falling. This was how Roger’s nickname “Feathers” originated. The feathers episode was hilariously recreated in a scene of “Easter Parade”, in which Fred Astaire danced with a clumsy comical dancer interpreted by Judy Garland.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced together five times. This is the film in which they dance together the most.

The two minute dance “The Piccolino” is filmed in only one take.

It was one of the productions that saved the RKO from bankruptcy (another was “King Kong”).

It is the first time that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had a special script for themselves.

The Italian characterization of Erik Rhodes (in the role of Alberto) offended the Italian government so much (Mussolini in particular), that the film was prohibited in Italy. The same had happened the previous year with “The Gay Divorcee”.

The Venice Canal’s stage set was so big that it required two phases of additional sound in the RKO studio. It was 100 meters long. At that moment it was the biggest set that had ever been built.

Fred Astaire wore out thirteen canes throughout the filming sessions. During the filming, he was such a perfectionist and would get so frustrated by his mistakes that he would break them all.

The dress that Ginger Rogers used for the filming of the “Piccolino” scene is exhibited in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, in Washington D.C. I leave you with a link to the museum’s page where you can see the dress. It was quite an effort to track it down, but I finally managed to do so.

“The Piccolino”

Highlighted scenes:

And finally, the official trailer:

I hope you enjoy one of the most elegant musicals of the period!

Imágenes: sqsmaravillosa.wordpress.com,Wikipedia, pretty-clever-films2.com,

Little Women

Posted on 25 September, 2013 by María López Linares

– Year of Production: 1933

– Director: George Cukor

– Actors: Katharine Hepburn (Jo), Joan Bennet (Amy), Paul Lukas (Professor Bhaer), Jean Parker (Beth), Frances Dee (Meg), Douglas Montgomery (Laurie).

A film about the adventures, projects, desires, aspirations and affairs of four sisters and their mother, who all fight to keep positive despite their poverty and absence of their father, who is fighting on the front with the Union Army.

The vain but rather selfish Amy; the shy and sensitive Beth; the jealous Meg and the valiant, shameless and daring Jo; together with their mother, and their fierce and wealthy aunt March, the four sisters form a model family.

George Cukor masterfully adapts the work of novelist Louisa May Alcott. In my opinion, it is the best adaptation of all that have been made up till now. It is a film that speaks to us of love, generosity, coexistence, respect, suffering…. however, overall it tells us a tale of family, childhood and the importance of values such as honesty, generosity and tolerance. Values that, if you learn about and receive them from a young age, the acts of giving and sharing will come to you more naturally, and make you happier when you finally reach adulthood. Values that are being lost with increasing frequency nowadays.

It is a charming story in which the superb interpretation of a very young Katharine Hepburn can be put in the spotlight. Only to see her in this role already makes the whole film worthwhile. She is the motivational soul of the story and, I would even dare to say, she represents her own personality. She is tightly attached to her role as Jo. As her beloved Professor Bhaer would say: “A free spirit”. A fighting, fun, dreaming, and above all, brave woman, capable of breaking the strict rules of the American Society at the time.

George Cukor manages to create a film of great visual beauty with an impeccable setting. The photography is by Henry Gerrard and it was to be one of his last works before his death.

Little Women is a film that reaches our most sensitive side. It will make you laugh, and if you are as emotional as me, it will also make you cry.

Awards:

The film received an Oscar for the best adapted script (1934). It was also nominated for best director and best film (1934).

It was awarded for being one of the best ten films of 1933 (National Board of Review).

Photoplay Awards of 1933: Medal of honour for David O. Selznick, Merian C. Cooper and Kenneth MacGowan for the production. The Photoplay Awards was one of the awards given by the Photoplay magazine. They only had an award for best film of the year and it was voted by its readers. The medal was made from Gold and it was designed and made by Tiffanys. It had an enormous influence on the decisions of the Oscar Awards, until 1934 when interest began to decrease. In 1939 it disappeared from the scene.

Venice Film Festival: Gold medal for best actress in 1934 awarded to Katherine Hepburn.

Nominated for the Mussolini Cup for best director: George Cukor.

Curious Facts:

Joan Bennett was pregnant when she started filming the movie. The costume designer had to redo all her costumes as Cukor, the director, was unaware of this.
Katharine Hepburn wrote in her autobiography that: “This picture was heaven to do – George Cukor perfect. He really caught the atmosphere”.
Katharine Hepburn asked that the costume designer Walter Plunkett copy a dress that her maternal grandmother had worn in a tintype that she kept.
Although he does not appear in the credits, David O. Selznick produced the film and was the main reason for the project to be carried out to the end. It cost him a lot of effort, seeing as in that period in Hollywood it was thought that a film about women without a Civil War atmosphere would be unsuccessful. Thanks to that, Selznick launched what would later become his greatest work: Gone with the Wind.
This version of Little Women was the third adaptation of the novel after two silent versions in 1917 and 1918. Two more would follow it, one in 1949 and another in 1994.
March’s house interior copies the author of the novel’s, Louisa May Alcott, real house in Massachusetts.

Slip-ups:

Jo takes off her hood twice when she enters to have tea.
The most famous quote?: When Jo exclaims “Christopher Columbus!” several times throughout the film.

Would you fancy watching it with me?

I leave you with:

The best moments:

The Film’s original trailer:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2643656985/

Screen tests:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/64354/Little-Women-screen-tests.html

Images: Wikipedia, The Greatkh Blogspot, Vogue Gasm Blogspost,

Anna Karenina

Posted on 18 September, 2013 by María López Linares

Year: 1935

Director: Clarence Brown

Cast:

Greta Garbo (Anna Karenina)

Fredric March (Conde Vronsky)

Freddie Bartholomew (Sergei)

Maureen O’Sullivan (Kitty) Yes, its Tarzan’s Jane.

May Robson (Countess Vronsky)

Basil Rathbone (Karenin)

Photography: William H. Daniels

Anna Karenina is an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novel. This is the most applauded of all the versions that have been made of his work, and it is the one in which we meet with Greta Garbo, sublime in her role as adulteress.

The film is a tragedy in which Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, wife of the high official of Saint Petersburg Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin, falls in disgrace as she dares to break the strict rules of the period by falling in love with Count Vronksy, an Imperial Guard Officer.

Anna decides to break the routine and monotony of a loveless marriage and soon finds herself having to choose between her son, who she adores, and her dashing young lover. She ends up in absolute social marginalization as her husband repudiates her and refuses to grant her a divorce, most importantly so as not to tarnish his impeccable background. Anna becomes the talk of town for all ofMoscow’s society.

This is a story of love, infidelity, jealousy and, above all, hypocrisy. The hypocrisy of a society that keeps its women tied down in marriages of convenience, simply because of what people may say.

Anna ends up alone, abandoned and wrapped up in one of the most miserable situations at finding herself treated so unjustly. It is this desperation that finally leads her to lose the lover for who she had abandoned everything.

In this film, I have met with a magnificent, exceedingly beautiful, elegant and seductive Garbo, particularly superb in her role as resigned wife, charming sister and sister-in-law, inconsolable mother and passionate lover. I think she elaborates all the roles wonderfully and makes us thoroughly understand what the women of that period felt, isolated in a social marginalization that prevented them from living their feelings freely.

There are two scenes that have inspired me: Anna’s arrival at theMoscowtrain station, discovering her serene beauty as she gets off the train shrouded in smoke, and the scene in which she abandons the marital house, after bidding farewell to her son forever whilst enduring her husband’s curses. This scene is, without a doubt, my favourite.

The film reaches and captures our very soul. Anna has to pay too high a price for loving a man that is not her husband, consequently inspiring in us true feelings of warmth and tenderness.

Awards:

One of the ten best films of 1935 according to the National Board of Review.

An award for Greta Garbo as best actress by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1935). Founded that same year, it is considered to be one of the most important precursors of the later Film Academy Awards (Oscars). It also gives awards to people and/or organizations that they consider to have made significant contributions to cinematographic art. This includes film critics, restaurateurs, historians and other organizations.

The Venice Festival of 1935: Nominated best foreign film.

Award for best director to Clarence Brown (Mussolini Cup).

Curious Facts:

Warned that the co-star Frederic March was famous for seducing the actresses with which he worked, Greta Garbo wore garlic beneath her clothes and supposedly also had garlic breath in order to frighten him away.

Slip-ups:

During the drinking game, the officer opposite Vronksy disappears.

When Anna arrives at Dolly’s room they hold hands with each other; in the next shot they have changed hands.

The way on which Vronksy holds his hat changes whilst he talks to Anna in the garden.

In the horse race, when Vronksy falls off his horse he is seen to be wearing a dark jacket, however, before and after the incident he wears a light coloured jacket.

I leave you here with the film’s original trailer.

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/34461/Anna-Karenina-Original-Trailer-.html

Anna Karenina in our “Movie Wednesdays”

Images:

El pais.com, Dr. Macro. com, Carteles Mix.es, Flicriver.com

Grand Hotel

Posted on 11 September, 2013 by María López Linares

– Year of production: 1932

– Director: Edmund Goulding

– Actors: Greta Garbo (Madame Grusinskaya), John Barrymore (The Baron), Joan Crawford (Flaemmchen), Wallace Beery (Preysing), Lionen Barrymore (Kringelein),Photography: William Daniels.

This film depicts life inBerlin’s most expensive hotel, and the coming and going of its guests and employees. It’s an adaptation of the novel “Menschen im Hotel” written by the playwright Vicky Baumm. The writer based the story on real events that occurred in a hotel where she worked between a shorthand writer and an industrial magnate. She used her own experiences as a chambermaid in two renowned hotels inBerlinto write her novel.

“The people come and go. Nothing ever happens” this is one of the quotes from the film that best describes it. A baron, an old war wounded doctor, a humble worker on the point of death, an aggressive industrialist, a very beautiful Russian ballerina, a rather liberal secretary and other endless characters are mixed together to create and tell various tales. The clients register at the hotel, share their lives and then leave.

Their lives merge in a way that reminds us of many current films and series. At first, when we start watching it, it seems that we find ourselves before one of those comedies that depicts an optimistic and light-hearted way of life. However, we immediately realize that what is before us is actually a drama. It is a film that speaks to us of honesty, generosity, friendship, ambition, pride, respect, and falling in and out of love.

I am not going to tell you the film’s plot, as it is one that is complicated to tell and better to see. The staging is impressive: the hotel lobby, the staircases, the corridors and the rooms. All of the decorations are extraordinary. The scenes in which Greta Garbo crosses the hotel lobby like an authentic diva, followed by a group of bellboys loaded with flowers, are exquisite.

The stories are cross-linked, a formula that was greatly used after and that has been given the name of “Grand Hotel formula”.

My personal favourites are Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore. In her role as secretary, Joan Crawford is splendid, elegant, mischievous and coquettish. Lionel Barrymore plays the role of a tender, honest and reliable old man. For me, Greta Garbo is too distant and cold, although extremely beautiful and very elegant, she does not manage to captivate the spectator.

Awards:

The film received an Oscar for Best Film in 1932 and again in 2007 by the National FilmPreservation (I previously explained what this award is here).

Curiosities and Anecdotes:

The film includes endless anecdotes, curiosities and legendary parts, such as the fight between Garbo and Crawford, not sure whether real or produced at the time to promote the film before its release. This type of thing continues to be done and also to give good results at ticket selling time. The question remains to why the two divas never appear together, some say that it was so that one did not take the spotlight away from the other.

It is the only film with an Oscar for Best Film that did not manage to receive any other nominations.

Wallace Beery turned down the role offered to him at first, only to later accept it on the condition that he would be the only actor with a German accent.

Greta Garbo requested that the set be decorated with red lights, so as to give the rehearsals a more romantic atmosphere.

Greta Garbo’s line “I want to be alone” is at number 30 of the 100 best American Film quotations according to the AFI (American Film Institute), and it was used by Groucho Marx in “A Night at the Opera”. Also HerculesPoirot in “Murder on the Orient Express” said that: “Some of us, in the words of the divine Greta Garbo, want to be alone”.

In the scenes of the hotel foyer where there were so many people moving about, it was ordered of all the actors and extras that they wear socks over their shoes so as not to make so much noise. Two hundred pairs of woollen socks were used everyday.

The tickets to the premiere cost $1.50, an enormous amount for cinema entry at the time.

Gaffes:

In the change of shots in one of the scenes with Garbo on the telephone, the telephone appears in the opposite hand.

Sweat marks are visible on Garbo’s dress in one of the most passionate scenes in the film.

The steering wheels of all the cars are on the right. InGermanythey drove (and still drive) on the right, in which case the steering wheels should all be on the left.

The wall shakes when a drunken Mr. Kringeley knocks on the door of his room.

I leave you a trailer for the film that was made later on as, according to the imbd.com, the original has been lost.

The film’s trailer (according to imbd.com, the 1932 original is lost):

A classic film that takes second place on our list of iconic films.

Images:

Wikipedia, 24 veces por segundo blog, Tcm.com y los ojos de cain scoom.com.

Movie Wednesday

Posted on 30 August, 2013 by María López Linares

We are launching a new section this Wednesday, it’ll be our “Movie Wednesdays”.

During this season, one day a week will be dedicated to a film masterpiece. There will be an assortment of comedies, musicals, fantasy works, romantic tales and a few thrillers, which will accompany us throughout the duration of these 52 weeks of film.

We will include actors, directors, photographers, great nominees and winners of the Oscar Prize who have made certain titles unforgettable for the majority of the quality classic cinema lovers. They will be films that inspire us and that we have selected from the best worldwide classic cinematography.

They are our 52 film masterpieces, those which we never tire of watching and that continue to captivate us.

We would love for you to join us on this incredible journey through the best of classic cinema.

Are you interested?

Image: Youwall.com

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Tag Archives: classic cinema

The Wizard of Oz

Ninotchka

Bringing Up Baby

My Man Godfrey

Jezebel

Top Hat

Little Women

Anna Karenina

Grand Hotel

Movie Wednesday