Easy Living (Leisen 1937). Jean Arthur is terrific in this Paramount screwball with Ray Milland – she’s an ordinary working girl mistaken for the mistress of a rich financier (Edward Arnold), while he’s the latter’s son, on the outs with him and trying to make his own way. This was written by Preston Sturges, and it’s characteristically him: the social observations and satire, the mixture of slapstick and lightning-quick verbal wit, the pandemonium. It compares well to the films he himself directed and it’s got many delightful scenes.
A Story of Floating Weeds (Ozu 1934). This is by far my favorite Ozu silent (I haven’t seen
An Inn in Tokyo). The story is strong and well-rounded, and in this way, I thought, superior to some or most of his earlier output. The five main actors here are extremely good, and I find the two younger women especially compelling. A beautiful, moving film.
It Happened One Night (Capra 1934). This is always better than I think it is and I was surprised at how I liked it even more this time than during any other previous viewing. I was just struck by how fine and enchanting every single scene is, at least right through the first half or so, in terms of writing, directing, acting. It looks terrific too (the Criterion blu really did this film a favor) and those subtle Depression backgrounds also add something. Makes me yearn for how Capra’s oeuvre might have turned out if he hadn’t become a message movie director shortly after this.
Le Roman d’un tricheur (Guitry 1936). Didn’t like it quite as much the second time around, maybe because of its episodic nature. Still an impressive and fun film, full of invention and a lot more original and cinematic than the other films in the Eclipse set.
Stella Dallas (Vidor 1937). I’d forgotten most of the film except that I had liked it well enough the first time. Reading domino’s write-up, I guess I agree that you don’t find yourself rooting for Stella all that much (you find yourself wincing because she’s so unselfconsciously trashy) but I couldn’t help feeling some pity towards her at the same time and sorry that society creates this cruelty. I saw this as a classic tearjerker of the “woman’s film” genre, and so accepted the many elements that domino criticized that I saw as par for the course. Within that category, I thought it a more than solid entry, really rather well made. I’d even argue it’s steadier and more consistent than Vidor’s earlier, more ambitious experiments. By this time he’s making more conventional films but at the same time you could say his voice is still being heard in terms of another critique of modern society. That said, it’s not a film I care about to a degree that it would risk making my list.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (LeRoy 1933). I revisited the last two in this post not that long ago, for another list project, but I needed to do so again to rank them properly here. This has much of the same elements as
42nd Street, but it’s just so much better in all respects: the narrative threads are less disjointed, the script is much more engaging, and the music and spectacle isn’t only kept for the end. I like how the Depression theme is more pronounced. At the same time what starts off as a repeat backstager metamorphoses into more of a romantic comedy with a money/class issue as in screwball comedy, but a delightful one (the romance between Carol and Brad’s brother is quite sweet). (The other Berkeley WB musicals I’ve seen that follow don’t reach the same heights.)
The Smiling Lieutenant (Lubitsch 1931). Really a musical sex farce, so that it’s at once slight and extremely pleasurable – in terms of sheer wit and fun, I think it’s the best Lubitsch musical. The material is very well written and directed, but I’m also struck at how good Chevalier is as a comic actor here, with his expressions and timing really making his scenes pop.