Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's All Go To The Movies:
She's A Lady!
Part II
Sometimes? It takes a lady.
Or so these films would have us believe.
They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!
Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.
This way, if you please. But remember...
Ladies first!
A wealthy London nobleman hires a pretty, young poor girl to distract his playboy son from marrying a golddigger. Complications ensue when the girl and the father begin to fall for each other, and things get even more complicated when the son declares his love for her, too!
Based on an original story by Guy Bolton and Robert Milton, this American pre-Code melodrama was directed by George Archainbaud and stars Betty Compson, John Darrow, Gilbert Emery and Margaret Livingston.
During production, this film was known by several titles, including Children of the Streets, Ladies for Hire, A Lady for Hire and Forgotten Women. According to several sources at the time, noted screenwriter, Jane Murfin supposedly worked on the adaptation of the Milton/Bolton story for the screen, however, no sources give her credit for any writing work on the film.
In 1959, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants failed to renew their copyright registration.
Betty Compson was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in The Docks of New York (1928) and The Barker (1928), the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Leslie Howard's brother, Arthur, plays the part of Dr. Germont.
The film was unsuccessful, though it received some positive feedbacks; Mordaunt Hall wrote for The New York Times: "It is a farce of the Parisian variety which possesses something of the effervescent quality René Clair gives to his pictures. Although the action is stilted here and there, obviously occasionally because of censorial deletions, the film has the compensating virtues of excellent acting, scintillating lines and original, but decidedly mad, escapades.
A couple who are always quarreling split up temporarily while she goes to France and teams up with a playboy who's being sued for breach of promise.
Based on a Hungarian play, this American comedy was directed by Eugene Forde and stars Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, George Sanders and Cora Witherspoon.
Passengers on a scheduled train out of the mountainous European country of Mandrika experience a one-day delay due to an avalanche. There's only one inn available, leading the passengers to get up close and personal with each other out of necessity. Once the train departs, the one person appears to be missing: a middle aged English governess named Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty). Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), who was vacationing in Mandrika with girlfriends before returning to England to get married, is certain that Miss Froy was on the train, for the two women shared the same compartment and had tea together in the dining car. However, all the people who should be able to corroborate her story fail to do so. Iris' thoughts are then dismissed as a possible concussion, for Iris was hit over the head just before boarding the train. Iris asks for the help of others in order to find Miss Froy. An Englishman named Gilbert (Sir Michael Redgrave), a musicologist with whom she had a not so pleasant encounter at the inn the evening before, answers the call. As Iris and Gilbert go on their quest throughout the train, they come to believe there is a conspiracy amongst many of the passengers to disavow the existence of Miss Froy. No matter; Iris and Gilbert remain determined to find Miss Froy and find out why anyone would want to kidnap a middle aged English governess.
Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder and based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White, this British mystery thriller was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and stars Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame May Whitty and Cecil Parker.
Alfred Hitchcock revealed that this movie was inspired by the legend of an Englishwoman who went with her daughter to the Palace Hotel in Paris in the 1880s, at the time of the Great Exposition: "The woman was taken sick and they sent the girl across Paris to get some medicine in a horse-vehicle, so it took about four hours. When she came back she asked, 'How's my mother?' 'What mother?' 'My mother. She's here, she's in her room. Room 22.' They go up there. Different room, different wallpaper, everything. And the payoff of the whole story is, so the legend goes, that the woman had bubonic plague and they dared not let anybody know she died, otherwise all of Paris would have emptied."
The Lady Vanishes was originally called The Lost Lady, and Irish director Roy William Neill was assigned by producer Edward Black to make it. A crew was dispatched to Yugoslavia to do background shots, but when the Yugoslav police accidentally discovered that they were not well-portrayed in the script, they kicked the crew out of the country, and the producer scrapped the entire project.
Charters and Caldicott (played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne) proved to be such popular characters that they were teamed up in ten more movies. The cricket-obsessed characters were created especially for this movie and do not appear in the novel written by Ethel Lina White.
In order to avoid political controversy, The British Board of Film Censors would not allow the foreign villains to be specifically identified in the script as Germans, especially in light of the plot, which has clear references to the political situation leading to World War II.
Vivien Leigh screen-tested for the role of Iris Henderson and Lilli Palmer was also under consideration.
This served as the film debut of Michael Redgrave. Redgrave was a stage actor and reluctant to do this movie, but was convinced to do it by John Gielgud. His first leading role, the picture ended up making Redgrave an international star. That said, Redgrave and Hitchcock did not get along; Redgrave wanted more rehearsals, while Hitchcock valued the happy accidents spontaneity frequently produces. Not seeing eye-to-eye, despite the film's success, the two never worked together again.
The Lady Vanishes was named Best Picture of 1938 by The New York Times. In 1939, Hitchcock received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, the only time Hitchcock received any award for his directing!
The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain.
Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con-artist Jean Harrington on a ship. They fall in love, but a misunderstanding causes them to split on bad terms. To get back at him, Jean disguises herself as an English lady, and comes back to tease and torment him.
Based on a story by Monckton Hoffe, this American screwball comedy was written and directed by Preston Sturges and stars Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.
In 1938, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Preston Sturges had been assigned to write a script from Monckton Hoffe's story, and that the film was to star Claudette Colbert. Then, Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard were initially proposed by Paramount before Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck were cast. Joel McCrea, Madeleine Carroll, and Fred MacMurray were also considered for the leads.
Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay specifically for Barbara Stanwyck. He had promised her a great film while working on a previous movie.
.
Or so these films would have us believe.
They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!
Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.
This way, if you please. But remember...
Ladies first!
--- ---
The Lady Refuses
(1931)
Based on an original story by Guy Bolton and Robert Milton, this American pre-Code melodrama was directed by George Archainbaud and stars Betty Compson, John Darrow, Gilbert Emery and Margaret Livingston.
In 1959, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants failed to renew their copyright registration.
Betty Compson
Betty Compson was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in The Docks of New York (1928) and The Barker (1928), the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
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The Lady Is Willing
(1934)
Set in France, a private detective is hired by three men to kidnap a wealthy man's wife in order to get a ransom, but he ends up falling in love with her instead.
This British comedy was directed by Gilbert Miller and stars Leslie Howard, Cedric Hardwicke, Binny Barnes, and Nigel Bruce.
The film was unsuccessful, though it received some positive feedbacks; Mordaunt Hall wrote for The New York Times: "It is a farce of the Parisian variety which possesses something of the effervescent quality René Clair gives to his pictures. Although the action is stilted here and there, obviously occasionally because of censorial deletions, the film has the compensating virtues of excellent acting, scintillating lines and original, but decidedly mad, escapades.
--- ---
The Lady Escapes
(1937)
Based on a Hungarian play, this American comedy was directed by Eugene Forde and stars Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, George Sanders and Cora Witherspoon.
--- ---
The Lady Vanishes
(1938)
Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder and based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White, this British mystery thriller was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and stars Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame May Whitty and Cecil Parker.
Alfred Hitchcock revealed that this movie was inspired by the legend of an Englishwoman who went with her daughter to the Palace Hotel in Paris in the 1880s, at the time of the Great Exposition: "The woman was taken sick and they sent the girl across Paris to get some medicine in a horse-vehicle, so it took about four hours. When she came back she asked, 'How's my mother?' 'What mother?' 'My mother. She's here, she's in her room. Room 22.' They go up there. Different room, different wallpaper, everything. And the payoff of the whole story is, so the legend goes, that the woman had bubonic plague and they dared not let anybody know she died, otherwise all of Paris would have emptied."
The Lady Vanishes was originally called The Lost Lady, and Irish director Roy William Neill was assigned by producer Edward Black to make it. A crew was dispatched to Yugoslavia to do background shots, but when the Yugoslav police accidentally discovered that they were not well-portrayed in the script, they kicked the crew out of the country, and the producer scrapped the entire project.
Charters and Caldicott (played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne) proved to be such popular characters that they were teamed up in ten more movies. The cricket-obsessed characters were created especially for this movie and do not appear in the novel written by Ethel Lina White.
In order to avoid political controversy, The British Board of Film Censors would not allow the foreign villains to be specifically identified in the script as Germans, especially in light of the plot, which has clear references to the political situation leading to World War II.
Vivien Leigh screen-tested for the role of Iris Henderson and Lilli Palmer was also under consideration.
This served as the film debut of Michael Redgrave. Redgrave was a stage actor and reluctant to do this movie, but was convinced to do it by John Gielgud. His first leading role, the picture ended up making Redgrave an international star. That said, Redgrave and Hitchcock did not get along; Redgrave wanted more rehearsals, while Hitchcock valued the happy accidents spontaneity frequently produces. Not seeing eye-to-eye, despite the film's success, the two never worked together again.
The Lady Vanishes was named Best Picture of 1938 by The New York Times. In 1939, Hitchcock received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, the only time Hitchcock received any award for his directing!
The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain.
--- ---
The Lady Eve
(1941)
Based on a story by Monckton Hoffe, this American screwball comedy was written and directed by Preston Sturges and stars Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.
Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay specifically for Barbara Stanwyck. He had promised her a great film while working on a previous movie.
The working title of this film was Two Bad Hats, which was the title of Monckton Hoffe's original story.
Preston Sturges always handled his stars with kid gloves but took out his frustrations on the members of his own stock company. At one point during filming, when he couldn't get Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck to read a scene the way he wanted, he stalked over to William Demarest, who wasn't even in the scene, and barked, "And don't talk so damn fast!" Also, due to the number of people on set at any given time and the chaotic nature of the his pictures, Sturges always dressed flamboyantly - a brightly colored beret, or a large plume in his hat - so that anyone who needed him could find him.
Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda rarely retired to their dressing rooms between takes. Instead, they hung out with Preston Sturges, listening to his stories and reviewing - and often re-writing - their lines
After working on this and two other films, Henry Fonda would always refer to Barbara Stanwyck as his favorite leading lady. It was also reported that he had a lifelong unrequited 'crush' on her.
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And that's all for now.
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel.
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Lady Eve - Movie Trailer
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2 comments:
Isn't it odd...was never a fan of Stanwyk or Fonda.
OHHHH
The Lady Vanishes! Yes!
Love that movie.
XOXO
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