Crashing Hollywood (1938) is a cute screwball comedy about a movie writer (Lee Tracy) who teams up with an ex-con and his wife to write "authentic" crime dramas. A series of movies about The Hawk are a bit too authentic, as it's based on a real mobster whom the ex-con had dealings with. Lee Tracy has no idea The Hawk is a real person until the real Hawk comes looking for him! Lots of screwball! It's a good movie and kept me entertained. The female leads were Joan Woodbury, who played an annoying love interest and Lee Patrick who played the blonde wife of the ex-con. Ms. Patrick was a delight!
Her character was rather annoying and kind of irrelevant. There HAD to be a love interest so she was just thrown in. The movie would have been fine without her.
Played tough "bad girl" (as bad as they could be post-Code anyway!) Goldie Tibbits. A delight!
Fast Life (1932) wasn't that great. William Haines was on his way out and you could tell with material like this. Fast Life has Billy inventing a turbo motor for a boat whom he sells to the foremost boat manufacturer in the world. The plot was flimsy and padded out with MGM's big budget stunts and effects. There were a few pre-Code moments, but not enough for my liking. Madge Evans was unextrordinary. Cliff Edwards was the comical saving grace. I'd only recommend this to Billy Haines completists (like me!)
Murder By The Clock (1931) is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It was fantastically creepy in every way possible. Irving Pichel (a Harvard Graduate, no less!) plays a disturbingly deranged young man who gets 3 murders pinned on him. His mother refuses to leave him the family fortune and instead leaves it to her nephew, whose wife is the wonderful Lilyan Tashman! Lilyan was a complete evil BITCH in this movie and I loved ever minute of it. She masterminds three murders including her husband and her lover. She also flirts shamelessly with the detective on the case and the deranged Irving.
As the murders take place we just see Lilyan's face in close up. Her expressions are wonderfully creepy.
Much of the movie takes place in a crypt. There is a horrible grave alarm wich goes off throughout the film -- the mother was terrified of being buried alive and had one build into her tomb. The entire film lacked one note of music, which made it ever creepier. I loved this movie!
There Goes My Heart (1938). I've seen so many movies with this plotline made AFTER THE CODE -- I can't get enough of it! A department store heiress (Virginia Bruce) runs away from her rich, oppressive family to have "freedom" amongst the working classes. She takes on an alias, moves in a small apartment with Patsy Kelly, and even gets a job as a salesgirl in her OWN department store! *sigh*
Of course, there was some screwball comedy along the way. Fredric March is a newspaper man hired to "get the scoop" on this heiress. Through some sneaking around he finds out who that salesgirl really is. She can't exactly refuse him or her identity will be blown. And yes, they fall in love! Naturally!
Harry Langdon appears at the very end as the minister. Nice touch. Love Harry!
I loved There Goes My Heart! It was a great programmer and didn't get too "big" for what it was.
The Marriage Playground (1929) had a fabulous cast, but I don't think it delivered. There were some great lines, but overall I found most of the characters annoying. Mary Brian over-acted to the point where it was hilarious. Lilyan Tashman even went into some annoying hysterics at one point (but overall was excellent.) Kay Francis played that vamp she played so well early in her career. She was the best! Fredric March never grabbed me. I find him to be dull most of the time.
The movie deals with divorce and children and switching parents and step-parents! It's a bit convoluted. I find child actors from the 20s and 30s to be irritating and this movie was no exception. Mitzi Green was 50/50 -- half annoying, half brilliant.
It was funny to see Anita Louise as a child. She never did outgrow that child-actor style when she grew up.
I wouldn't watch this movie again. Once was enough. I was kind of disappointed because I've heard it was so good.
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