Week 5. Little Women (1933)

4 ¾ STARS - TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

“I loved it!!  It’s a classic story.  It makes me feel warm inside.  It’s like this romantic sad story.”--Syd

The Film:  The classic Louisa May Alcott story of young women as they move into adulthood while their father--he affectionately calls them his “little women”--is off fighting in the Civil War.  Despite wartime deprivations and anxieties, the girls find joy, sorrow, love and fun.  The drama centers around Jo (Katherine Hepburn) who must decide between marrying her best friend or striking out for a career as a writer.  Hepburn is still a young and inexperienced actress, but her range and charisma leap off the screen.

Week 4. Grand Hotel (1932)

3 ½ STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“It was a little boring through the middle because they went blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.”--Kayla

The Film:  Five strangers check in at the extravagant Grand Hotel in Berlin all for different reasons, but their lives come to intersect and entwine.  A charming ladies man and jewel thief (John Barrymore) falls for Russian ballerina (Greta Garbo), who is depressed over her fading career.  A desperate businessman (Wallace Beery) who is verging on bankruptcy, has hired a young stenographer (Joan Crawford) who must fend off his attentions.  And dying retiree (Walter Beery) has come to the hotel to spend his last days and life savings in luxury. 

Week 3 - Double Feature. Frankenstein (1931)

3 STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“Poor Frankenstein!  They were so mean to him!” --Kenzie

The Film:  The familiar story, of course:  Brilliant, driven scientist creates life from death, but something goes horribly awry, and no one is prepared to deal with the tragic consequences.  The movie and the monster, sympathetically played by Boris Karloff, was much imitated for years to come, even by the comedic re-make, “Young Frankenstein” (1974).  It’s interesting that “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” were so popular in this Depression year.  It was an era dominated by rich vs. poor comedies, crime thrillers, and horror flicks--all good ways to deal with the tough times created by high finance.   The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Week 3 - Double Feature. Dracula (1931)

3 ¼ STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“Somehow it made me stick to the couch.”--Syd

The Film:  The classic Bram Stoker story, in it’s first film version (not counting the 1922 “Nosferatu,” a German version that violated copyright laws.)  A Transylvanian count requiring fresh feeding ground moves to England.  Bela Lugosi forever set the standard for creepiness in the title role, and Dwight Frye, as Renfield, his crazed, once-bitten assistant, helps amp up the creepiness factor even more.

Week 2. Anna Christie (1930)

2 STARS - NOT SO MUCH.

“I walked out on it, but I saw all I needed”--Syd

The Film:  An aging father, the captain of a barge, is reunited with his grown daughter (Greta Garbo) whom he hasn’t known since childhood.  They both imagine each other quite different than they really are.  And a robust, young sailor, saved from drowning, lustily pursues Garbo, whom he hardly knows either.   A prominent star of the silent screen, Garbo appears in her first talkie which was promoted with the now famous catch-phrase, “Garbo Talks!”