Red Headed Woman 1932

     Lil Andrews works for the Legendre Company and she’s very interested in the boss Bill.  She arranges to deliver mail to his home and she makes a pass at him.  His wife has been away and Bill doesn’t answer when she calls.  When Irene Legendre gets home, she’s heartbroken and very disappointed to find Bill with Lil!!  She decides to divorce Bill and that leaves Lil a direct path to marrying Bill.  She’s moving up the financial and romantic ladders at the same time.  She spends a LOT of Bill’s money but then she meets Charles B. Gaerste.  He has more money and influence than Bill!!  Maybe she will move up another rung on the ladder.  She divorces Bill and she’s going to marry Charles until he is shown some pictures of Lil kissing the French chauffeur Albert.  Maybe it’s time to move further up the status and money ladder?

     Over time this film loses the comedy and Lil becomes a gold digger!!  Irene should’ve stood her ground and refused to divorce Bill!!  Then Lil would’ve just moved on up the ladder to someone else.  Somehow I didn’t see the comedy in this film but just the trail of hurting people she left behind her??  3* (This movie is OK)

    

79 min, Romance directed by Jack Conway with Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Leila Hyams, Una Merkel, Henry Stephenson, May Robson, Charles Boyer, Harvey Clark. 

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 69% audience, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 87 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* average user rating 2.7* out of 5*.

Special Note:  This film was banned from public showings in Great Britain at the original release.  King George V had a personal copy and later the film finally passed uncut with an A certificate in 1965.  F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the original screenplay but it was rejected by producer Irving Thalberg.  He thought the story was too serious.  Ania Loos was called in to do a complete rewrite with a lighter and more comical tone.  Jean Harlow wore a red wig and her makeup was more dramatic to highlight the nature of her character.  This was the ninth most popular movie at the US box office for 1932. 

The Mule 2018

     Based on The New York Times article, The Sinaola Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule by Sam Dolnichg.  Earl Stone is a man in his 80’s.  He’s not a happy man because he is broke, alone and facing foreclosure of his horticultural business.  Internet sales instead of orders have become the norm for his flowers.  He’s offered a job that simply requires him to drive?  This can’t be difficult, he knows how to drive, he hasn’t had any tickets, he has a license and he has an old truck.  What Earl doesn’t realize is that he is working for a Mexican cartel and he’s carrying larger and larger amounts of drugs each time he drives.  He has also come up on the radar of DEA agent Colin Bates.  Earl’s money problems become an old problem.  Now, he begins to regret the mistakes he has made in the past.  He has wronged everyone in his family!! 

     Is it possible that Earl doesn't really know what he is carrying in the back of his truck?  How could he earn so much money for doing so little if this was legal?  Not one member of his family has any good feelings for him.  They expect the worst from Earl and that's what they have always been given.  I wonder if Eastwood is really acting or is he playing himself in this role?  All the characters conveniently and exactly fit into their predetermined stereotypes?  3* (This movie is OK)

       

116 min, Crime directed by Clint Eastwood with Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Andy Garcia, Patrick L. Reyes, Cesar De Leon, Clint Eastwood, Gustavo Munoz, Jackie Prucha, Richard Herd, Adam Drescher, Christi McClintock, Keith Flippen, Alison Eastwood, Dianne Wiest, Joe Knezevich, Megan Leahy, Taissa Farmiga.

Note:  Imdb 7.1* out of 10, Roger Ebert 2* Christy Lemire, Rotten Tomatoes 70% critic 66% audience, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Indie Wire B+ David Ehrlich, Metacritic 58 out of 100 with 37 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 118 reviews (positive 76, mixed 35, negative 7), Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 1624 reviews, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson age 16+ 4* out of 5* positive 3*, role 1*, violence 3*, sex 4*, language 4* consumerism 1*, drinking, drugs, smoking 3*.

Special Note: This film is inspired by the story of Leo Sharp.  He was a WWII veteran in his 80’s who became the world’s oldest and most prolific drug mule for the Sinaloa Cartel.  Filmed in Augusta, McDonough, Decatur, Atlanta, Canton, Norcross, Jonesboro, Georgia and Las Cruces, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.  Andy Garcia said he would have accepted any role because he wanted to do a movie with Clint Eastwood.  Alison Eastwood is Clint’s daughter!!  She was born in Santa Monica California on May 22, 1972 and her mother is Maggie Johnson also know as Margaret.  She has appeared in Mannix and Ironside both of 1967.  Alison has recently focused on production and directing and she was surprised that her father asked her to play alongside him in this film as Iris, Earl’s daughter.  Clifton Collins Jr., I the role of Gustavo is Clint Eastwood’s real life ex-son-in-law.

Personal Property 1937

     This film is based on a play that opened in London on January 22, 1930 and on Broadway on November 1, 1930.  Raymond Dabney was in trouble with the police and he has returned to his family.  He served some time and he was away for a while.  His mother tells him that his brother Claude is engaged.  Raymond later meets Claude’s fiancé widow Crystal Wetherby and she is in debt.  The Bailiff comes to her house and Raymond convinces him to give him a job watching the house.  The Bailiff wants to make sure that Crystal doesn’t leave or sell anything from the house to pay the debt.  Raymond doesn’t know at this point that Crystal is engaged to his brother?  Crystal is giving a dinner party the next evening and Raymond asks to be the butler.  He’s not allowed to leave the house until Crystal pays the Bailiff.  This is a reason to explain why he is there.  When Raymond learns that the Dabney family will be guests at the dinner party, it does present another problem.  Claude, Cosgrove and Mrs. Cosgrove Dabney surely will notice that Raymond is the butler?

     There is a LOT of back and forth in this film.  The only reason Crystal wants to marry Claude is to pay off her debts.  Claude wants to marry Crystal because Claude and his father want her money to boost their women’s lingerie business.  The only person that knows both sides of the Crystal/Claude relationship is Raymond.  He doesn’t think she should marry for money?  3* (This movie is OK)   

84 min, Comedy directed by W.S. Van Dyke with Jean Harlow, Robert Taylor, Reginald Owen, Una O’Connor, Henrietta Crosman, E.E. Clive, Cora Witherspoon, Marla Shelton, Forrester Harvey, Lionel Braham, Barnett Parker.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 52% audience, Three Movie Buffs average 3* out of 4*, Letterboxd average 3.3* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 18 reviews.

Special Note:  Jean Harlow wears a massive 152-carat star sapphire ring surrounded with diamonds throughout the film.  Her then boyfriend William Powell gave the ring to her.  It was for their engagement and sapphire rings were very popular in Hollywood during this era.  Her ring was said to be the biggest sapphire owned by any film star!!  Unfortunately, the sapphire was not gem quality because Powell was tightfisted with money.  No one knows what happened to the ring and it wasn’t expensive?  Reginald Owen played Claude Dabney both is this film and in the 1931 version titled The Man in Possession with Irene Purcell and Robert Montgomery.  This film was a huge success for MGM with a profit of $872,000 ($143.6M in 2016 dollars).  This is the final completed film with Jean Harlow.  She collapsed on the set of her next project, Saratoga of 1937.  She was born March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri and she died June 7, 1937 at the age of 26 in Los Angeles, California.  She died from uremic poisoning and kidney failure possibly due to the aftereffects of scarlet fever at the age of 15 in 1926. Powell and Harlow did not marry before she died.      

Mr. & Mrs. Smith 1941

     David and Ann Smith have been married for three years.  They have been very happy during their marriage.  Suddenly, they are both told individually that due to a technicality, their marriage is not valid.  Ann decides that she is not going to marry David a second time?  David is an attorney and he starts staying in town at his club.  Ann goes about her life as a single woman and she takes back her maiden name Krausheimer.  David does whatever he can to win Ann back.  This turns out to be more difficult than he thought because Ann has started to date other men??  She is now dating David’s law partner and best friend??

     This film has a LOT of funny moments!!  David didn’t have any idea that Ann would take the stance of not marrying him again?  He thought it was a cinch that they would get married right away?  David is also very surprised that Ann is dating Jeff!!  His wife and his best friend are dating??  How could they both stoop this low!!  4* (I really liked this movie)

95 min, Comedy directed by Alfred Hitchcock with Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, Lucile Watson, William Tracy, Charles Halton, Esther Dale, Emma Dunn, Betty Compson, Patricia Farr, William Edmunds, Pamela Blake.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 65% critic 49% audience, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*, Views from the Sofa 2 1/2* out of 5*, Three Movie Buffs average 3* out of 4*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 151 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed at RKO Radio Pictures.  Carole Lombard directed Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo appearance.  She made him do repeated takes!!  This is the only comedy directed by Hitchcock and he was talked into directing by Lombard.  RKO files indicate that Hitchcock actually pursued the project?  This was the first Hitchcock film to be shown on US network television.  This was also the first American movie to feature a pizzeria.  Lombard was a Democrat and Montgomery was a Republican.  During filming breaks, Lombard ran into the studio parking lot and placed election bumper stickers asking for the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt on Montgomery’s car!!  Originally, Cary Grant was chosen for the role of David.

Extra Special Note:  There is another version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith from 2005 but the plot is entirely different.  This 2005 film stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.  After this film was completed, Pitt left his wife Jennifer Aniston and married Jolie.   Aniston and Pitt were married in 1998 and divorced 2005.  Jolie and Pitt began their relationship in 2005 and married in 2014.  

No Date, No Signature 2017

     Dr. Kaveh Nariman is a forensic pathologist.  He has a minor car accident on a busy highway with a motorcyclist but the father refuses his help.  Riding the cycle were the husband, wife and their two children, a son and daughter.  Dr. Naiman offers to take them to a hospital for a checkup but they refuse.  He also recommends

     Dr. Kaveh Nariman is a forensic pathologist.  He has a minor car accident on a busy highway with a motorcyclist but the father refuses his help.  Riding the cycle were the husband wife and their two children.  Dr. Naiman offers to take them to a hospital for a check but they refuse.  He also recommends that they stop by a clinic that is nearby.  They don’t stop but continue on despite his flashing his lights and honking his horn?  Two days later, Dr. Naiman learns that the son has been brought in for an autopsy after a suspicious death.  Dr. Naiman is very worried that the child had an injury after the accident that was left untreated?  Dr. Sayeh Behbahani did the autopsy and she said the child died of food poisoning?  Dr. Naiman can’t let the matter rest until he knows the truth.

     One additional problem that Dr. Naiman is facing is that his insurance had expired.  That is why he didn’t call any authorities after the accident.  Leila, the mother and Musa are very worried that their son died because Musa bought chicken that may have been spoiled?  Their marriage begins to disintegrate over their grief and the possibility of poisoning.  Careful attention must be used watching this film because of the pace and the subtitles.  Everything is very serious and the outcomes are also serious.  The colors are browns and grays and there is a mood of constant worry.  3* (This movie is OK)

104 min, Drama directed by Vahid Jalilvand with Navid Mohammadzadeh, Amir Aghaee, Hediyeh Tehrani, Zakieh Behbahani, Saeed Dakh, Alireza Ostadi.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3 ½* Godfrey Cheshire, Slant Magazine 2* out of 4* Chuck Bowen, Rotten Tomatoes 95% critic 93% audience, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 2 reviews, Chili Movie 7.3*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Tehran, Iran.  This is Vahid Jalilvand second feature film.  Official submission of Iran for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 91^st Academy Awards in 2019. 

China Seas 1935

     Alan Gaskell is the Captain of a ship bound from Hong Kong to Singapore.  Alan wants to turn over a new leaf and leave behind his hard-drinking lifestyle.  He had been seeing Dolly and she likes this life-style?  He has reunited with Sybil Barclay on the ship, she’s from England and her husband passed away.  She has been traveling to ease her pain and she is Alan's friend.  She is a refined lady and Dolly is just the opposite but extremely beautiful.  Dolly leaves Alan behind and she starts drinking with fellow passenger Jamesey MacArdle.  Dolly learns some information about Jamesey but she must keep it to herself!! 

     There is gold aboard the ship and the ship is temporarily taken over by Asian pirates.  They maim the legs of Dawson and they put Alan’s ankle in a Maylay boot.  They want information from Alan!!  This boot has been widely used in the Middle Ages and it has a screw press that is slowly tightened.  It can crush the bones and the ankle will be unusable.  I thought this film was good!!  I knew that certain scenes were fudged and not real-time action.  4* (I really liked this movie)   

    

97 min, Action directed by Tay Garnett with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Rosalind Russell, Dudley Digges, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Benchley, William Henry, Live De Maigret, Lilian Bond, Edward Brophy, Soo Young, Carole Ann Beery, Akim Tamiroff. 

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 72% audience, Three Movie Buffs average 3 ½* out of 4*, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, The Motion Pictures 3.5* out of 5* Lindsey, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 43 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in MGM Studios, Culver City, California.  Harlow wears a wig for this film because she had cut her hair shorter and was letting her natural color grow in.  When she becomes soaked by the storm, she isn’t wearing the wig and you can see for a few seconds that her hair is shorter and a different color.  Two stuntmen were nearly killed as they were washed away by 50 tons of water!!  This film was a great success for MGM and earned a profit of $653,000 ($11.5M in 2016 dollars).  The shipment of gold was 34,488.95 ounces and would be worth almost $46.9M in 2016.  This film was banned in Malaya and Singapore.

Broadway Danny Rose 1984

     Danny Rose is a not very successful manager of artists in New York during 1969.  On the plus side, he does go out of his way to help his acts.  Lou Canova is a singer with a chance to make a comeback.  Lou needs Danny to help him with his wife, his mistress Tina and a drinking problem!!  Danny wants Tina to be at all his concerts and he feels he can’t perform without her in the audience.  This is a problem because his wife also attends the concerts?  Danny gets more than he bargained for when two mobsters come looking for Tina and also the guy who has hurt their brother by taking Tina away?    

     This is classic Woody Allen!!  Danny Rose is a salesman and he’s always trying to make a sale.  He’s not selling merchandise but he’s selling performers.  He’s always looking for the next great performer and getting the greatest money deal.  Allen movies usually have a message and this film conveys forgiveness, acceptance, love and loss.  The acts that Danny handles are a one-armed juggler, a blind xylophone player, a parrot wearing clothes and singing “I gotta be me”, a one-legged tap dancer, a balloon folding act, a stuttering ventriloquist??  Actually Danny won’t manage the ventriloquist because even he can’t figure out this act??  This movie nails this time period and many people from New York went to the Catskills for vacations and to see the acts.  The film Dirty Dancing of 1987 with 7* out of 10* is about a young woman visitor (Baby played by Jennifer Grey) with her parents and a dancer Johnny Castle played by Patrick Swayze.  4* (I really liked this movie)           

84 min, Comedy directed, written by and starring Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron, Corbett Monica, Jackie Gayle, Morty Gunty, Will Jordan, Howard Storm, Jack Rollins, Milton Berle, Craig Vandenburgh, Herb Reynolds, Paul Greco, Frank Renzulli.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% critic 84% audience, Metacritic 80 out of 100 with 14 critics, Empire Online 4* Ian Nathan, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 218 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in New York and New Jersey.  This is Nick Apollo Forte’s only film appearance.  Mia Farrow wears sunglasses during most of her scenes.  Allen felt she could pass herself off more as a tough Italian “broad” with the glasses.  It would also make her seem more sultry and mysterious?  Weinstein’s Majestic Bungalow Colony resort in the Catskills is mentioned in the film.  Allen got his start in show business at the Colony performing magic tricks at the age of sixteen.  Allen’s manager and producer Jack Rollins was the inspiration for the Rose character and he also appears in this film as himself.  This is one of Allen’s favorite films and the others in order are Match Point, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Stardust Memories, Manhattan Murder Mystery.