CinemaInternational Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Clive Brook was trying to clear his name from card cheating in Action for Slander. Ann Todd had top billing though. Joan Bennett and Henry Fonda traversed a long rocky road to love in I Met My Love Again Merle Oberon, Lawrence Olivier, Binnie Barnes, and Ralph Richardson starred in the popular The Divorce of Lady X, one of the first films in color to come out of England. Samuel Goldwyn staged a giant musical revue. Tommy Kelly and Jackie Moran were the famous Tom and Huck in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The Gaiety Girls was a romantic comedy from England. Barry Barnes stepped into Leslie Howard's shoes in The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel. this was an early appearance for James Mason. Gary Cooper was the famed adventurer in The Adventures of Marco Polo with Basil Rathbone and Binnie Barnes. Lana Turner had a small bit, pre-stardom. Moonlight Sonata mixed romance with classical piano music. it was one of the last few films for silent star Charles Ferrell. Madeleine Carroll and Henry Fonda became caught up in the Spanish Civil War. Ralph Richardson got caught up in politics in South Riding. Edna Best, Edmund Gwenn, and Ann Todd costarred. This was the film debut for Glynis Johns, then age 14. Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr scored a big lift to their careers with the popular romantic adventure Algiers. Dreamers of Glory was a Mexican film made much earlier in the decade that UA handled in 1938. I can't find a picture for it. Sabu and Raymond Massey returned in the war film The Drum. Fredric March and Virginia Bruce starred in a delightful romantic comedy, There Goes My Heart, but Patsy Kelly stole the entire film as Bruce's wisecracking friend and coworker. The Young in Heart was another delightful comedy as a family of cons mend their ways after befriending an elderly lady, an intended target named Miss Fortune. This was the last film of the prime part of Janet Gaynor's career (she would make one last film in 1957). Again though, a supporting player, this time Minnie Dupree as the lovely Miss Fortune, stole the show. Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon took to a Western romance The Cowboy and the Lady. Louis Hayward was wooing Joan Fontaine in the Duke of West Point. And Fredric March and Joan Bennett starred in a romantic comedy, Trade Winds. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 A much weaker year, with a few real turkeys in the bunch. Algiers Trade Winds The Divorce of Lady X I've also seen There Goes My Heart, The Cowboy and the Lady, I Met My Love Again, The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Blockade, and The Adventures of Marco Polo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 THE DUKE OF WEST POINT is good. Louis Hayward had signed with Edward Small, who is now producing films that are released through UA. TRADE WINDS features Ann Sothern when she was between studios. She had just left RKO and hadn't signed yet with MGM. So this was a rare freelance part for her. Bennett's character switches from blonde to brunette in the middle of the story, and Bennett would remain a brunette for the rest of her career. THERE GOES MY HEART is a lot of fun, and it's a Hal Roach "A" comedy. Roach had started releasing feature-length comedies through UA. I MET MY LOVE AGAIN is another Joan Bennett film produced by her husband Walter Wanger. It features a young Tim Holt in a small role. THE DIVORCE OF LADY X is a charming rom-com. Though it is overshadowed by the two stars' next picture together, WUTHERING HEIGHTS. THE COWBOY AND THE LADY has a funny turn by Patsy Kelly whose movie career was at its peak. BLOCKADE is a well-made film. However, its main screenwriter (John Howard Lawson) was a leader in the Communist Party in Hollywood. He would be blacklisted a decade later as one of the Hollywood Ten...and his work from BLOCKADE, which espoused communist sympathies, would be used against him. THE YOUNG IN HEART was not only a vehicle for Janet Gaynor, but it was also an early showcase for Paulette Goddard, whom David Selznick had under contract and was now promoting. Selznick's TOM SAWYER is never shown anywhere these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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