Bible Verses I pride myself on being able to say something both useful and positive about a film, a discipline a wise man taught as a practice for the more useful challenge with souls we meet. The dynamics overlap in narratives that each carry. I found it a bit difficult this time around, because my… Continue reading The White Cockatoo (1935)
Tag: 1930s
Films made in the 1930s
Alibi Mark (1937)
Signs of Trauma, Film as Meal Wow, what a strange film. My interest in these comments is in the qualities of introspection: where the viewer is placed in the narrative and how different layers of that stance are manipulated. The CCC, as duly described in this film, was a sort of civilian army designed to… Continue reading Alibi Mark (1937)
Inside the Room (1935)
Clean on Top, Dirty on Bottom There are several events in US history that damaged the nation. We will not recover from the Civil War for generations if current politics remain, as they surely will. Prohibition and abortion. Wars. Book burnings. Among these is the Hayes act. Just as we were discovering the narrative power… Continue reading Inside the Room (1935)
If I Had a Million (1932)
Two Leers The thirties had more experiments in exploring genres than any other time. One of those was the episode genre. It has become only a curiosity in later years because a great many films (and most comedies) are just a series of episodes loosely connected. In this case, the connection is a millionaire who… Continue reading If I Had a Million (1932)
Idiot’s Delight (1939)
Marooned Movies from this era often fade into incomprehensibility when we take them away from the context in which they were made. These were after all intended as a disposable product, to live for only a few weeks. In this particular case, the movie follows a play that had some persistence before and afterward, so… Continue reading Idiot’s Delight (1939)
Jim Hanvey Detective (1937)
Straw Dogs You can do better than watching most current movies by noodling around with old detective movies from the 30’s. They are generally not very good, but collectively they defined the base for our most common idiom. This one, thankfully, has no racist comedy player. It does depend on colourful characters and is staged… Continue reading Jim Hanvey Detective (1937)
The Phantom Empire (1935)
Subterranean Drugs I’m involved in a study of ‘folding’ in film; folding is a matter of overlain or referenced narratives. Sometimes the folding is something only of interest to highbrow specialists, but usually it is a matter of fun. Some folding is a matter of introducing bizarre conventions, and once they enter in one film… Continue reading The Phantom Empire (1935)
Double Door (1934)
Panic Room During the last depression, moviegoers were obsessed with the wealthy. As with the aristocrats in Europe, these folks neither created nor managed wealth. They just had it and wanted more. Here we have a domineering woman who believes she deserves it all, taking from rich peers in the same family. The thing can… Continue reading Double Door (1934)