Underaware I really like some of these Betty Boop cartoons. Many of the early ones deal with the overlap of evil, sex and hallucinogens, often mixed with jazz and Black men. This is one of the tamer ones in terms of the evil tone: she’s in control where often she isn’t. But it is worth… Continue reading Betty Boop’s Hallowe’en Party (1933)
Tag: f1933
Films released in 1933
Before Midnight (1933)
The Written Mystery The early thirties was a time of great experimentation with the detective narrative, leading eventually to noir. This is one of those experiments, and a rather fine one. It has a framing device where an old cop is telling a young one about the famous case from some time back and how… Continue reading Before Midnight (1933)
The Kiss before the Mirror (1933)
Sight, Insight. We used to have such a thing as a courtroom movie. The lawyer — usually the lawyer for the defence — would make a presentation designed to affect us while it affects then, often in the same way. Think Atticus Finch. These projects revolve around a central courtroom event, usually a dramatic speech,… Continue reading The Kiss before the Mirror (1933)
The Crime of the Century (1933)
In Front of your Face A mystery the way they used to make them, full of clues, an onscreen detective and the expectation that the audience is working hard to make sense of everything. Near then end, they stop the film and an announcer appears to give the audience a minute to guess. The murderer… Continue reading The Crime of the Century (1933)
The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
Surprised I’m trying to find where film audiences started to accept the mystery as merely a surprise ending. You know that the successful mysteries for many decades were “detective stories” that had very clear rules about how the viewer could outwit the writer and guess, actually determine the reality of what happened. It was something… Continue reading The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
42nd Street (1933)
In and Out I am convinced that you cannot really understand yourself unless you understand (among other influences) the movies out of which you make the movie of your life. And you cannot understand the stuff of movies unless you’ve experienced those that invented the form, many of which were in the early 30’s. This… Continue reading 42nd Street (1933)