Belated Happy New Year

These are the films I have watched lately:

Lottery Bride (1930) Jeanette MacDonald, Joe E. Brown, Zazu Pitts. Jeanette is the title character. She becomes a bride because of misunderstandings between the two men who are brothers and rivals for her hand. The lottery is for women to go to the far north as brides. The finale is a scene of a giant dirigible among all the ice and snow and is in two-strip color. For only 3 years between the first talkie and this film, they are using lots of new tricks and some work and others are laughable. 5/5 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021094/


Lydia (1941) Merle Oberon, Joseph Cotton, Edna May Oliver, Alan Marshall. An old woman, a former Belle, receives her four former suitors and remembers how it was long ago. Each remembers differently. Who was the real Lydia, and who was the man she really loved? Did he really exist? Do we all make up that which we dream about? Interesting but somewhat dull. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033858/

The Jungle Book (1942) Sabu, Rosemary DeCamp. Alexander Korda's lush and beautiful version of Rudyard Kipling's classic story of an infant boy in India lost from his mother when he wanders away during a village disturbance. The toddler finds a cave and lays down on some straw to sleep. The wolf pups gather around him and the female nurses him right along with her own babies. Beautiful story of the animals of the jungle that he grows up with. But the main story is of the greedy men of the village who discover Mowgli knows where a hidden treasure is located and how it costs lives. Gorgeous color and Sabu is great with the animals. Saw this when I was about 10 years old and was totally amazed and wanted animals just like Sabu had. Great film version for young folks. Back in 1942, I had to get the book and read more. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034928/

Scrooge(1951) Alastair Sim, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley. This version of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" is very, very good and I am partial to Mr. Sim as Scrooge. But it is still a dark tale of conditions in the mid 1800s for poor families. I think all the English cast are superb and the settings and cinematography fine. And the ending with Tiny Tim and Mr Scrooge, is perfect. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/

The Great Caruso (1951) Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten. Lanza's great voice is showcased by excerpts from various operas, and is wonderful. The story is not accurate, but we didn't care in 1951 and I don't care now. All through the spring-summer of 1951 I kept going back to see this film. Took all my friends and family I could talk into giving it a try. When my best galpal came out of the theater, she broke down in tears and wondered why she didn't know Lanza before. She fell in love with him and his voice. Powerful experience, and that new thing TV, could not compete. We bought all his records, sent for pictures; the whole fan bit. His two earlier films with Kathryn Grayson are special because they are so good together and ended up good friends. He was a true diamond in the rough and too much too soon killed him. 10/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043599/

The Steel Trap (1952) Joseph Cotton, Teresa Wright. A guy who is a minor official at a bank (access to the big vault; gets to put in the last numbers to open it) but is bored and wants more, decides to steal some of that money he handles every day. How that goes is the plot. This has been a missing film for a long time. Why it is being celebrated now is a mystery as good as the one in the film. Cotton is okay, but the script is against him. His initial theft goes well, but then the script just keeps putting one obstacle after another until I just wanted it to be over. Teresa as a blond, I don't think so. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045190/

Later films after 1952 I'll post soon.