Starring Tallulah Bankhead and Gary Cooper...with Cary Grant.
And Introducing "That Eminent English Character Actor Charles Laughton"...As the Commander.
An Artifact of Early-Sound Hollywood. Featuring Early Work from Actors who would Become Legendary Icons of Cinema.
Cary Grant, in His 2nd Film, is the 1st to be a Victim of the Sultry Bankhead's Husband (Charles Laughton), who Suspects Tomfoolery and has the Handsome Grant Transferred for "Incompetence". He is Never Seen Again.
Enter Gary 'Coop" Cooper", Another Officer who Falls Under the Spell of Bankhead's Charm, and Laughton, Once-Again Smells a "Rat".
Charles Laughton is Superb in the Slow-Burning Insanity Role, Tallulha Bankhead is Creamy in Tight, Flowing, Sparkling Gowns, and Gary Cooper is a bit Stiff, but Tall, Handsome, and Verile.
Especially Next to the Chubby, Dumpy, Laughton who says to Cooper...
"It must be nice to look like you and have the women love you...I have never had that." As he pushes his face around like a pile of dough.
The 3rd Act is where the "Devil" Emerges in the form of Laughton's Commander, and Saying Anymore would be Saying Too Much.
But Suffice to Say that it Blows Act 1 and Act 2 Out of the Water.
Getting there may feel Uneven, Stodgy, Slow, and the Dialog Choppy, Stilted, and Annoying.
But that was the Standard Style in these Things as Hollywood was Finding its Ballast Between the "Silents" and the New "Talkies".
Taken at Face Value and as a Time-Capsule, this one Has a Lot to Offer Cinema-Buffs and even for Casual Movie-Goers, it's...
Worth a Watch.
And Introducing "That Eminent English Character Actor Charles Laughton"...As the Commander.
An Artifact of Early-Sound Hollywood. Featuring Early Work from Actors who would Become Legendary Icons of Cinema.
Cary Grant, in His 2nd Film, is the 1st to be a Victim of the Sultry Bankhead's Husband (Charles Laughton), who Suspects Tomfoolery and has the Handsome Grant Transferred for "Incompetence". He is Never Seen Again.
Enter Gary 'Coop" Cooper", Another Officer who Falls Under the Spell of Bankhead's Charm, and Laughton, Once-Again Smells a "Rat".
Charles Laughton is Superb in the Slow-Burning Insanity Role, Tallulha Bankhead is Creamy in Tight, Flowing, Sparkling Gowns, and Gary Cooper is a bit Stiff, but Tall, Handsome, and Verile.
Especially Next to the Chubby, Dumpy, Laughton who says to Cooper...
"It must be nice to look like you and have the women love you...I have never had that." As he pushes his face around like a pile of dough.
The 3rd Act is where the "Devil" Emerges in the form of Laughton's Commander, and Saying Anymore would be Saying Too Much.
But Suffice to Say that it Blows Act 1 and Act 2 Out of the Water.
Getting there may feel Uneven, Stodgy, Slow, and the Dialog Choppy, Stilted, and Annoying.
But that was the Standard Style in these Things as Hollywood was Finding its Ballast Between the "Silents" and the New "Talkies".
Taken at Face Value and as a Time-Capsule, this one Has a Lot to Offer Cinema-Buffs and even for Casual Movie-Goers, it's...
Worth a Watch.