There have been a few adaptations of the play They Knew What They Wanted, and if you're interested in seeing a non-musical, pre-Code version, check out the 1930 talkie starring Edward G. Robinson as the "most happy fella". Aged up as the old Italian winery owner, he's gregarious, loving, and full of energy. He's made up his mind to get married, and when he sees a waitress he thinks is pretty, he writes her a letter offering his hand and home. However, insecure about his age and appearance, he sends her a picture of his young friend instead. When she arrives for the wedding, imagine her confusion and disappointment!
Vilma Banky's performance was actually good, but it detracted from the story for her to have an accent of her own and to be a foreigner. As a pseudo-mail order bride, she's repulsed by her husband-to-be. She's overwhelmed by the foreign culture of his family and friends, and doesn't know if it was worth it to abandon her old life. However, with a thick accent and Swedish background, it made less sense for her to feel all those things.
Eddie G's performance couldn't have been any better. Fluent in Italian in real life, his natural warm screen presence made his nationality completely believable (although his accent did slip one or two times). His gestures and expressions were not only authentically Italian - but old as well! He was a young man in 1930, but no one would know it. When he's injured and whining about getting a sponge bath or taking his medicine, it both breaks your heart and grates on your nerves: exactly his intention. He completely understood the character and, as always, made it easy to root for him.
As we frequently say at the Hot Toasty Rag Awards, "What does it take?" Edward G. Robinson had so many varied talents to give to the screen, and he was never nominated for an Academy Award; yet people like Ernest Borgnine and Gloria Grahame won statuettes. Our mission is to right the wrongs, and it gave us great pleasure to not only award Eddie G. Two newspaper trophies but also bestow our highest honor and welcome him into the Hall of Fame.
Vilma Banky's performance was actually good, but it detracted from the story for her to have an accent of her own and to be a foreigner. As a pseudo-mail order bride, she's repulsed by her husband-to-be. She's overwhelmed by the foreign culture of his family and friends, and doesn't know if it was worth it to abandon her old life. However, with a thick accent and Swedish background, it made less sense for her to feel all those things.
Eddie G's performance couldn't have been any better. Fluent in Italian in real life, his natural warm screen presence made his nationality completely believable (although his accent did slip one or two times). His gestures and expressions were not only authentically Italian - but old as well! He was a young man in 1930, but no one would know it. When he's injured and whining about getting a sponge bath or taking his medicine, it both breaks your heart and grates on your nerves: exactly his intention. He completely understood the character and, as always, made it easy to root for him.
As we frequently say at the Hot Toasty Rag Awards, "What does it take?" Edward G. Robinson had so many varied talents to give to the screen, and he was never nominated for an Academy Award; yet people like Ernest Borgnine and Gloria Grahame won statuettes. Our mission is to right the wrongs, and it gave us great pleasure to not only award Eddie G. Two newspaper trophies but also bestow our highest honor and welcome him into the Hall of Fame.