1935 Poll

[pabs]

Ha! Thanks r, and greg, some good thoughts on social issues.

It's the first film I've seen outside Gone with the Wind that features Hattie McDaniel (or actually where I recognized her). But why the hell is she playing another maid again?? <--- DARK SARCASM She's hilarious here. I love the way she just shoves open those old wooden panels dividing the sitting room and the dining room.

[wba]

one of those years I haven't seen much from.

So after a very long time, I can do one of my more thorough listing and categorizing again. Yay!

Also glad so many of you are trying to watch a few German films, and from the Nazi era even! That's unexpected but cool.


Films seen: 30+ (10 of which were German (co)productions)



provisional list


possible no.1 contenders

Regine (Erich Waschneck, Germany)
Das Mädchen vom Moorhof "The Girl from the Marsh Croft" (Detlef Sierck, Germany)


favorites that will definitely make my final list

Captain Blood (Michael Curtiz, USA)
Listopad (Otakar Vavra, Czechoslovakia)
Maria no Oyuki "Oyuki the Virgin" (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
Music Land (Wilfred Jackson, USA)
The Good Fairy (William Wyler, USA) - if they would have stuck more with Ferenc Molnar's play, this could have been even better!!
Yunost Maksima "The Youth of Maxim" (Grigori Kozintsev/Leonid Trauberg, Soviet Union)


possible contenders

Ein idealer Gatte (Herbert Selpin, Germany)
The Band Concert (Wilfred Jackson, USA)


other great stuff

Der junge Graf (Karl Lamac, Germany)
Mark of the Vampire (Tod Browning, USA)
The Golden Touch (Walt Disney, USA)
The Phantom Light (Michael Powell, UK)
The Robber Kitten (David Hand, USA)
The Tortoise and the Hare (Wilfred Jackson, USA)


good but no cigar

A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, USA)
Coal Face (Alberto Cavalcanti, UK)
Sunset Range (Ray McCarey, USA)
The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, USA)
Uwasa no musume "The Girl in the Rumor" (Mikio Naruse, Japan)


meh

Amphitryon "Happiness from the Clouds" (Reinhold Schünzel, Germany)
Das Einmaleins der Liebe (Carl Hoffmann, Germany)
Das Stahltier "The Steel Animal" (Willy Zielke, Germany)
Krach im Hinterhaus "Trouble Backstairs" (Vewit Harlan, Germany)
La Kermesse héroïque "Carnival in Flanders" (Jacques Feyder, France/Germany)
Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, USA)
The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, UK)
Triumph ndes Willens "Triumph of the Will" (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany)
Water Babies (Wilfred Jackson, USA)
Who Killed Cock Robin? (David Hand, USA)


not my cup of tea

--

filmmaker of the year: Wilfred Jackson

[wba]

Mizoguchi made two of his best less seen pics (Downfall of Osen and Poppy) as well as his worst film (Oyuki the Virgin).

Karl, what have you been smoking!?!

I think Oyuki the Virgin is one of Mizuguchi's best films, and way better than many of his more famous picks like Osaka Elegy (1936) or Ugetsu Monogatari (1953). I even prefer it to a somewhat similar film like The Life of Oharu (1952).

A Big recommendation from me.


On another note, I also don't get the reservations about Sirk's version of Magnificent Obsession. I personally find it magnificent (and extremely critical of the society and the characters) It was my first Sirk I saw (and from 35mm at a cinematheque, which probably helped) and I immediately fell in love with Sirk and his somewhat satirical and very dark and grim view of the world (and especially US society).


PS: In Nazi Germany there was actually some experimental "Soviet style" montage filmmaking going on, but mostly in documentaries (like the Zielke), and very seldom some of that swept into feature filmmaking. One of the most celebrated directors of Nazi Germany, the propaganda filmmaker Walter Ruttman (who was similar to Leni Riefenstahl a poster child for the Nazis), used this in abundance in all of his works throughout the 30s and 40s. Goebbels wasn't generally opposed to this kind of filmmaking, and as far as I know wanted a "German" way of making films similar to "Battleship Potemkin" and Eisenstein's and others' ideas of montage. The film by Zielke ("The Steel Animal") was a propaganda film as well, and Zielke was chosen specifically by a Nazi administrative for this film. Zielke himself was also a Nazi sympathizer(!) The ban on this film was because of huge pressure from "leading" people from the German railway society who hated the film after an unofficial internal screening while the (at this screening also present) Nazi artists like Riefenstahl loved it. So the people from the German railway effectively banned it, because it wasn't the kind of promotional film they had envisioned. Goebbels or the Propaganda Ministery didn't ban the film as is sometimes falsely assumed, though they didn't lift it either (Goebbels could have done that). Zielke himself said that his stay at a psychiatric ward was actually because of Riefenstahl who abused other artists as well and always wanted all credit for herself. According to him, she is responsible for much of his ruined career during the Nazi era, even though she frequently used him as a significant collaborator on her own films.

[nrh]

ruggles of red gap (mccarey)
wife be like a rose (naruse)
hands across the table (leisen)
oyuki the virgin (mizoguchi)
the downfall of osen (mizoguchi)
barbary coast (hawks)
steamboat round the bend (ford)
the devil is a woman (sternberg)
mad love (freund)
bride of frankenstein (whale)

barua's '35 bengali version of devdas is sadly lost. but he did make it two more times, the hindi version (which has subs and a pretty good print) coming out in '36, so i just misses this poll. the one '35 new theaters film that does seem to survive with subs (cinemasofindia dot com has a copy) is nitin bose's dhoop chhaon, which is first hindi film that uses playback singing...

[rischka]

nice lighting? this is a very weak ford imo

[Lencho of the Apes]

I hated it when I was 13-14. I should rewatch it for poll, but I'm not eager to.

[karl]

Mizoguchi is the greatest of film directors, but even the greatest commonly have at least one film that's so terrible they doubtless confessed to their priests on their deathbeds that it had always been their deepest regret in life to have made it, and despaired in their final agony that the memory of it would forever haunt them in the next world: for Mizoguchi, though he made a few others that aren't very good, this film was surely "Oyuki the Virgin." Only people who insist that they consider trashy '80s American action pics "masterpieces" for what reason I find hard to fathom could insist on the great worth of this film.

[wba]

Only people who insist that they consider trashy '80s American action pics "masterpieces" for what reason I find hard to fathom could insist on the great worth of this film.

That part coul be true.

[Angel]

Not the biggest fan of Mizoguchi here I don't find Oyuki among the worst (or the best) in his filmography. It is, however, dismally primitive (you know, his first all-talkie) and comparatively inferior to earlier adaptations of Maupassant, Pyshka (1934, Romm) and The Woman Disputed (King, 1928), not to mention what was to come.

[sally]

so, the dictator/for the love of a queen, with clive brook playing the mads mikklesen role. mads is the hottest living man but every film i see clive brook in the more i adore him - the stiffer the role he plays, the more the lightning quick ease of his leaking gestures increases, so delicious to watch. (i think he thrives on weak directors, the only film i've seen him be boring in where nothing escaped was shanghai express) emlyn williams playing the petulant king was fun too, but aside from a couple of nice shots that's all i got from it, apart from filing a few mental dress requests from madeleine carroll's costuming.

anyway, busily constructing my 1935 canard, so far:
- the hays code is horrible. anyone suggest the best that sneaked round it? what's the juiciest rom-com?
- poetic doco's proliferating - the flaherty/grierson/jennings/rotha effect well established in britain - but how about the rest of the world? i don't think i'm googling correctly - i'm sure for another early poll i watched a ton of gorgeous US logging/forestry shorts - anyone?
- the first welsh talkie was made this year - which when i get round to watching it will literally be the 2nd film in welsh that i've seen. ridiculous.
- and this my fave discovery - 1935 was the year the cinema worm turned or at least revealed its dark underbelly (in the UK) - the first time film was used as evidence in a criminal case - a policeman had covertly filmed illegal bookies in chesterfield and it was used in the trial to successfully prosecute a few men. but the thing is, that still, even here, cinema insists on its dreams & magic - couple of minutes into the footage elephants (elephants!!!!) appear. in chesterfield. in the UK. where elephants habitually aren't. (the prosaic explanation is that a circus was in town, but still, for the cinema-gods to have inserted that into the criminal case seems wonderful/necessary)

[Lencho of the Apes]

the one '35 new theaters film that does seem to survive with subs (cinemasofindia dot com has a copy) is nitin bose's dhoop chhaon,

There's also a Jaymoti, filmed in Assamese. Probably an outlier historically and artistically but I expect I'll watch it.

[sally]

also this is why i like these year polls. i don't know how i found it, but j c mol was ...something....associated with joris ivens' filmliga & commercial filmmaking. he's not on imdb or letterboxd but i just watched an unsubbed dutch documentary about the chocolate manufacturer Droste.

according to wikipedia:

The Droste effect (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdrɔstə]), known in art as an example of mise en abyme, is the effect of a picture recursively appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear.The effect is named for a Dutch brand of cocoa,

the soundtrack is jauntily dedicated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQr8HiRUP38

[rischka]

fascinating stuff you guys!! i'm going to be boring and rewatch top hat -- on bluray!~

[sally]

oh god. ozu's a genius.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

- and this my fave discovery - 1935 was the year the cinema worm turned or at least revealed its dark underbelly (in the UK) - the first time film was used as evidence in a criminal case - a policeman had covertly filmed illegal bookies in chesterfield and it was used in the trial to successfully prosecute a few men. but the thing is, that still, even here, cinema insists on its dreams & magic - couple of minutes into the footage elephants (elephants!!!!) appear. in chesterfield. in the UK. where elephants habitually aren't. (the prosaic explanation is that a circus was in town, but still, for the cinema-gods to have inserted that into the criminal case seems wonderful/necessary)

This is super interesting, thank you for the info [Can't access BFI player in my region, alas, or else I'd check out the footage too!]

[rischka]

oh god. ozu's a genius.

that is very probably my favorite ozu

[greennui]

Pluto gets sent to cat hell for crimes against felinity. Neat and kinda hardcore for a Disney short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUT0PYEeH6o

[...]

He deserved it, harassing that poor kitty like that. Which isn't even to mention the other crimes he was accused of. Damn cat killer.

I liked how Mickey got all hardcore dog owner on Pluto too. A weird little touch of realism in that bit.

Looked like Disney was all in on the cat cartoons in '35, with at least several more featuring kittens or cats, but it didn't seem to take with cats ending up being the bad ones in most cartoons, or sidekicks on occasion.

This Pluto cartoon was later ripped off, much less successfully, for a Tom and Jerry one, Heavenly Puss in '49. They seemed to do that sort of thing often.

And, man, is it hard to find a cartoon from this era that doesn't feature some form of blackface or other racist stuff even when there's no real reason it should be there. The Uncle Tom's cabin bit was a bizarre add, but that sorta stuff was evidently highly amusing to some people back then. Tashlin's cartoons are full of it too. Strangely enough though the Music Land Silly Symphony doesn't have any, which is strange because it's partly set in Jazzland yet without any blacks at all. It's very Paul Whiteman.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Pluto's Judgment Day exemplifies something that's really jumped out at me so far in my 1935 viewing: just how thoroughly and loudly 1935 US cinema is letting it be known that they're on the side of law and order, that Hollywood will henceforth be telling ostensibly impressionable viewers that Crime Does Not Pay (the telling name of a short subject series, begun by MGM in 1935). A post-Code rebranding for the whole US film industry. And of course, Walt Disney perhaps better than any other film producer in the period perceived that a fortune could be made by positioning his company's film products as parent's little helper in the moral development of children.

(Rather galling, on that note, to consider that as part of this enterprise Disney not only attempted but actually succeeded in taking a character who originated as a sexually assaultive Blackface minstrel mouse [Mickey] and turning him into a shorthand emblem for all things pure and wholesome in children's entertainment...)

[...]

Disney's stuff does have its own particular flavor to it. Even with the racism there's a decided air of paternalism involved. Like in the Broken Toys cartoon wiht the black dolls being included with the others as part of the group while also being shown as distinctly other and in the case of the Stepin Fetchit-like puppet, the butt of more jokes.

The Three Orphan Kittens cartoon features a black maid, shown only by her legs and arms (something also ripped off later for Tom and Jerry) who is treated with a sense of , not exactly mocking in the worst sense of some other cartoons, as the cartoon actually provides some sense of personality to the character which is of some rough equivalence to that of some of Hattie McDaniel's roles, a mix of patronizing familiarity and ironized authority. The maid is the one who will be responsible for the mess the (very well realized) kittens make, but has no real power to do anything about it or is invested with any ownership of the things broken. The little girl at the end of the cartoon has more real power than the maid, but the maid is the one who carries the expectation of response to the kitteny shenanigans. Other cartoons, like those of Tashlin, can veer towards a more abstracted racial view, using it for visual puns or to demonstrate the plastic nature of cartooning through transformation, which is more othering, but less paternalistic. "Uncle Walt" mostly seems to want to be everyone's father-like figure and not push too far into abstract alienation humor, staying securely on the "folksy" side of things.

Some of the Disney cartooning though is really quite impressive, the background work is uniformly high quality in the Silly Symphony cartoons and some of the character work can be well detailed, as with Dirty Bill in The Robber Kitten, one of the other kitty cartoons from the year.

[greennui]

Pluto's Judgment Day exemplifies something that's really jumped out at me so far in my 1935 viewing: just how thoroughly and loudly 1935 US cinema is letting it be known that they're on the side of law and order, that Hollywood will henceforth be telling ostensibly impressionable viewers that Crime Does Not Pay (the telling name of a short subject series, begun by MGM in 1935). A post-Code rebranding for the whole US film industry. And of course, Walt Disney perhaps better than any other film producer in the period perceived that a fortune could be made by positioning his company's film products as parent's little helper in the moral development of children.

(Rather galling, on that note, to consider that as part of this enterprise Disney not only attempted but actually succeeded in taking a character who originated as a sexually assaultive Blackface minstrel mouse [Mickey] and turning him into a shorthand emblem for all things pure and wholesome in children's entertainment...)

The only other 1935 film I've seen so far is Harry Lachman's Dante's Inferno which also felt like a product of this, basically a cauionary tale about the pursuit of wealth and success, complete with a lenghty vision of hell. It was a neat hell sequence but wasted on a post-code film. Even had Spencer Tracy in blackface getup.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

The Girl in the Rumour (Mikio Naruse) ⁠— A tale of two sisters and of two futures for Japan. Spurring me to revise my present rule of capsule reviewing every feature I see; might only make sense for familiar movie types and not make sense for national cinemas I'm less familiar with - don't know enough about the surrounding context to develop thoughts quickly or with confidence. Ideally I'll rewatch this before poll's close, it's interesting and maybe beautiful and I want to understand it better... Definitely a recommendation and well worth seeing. Kimiko (Ryuko Umezono) is a style icon, and even dances with another woman in this, a nice WLW-resonant touch.

[nrh]

don't know if it helps but sallitt's notes on rumor - https://mikionaruse.wordpress.com/the-g ... the-rumor/

also good notes on wife be like a rose which i think is incredible - https://mikionaruse.wordpress.com/wife-be-like-a-rose/

and fascinating article on wife's reception in new york in the '30s - http://www.rouge.com.au/10/kimiko.html

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

don't know if it helps but sallitt's notes on rumor - https://mikionaruse.wordpress.com/the-g ... the-rumor/

also good notes on wife be like a rose which i think is incredible - https://mikionaruse.wordpress.com/wife-be-like-a-rose/

and fascinating article on wife's reception in new york in the '30s - http://www.rouge.com.au/10/kimiko.html

Much help, thank you nrh! Only after viewing and feeling stumped did I remember that Sallitt had that online companion for Naruse, but I'll definitely turn to it going forward whenever I have one of his films lined up. Wasn't familiar with that Rouge article, but it looks fascinating, thanks - love learning about the transnational reception of films Wife Be Like a Rose is next in line for sure, the title has always intrigued me.

[sally]

naruse! *hisses, spits, retracts claws, farts, and leaves*

i am still recovering from seeing william powell's nipples. seems wrong.

[sally]

also, abram room's a severe young man is the most bat-shit soviet film i've seen.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

also good notes on wife be like a rose which i think is incredible
and fascinating article on wife's reception in new york in the '30s - http://www.rouge.com.au/10/kimiko.html

Watched Naruse's Wife! Be Like a Rose! today as well. Arrestingly beautiful. Thanks for the reading recommendations, nrh, just finished the Rouge article and it was fascinating indeed! Good 'ol Mark Van Doren.

[St. Gloede]

Caught 5 Japanese films from '35:

Yotamono to komachimusume / The Lumberjack and the Lady (1935, Hiromasa Nomura) 7/10
Joyû to shijin / The Actress and the Poet (1935, Mikio Naruse) 5/10
Uwasa no musume / The Girl in the Rumour (1935, Mikio Naruse) 7/10
Gubijinsô / Poppies (1935, Kenji Mizoguchi) 6/10
Maria no Oyuki (1935, Kenji Mizoguchi) 6.5/10

[sally]

okay, i'm getting some serious contenders for 35. on that note, tod browning can go to hell. (via my final list, the bastard)

but there's still some films i'd like to see, but can't find. if anyone knows where i can find these (not KG) or has obtained for their own pleasure and can share, i'd appreciate the nod:

---> this most wanted: gréville's remous/whirlpool
eva (johannes riemann) or just subs that fit 1:27:04
or just any subbed films with heinz rühmann
marcel tourneur's justin de marseille (i found film and subs but they don't match)
subs for ermler's peasants
kaikki rakastavat - valentin vaala (not the finnish lubitsch as i read somewhere once, but more akin to......
martin frič - ať žije nebožtík (or just need subs that fit either 1:23:22 or 1:22:52/49)
swedenhielms - molander (molander is dependable & i fancy gösta ekman)
any subs for as pupilas do senhor reitor of 1:34:04???

and assuming the epstein (marius et olive à paris) doesn't exist and that there are no eng subs for the guitry (bonne chance)?

[rischka]

---> this most wanted: gréville's remous/whirlpool

i'm on this. enjoyed proto-noir toni



i'm sick u guys going back to bed for the second time today.