It seems that I'm still on my golden oldie kick since the more recent movies that I've seen this week have not been doing their job of getting me outside myself -- which unfortunately is something I really need at the moment. Not so the pair of charmers below which managed to take me back to happier and simpler times:
The Young in Heart (1938): This is not quite a screwball but is a rather gentle comedy about a family of con artists: father Roland ("Topper) Young, mother (good witch) Billie Burke, daughter Janet Gaynor (in her last movie appearance for 20 years), and son Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who between them have never done an honest day's work and who survive by card sharping and bogus romances. When they are uncovered on the Riviera and forced to leave for England, they meet a lonely little old lady on the train, realise that she is stinking rich, and befriend her in the hope of being made her heirs. This part was played by stage actress Minnie Dupree and was suitably named Miss Fortune and the viewer prays that her trust will not prove misplaced. That things work out rather differently from the family's master plan is the heartwarming and totally satisfying twist here. And it's a "doggie" movie too which is guaranteed to make me smile.
The Good Fairy (1935): Written by Preston Sturges before he was given the opportunity to direct, this is a clever bowdlerisation of a Hungarian play and brings out the comedic talents of its lead, Margaret Sullavan, playing a naive orphan unleashed to the fleshpots of Budapest. There she meets a concerned waiter (Reginald Owen), a lecherous would-be benefactor (Frank Morgan), and an impoverished lawyer (Herbert Marshall -- the most dashing one-legged man in the movies). They are as charming and amusing a trio as one could wish, and the lies and complications grow apace until the naturally happy ending. Couldn't we all do with more of those?
Something that always amuses me in the Hollywood films of this period is how age seems to disappear in the magic of the conception. For example, Janet Gaynor was meant to be 20 in the above film (and was actually 34) and 'older brother' Fairbanks was actually five years her junior. But she glows in the role and we want to believe. Similarly Sullavan at 26 was probably too old for the 17-year old orphan, but both actresses look great and one willingly suspends belief.
This will be my last entry for a while since I'm off to the States (again), but I promise to reappear before this year's FrightFest. Take care...
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