The best years of our lives 1946 - The postwar classic

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 8,2

Director: William Wyler
Main Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael

"When Samuel Goldwyn decided to make The Best Years of Our Lives, Hollywood was running away from World War II-related scripts as though the subject itself had the plague -- movies about men in uniform had been box-office poison since early 1945. The assumption was that returning veterans would be even less willing than those who'd stayed on the home front to shell out money to be reminded of their service. Goldwyn, director William Wyler, and screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood (working from MacKinlay Kantor's blank verse novel Glory for Me), and a cast from heaven (some of them, like Dana Andrews and Virginia Mayo, giving the greatest performances of their careers) proved the industry wrong, and they opened up a whole new subject area by focusing on the men giving up their uniforms, the women and children around them, and even the men who hadn't served. They ended up with a 170-minute movie whose every shot was dramatically and psychically spellbinding, embracing the relief, anxiety, pain, joy, and doubts that Americans could now express. The setting of the movie in a small city somewhere in the middle of the country gave it a Norman Rockwell veneer, while the script melded that background with some healthy cynicism and emotional honesty borne out of the movie world's new awareness of modern psychology. Thus, the film had its feet in both pre-war and post-war consciousness, appealing to two generations of filmgoers (or even three, as the World War I-era audience was still around and had hardly been served well in its own time).
Profoundly relevant in 1946, the film still offers a surprisingly intricate and ambivalent exploration of American daily life; and it features landmark deep-focus cinematography from Gregg Toland, who also shot Citizen Kane. The film won Oscars for, among others, Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for March, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell, a real-life double amputee whose hands had been blown off in a training accident." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

The prizefighter and the lady 1933 - A must-see for boxing fans

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,5

Director: W. S. Van Dyke
Main Cast: Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Primo Carnera, Jack Dempsey, Walter Huston, Otto Kruger

"Steve Morgan (Max Baer) is a ex-sailor tending bar in a seedy dive when The Professor (Walter Huston), a boxing coach, sees Morgan make short work of a troublesome customer. The Professor convinces Morgan that he has what it takes to be a successful prizefighter, and takes him under his wing. One day, while Morgan is jogging, he's nearly hit by a car operated by an attractive woman named Belle (Myrna Loy), who is making a name for herself as a nightclub singer. Belle has been dating underworld kingpin Willie Ryan (Otto Kruger), but before long Morgan is able to win her away from Ryan, and they get married. Morgan's marriage to Belle turns out to be god for publicity, and soon he's racked up an impressive string of victories, but Morgan can't keep his eyes off other women, and she has reason to believe he's been unfaithful. Belle, despondent, goes back to Ryan, while Morgan starts hitting the bottle, just as he's lined up a championship fight with Primo Carnera.
The Prizefighter and the Lady gave heavyweight contender Max Baer his first leading role; a year after the film was released, Baer faced off against Carnera in a real championship bout, which Baer won by a knockout." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

Night flight 1933 - An all star cast aviation spectacle

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, C. Henry Gordon, Leslie Fenton, Irving Pichel

"This long-forgotten, long-unavailable MGM aviation drama (produced under the aegis of David O. Selznick) is an adaptation of flier-turned-belletrist Antoine de Saint-Exupery's slim 1931 novel of the same name, which dramatizes the adventures of the South American night mail aviation service in the early years of the 20th century. The studio enlisted a top-drawer cast for this one, including Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, brothers John and Lionel Barrymore (in their final onscreen appearance together), and Helen Hayes. Selznick and his brass were obviously hoping to produce another hit on par with Wings or Grand Hotel, and thus pinned empyrean hopes on the novella. To say that the adaptation didn't live up to their box office expectations would be an understatement, and probably explains the obscurity into which the picture sank. But all told, this film represents a happy, eminently enjoyable surprise. Scriptwriter Oliver H.P. Garret builds the drama around a plot contrivance not found in the original text - the attempts of the said pilots to deliver a precious vaccine to the infantile paralysis unit at the City Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, before one child in particular expires. De Saint-Exupery purists may scoff, but this ingenious narrative addition works beautifully - it functions as the hook necessary to sustain suspense in the audience's mind and maintain an involving through-line. All of the actors do stellar work here, particularly Gable and Montgomery (both cast as noble pilots), who give the picture the star power and the dramatic weight that it needs. A number of scenes feel stilted and overly theatrical, and others threaten to interrupt the film's momentum just a bit, but for the most part, what's onscreen is both involving and exciting. The film doesn't recreate de Saint-Exupery's majestic scenic tableaux - how could it? - and director Clarence Brown relies too heavily on 'wipes' to segue from one aerial shot to another. But the film compensates with special effects that feel downright revolutionary for the period in question, and that anticipate Howard Hawks's Only Angels Have Wings - including gorgeous, convincing shots of aircraft during nocturnal voyages (done with miniatures) and a magnificent storm sequence, set in the Andes and lifted directly from the text. Of greatest curiosity are the period images of such cities as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile, presented as sterile-white, WASP-staffed utopian communities with nothing but the most luxurious surroundings. Why the absence of Hispanic citizens, and why the careful resistance to any signs of local squalor? (It may simply be a reflection on the nativism of the era that produced this film). The movie suffers just a bit from one of the most risible final shots of any film in memory (with 'ghost pilots' emerging from the sea and soaring up to the heavens); until then it's an engrossing entertainment and does justice to its source material." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

Penthouse 1933 - The gangster lawyer and his gang

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: W. S. Van Dyke
Main Cast: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth, Mae Clarke, Phillips Holmes

"The leads, plus some very frank dialogue and W. S. Van Dyke's breezy direction, are the main selling points for Penthouse - but also in the plus column are some great art-deco settings and a truly suspenseful denouement with a genuinely surprising (and bitter-sweet) twist, followed by a sorting out of the romantic complications that is refreshingly carnal, twist-laden, and honest.
Warner Baxter plays a lawyer who has a reputation of getting guilty men off with murders but in reality he takes those who look guilty and proves their innocents. After getting a gangster off for murder, he gets involved with a new case where a friend of his is accused of murder and the only way to break through the case is by taking up with a gangster moll (Myrna Loy).
This film was made a year before Myrna Loy catapulted to super-stardom with the Thin Man movies. At this point in her career, she was still a relatively unknown actress with a long but generally undistinguished track record. Warner Baxter, on the other hand, was the bigger star - with starring roles in 42nd Street, The Cisco Kid (and its sequel) and The Squaw Man.
Stylistically, the film is actually a lot like Baxter's B-movie series, The Crime Doctor, though in this case he plays a defense attorney who investigates crimes instead of a criminal psychiatrist who investigates crimes. Additionally, Penthouse has a bit more style, polish and better acting than the Columbia Pictures series."

DVD links:

The animal kingdom 1932 - Good mistress vs. bad wife

Ann Harding, Leslie Howard & Myrna Loy in The Animal Kingdom (1932)

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,6

Director: George Cukor, Edward H. Griffith
Main Cast: Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase

"The first film version of Philip Barry's Broadway play The Animal Kingdom stars Ann Harding, Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy. Howard plays a wealthy publisher who decides to marry the socially prominent Loy, leaving his mistress Harding in the lurch. In comically convoluted fashion, Loy behaves like a callous libertine, while Harding is the soul of love and fidelity. The frustrated Howard declares at the end that he is going back to his 'wife' - meaning, of course, the faithful Harding. Animal Kingdom was long withdrawn from public view due to the 1946 remake One More Tomorrow; a pristine 35-millimeter print was discovered in the Warner Bros. vaults in the mid-1980s.
Philip Barry as a playwright was able to find an audience in two distinct eras of American history, the carefree Roaring Twenties and the poorer socially significant Thirties. He did with a clever mixture of social commentary while writing about the privileged classes enjoying their privileges.
The Animal Kingdom had a 183 performance run on Broadway the previous year and its star Leslie Howard was a movie name already on two continents. So Howard, Bill Gargan, and Ilka Chase repeat their Broadway roles here.
Harding was an interesting leading woman - she was attractive but not beautiful and had a very low, distinctive speaking voice. She came from the Broadway stage, and her heyday in films was through the mid-thirties, though she worked consistently in films and television until the mid-60s. As was the case back then, at 31 years of age, her time as a leading lady was drawing to a close, and soon would be turned over to people like the younger Loy. Her performance in The Animal Kingdom is a very honest one. Loy is absolutely ravishing as she essays the part of the glamorous wife beautifully, reminiscent of Gene Tierney later on with the ultra-feminine facade hiding the steel underneath. Howard is handsome and thoughtful in the lead, and one can see it slowly occurring to him that he made a mistake."

Download links:

Emma 1932 - Another sterling performance from Dressler

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Marie Dressler, Richard Cromwell, Jean Hersholt, Myrna Loy, John Miljan

"Emma is a turn-of-the-century domestic drama completely dominated by star Marie Dressler. She plays the maid of an upper middle class family, keeping her wits about her as her employers suffer crisis after crisis. When the master of the house (Jean Hersholt), a prominent inventor, is widowed, he proposes marriage to Emma. Shortly afterward, Hersholt dies, and Emma, who has married 'out of her class', is accused of murder by Hersholt's jealous children. Cleared of the accusation, Emma turns over her inheritance to the selfish children and heads off to work for another family, once again making the best of any and all bad situations.
At the time she made this film, Marie Dressler was Hollywood's greatest star. An unlikely celebrity sensation, with her homely face and shapeless body, Dressler was nonetheless adored by the American public who could sense her basic decency and goodness. For a few brief years she became the nation's grandma, someone with whom the public could feel completely comfortable. Dressler seemed to typify the virtues of hard work and plainspoken honesty - attributes which counted for much in the Great Depression's darkest days.
Firm support is given by gentle Jean Hersholt as Dressler's kindly employer. As his son, Richard Cromwell gives an energetic performance. Lovely Myrna Loy, not-quite-yet a star, is strangely awkward as Hersholt's spiteful daughter. John Miljan is effective in the role of a relentless District Attorney." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

The rains came 1939 - Exotic melodrama with a great spectacle

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031835/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, Nigel Bruce, Maria Ouspenskaya, Joseph Schildkraut, Mary Nash, Jane Darwell

"Devotees of Louis Bromfield's novel that provides the basis for The Rains Came - even any such devotees there still are - will be disappointed by the film version of the novel, but they're likely to be the only ones. True, Rains simplifies the book in the most basic way, stripping it of its social context and commentary and leaving little more than the love story and the plot outline. But Rains works like gangbusters on film, precisely because of this treatment. Modern audiences, more accustomed to this sort of tragic romance, will perhaps find it a bit familiar, but they'll be swept up in the story and won over by the struggle of Man against Nature. They may be less won over by the casting of white-only performers in the lead Indian roles, but this was standard practice at the time. As the chief 'Indian', Tyrone Power turns in a delicious performance, the kind of movie star turn that the film requires. Even better is the delectable Myrna Loy, back in her old 'not-so-good girl' territory and having a blast, while at the same time spreading her special celluloid magic over the whole proceedings. George Brent is so-so, but young Brenda Joyce is vivaciously refreshing and old Nigel Bruce gets a chance to stretch beyond his traditional Doctor Watson persona and does so notably. There's also a nice, characterful turn from Maria Ouspenskaya as the Maharini. Clarence Brown directs with assurance and flair, and he makes the most of the earthquake/flood sequence that is the film's undeniable highlight. This is truly spectacular and impresses even today, in the world of CGI effects. Thrilling and engaging, Rains is dynamite fun." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-rains-came-v107209

DVD links:

Test pilot 1938 - A familiar story but with great actors

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030848/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Victor Fleming
Main Cast: Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore

"Test Pilot is one of those irresistible MGM potboilers of the 1930s that coast along on sheer star power. Clark Gable plays a courageous test pilot, who compromises his achievements with his frequent bouts of drinking. Gable's mechanic, Spencer Tracy, does what he can to keep his boss out of trouble. While testing a new aircraft, Gable is forced to land on a Midwestern farm, where he meets and falls in love with Myrna Loy. Gable and Loy marry, whereupon he is fired by his boss Lionel Barrymore, who is of the opinion that flying and dames don't mix. Gable goes off on another bender, compelling Loy to leave him. Once more, Tracy comes to Gable's rescue by reuniting the couple and arranging for Barrymore to give Gable his job back. Later, Gable and Tracy are assigned to test a huge army bomber. Something goes wrong, and the plane goes into a dive. The self-sacrificing Tracy sees to it that Gable is saved from a flaming death - at the cost of his own life. Gable is so devastated by Tracy's death that it looks as though he'll never fly again. But with Loy's help, Gable regains his self-confidence. As one can see, there's little in Test Pilot that hasn't been done before. But with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy at the controls, the film proved a real audience-pleaser in 1938. In fact, it's still pretty good today." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/test-pilot-v49173

DVD links:

The great Ziegfeld 1936 - The greatest showman

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027698/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Main Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice, Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Ray Bolger

"The Great Ziegfeld manages to combine an interesting story with spectacular production numbers, something that MGM musicals of the early sound era achieved on only an occasional basis. William Powell is fine as Florenz Ziegfeld, but it is Best Actress Oscar winner Louise Rainer who shines as Anna Held. Among the film's several pleasures are seeing real-life performers from the Ziegfeld era playing themselves, particularly Fanny Brice, later immortalized by Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. Despite its 176-minute running time, The Great Ziegfeld maintains interest between its superb musical production numbers." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-great-ziegfeld-v20813/

DVD links:

The thin man 1934 - A marvelous adaptation of the Hammett novel with great chemistry between Powell and Loy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025878/
IMDB rating: 8,2

Director: W. S. Van Dyke
Main Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton

"Filmed on what MGM considered a B-picture budget and schedule (14 days, which at Universal or Columbia would have been considered extravagant), The Thin Man proved to be 'sleeper', spawning a popular film, radio, and television series. Contrary to popular belief, the title does not refer to star William Powell, but to Edward Ellis, playing the mean-spirited inventor who sets the plot in motion.
The Thin Man works because of the chemistry between stars William Powell and Myrna Loy (which would be adroitly exploited by MGM in several subsequent films, including five additional Thin Man mysteries produced between 1936 and 1948), and because screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich had the good sense to transfer Dashiell Hammett's source novel to the screen without substantial alterations to the story. Planned by MGM as a lower-profile release, the film nonetheless featured first-rate talent in front of and behind the camera, including director W.S. Van Dyke, cinematographer James Wong Howe, art director Cedric Gibbons, and sound engineer Douglas Shearer. The supporting cast features consistently good performances, with Maureen O'Sullivan the standout.
Surprisingly popular at the box office, The Thin Man was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-thin-man-v49456

DVD links:

Love me tonight 1932 - Warm love, hilarious fun, sweet music and hot lyrics!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023158/
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Main Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Myrna Loy

"One of the most technically accomplished and sophisticated movie musicals of the 1930's, Rouben Mamoulian's Love Me Tonight had a profound effect on the shape of the musical genre (especially the films of Vincente Minnelli), and remains a candidate for best movie musical ever made, some seven decades after its release. And that distinction is based entirely on its style and structure - it doesn't even take into account a hit-laden score by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, or a raft of delightful performances, several of them totally unexpected in their range and wit.
Director Rouben Mamoulian had already jump-started the musical genre with the backstage drama Applause (1929), to great critical and financial success. In contrast to that movie's deceptively naturalistic approach to its subject, Love Me Tonight was highly stylized - Applause had no actual musical numbers in complete form, while Love Me Tonight was filled with incredibly elaborate and subtle musical set-pieces that grow naturally out of the plot (adapted from a play by Paul Armont and Leopold Marchand) and advanced the narrative. Some of the scenes here helped set the stage for works such as An American In Paris, Gigi and Funny Face.
The rhythmic street sounds in the opening Paris sequence, the precise cuts in 'The Sonofagun Is Nothing But a Tailor', the slow-motion fox hunt, and a parody of Sergei Eisenstein's editing style further attest to Mamoulian's technical acuity. With its cross-class fairy tale love story tempered by Ernst Lubitsch-style, pre-Production Code sophisticated comedy, and a supporting cast including Myrna Loy as a nymphomaniac , Love Me Tonight's non-musical content matches the charm of its songs, making it one of the best musicals of the 1930s." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/love-me-tonight-v100414

DVD links: