His girl Friday 1940 - One of the fastest talking movies ever made

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 8,1

Director: Howard Hawks
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart

"The second screen version of the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, His Girl Friday changed hard-driving newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson from a man to a woman, transforming the story into a scintillating battle of the sexes. It's doubtful that one could find a movie as fast-paced as Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday, and next-to-impossible to find a film of the period more laced with sexual electricity. Decades after its release, the comedy-thriller adapted from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's play The Front Page holds up as a masterpiece of pacing and performance, and even manages a few healthy swipes at some of officialdom's sacred cows. At the time, His Girl Friday was also a piece of groundbreaking cinema for the rules it broke: Hawks' version added an element of sexual tension that was about the only thing missing from the original play and the 1931 film version, in which main characters Walter Burns and Hildy Johnson are men engaged in a symbiotic/exploitative professional relationship. Hawks transmuted Hildy Johnson into the persona of Rosalind Russell, who was entering her prime as an archetype of the ambitious, energetic woman. Coupled with Cary Grant's cheerful nonchalance as the manipulative editor Walter Burns, the material - which was fairly scintillating on its own terms - took on a fierce sexual edge that made the resulting film a 92-minute exercise in eroticism masquerading as a comic thriller. Russell may never have had a better role than Hildy Johnson; she became a screen symbol for the intelligent, aggressive female reporter, decades before Candice Bergen's star turn as television's Murphy Brown. Amid all of the jockeying for superiority, and the sparring between Grant and Russell - which, in many ways, anticipates the jousting between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Hawks' own The Big Sleep, made four years later - His Girl Friday found room to enhance some of the issues from the original play, including cynicism about government, the justice system and freedom of the press.
His Girl Friday may well be the fastest comedy of the 1930s, with kaleidoscope action, instantaneous plot twists, and overlapping dialogue. And if you listen closely, you'll hear a couple of 'in' jokes, one concerning Cary Grant's real name (Archie Leach), and another poking fun at Ralph Bellamy's patented 'poor sap' screen image. Subsequent versions of The Front Page included Billy Wilder's 1974 adaptation, which restored Hildy Johnson's manhood in the form of Jack Lemmon, and 1988's Switching Channels, which cast Burt Reynolds in the Walter Burns role and Kathleen Turner as the Hildy Johnson counterpart." - www.allmovie.com

Download links:

The women 1939 - It's all about men!

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 8,0

Director: George Cukor
Main Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine

"Based on the Clare Booth Luce play of the same name, this MGM comedy is famous for its all-female cast and deft direction by George Cukor. The themes explored in Clare Boothe Luce's play were so modern in 1939 that audiences found the film audaciously relevant, yet so timeless and universal that The Women could be successfully revived on Broadway in 2001, starring Jennifer Tilly, Kristen Johnston, and Cynthia Nixon. The film crackles with a sharp-toothed sarcasm even on a modern viewing. George Cukor's deft pacing and evident facility with actors (or, we should say, actresses) make The Women both a scathing and hilarious indictment of the institution of marriage. No less important, in fact probably more so, is the film's portrayal of the women's mercenary competitiveness. The ruthlessly casual deceptions they practice on each other are authenticated by the playwright's gender, as well as that of her adapters (Anita Loos and Jane Murfin). The Women recasts the discourse of high society as an exercise in the Darwinism of the animal kingdom, starting with an opening credits sequence that assigns an animal role to each character, from sly fox to gentle lamb. The opening shot says it all, as two dogs aggressively (and metaphorically) yap at each other as their pampered owners restrain them, all against a cacophony of background gossip. The women's ironic commentary on the regimen of exercise and beautification they must maintain to keep their men takes over from here, as does the rapid repartees and the almost incidental backstabbing. Casting the film entirely with women works beautifully, never straining the logic or staging, and the handful of leads each share the credit with Luce and Cukor for a fully realized farce on the warfare of feminine politics and societal advantage.
Snappy, witty dialogue, much of it courtesy of veteran screenwriter Anita Loos, helps send this film's humor over the top. So do the characterizations - Crawford is as venomous as they come, and this was Russell's first chance to show what she could do as a comedienne. And don't discount Shearer - her portrayal of good-girl Mary is never overpowered by these two far-flashier roles. Do keep an eye on the supporting players, though, especially Mary Boland as the Countess DeLage. The role was based on a cafe society dame of that era, the Countess DiFrasso, who had a wild affair with Gary Cooper; that romance is satirized here." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

The citadel 1938 - A superior look at the medical profession

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029995/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: King Vidor
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison

"Although made in 1938, The Citadel remains a powerful, haunting and rewarding drama. True, time has lessened its impact somewhat, as modern viewers have likely been exposed to other films that traffic in Citadel's general theme of the power of wealth to corrupt the spirit - and even other films that also specifically deal with this theme as it applies to those in the field of medicine. Nevertheless, Citadel still seems fresh, and the care with which it has been made ensures that it retains a great deal of impact. Credit goes to any number of people, starting with the team of screenwriters who did a skillful job of adapting A.J. Cronin's novel; the screenplay is by necessity less complex than the novel, but it is highly effective and affecting. King Vidor also deserves applause for his sensitive yet powerful direction; Vidor examines humanity in both its glory and its shame, reveling in the former and expressing sadness and regret rather than condemnation for the latter. Finally, there's the expert cast, with Rex Harrison and Ralph Richardson turning in sterling support for stars Rosalind Russell and Robert Donat. Russell is surprisingly good, her 'American-ness' not getting in the way as much as one might think; she delivers a finely nuanced performance that is a small gem. And Robert Donat delivers a carefully wrought performance that is a large treasure, calling upon all of his considerable talents and detailing a character whose changes are made true and easily believable. His climactic speech is everything one could wish for and more. Add in some lovely Harry Stradling camerawork, and the result is a fine, stirring classic." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-citadel-v9728/

DVD links:

Night must fall 1937 - Brilliantly acted, moody psychological drama

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029310/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: Richard Thorpe
Main Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Dame May Whitty, Alan Marshal

"Emlyn Williams' theatrical horror piece Night Must Fall was filmed by MGM without the usual studio-imposed happy ending. Night Must Fall is a classic nail-biter that, despite the passage of time, is still enormously effective. Primary credit is due to Robert Montgomery, who sheds his 'light comedy' image with a finely crafted, carefully nuanced performance that grows more impressive with repeated viewings. That Montgomery can provide Danny with charm is no surprise; that he can do so in a manner that is simultaneously convincing to Dame May Whitty and contrived to Rosalind Russell is unexpectedly delightful. His understanding of the character's psychosis is impressive, and many of his choices - the subtle changes in Danny's gait and stance, for example - demonstrate the amount of care he put into this portrayal. Russell's part does not allow her the same range, but her work is polished. She makes the character's repulsion and attraction to Danny credible, which is crucial to the film's success, and her restlessness and discontent are pitched to exactly the right key. Whitty, of course, has a grand time; she and Montgomery are so believable that plot contrivances that might otherwise provoke grunts of disbelief are accepted without batting an eye. Credit director Richard Thorpe with guiding the cast through some difficult terrain; much of the screenplay requires finely tuned reactions and scrupulous attention to subtext to avoid seeming obvious, and Thorpe's careful handling sees that the tone of the scenes never strays into that pit." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/night-must-fall-v103947/

DVD links: