Women of all nations 1931 - War, women and wine

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,1

Director: Raoul Walsh
Main Cast: Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Greta Nissen, El Brendel, Fifi D'Orsay, Marjorie White, Bela Lugosi

"Flagg and Quirt, the eternally bickering 'friendly enemies' introduced in Lawrence Stallings' WWI play What Price Glory, were at it again in 1931's Women of All Nations. Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe reprise their screen characterizations as pugnacious, girl-crazy marine sergeants Flagg and Quirt, who in the course of the film's 71 minutes hopscotch from Panama to Sweden to Nicaragua to Turkey. In Sweden, the boys battle over the affections of icy blonde Elsa (Greta Nissen), while in Turkey they find themselves in the middle of a sheik's harem (where else?). Comic relief El Brendel has the film's best scene, in which he obeys Flagg's order 'Get me the lay of the land' by returning with coquettish Fifi D'Orsay! Humphrey Bogart was supposed to have played the romantic lead in Women of All Nations, but his role was all but eliminated in the final release print." - www.allmovie.com

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Dishonored 1931 - Dietrich as a fascinating spy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021800/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Warner Oland

"Contemporary viewers who go into Dishonored expecting a musty, dated espionage melodrama will be in for a surprise. Marlene Dietrich delivers a subtle and witty performance as a Viennese prostitute who offers her services as a spy during WWI. Though far from a classic, Dishonored is an immensely enjoyable vehicle for Marlene Dietrich, and a treat for fans of the screen goddess. Those who know Dietrich primarily as an icy, world weary siren, the personality with which she is often unfairly associated, will be in for a surprise here. 'I'm not afraid of living or of dying', she announces early on, and she certainly demonstrates her capacity for living in here in a performance which moves from joyousness, strength and vitality to a doomed resignation born of doomed love - and is always believable. A highlight is Dietrich's richly comic (and mostly silent) turn as fresh-off-the-farm scullery maid, a disguise which allows the actress to demonstrate a surprising talent for broad comedy. Aside from Dietrich, Dishonored has some problems. The script, though serviceable, is a bit short on inspiration and surprise; it gets to where it needs to go, but it doesn't take the viewer on a particularly interesting ride along the way. Director Josef von Sternberg does wonderfully with Dietrich and gets a good performance from Warner Oland, but he can't help Victor McLaglen get a handle on his character, leaving him to do little more than strut and stick an annoying leer on his face for extended periods of time. Von Sternberg does provide some beautiful visuals, of course, especially during one of his trademark party scenes; but he also overindulges a penchant for lengthy cross-fades." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/dishonored-v13959/

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The informer 1935 - John Ford's labor of love

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026529/
IMDB rating: 7,6

Director: John Ford
Main Cast: Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O'Connor

"The informer, Liam O'Flaherty's novel of the the Irish 'troubles' of the early 1920s, was first filmed in England in 1929, with Cyril McLaglen in the lead. When director John Ford remade The informer in 1935, the role of the tragic Irish roisterer Gypo Nolan went to Cyril's brother Victor McLaglen.
The informer was a box-office dud for John Ford, but it brought him his first Best Director Oscar and remains one of the most studied films of its era. The pathos created by the convincing performance of Victor McLaglen is made all the more intense by Ford's sensitive direction and Max Steiner's emotional score. Filmed in black-and-white and taking place mostly at night, The informer creates an effective atmosphere of desperation, as the sadness of the story takes hold on the audience, especially since the Irish struggle for independence remains a powerful current-day theme.
The informer earned Victor McLaglen an Oscar, as well as several other nominations; the film did poorly at the box office, but John Ford had anticipated this reaction, reportedly waiving his considerable salary just to make certain that picture - a labor of love for the director, who was himself a native of Ireland - would be completed." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-informer-v24847

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The lost patrol 1934 - Ford's epic story of boiling passions

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025423/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB ratings: 7,0

Director: John Ford
Main Cast: Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny

"Previously filmed in 1929, Philip MacDonald's novel Patrol was lensed by director John Ford as The Lost Patrol in 1934. This is a minor entry in the pantheon of John Ford classics, though it had a substantial influence on subsequent films. The film has a dated look and feel, even if Ford's stylistic touches are still occasionally evident. What works is Ford's ability to develop a sense of helplessness among the characters. The scene with the rescue pilot is exceptional, and Max Steiner's score is among the best of his prolific career. The film also features one of the few bad performances by Boris Karloff, whose overwritten fanatical character is too blatantly symbolic. The film's best parts convey the bleak futility of warfare. At other times, the story tries too hard to create an anti-religious counterpoint. Nonetheless, its good parts are very good, and the story of survival in combat against overwhelming odds has been imitiated to the point of becoming an action-film sub-genre.
Max Steiner's relentless musical theme for The Lost Patrol would later be adapted into his score for Warner Bros' Casablanca. Lost Patrol would itself be adapted as the 1939 western Bad Lands." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-lost-patrol-v30160

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