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

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Politics 1931 - "Dressler for mayor!"

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022273/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: Charles 'Chuck' Reisner
Main Cast: Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Roscoe Ates, Karen Morley, William Bakewell, John Miljan, Joan Marsh

"MGM fashioned this pleasant little comedy/drama to showcase their surprisingly popular actress, Marie Dressler. She was beginning her meteoric rise to commence her reign as Hollywood's most popular star, a supremacy that was only cut short by her untimely death in 1934. Massive & shapeless, with a face that could stop a bus, Dressler embodied pure grandmotherly affection and the country gladly took her to their heart. She was also an excellent actress, equally adept at eliciting laughter or tears from her audiences, sometimes almost simultaneously. In the end, when cancer took her, the Mighty Marie proved utterly irreplaceable - truly one of Cinema's Grandest Ladies.
Receiving equal billing is Dressler's frequent comedy partner, Polly Moran. Diminutive & buxom, Polly was a fine comedienne in her own right, and MGM kept her very busy in the early 1930's. Acid-tongued & brash, Moran was adept at slapstick and in every way was an enjoyable sidekick for Marie. Here, gentle Dressler plays Moran's benevolent landlady, uninterested in Polly's political enthusiasms until sudden violence prompts Marie into galvanizing the women of the community, with Polly giving her full encouragement. Each is rewarded, as can be seen in the movie's final moments.
Stuttering Roscoe Ates appears as Polly's grumpy husband. Pretty Karen Morley is Marie's slightly duplicitous daughter, while William Bakewell is her wrong-side-of-the-law boyfriend; each are kept in the background to let the old girls shine. Also effective in very small roles are John Miljan as the local crime boss, Tom McGuire as Lake Port's corrupt mayor and lovely Joan Marsh as the tragic catalyst for the plot."

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The girl said no 1930 - One-scene Dressler saves the early talkie comedy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020919/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: Sam Wood
Main Cast: William Haines, Leila Hyams, Polly Moran, Marie Dressler

"1930. Silents were dead, talkies were king & it was William Haines' golden Hollywood year. His pictures - he starred in 3 - made enough money at the box-office to make him the top male movie star of that year. The girl said no is one of those films.
It is very much a typical Haines comedy, with lots of silliness based on his boyish character (although he was 30, he plays a college kid). His wealthy father dies, leaving his family penniless and Haines in need of finding money. The plot revolves around his attempts to make good in a new job, where he tries to impress Leila Hyams, the pretty secretary he meets there.
Also in the cast are Francis X. Bushman, Jr. as Haines' rival; Clara Blandick (Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz 9 years later); and the ubiquitous Polly Moran. The inimitable & irrepressible Marie Dressler appears in only one scene, but it's a dandy. She plays a very rich potential client who mistakes Haines for her new doctor, which generates a hilarious slapstick sequence. With this one 10-minute segment, talkie comedy was off to a very good start."

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Let us be gay 1930 - Old fashioned but interesting little comedy with Shearer and Dressler

Norma Shearer in Let Us Be Gay (1930)

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021060/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,6

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Main Cast: Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, Rod La Roque, Hedda Hopper, Raymond Hackett, Sally Eilers

"Let us be gay is an interesting little domestic comedy which features some tart dialogue (courtesy of celebrated screenwriter Frances Marion) & good performances. While perhaps a bit mawkish at times, this can probably be blamed on the difficulties with early sound technology which tended to limit action & movement.
Norma Shearer can be credited with appearing in this minor film, rather than using her undoubted clout as Irving Thalberg's spouse to insist upon only A-grade pictures. She is especially effective in her first few scenes, where dowdy flat makeup makes her almost unrecognizable. Her extreme transmogrification from goose to swan could only happen in Hollywood, but it's scarcely profitable to spend much time worrying about that.
Rod LaRocque doesn't come off too well as Shearer's adulterous husband. Quite popular during Silent days, the talkies were not especially kind to him and his career would suffer. Here his role is not in the least sympathetic and one has to wonder what masochistic impulse moves women to desire the cad so much.
Magnificent Marie Dressler is on hand as an eccentric Long Island dowager. As a great friend of Frances Marion, one can easily imagine that the part was written expressly for her. Full of cranks & crotchets, she is very humorous. However, the tremendous warmth & essential goodness which would very shortly make her Hollywood's biggest star are largely missing.
Among the supporting cast, Hedda Hopper scores as a slinky society serpent, as does Wilfred Noy playing a comic butler. Movie mavens will spot little Dickie Moore as Shearer's young son & elderly Mary Gordon as her housekeeper, both uncredited."

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Anna Christie 1930 - Garbo's first talking picture

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020641/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie Dressler, George F. Marion

"Accompanied by one of the most successful advertising campaigns in Hollywood history, Greta Garbo made her 'talking picture' debut in this carefully chosen vehicle, the second screen version of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 playGeorge F. Marion, who originated the role of Chris on Broadway back in 1922, makes Anna's old seadog of a father much more than a vaudeville turn and Marie Dressler deservedly won recognition for her downtrodden old sod of a waterfront floozy. As for Garbo herself, she makes Eugene O'Neill's heroine unforgettably her own." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/anna-christie-v2512/

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Min and Bill 1930 - Dressler and Beery shining in the leads

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021148/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: George W. Hill
Main Cast: Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Dorothy Jordan, Marjorie Rambeau

"Min and Bill was incredibly popular upon its release, turning Marie Dressler overnight into the hottest (and most unlikely) star in Hollywood. Modern audiences may not understand the uproar over the film itself, but Dressler's Academy Award-winning performance is still every bit as lustrous as it was in 1930. Dressler, not a great beauty even in her younger days, nevertheless manages to light up the screen with her oversized, warm-hearted turn. She's a force of nature, a tidal wave that sweeps along everything in her path - or would, if she wasn't paired with the equally imposing Wallace Beery. Beery keeps Dressler from dominating the film, especially surprising since her character - and not his - is really the focus. Together, this unlikely duo form one of the most loveable and endearing comic-romantic teams the screen has ever seen. Their chemistry is nothing short of remarkable, and they help to bring out the very best in each other's work. The rest of the cast doesn't stand a chance, although Marjorie Rambeau does manage to get in a couple of licks of her own. As stated, as a film Min doesn't stand the test of time so well. The mixture of the comic and the tragic is a bit jarring, and the blatant manipulation is often too bald-faced. In addition, some viewers will be made uncomfortable by the matter-of-fact manner in which some of the violence is played for comedy. But as long as Dressler and Beery are around, it doesn't really matter." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/min-and-bill-v32734

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Dinner at eight 1933 - A movie with romance, glamour, wit, charm and intrigue

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023948/
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: George Cukor
Main Cast: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke, Madge Evans

"Based on the Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, Dinner at Eight is a near-flawless comedy/drama with an all-star cast at the peak of their talents. Social butterfly Mrs. Oliver Jordan (Billie Burke) arranges a dinner party that will benefit the busines of her husband (Lionel Barrymore). Among the invited are a crooked executive (Wallace Beery), who is in the process of ruining Jordan; his wife (Jean Harlow), who is carrying on an affair with a doctor (Edmund Lowe); a fading matinee idol (John Barrymore), who has squandered his fortune on liquor and is romantically involved with the Jordan daughter (Madge Evans); and a venerable stage actress (Marie Dressler), who since losing all her money has become a 'professional guest'. Nothing goes as planned, due to various suicides, double-crosses, compromises, fatal illness, and servant problems. But dinner is served precisely at eight.
Dinner at Eight is, above all else, about changes: changes in society where graceful old money is about to be supplanted by the new and crass; changes in the motion picture business where talkies turn silent stars into alcoholic has-beens; and changes in industry, where, according to Jean Harlow's brassy Kitty Packard, 'machines are taking the place of every profession'. After which observation, of course, Marie Dressler, as the grand Mrs. Patrick Campbell-like stage diva, delivers one of the screen's most memorable closing lines, 'That my dear', she intones, giving the bleach blonde the once-over, 'is something you never need to worry about!' It is a delicious moment in a film positively giddy with such bon mots and brimming with performances as fresh today as they were in 1933. Were Dressler, Harlow, Billie Burke, or the Barrymore brothers ever better? Although director George Cukor and producer David O. Selznick deserved much of the credit, they were, of course, heavily indebted to a sparkling screenplay penned by Frances Marion, Herman J. Mankiewicz, and Donald Ogden Stewart. It is to the credit of all these talented professionals that Dinner at Eight manages to amuse and delight even the jaded audiences of today, in contrast, perhaps, to its equally famous predecessor, the rather overstuffed and decidedly dated Grand Hotel (1932)." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/dinner-at-eight-v13816

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