Stella Dallas 1937 - The complexity of maternal love

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029608/
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: King Vidor
Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley, Barbara O'Neil, Alan Hale, Marjorie Main

"The height of multiple-hankie melodrama, King Vidor's Stella Dallas is also the most affecting screen adaptation of the Olive Higgins Prouty novel. The combined talents of Samuel Goldwyn, director King Vidor and star Barbara Stanwyck lift this property far above the level of mere soap opera. As the ultimate self-abnegating mother, Stanwyck endows her upwardly aspiring Stella with a potent mixture of crass fashion sense, hedonistic energy, self-aware pathos, and maternal love, while Anne Shirley's Laurel is visibly and poignantly torn between embarrassment and daughterly attachment. Stanwyck's dignity gives Stella's sacrifice to the class system the emotional punch that it requires, as she memorably stands outside a bay window in the rain, watching her refined daughter finally get what Stella always wanted for her. Critically praised for its superior performances, Stella Dallas garnered Stanwyck the first of her four Oscar nominations for Best Actress, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Shirley. Previously filmed in 1925, Stella Dallas was remade again in 1990 as the Bette Midler vehicle Stella." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/stella-dallas-v46809

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Way out West 1937 - One of the funniest movies ever made

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029747/
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: James W. Horne
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynn, James Finlayson, The Avalon Boys

"Way out West is a classic example of why the films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have retained their popularity. Laurel & Hardy fans often enjoy debating whether Way out West or Sons of the desert is the pair's best feature film. Whichever you prefer, both are among the funniest films of their era. The plot deftly mocks many of the motifs of the Old West, centering on the efforts of crooks to gain the deed to a gold mine. In the middle of everything are the two stars, who each give delightfully amusing performances. Also of note are director James W. Horne's efficient pacing, and the Oscar-nominated original music score by Laurel & Hardy veteran Marvin Hatley.
Highlights include tickling and burglary scenes, Stan literally eating his hat after losing a bet, Ollie's perennial plunges into a pothole, and the boys' charming singing-and-dancing interludes. Also take note of the presence of a young, thin Chill Wills as one of 'The Avalon Boys'. Even if you're not a fan of The Thin One and The Fat One, you'll be limp with laughter at the end of Way out West." - www.allmovie.com