Month: October 2024

Until recently, “Lady Helen’s Escapade” was one of the hardest NFR titles to track down; no physical media release, no internet uploads, nothing short of scheduling a screening at the Library of Congress. That all changed recently thanks to the efforts of Benjamin Wilson (curator of this comprehensive NFR YouTube playlist) and a GoFundMe campaign to get a print from the Library of Congress digitized and uploaded to YouTube. Additional thanks to Eric Levy from filmregistry.net for bringing this development to my attention and hosting the film’s online premiere.

The Plot: Bored socialite Lady Helen (Florence Lawrence) wants to add some excitement to her life, so she answers a newspaper ad and takes a job as a boarding house servant. Much hilarity ensues as she stumbles through her new job, while simultaneously pining for a tenant – a handsome violinist (David Miles) – and fending off the advances of some enamored dinner guests. But the real story behind this short is one about its lead’s run as the first American movie star, as well as the story of this film’s recent resurrection.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is a brief ode to Florence Lawrence – “the first true star in American cinema”, with the film proper being referred to only as “sprightly”. An essay by NFR expert Daniel Eagan is a biography of Florence Lawrence, mixed with the little information we have regarding “Lady Helen’s”.

But Does It Really?: This is definitely another early 2000s “What don’t we have yet?” NFR entry. Florence Lawrence, while almost entirely forgotten today, is an important player in American film history, and having one of her films in the NFR makes sense. As a film, “Lady Helen’s Escapade” is fine if not outstanding, but it does a good job of representing Florence Lawrence as an actor (and is sadly one of her few surviving films). Why it took so long for this film to become readily available is beyond me, but thankfully that has been rectified, and hopefully a new generation of film lovers can discover Florence Lawrence and keep her legacy alive.

Everybody Gets One: Turns out the first American movie star is Canadian; Florence Lawrence was born Florence Bridgwood in Hamilton, Ontario. Her mother was Charlotte Bridgwood, a stage actor who performed under the name Lotta Lawrence. Florence began acting in her mother’s theater troupe at age three, though they eventually settled in New York after Florence’s father died and the Lawrence Dramatic Company disbanded. Unable to find work on the New York stage, Florence (now using “Lawrence” from her mother’s stage name) started acting in the new medium of film, eventually signing with Biograph in 1908. “Lady Helen’s Escapade” was one of dozens of shorts Lawrence made for Biograph in 1908 and 1909; though always uncredited. Film studios at the time never credited their actors, partly because most actors did not want to be associated with this new “low-brow” medium; but mainly for fear from the studios that name recognition would lead to actors demanding higher salaries (they were right). Fans of Florence Lawrence didn’t know who to address their letters to, so Biograph received tons of fan mail praising “The Biograph Girl”.

Wow, That’s Dated: Mostly the kind of slum tourism, aka slumming, that Lady Helen participates in by taking this job. The idea of visiting impoverished or disadvantaged places out of adventure or curiosity is still around but is now widely (and justifiably) criticized.

The Plot: Big city dwellers John and Mary Sims (Tom Keene and Karen Morley) are hit hard by the Depression and struggle to pay their bills. Desperate for help, the Sims accept an offer from Mary’s Uncle Anthony (Lloyd Ingraham) to move to farmland he is paying mortgage on and grow crops to earn a living. John and Mary quickly relocate to the country, only to discover the land is barren and that they have zero farm skills. With the help of local farmer Chris Larsen (John Qualen), John develops a co-op community where men lend their trades to the farm in exchange for a place to live. Soon dozens of men and their families join the co-op and work amidst many setbacks to grow corn for harvest. It’s a tale of community and creative problem solving, set during the last time this country ever had an overall positive reaction to Socialism.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives the film its historical context, calling it a “radical exception” to the typical escapist films of the day. The write-up also admits that the film was “[c]riticized for its purportedly socialist ideas and also for its seemingly fascistic traits.”

But Does It Really?: This is on the “historically significant” side of things. As a film, “Our Daily Bread” is a bit clunky and heavy-handed, focusing more on its ideas than its story or characters. But the film’s unique Depression-era viewpoint, as well as its interesting behind-the-scenes development, help it stand out among so many other films of the era. I get why “Our Daily Bread” is on the NFR, but I also understand why there was no rush to get it on there; this is another movie whose viewing should be reserved just for us film list completists.

Shout Outs: If the names John and Mary Sims sound familiar, that’s because they are the same names King Vidor used for his leads in “The Crowd“. “Our Daily Bread” began life as a continuation of “The Crowd”, though all that survives of that concept are the names.

Wow, That’s Dated: This movie could only be made during the 1930s when America, discouraged by the politics that got it into the Depression, was still willing to consider Communism, Socialism, and other alternatives to representative democracy. Damn it Stalin, you just had to ruin it for everyone didn’t you?

Title Track: “Our Daily Bread” is one of two NFR movies that get its title from the Lord’s Prayer. The title is said once in the film proper when the Lord’s Prayer is being recited after the first crop growth.

• Having no prior knowledge of the plot, I was worried that this movie would just be the tribulations of two city folk adjusting to farm life. Once John proposed a co-op, the film finally piqued my interest, and its NFR placement made a lot more sense. Side note: As someone whose primary skill set is watching and writing about films, I would not do well in a commune. “If you help build my house, I can put ‘Citizen Kane‘ in its proper historical context for you. Please?”
• Shoutout to whoever did the production design. I love the makeshift co-op village constructed from whatever materials were on hand. My favorite is the house made from a disassembled car, with a dismantled car door serving as their front door, complete with roll-down window! Related Fun Fact: The farm scenes were partially filmed on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Los Angeles ranch: the appropriately named Tarzana.

• “There’s nothing for people to worry about, not when they’ve got the earth.” Okay sure, but what if we screwed up so badly we don’t have the earth anymore? Can one of you build the Axiom for us?
• All this plowing footage and no stirring narration about how great our government’s New Deal programs are?
• The most inconspicuous part of the film for me was the arrival of Sally, a young Joan Blondell-type who winds up in the co-op and causes some marital strife between John and Mary. In a movie with so much inherent conflict regarding the survival of the land and its inhabitants, did we need a homewrecker subplot? Maybe sassy platinum blondes were a requirement for all 1930s films. Also, it turns out my “Green Acres” joke at the top wasn’t too far off, because Sally is played by Barbara Pepper, 30 years before her work as Doris Ziffel. It’s all connected!

• Today in lines that sound dirty but aren’t: John comforting Mary with “We’ve licked everything together so far.” John, that stays between you and your wife, alright? 
• The last act of the film is devoted to the community coming together to build the irrigation needed to water their crops. It’s long, but it perfectly encapsulates the film’s “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” mentality, and it’s easily the film’s most exciting sequence. Like the sniper scene in “The Big Parade“, Vidor filmed this with a metronome to time the action and increase the pace as the sequence progresses.

The Plot: “Boulevard Nights” centers on two brothers in East L.A.’s Mexican community; older brother Raymond (Richard Yniguez) loves driving his souped-up Chevrolet on Whittier Boulevard and going out with his girlfriend Shady (Marta DuBois), while younger brother Chuco (Danny De La Paz) is a member of the local street gang VGV, which is embroiled in a rivalry with the 11^th Street gang. As a former member of VGV, Raymond tries to persuade Chuco to see his potential outside of the gang, getting him a part-time job at a local auto shop. As Raymond and Shady prepare to get married, Chuco’s devotion to VGV gets him into further trouble as their beef with 11^th Street escalates into a full-out turf war. And if none of that interests you, this movie offers a whole bunch of great ’70s cars to feast your eyes on.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “a pioneering snapshot of East L.A.”, and contextualizes the film with the other “gang” films of the era: “The Warriors”, “The Outsiders”, etc.

But Does It Really?: In all honesty I couldn’t get into “Boulevard Nights” and was ready to write it off as an anomaly on the NFR. But shortly after I finished this post, something remarkable happened to this movie: It got a Blu-ray release. Suddenly a number of articles popped up about this film’s significance as documentation of 1970s East L.A., and I had to rethink this whole post. As a standalone movie, “Boulevard Nights” is okay, but you’ve seen better versions of this same story in 100 other movies. Prior to its very recent reevaluation, most write-ups about this film’s importance could only connect it to “The Warriors” and the countless other gang films of the late ’70s. And if that’s all this movie had going for it, why not just induct “The Warriors”, which is much better remembered today and as of this writing still isn’t on the NFR? Fortunately, the support from this film’s Blu-ray release made me see the love a small but spirited group of L.A. cinephiles have for this movie, so “Boulevard Nights” gets a pass for its NFR induction. I’m happy for the people who champion this movie, but I’m ready to move on.

Everybody Gets One: Both this film’s director and screenwriter were the children of showbiz fathers: Michael Pressman’s father David was a blacklisted director, and Desmond Nakano’s father Lane was an actor. Desmond wrote the screenplay for “Boulevard Nights” while studying at UCLA, and it won the school’s Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award. This got the attention of producer Tony Bill, who optioned the script and financed the film independently with Warner Bros. serving as distributor. Pressman seized the opportunity to direct “Boulevard Nights” to prevent being pigeonholed as a comedy director (he had previously helmed “The Great Texas Dynamite Chase” and “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training”).

Wow, That’s Dated: This whole thing is very late ’70s but look no further than Raymond’s feathery hair. It’s beautiful, but it dates everything.

Title Track: It tickles me that this movie has a theme song. I have no idea what Warner Bros.’ marketing strategy was, but we got “Street Tattoo (Theme from ‘Boulevard Nights’)” as a result. The song is performed during the end credits by George Benson, with music by Lalo Schifrin, lyrics by Gale Garnett, and additional special lyrics written and performed by Greg Prestopino.

• No disrespect to this cast, many of them making their film debuts, but they are across the board not great. No one’s terrible, but no one stands out as being particularly good. But in everyone’s defense, the screenplay is of no help in that department, with too many cliches and tropes working against any authentic performances.
• The only actor I recognized from this cast is Carmen Filpi, who plays Mr. Diaz the local tattoo artist. I know Filpi best as Jack, the hobo that rides the rails with Pee-Wee in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”.
• I’m always happy to hear a Lalo Schifrin score (his “Cool Hand Luke” theme is one of my favorites), but what’s with the sad “Incredible Hulk” music as Chuco walks the streets by himself? (And for the record “The Lonely Man” was composed by Joe Harnell)
• [Spoilers] The plotline of Raymond and Shady getting married goes smoothly; so smoothly in fact that I became increasingly suspicious that something terrible was going to happen to these two. Raymond and Shady go through with the wedding as planned, but during the reception an 11^th Street gang member, aiming for Chuco, shoots Mrs. Avila (Raymond and Chuco’s mother) instead. Having recently gotten married myself (humble brag), I’m glad I didn’t see this movie before my own wedding. Granted, I currently have no beef with any local gangs that would prompt such a tragic occurrence, but you know me, I’ll worry about anything.
• I really don’t have a lot to say about this movie. It was fine, but its NFR standing is more historical than artistic. In an effort to end on a positive note, I will say that I liked the car stuff with the hydraulics. That was cool. Why couldn’t the movie be more about that?

• Michael Pressman’s directing career continues to this day, primarily in television, directing episodes of everything from “Picket Fences” to “Weeds” to “Blue Bloods”. And because I had to put this somewhere: In 1991 Michael Pressman directed – and this is true – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze”. Cowabunga indeed.

Why It Matters: Goddammit Class of 2023, why are your write-ups so bad? The film’s official write-up on the NFR website gives a plot recap but no reasoning behind its induction, with the only superlative going to Jean Harlow’s character – “sultry”. The NFR 2023 press release, however, singles out George Cukor’s ability to successfully adapt plays into films, and heralds the ensemble as “arguably one of the greatest assembled to that point in cinema history.” Why wouldn’t you just copy and paste the press release paragraph to the official NFR page?

But Does It Really?: “Dinner at Eight’ is one of those movies that, while not as well remembered today, has lingered on in pop culture enough that its NFR inclusion isn’t too farfetched. Overall, the movie still provides plenty of laughs over 90 years later, though a few of these subplots border on the melodramatic and prevent the film from being an all-out laugh fest. While the whole ensemble is great, in true Cukor fashion this is a “women’s picture”, with Billie Burke, Marie Dressler, and Jean Harlow giving the standout performances. At a time when less and less Classic Hollywood movies are getting inducted into the NFR, I’m glad somebody remembered to add “Dinner at Eight”.

Everybody Gets One: A lifelong veteran of the theater, Marie Dressler found film success in the first feature-length film comedy, 1914’s “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” with Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin. Although her acting career waned in the 1920s, Dressler found new success in the sound era at MGM, winning one of the first Best Actress Oscars for her performance in “Min and Bill” alongside her future “Dinner at Eight” co-star Wallace Beery. Sadly, “Dinner at Eight” is one of Marie Dressler’s final films, as she died of cancer the summer after the film’s release at age 65.

Wow, That’s Dated: Obviously there’s references to the Great Depression, plus obscure shoutouts to Peter Stuyvesant, Jenny Lind, and John L. Sullivan (presumably the boxer and not the local car dealership).

Seriously, Oscars?: “Dinner at Eight” received no nominations at the 6^th annual Oscars, though several of the film’s creatives were nominated that year for other films: director George Cukor for “Little Women”, screenwriter Frances Marion for “The Prizefighter and the Lady”, and actor May Robson for “Lady for a Day”.

• The brief scene of Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery together made me theorize that “Dinner at Eight” may be the earliest film to feature three Oscar winning actors after their wins. There had only been five ceremonies up to this point, so it’s possible.
• Like most movies from the 1930s, “Dinner at Eight” has dialogue that contains so much era-specific jargon and obscure references that it makes modern viewings more challenging. It’s almost like watching a Shakespeare play: you have to really pay attention to the dialogue, but a good cast can still get the main points across. “Dinner at Eight” is a very entertaining film, but there’s a little bit more homework you have to do to fully appreciate it.
• MGM meta-reference #1: Millicent’s cousin Hattie mentions her husband constantly going to the movies, referring to herself as a “Garbo widow”.
• Jean Harlow has more dialogue in her first scene of this movie than she had in all of “The Public Enemy“. The character of Kitty could easily be grating or unlikeable in the wrong hands, but Harlow gives her a lot of life. Harlow had such command of her vocal register; shifting from low and natural to high and whiny so well that you sense it’s all strategic on Kitty’s part to get what she wants. 

• Billie Burke is absolutely delightful in this. Watching Millicent try to maintain a chipper disposition as her dinner plans continue to unravel is the funniest part of the movie. Glinda the Good Witch may be Burke’s legacy, but this is her best performance.

• Despite being one of the most acclaimed actors of his or any generation, John Barrymore can’t do much with his subplot as a depressed has-been actor, dragging the picture to a grinding halt. Adding insult to injury, he doesn’t even have any scenes with his brother!

• A few of the actors in smaller parts deserve mention here as well. Larry’s agent is played by Lee Tracy, who 30 years later would receive an Oscar nomination for playing a dying ex-president in “The Best Man”. The stage producer who meets with Larry is played by Jean Hersholt, of “Humanitarian Award” fame. Among the hotel staff are a waiter played by Herman Bing, who also voices the Ringmaster in “Dumbo“, and a bellboy played by Edward Woods, whose post-“Public Enemy” career clearly didn’t take off as much as Harlow’s or James Cagney’s.
• MGM meta-reference #2: Carlotta’s dog is named Tarzan, though if you listen closely you can tell that the dog’s name has been dubbed over. It was originally written to be Mussolini, but a cautious MGM had it changed to something less controversial and more synergetic.
• I was very patient with this movie’s first half, knowing that most of it was necessary set-up for the film’s second half, which I presumed would take place during the dinner. As the second half of the movie went along, I kept asking “But when do they get to the dinner?” This movie should be on a double feature with “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” as two NFR movies about people gathering for a titular dinner we never actually see!
• Despite my frustrations, “Dinner at Eight” ends with an exchange between Kitty and Carlotta that has one of the best curtain lines of any movie.

• “Dinner at Eight” is another one of those classic movies that gets referenced more than it gets parodied. Clips from “Dinner at Eight” pop up any time there’s a retrospective on one of its cast or crew, and the title is a mainstay of many sitcoms, including an early episode of “Frasier”.
• To date there have been two remakes of “Dinner at Eight”, both for TV. A one-hour version starring Mary Astor and Pat O’Brien aired in 1955 on CBS’ short-lived “Front Row Center”, and a modernized version aired on TNT in 1989 with an all-star cast including Marsha Mason, Charles Durning, John Mahoney, and Lauren Bacall.

• The original stage version of “Dinner at Eight” gets revived from time to time, with two revivals on Broadway, though neither ran as long as the original 1932 production. In 2017, “Dinner at Eight” was adapted into an opera, which…sure why not?
• And finally, you can definitely see the influence Jean Harlow’s performance had on Lesley Ann Warren’s work as James Garner’s “moll” in “Victor/Victoria”. The hair, the clothes, the voice: it’s all there.

December 27^th, 1995: The NFR is in 7^th Heaven in their seventh year of film inductions, adding another 25 films for a new total of 175. Having finally watched all 25 films, here is my recap for the class of ’95:

• Blacksmith Scene (1893): “We can go ahead and give ‘Blacksmith Scene’ credit for motion pictures as we know them today, because why the hell not?”
• Rip Van Winkle (1896/1903): “the film that put Biograph Studios on the map”, “an entertaining (albeit not intentionally so) viewing experience.”
• Fatty’s Tintype Tangle (1915): “represents the talent of a man whose work has sadly been sidelined”
• The Last of the Mohicans (1920): “I really can’t find a compelling argument to preserve this film.”
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921): “a bit of drag.”
• Manhatta (1921): “encapsulates a specific time in American history”
• 7^th Heaven (1927): “another ‘minor classic'”, “holds up well…but I’m not singing its praises either.”
• Fury (1936): “Not [Fritz Lang’s] best work, but…keeps getting better as it goes along.”
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938): “checks off all the boxes you want from a Robin Hood movie”
• Stagecoach (1939): “a quintessential western…lives up to the hype.”
• The Philadelphia Story (1940): “a must-watch for classic movie lovers”
• Jammin’ the Blues (1944): “a fun, quick entry…a more raw form of jazz”
• Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950): “a good story with inventive animation, which is really all you can ask for.”
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951): “the best kind of science fiction”, “a call for peace”.
• The Band Wagon (1953): “not the best Fred Astaire movie…but it is still very entertaining.”
• All That Heaven Allows (1955): “Yes, it’s a highly-stylized melodrama, but it has that Douglas Sirk touch to it that keeps it watchable.”
• North by Northwest (1959): “The movies don’t get much better than this.”
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): “a beautifully told, wonderfully filmed story about perspective and tolerance.”
• The Hospital (1971): “I don’t understand this movie or why it’s on the NFR.”
• Cabaret (1972): “a notch above your average movie musical, if not one of the untouchables of filmdom.”
• American Graffiti (1973): “an enjoyable coming-of-age tale that comes straight from the heart.”
• The Conversation (1974): “an exhilarating movie experience”, “those willing to seek it out will not be disappointed.”
• To Fly! (1976): “a fun, visually engaging movie, and a natural choice to represent IMAX on the NFR.”
• Chan Is Missing (1982): “continues to inspire more varied depictions of Asians throughout our popular culture.”
• El Norte (1983): “one of those movies the NFR is all about.”