Author: thehorsesheadblog

#428) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

OR “Oh! My Papa”

Directed by Elia Kazan

Written by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis. Based on the novel by Betty Smith.

Class of 2010

No trailer, but here’s your title

The Plot: 13-year-old Francie (Peggy Ann Garner) lives in an apartment in Williamsburg in the 1910s with her family: younger brother Neeley (Ted Donaldson), hardworking mother Katie (Dorothy McGuire), and alcoholic father Johnny (James Dunn). Despite his drinking problem and chronic unemployment, Johnny is a doting father, encouraging Francie to write down her stories and pursue her education. There are plenty of hardships in store for Francie and her family, but like the Tree of Heaven growing through the concrete outside her house, Francie will continue to grow despite the setbacks of her surroundings.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “a sensitive film with strong performances”, and quotes from Bosley Crowther’s review of Kazan’s “easy naturalness” and “vastly affecting film.”

But Does It Really?: “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is definitely a minor classic. The film is Kazan’s directorial debut, and we’ve got plenty of his later films on the list, but “Brooklyn” prevails thanks to its endlessly endearing presentation. Kazan’s naturalistic direction keeps the film from becoming saccharine, and the entire cast is giving warm, engaging performances. A pass for “Brooklyn”, which appropriately yielded its turn to the rest of the Kazan filmography before taking its rightful place in the Registry.

Everybody Gets One: Like his character in “Brooklyn”, James Dunn was by all accounts a charming, friendly man, who unfortunately struggled with alcoholism. “Brooklyn” was a bit of a comeback for Dunn, his career having stalled since his success playing Shirley Temple’s father in a string of ‘30s films. This is also the only NFR appearance for longtime character actor Lloyd Nolan.

Wow, That’s Dated: As with many films of the era, there’s a post-credits reminder to buy your war bonds at this theater.

Seriously, Oscars?: “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” was well received in its day and garnered two Oscar nominations. Slesinger and Davis lost Best Adapted Screenplay to “The Lost Weekend”, but James Dunn took home Best Supporting Actor. In addition, Peggy Ann Garner received a special Oscar for being the “outstanding child actress of 1945”.

Other notes

• Just a reminder that “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is now a Disney movie. Any chance of making Brooklyn a mini-pavilion at World Showcase?
• Betty Smith’s original novel is written in five parts, with the film focusing on Books One and Three. Book Two focuses on Johnny and Katie meeting and getting married, while Books Four and Five continue to follow Francie’s coming-of-age. Some of the events of Four and Five are condensed and shoehorned into the final scenes of the movie.
• This was Elia Kazan’s feature film debut as a director, and it’s interesting watching the master of The Method direct a movie with zero method actors. No Marlon Brandos or Karl Maldens to help him out here. This all begs the question: how was Kazan with kids? I suspect he did well with Garner, given his preference for young unknowns over established personalities.
• First off, I could give this entire cast a heap of praise. This is an ensemble of actors all on the same page. But I want to single out Peggy Ann Garner’s work. In an era filled with Margaret O’Brien “cute-as-a-button” types, Garner is not one of your conventional child actors, but she is giving a charming, totally believable performance. Rare is the child who can hold a whole movie together, but Garner does it, and it’s a shame her career never took off.
• Also noteworthy is Joan Blondell, the former ‘30s sex symbol gracefully transitioning to less glamorous supporting turns, proving she’s had an impressive set of acting chops this whole time. Her Aunt Sissy gets to be the fun aunt, but also lays down the law in her more dramatic scenes.

• Grandparents telling the story of how they emigrated to America? File that one away for later, Kazan.
• There’s an interesting dynamic between James Dunn and Dorothy McGuire. There’s obviously some love left in this marriage, but Dunn and McGuire have this great uncertainty about their chemistry; you see flashes of that initial spark that brought them together weighed down by years of hardship. Side note: McGuire is a tad too young for the role of Katie, and Kazan chose to forgo any age makeup, believing that McGuire’s performance would dismiss any concerns. He was right.

• Wow, Christmas at the Nolan house is quite depressing. I’m expecting Clarence to appear and show Johnny an alternate universe where he doesn’t exist.
• You know what I hate about the Code era? All childbirth scenes depict the mother as quiet and stoic. How is that realistic at all? But then again, you can’t have Dorothy McGuire yell “You did this to me, you bastard!” in the middle of your ‘40s movie.
• The film’s ending wraps things up in a bow, but it feels deserved. I actually teared up a bit at the ending; not because of its sweetness, but because I realized my time with Francie and the Nolans was coming to an end. Turns out I grew quite attached to this family over the last two hours. Not bad for a 75 year old movie.

Legacy

• “Brooklyn” was the beginning of Elia Kazan’s 30-year run as a film director. Seven of Kazan’s later films have made the National Film Registry, starting with 1954’s “On the Waterfront”.

• When Kazan came to Hollywood he brought along his assistant, Nicholas Ray, who would go on to direct such NFR titles as “In a Lonely Place” and “Rebel Without a Cause”.

• Sadly, screenwriter Tess Slesinger passed away one week before the film’s premiere. Her son Peter Davis is also a filmmaker, best known for the Vietnam documentary/fellow NFR entry “Hearts and Minds”.
• There have been a handful of other “Brooklyn” adaptations over the years, including a Broadway musical that incorrectly emphasized Aunt Sissy, and a 1974 TV movie that served as a pilot for a potential series.

• “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is one of those pieces of pop culture that’s remembered primarily for its title. While still considered one of the best American novels of the 20^th century, most people probably couldn’t tell you what it’s about.
• And in an interesting bit of foreshadowing, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” was among the first films inducted into the Library of Congress when they started preserving films in 1945. It didn’t even have to wait 10 years!

#427) Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

OR “For Love or Sonny”

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Written by Frank Pierson. Inspired by the LIFE magazine article “The Boys in the Bank” by P.F. Kluge.

Class of 2009

The Plot: “Dog Day Afternoon” is a faithful-enough recreation of a real life Brooklyn bank robbery in August 1972. An attempt by Vietnam vet Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) and his pal Sal Naturale (John Cazale) to rob a local bank goes awry in minutes, when the two learn they arrived after the bank’s daily pickup, with only $1100 left to be taken. When the police, led by Sgt. Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning), arrive and surround the building, Sonny quickly turns the robbery into a hostage situation, holding nine bank employees at gunpoint. During the negotiations, it is revealed that Sonny was robbing the bank to pay for his wife Leon’s (Chris Sarandon) gender confirmation surgery. The battle between an everyman in over his head and “the establishment” boils with the heat of a…dog day afternoon.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises director Lumet, screenwriter Pierson, and a “talented cast” led by an “engaging” Pacino.

But Does It, Really?: “Dog Day Afternoon” is definitely one of those “wasn’t that already on the list?” kind of movies. While not one of the essentials of film history, “Dog Day” is an expertly crafted movie where the tension and drama comes from the characters rather than any tacked-on violence. Lumet and Pierson’s dedication to realism adds to the film’s appeal, as does Pacino in one of his last great non-parody performances, complete with his instantly iconic “Attica!” outburst. How it took “Dog Day Afternoon” 20 years to make the NFR cut is anyone’s guess.

Wow, That’s Dated: Perhaps filmdom’s most famous topical reference: “Attica! Attica!” is a reference to the 1971 prisoner riot at the Attica Correctional Facility. Sonny correctly points out that the police force at Attica shot and killed “the innocent with the guilty.”

Title Track: Sidney Lumet hated the film’s working title “The Boys in the Bank” and requested a new title that evoked “a hot, stuffy day near the end of summer”: the “dog days”, if you will.

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the biggest hits of 1975, “Dog Day Afternoon” received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was the big winner that night, but “Dog Day” won in the category “Cuckoo” was ineligible for: Best Original Screenplay. Frank Pierson was unable to attend because he was directing the Barbra Streisand “A Star is Born” and couldn’t get the time off.

Other notes

• “Dog Day Afternoon” takes place on my birthday! The movie accurately depicts August 22^nd as the unnecessarily warm day it always is. For the record, August 22^nd, 1972 was a Tuesday.
• Obviously a film version of any real-life event is going to take some dramatic license, and in the case of “Dog Day”, the main discrepancy is the age of the main characters. At the time of the robbery, John Wojtowicz (the real-life Sonny) was 27, Sal Naturale 18. During production of “Dog Day”, Al Pacino was 35, John Cazale was 40! Lumet was initially against casting Cazale, but after persistence from Pacino, was won over by the actor’s vulnerability.
• Yes, “Dog Day Afternoon” was improvised, but not in the way you’re thinking. Sidney Lumet typically opposed improvisation on his films, but allowed it here to achieve realistic dialogue. The cast was allowed to improvise their lines during rehearsals, with Frank Pierson recording and transcribing. These additions were then added into the official shooting script.
• Carol Kane is one of the hostages? Run, Lillian!
• Let us take a moment to admire Charles Durning’s performance. Durning’s inherit gruffness lends itself well to the part, as does his natural vulnerability. He’s the only person I’d want negotiating for me in a hostage situation.

• Shoutout to Penelope Allen as Sylvia the head teller. Like “Pelham 123”, “Dog Day” is aided by being a tense situation populated by smartass New Yorkers. I presume Allen beat out the likes of Anne Meara and Tyne Daly for this part.
• The moment where the police almost open fire on Howard, the bank’s African-American guard, is sadly more relevant today than it was 45 years ago.
• There’s a wonderful tension that builds throughout the entire movie. Its first climactic moment is the aforementioned “Attica!”, which, despite years of parody, is still a chill-inducing moment within the film’s context.

• Sonny laments that TV news has become entertainment. File that one away for later, Lumet.
• “Dog Day Afternoon” is my favorite sub-genre of movie: Great actors yelling at each other. It was Lumet’s niche, which is why he’s one of my favorites.
• Ah, the sad irony of John Cazale’s character not wanting to get lung cancer. We miss you, John.
• Adjusted for inflation; the $2500 needed for Leon’s surgery would be over $15,000 today.
• Chris Sarandon is quite effective as Leon, in his film debut no less! I can’t imagine giving that touching, nuanced a performance, and then losing the Oscar to George Burns in “The Sunshine Boys”.

• Though never a major focus in the film, this is a big step forward for depictions of homosexuality in film. Although Sonny’s bisexuality is never commented on, both he and Leon are treated like regular people rather than any offensive stereotypes.
• James Broderick plays the FBI agent who takes over the negotiations. You’re more familiar with his son, Matthew Broderick, who as a young man got to visit the set and meet Al Pacino.
• What do you suppose the next office Christmas party at that bank was like? Awkward? I’m gonna say awkward.
• I will take this time to recommend “Making Movies” by Sidney Lumet, one of my all-time favorite books. Lumet goes into more detail about his approach to “Dog Day Afternoon”, from script analysis to working with Pacino to his lifelong dislike of teamsters.

Legacy

• John Wojtowicz only served five years of his twenty year sentence, and served two more brief sentences for parole violation. Wojtowicz felt that the final film was “only 30% true”, but praised the performances of both Pacino and Sarandon. Ironically, it was the money Wojtowicz received from selling the film rights to his story that paid for his wife’s gender confirmation surgery. Wojtowicz died in 2006 at the age of 60.

• Everyone at some point in pop culture has shouted “Attica! Attica!”, though I suspect that most of those people are unaware of either the movie or the historical event they’re referencing.

• Several documentaries have been made chronicling the real life bank robbery. There’s “The Dog” and “Based on a True Story”, but the most interesting one is “The Third Memory” by Pierre Huyghe, which suggests that John Wojtowicz’s memory of the actual event was being conflated with moments created specifically for the movie.

#426) …No Lies (1973)

Directed & Written by Mitchell Block

Class of 2008

No film clips that can be embedded here, so…here’s another screenshot?

UPDATE: If you’d like to see this movie, check out the comments below for a message from “…No Lies” director Mitchell Block!

NYU student Mitchell Block takes cinéma vérité to a new and uncomfortable level in “…No Lies”. A filmmaker (Alec Hirschfeld) points his camera at a friend (Shelby Leverington) as she prepares to go out for the night. The conversation begins innocently enough, but takes a turn when the friend reveals that a stranger raped her the previous week. She describes the circumstances, as well as the lack of support from a witness and the police. The friend eventually tries to change the subject, but the cameraman keeps pressing her for details, even suspecting that the event never took place. In its brief running time, “…No Lies” quickly turns from run-of-the-mill student film to an unflinching look at an all-too-common issue.

I was a little apprehensive about covering “…No Lies”. For starters, rape and its victims are not topics I feel qualified to discuss (nor is it appropriate for me to write an irreverent blog piece about). Secondly, during my viewing I wasn’t sure if this film was actual cinéma vérité or scripted. Once I learned that the short was scripted (some releases include rehearsal takes), I was a bit upset. It seemed irresponsible for Block et al to make up a very real traumatic experience for a student film. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that “…No Lies” was eliciting a very emotional response from me. The kind very few films can. So, on that ground, I can give “…No Lies” a pass for NFR inclusion for its strong emotional resonance, its daring to bring conversations about rape to the forefront, and its representation of documentary producer Mitchell Block.

Shout Outs: The movie our protagonist is heading out to see is future NFR entry and film school staple “The Night of the Hunter”.

Everybody Gets One: Mitchell Block got his BA and MFA in film production at New York University. Shortly after “…No Lies”, Block founded Direct Cinema Ltd., which produces and distributes documentary films.  Actor Shelby Leverington had a 40 year acting career starting with “…No Lies”. Although usually just a day player in film and TV, Leverington’s raw, nuanced performance in this film grants her the NFR status eluding many of the big name stars she has acted alongside. Cameraman Alec Hirschfeld would go on to be a cameraman for such NFR entries as “Mean Streets”, “Taxi Driver” and “The Terminator”.

Seriously, Oscars?: Although “…No Lies” didn’t receive an Oscar nomination, Block would eventually be nominated in 2010 for producing the documentary short “Poster Girl”. Block is also a member of AMPAS’ Documentary Screening Committee, which votes on which documentaries are shortlisted for Oscar consideration. Block’s membership has occasionally been considered a conflict of interest, especially when Direct Cinema productions make the cut.

Legacy

• According to its NFR write-up, “…No Lies” has been viewed throughout the years by “nurses, therapists, and police officers.”
• As previously mentioned, I am vastly underqualified to discuss rape and sexual assault. What I will say is that if you have been a victim, I believe you, you are not alone, and there is help and support for you.

#425) Oklahoma! (1955)

OR “Cheyenne and Arapaho!”

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Written by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. Based on the musical by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, and the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs. Score by Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Class of 2007

NOTE: “Oklahoma!” was filmed in TWO widescreen processes: CinemaScope and Todd-AO. This post is based on my viewing of the more commonly seen CinemaScope version.

The Plot: “Oklahoma!” is the story of farmers and ranchers on the eve of the Oklahoma territory becoming the 46^th state in the union. Cowboy Curly (Gordon MacRae) pines for farmgirl Laurey (Shirley Jones), but is surprised when Laurey announces she’s going to the box social with creepy farmhand Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). This complicated love triangle takes several turns, as does one between cowboy Will Parker (Gene Nelson), the promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame) and peddler Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). Oh, and it’s a musical.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the “literalized film treatment” and quotes choreographer Agnes De Mille’s take on the film: “It’s different, but I find it very beautiful to look at.” There’s also an essay by author and self-appointed film snob Phil Hall.

But Does It Really?: “Oklahoma!” is definitely a minor classic: it’s far from the greatest movie musical ever made, but it is a serviceable film adaptation that successfully retains the tone of the original show. The songs are, of course, delightful, and are aided by a first-rate cast and excellent on-location shots, but through no fault of its own, this film is a B+ effort lost amongst the A+ musicals already on this list. I guess what I’m trying to say is: “Oklahoma!”: Okay.

Everybody Gets One: At age 18, Gordon MacRae won a talent contest and landed a two-week singing engagement at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. This led to stage appearances, radio, and eventually a recording contract with Capitol Records. Though not his first movie musical, “Oklahoma!” was MacRae’s first leading role. He would reunite with Shirley Jones in 1956’s “Carousel” as a last minute replacement for Frank Sinatra.

Wow, That’s Dated: Eddie “Green Acres” Albert plays Persian peddler Ali Hakim. While he doesn’t go full brown-face, there is an attempt at a Middle Eastern accent that’s incredibly problematic. Plus it distracts from the show’s primary issues concerning women as property.

Title Track: Now that’s a title song! Fun Fact: Despite being the 11 o’clock number, there’s still about 10 minutes left in the show. Please remain seated.

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the biggest hits of 1955, “Oklahoma!” entered the 1956 Oscars with four nominations. The film lost Costume Design and Editing, but did pick up the prizes for Sound Recording and Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Other notes

• Surprisingly, “Oklahoma!” was produced not by one of the major Hollywood studios, but by independent company Magna Pictures Corporation. Created to produce films in the new widescreen process Todd-AO, Magna enticed a reluctant Rodgers & Hammerstein to approve an “Oklahoma!” film adaptation when they offered the composers a level of creative control none of the studios would. To ensure a wide release, “Oklahoma!” was filmed in both the experimental Todd-AO format, and the then-more common CinemaScope format, resulting in two different (albeit very similar) versions of the film.
• “Oklahoma!” was filmed on location in the state of…Arizona? Turns out the real Oklahoma had become too developed to accurately depict its pre-statehood, so most of the movie was shot in several towns in southern Arizona.
• Part of this film’s appeal is successfully opening up the play. It helps that most of the play is set outdoors, and the production takes full advantage of their location shooting. Director Zinnemann also visualizes several of the lyrics throughout the film: at last we get to see the “surrey with the fringe on top” and the corn “as high as an elephant’s eye”.

• Curly and Laurey are doing a variation of “He’s a jerk and she’s okay with it” called “He’s a jerk but the songs are so catchy!”
• Wow, Gene Nelson can dance. Get it, Buddy!

• Director Fred Zinnemann seems an odd choice given his previous films “High Noon” and “From Here to Eternity”, but his more realistic approach to filmmaking does help preserve the show’s darker elements. And thanks to Zinnemann, we get the unconventional casting of non-singers Rod Steiger and Gloria Grahame. Steiger gives some dimension to Jud Fry, and Grahame is…fine.
• Shirley Jones makes her film debut as Laurey, and her lovely performance plants the seeds of a promising film career. And to think she’s only five years away from playing a hooker in “Elmer Gantry”.

• “People Will Say We’re In Love” is one of my favorite songs ever, so even this generically staged, continuity-lax version gets a pass.

• I can never get past “Pore Jud is Daid” as a plot point. Curly advises Jud to hang himself rather than take Laurey to a dance? That’s a real extreme solution. Not that Jud’s a saint either, but come on.

• Timing is everything. The Dream Ballet in the original stage version (choreographed by Agnes De Mille) was revolutionary in its delve into a character’s psyche. While still technically impressive 12 years later, the film version is preceded by a similar ballet in “An American in Paris”. And like that dream ballet, this one goes on forever. I definitely took an intermission afterwards.

• Most of the second act takes place at night, and was shot in-studio. The switch from the Arizona plains to a soundstage in Culver City is jarring, and slows down the film’s momentum.
• So the main takeaway from this movie is that all men are the worst. Copy.
• Gloria Grahame does this weird thing where she sorta pantomimes her lyrics. It’s distracting, but that being said, she does an excellent imitation of a crawfish.

• Also a bit troubling is the show’s ending, in which an entire town bends the law so that the main character can get away with murder because nobody liked the guy he killed. Why does everyone remember this show as being so wholesome?

Legacy

• The success of “Oklahoma!” encouraged Rodgers & Hammerstein to green light film adaptations of their other collaborations. The film versions of “King and I” and “South Pacific” have their supporters, but they all pale in comparison to “The Sound of Music”.

• The original stage version of “Oklahoma!” is still performed across the country hundreds of times every year. The show has also had a few Broadway revivals, most recently in 2019 with a stripped down production that emphasized the show’s darker aspects.

• Everybody spoofs “Oklahoma!”, though I will argue they are referencing the show in general rather than the film specifically. Regardless, here’s one of the more unusual tributes, courtesy of “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut”.

Listen to This: The original Broadway cast recording of “Oklahoma!” was added to the National Recording Registry in 2003. Learn more from this essay by NRR staple Cary O’Dell!

#424) Applause (1929)

OR “Kitty Foiled”

Directed by Rouben Mamoulian

Written by Garrett Fort. Story by Beth Brown.

Class of 2006

The Plot: New York burlesque star Kitty Darling (Helen Morgan) sends her newborn daughter April to a convent in order for her to have a better life. Years later, the now grown-up April (Joan Peers) returns to live with Kitty, only to learn that she is now an alcoholic has-been with an abusive boyfriend named Hitch (Fuller Mellish Jr.). After an attempted assault from Hitch, April roams around the city, and has a whirlwind romance with sailor Tony (Henry Wadsworth). Come for the depressing storyline, stay for the innovative use of camera and sound.

Why It Matters: The NFR applauds “Applause” for its “audacious style”, even citing comparison to “Citizen Kane” for its “cinematic innovation”. The work of Mamoulian and the principal cast are highly praised.

But Does It Really?: “Applause” is by no means a classic, but I get why it’s on the list. At a time when most movies were dipping their toes into what was possible with “talkies”, “Applause” cannonballs into the deep end with overlapping tracks and on-location filming, both of which were considered impossible with this new technology. The appeal of “Applause” may be reserved for die-hard film geeks, but we’ll take it!

Everybody Gets One: Not their only NFR appearance, but shoutouts to director Rouben Mamoulian and star Helen Morgan. Born in Georgia (the country), Mamoulian found success directing for the London stage. He moved to America and directed the 1927 play “Porgy”, as well as its more famous musical version in 1935 (Ironically, he was fired from the subsequent film production). Helen Morgan also had theater roots; her fame as a torch singer in Chicago nightclubs led to the legitimate stage, and ultimately the role of Julie in the original cast of “Show Boat”, a role she reprised for two film versions. Sadly, like her character in “Applause”, Morgan was also an alcoholic, and died at the age of 41 from cirrhosis of the liver.

Wow, That’s Dated: The main dated aspects of “Applause” are its backstage peak at burlesque and its extremely abusive attitude towards women. Also, thanks to one consistent background character, this movie gets a BLACKFACE WARNING. Sorry, this segment doesn’t always get to be the fun one.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Applause” had the misfortune of premiering less than a month after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. This bad timing, mixed with an ad campaign that focused on Helen Morgan’s glamour, led to “Applause” being a flop with critics and audiences. At the 3rd annual Oscars, “Applause” received zero nominations (though the National Board of Review named it one of their top 10 films of the year).  Paramount’s Best Picture contender that year was Ernst Lubitsch’s much more lighthearted escapist musical “The Love Parade”.

Other notes

• In practice, I don’t research these movies in advance so I can come to my own conclusion as to how they made the list. “Applause” told me immediately why it was on here; the film’s usage of its soundtrack – starting with a silent empty street segueing to a marching band and ultimately the raucous crowd at the burlesque house – is downright revolutionary by 1929 standards.
• Also revolutionary for 1929: tracking shots. While commonplace in the silent era, the clunky sound equipment now attached to a camera made tracking shots more awkward to orchestrate. Most early sound films opted to keep their cameras static and their action stage bound, but Mamoulian throws caution to the wind and moves his camera as freely as the silent era.
• Mamoulian proves he’s also a master of visual storytelling. In an early sequence the necklace that young April is playing with fades into the rosary beads of the convent. This is followed later by a wipe from Kitty praising Hitch’s fidelity to Hitch cheating on her with another woman. Rouben knows exactly what he wants and how to get it.
• The train station sequence showcases this film’s other trick to sound: film your sequence with a less cumbersome silent era camera, and synchronize the soundtrack in post.
• Oooh, nice use of undercranking to make the streets of New York a little more hectic.
• Thanks to Hitch, “Applause” is very much the kind of film “Fast Talking High Trousers” is spoofing.
• Where did April pick up that posh accent? Was Katharine Hepburn the mother superior at her convent?
• “There’s only one way to treat [women], and that’s rough!” Oy. I think Hitch talks so fast so you lose track of every sexist thing he says.
• Tony likes April’s name because it “sounds like a name out of a book”. Umm, does he think a calendar is a book? Conversely, Tony doesn’t like his own name because it makes him “sound like a wop bootblack.” Ahem.
• “Applause” was filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, which explains why this film has more on-location shots than your typical Hollywood movie of the time.
• The movie’s ending is particularly dark; this being pre-code and all even the good guys get to die. But the film’s tragic ending is fitting to the previous melodrama, and packs an appropriate punch.

Legacy

• “Applause” disappeared after its initial run, but was rediscovered in the early ’60s by a new generation. I’m gonna guess TV repeats on the late show had something to do with it.
• Rouben Mamoulian’s film career remained steady throughout the ‘30s and early ‘40s, directing future NFR entries “Love Me Tonight”, “Becky Sharp”, and “The Mark of Zorro”. Although his film career faltered after that, he did find success in the theater, directing the original Broadway productions of “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel”.