The Horse's Head

#181) Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)

OR “Oh Mickey, What a Pity, You Don’t Understand”

Directed by George B. Seitz

Written by William Ludwig. Based on the stories by Vivien R. Bretherton and the characters created by Aurania Rouverol.

Class of 2000

The Plot: Ideal, small-town all-American boy Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) puts a down payment on a used car so he can drive his girlfriend Polly (Ann Rutherford) to the Christmas Eve dance. When Polly learns that she’ll be out of town, Andy decides to take his best friend’s girl Cynthia (Lana Turner) instead. Later, Polly becomes available, and Andy has two dates to the same dance! Added to the mix is Betsy (Judy Garland), a young girl visiting for the holidays who is obviously in love with Andy, but keeps getting ignored by him. Andy’s father, Judge James Hardy (Lewis Stone) is on hand as always to offer advice, except for anything that would be respectful to the women in this triangle.

Why It Matters: No official reason is made in the NFR write-up, but an essay by writer Charlie Achuff gives a detailed defense to the film’s historical impact.

But Does It Really?: This is definitely on the “historical significance” side of things. The Achuff essay expands upon what this film has going for it: the popularity of the Andy Hardy series, the launchpad for Mickey Rooney’s stardom, and the star-in-the-making turns by Judy Garland and Lana Turner. But Jesus Christ is this movie dated as hell. Sure the film represents the ideal small-town values of the late ‘30s, but the “boys will be boys”/“all women are property” mentality flaunted by this film definitely doesn’t fly today. “Andy Hardy” gets a slight pass thanks to a compelling argument from Achuff, but purely as entertainment it’s an exasperating watch. I started to question if there’s a way the NFR can reverse their decision on this film’s preservation.

Everybody Gets One: The women of the Hardy family get the short shrift from the NFR. This is the only appearance for Fay Holdin (Emily) and Cecilia Parker (Marian).

Wow, That’s Dated: Here’s just a small sampling of the incredibly sexist (but okay in the ‘30s) things Andy Hardy says in this film: “I can’t take money from a woman!” “After all, a redhead’s a redhead.” and the most groan-inducing, the exchange “You kissed me by force.” “Well, it’s good that way too!” This viewing came with a lot of groaning from me.

Seriously, Oscars?: No nominations for “Love Finds Andy Hardy”, but Mickey Rooney did receive a special Juvenile Award at the Oscars for all of his performances throughout 1938. Despite an additional four nominations (and another honorary award in 1983) Mickey Rooney never won a competitive Oscar. While no Andy Hardy film ever won an Oscar, the Academy gave MGM an honorary Oscar in 1943 for “representing the American Way of Life in the production of the Andy Hardy series”.

Other notes

• “Love Finds Andy Hardy” was the fourth of 16 films focusing on this family, and the first to single out Andy in the title. It was also the second of three Andy Hardy films released in 1938 alone! MGM cranked these films out faster than Tyler Perry!
• Hand-stitched credits, you don’t see that kind of detail in film anymore.
• Carvel, Idaho: Birthplace of Fudgie the Whale!
• Andy can buy a used car for $20! I couldn’t get a modern estimate on that: the website I use labeled the inflation rate as “Laughable”.
• Shout-out to Ann Rutherford, whose mention in my “Gone with the Wind” post didn’t make the cut. Not a lot of classics on her resume, but a welcome presence in any film. Even this crap.
• Proof that the series was focusing more and more on Andy: Mom is written out for the bulk of the film.
• Judy Garland’s character is an aspiring singer her wants to be like her famous mother. So….Liza?
• Andy, will you please stop negging Betsy? You’re giving Judy Garland her life-long inferiority complex.
• His best friend’s nickname is “Beezy”? As in “Fo Sheezy”?
• Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the drugstore Lana Turner got discovered in?
• Andy to Cynthia: “I’ll monopolize you.” What does that even mean? Never mind, just go directly to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
• This is another movie for my “Die Hard” Not-Christmas list. The holiday setting is extra weird given that this film was released in July.
• More negging! At this point the only satisfactory ending would be if Betsy kills Andy in cold blood.
• Even at sixteen, Judy had quite the pipes. Her first song, “In-Between” is the ‘30s version of “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”. (That’s right, a “Crossroads” reference. Come at me, bro!)

• Judy isn’t allowed to go to Clark Gable movies? But I thought she was his number one fan.
• If Andy Hardy (and his now-sexist attitude) existed today, he’d either be a cable news commentator or the President.
• Judge Hardy opines “Who knows what this generation has coming.” Another World War, Atomic Age paranoia, and unending love from Tom Brokaw.
• And then everything gets wrapped up in a bow for the ending. Not exactly a Shakespearean comedy, but I’m already over this movie so who cares?

Legacy

• There were 11 more films in the original Andy Hardy series, each emphasizing Mickey Rooney as he became a bigger star. A 16^th film, “Andy Hardy Comes Home” failed to revive the series for a new generation.

• Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland would reunite in two more Andy Hardy films, as well as several “let’s-put-on-a-show!” type films, most notably “Babes in Arms”.

• Mickey Rooney was married eight times. That’s not really important to the film, I just like mentioning that.
• Judy got her dream of a singing career alright…

#180) The Kiss (1896)

OR “The Very First Kiss Cam”

Directed by William Heise

Adapted from “The Widow Jones” by John J. McNally

Class of 1999

The Plot: Divorced teacher Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is persuaded by her family to start dating again. She tries this new thing called online dating and…oh wait, never mind. That’s the plot of “Must Love Dogs”. This is a film about two people (May Irwin & John Rice) kissing. In Thomas Edison’s own words, “They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.”

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up covers the film’s major talking points (we’ll get to those later), and gives the film’s historical significance as “film’s first romance” and “the first time films were regularly projected on screens rather than shown to individual viewers on machines”.

But Does It Really?: Oh yes, and more so than most film of the era. A lot of films (especially the other Edison experimental ones) are on this list primarily because they still exist, but “The Kiss” actually has historical significance that is monumental to the evolution of film. Sure its claim as the first film love story is a bit, for lack of better term, romanticized, but it was quite the hit in its day, and helped push the envelope of what film could be. “The Kiss” has zero of the scandalous stigma it had in 1896, but regardless, it’s a pivotal moment in film history.

Everybody Gets One: Both May Irwin and John Rice were seasoned Broadway performers when they appeared together in “The Widow Jones” in 1895. Edison caught a performance and had them recreate their final kiss in the show for his camera.

Wow, That’s Dated: I was going to say his handlebar moustache, but that wouldn’t be too out of place in today’s hipster culture.

Other notes

• For the record, the characters are named The Widow Jones and Billie Bikes.
• I don’t see how pressing your cheeks up against each other is a comfortable way to talk to someone.
• The assumption is that Irwin and Rice are delivering their lines from the show. Any clues to what they’re saying? At this point I’ll take a Bad Lip Reading.
• Hard to believe, but this film – the first screen kiss – was highly controversial in its day. Film was still in its infancy, and the idea of a kiss being projected on a large screen was considered vulgar in 1896. Newspapers decried the film as “absolutely disgusting”, and the Catholic Church tried to get the film censored. Can you imagine what these prudes would make of “Fifty Shades of Gray”? Of course, the culture shock of watching something from 120 years in the future would probably be stronger than their moral outrage.

Legacy

• Like fellow Edison film “Record of a Sneeze”, “The Kiss” is a good clip to have in your classic movies montage.
• “The Widow Jones” was revived on Broadway five years after this film, with May Irwin reprising her role as the title character.
• The 1899 knockoff “The Kiss in the Tunnel”, which is exactly like “The Kiss”…but on a train!

• I dunno, do I go for the Hershey’s Kisses joke? The KISS joke? Kiss FM? No, it’s gotta be the Prince song.

Further Viewing: The kissing montage to end all kissing montages, courtesy of “Cinema Paradiso”.

#179) Tootsie (1982)

OR “Dope on a Soap”

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Written by Larry Gelbart & Murray Schisgal. Story by Gelbart and Don McGuire (WGA credits. Who the hell really knows?)

Class of 1998

The Plot: Notoriously difficult actor Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) has run out of work in New York. When his friend Sandy (Teri Garr) gets passed up for a role in a daytime drama, Michael, having nothing to lose professionally, dresses up as a woman (Dorothy Michaels) and auditions for the part himself. Dorothy’s outspokenness lands her the role, and she becomes an overnight TV feminist icon. Along the way, Michael falls for his co-star Julie (Jessica Lange), butts heads with chauvinistic director Ron (Dabney Coleman), and receives some unexpected attention from Julie’s widowed father Les (Charles Durning). As Dorothy, Michael sees how the other half lives, and becomes a better man for it.

Why It Matters: There’s no justification as to why “Tootsie” is on the list; just a plot synopsis and cast list. A more loving essay by author Brian Scott Mednick calls the film “the best comedy of the 1980s”.

But Does It Really?: “Tootsie” is one of my favorites, but I wanted to see if the recent stories about Dustin Hoffman tarnish my viewing. I still enjoyed myself, albeit with some reservations. Parts of that are the Hoffman allegations, but another part is the film’s stance on the sexes that is slowly becoming more conservative. Regardless, I still laughed a lot this time out. Maybe I’m too close to be objective, but I still think “Tootsie” is one of the finest comedies ever made. I do not condone any of the things Hoffman said or did to those women (And of course I believe them), but to take it out on this film would be to ignore Sydney Pollack’s pitch-perfect direction, a script by so many writers it has no right to be this brilliantly structured, and an ensemble that cannot be topped. Perhaps despite my better judgment, I still love this movie, but only time will tell if it will maintain its status as a classic.

Everybody Gets One: This is director Sydney Pollack’s only film on the list. Also singled out are Dabney Coleman, George Gaynes, the screenwriters, and of course, Gene Shalit.

Wow, That’s Dated: There are the standards, like analog TV, answering machines, and Love Canal. But my main takeaway with this viewing was the film’s thoughts on gender relationships, which are starting to age poorly. I wonder how all of this will hold up in another 35 years.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Tootsie” is one of the few flat-out comedies to have a strong showing at the Oscars. The film’s 10 nominations trailed just behind the 11 for “Gandhi”, which beat “Tootsie” in almost every category, including Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay. “Tootsie” only managed one win: Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Lange. There’s nothing wrong with Lange’s performance, it’s just odd that the Oscar-winning actor in a comedy is the “straight-man”. This win had more to do with Lange also being nominated for her lead performance in “Frances” the same year, and the Oscar being a win for both performances.

Other notes

• Like “Jaws”, “Tootsie” is one of those movies where the title has become the pop-culture shorthand for the main character, even though that’s not their name.
• As an occasional actor, I am here to tell you that the first five minutes of this film are pretty frickin’ accurate.
• Teri Garr is a gift from the comedy gods. Thank you Teri, and thank you uncredited writer Elaine May.
• “Tootsie” recognizes that the secret ingredient to film comedy is editing. The writing and acting can be solid, but if you can’t get that rhythm down in the editing, you’re sunk.
• Recent scandal aside, Dustin Hoffman is giving a great performance. I can watch him without cringing too much mainly because he makes Dorothy Michaels as complex and interesting as Michael Dorsey.
• This is the third in what I call the “Smarmy Dabney Coleman Trilogy”. Parts One and Two are, respectively, “9 to 5” and “On Golden Pond”. Surprisingly, neither of those is on the NFR yet.
• Where’s this film’s Best Makeup nomination? There were only two nominees that year. Come on!
• I’m imagining young Geena Davis on her first big film set, spending most of her screentime in her underwear, thinking, “Yeah, I need to start some sort of Gender Representation in Media Institute.”
• I never realized how many montages this movie has. There’s your drinking game.

• You may notice framed photos of the same woman throughout Michael’s apartment (and on Emily Kimberly’s desk). That’s Lillian Hoffman, Dustin’s mother, who passed away during production of “Tootsie”.
• I love movies where they say what decade it is. “Don’t you find being a woman in the ‘80s complicated?”
• Bill Murray is always the perfect offbeat fit for your movie.
• Charles Durning somehow gets away with doing some physical shtick in his scenes, but he’s super endearing so who cares? The only reason Durning didn’t get an Oscar nod is because he was already nominated for… “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”?
• Les says he and his wife were married “a lot of years”, but Julie says she “[doesn’t] remember her very well.” Huh?
• The film transitions from humorous observations to farce quickly but effectively. It’s always a good sign when a comedy’s structure can make you laugh.
• Michael has a poster of Laurence Olivier’s “The Entertainer” in his bedroom. Really? Not “Marathon Man”?
• The climax is a comedic opera unto itself, and has two of my favorite lines in rapid succession: “That is one nutty hospital” and “Does Jeff know?”

• Funny to think that the guy gently singing “It Might Be You” over the credits is the same guy who sang “Animal House”.

Legacy

• Jessica Lange was already famous, but “Tootsie” (and “Frances”) is when her acting started to be taken seriously.

• This is the movie that gave us Sydney Pollack: Character Actor. He is best remembered as Will’s dad on “Will & Grace”.

• It looks like the musical version of “Tootsie” is finally happening. The stage version should make it to Broadway in 2019 with a score by David Yazbeck, who apparently just writes musicals based on films.
• “Tootsie” influenced the 1984 Turkish remake “Sabaniye” and the 2016 Indian Tamil film “Remo”.

• And Dustin Hoffman learned a profound lesson about being a woman thanks to this film, and never said or did anything deplorable towards women ever again.

“Second Screening” is devoted to watching alternate versions of NFR entries and determining which version is most worthy of preservation. Today we look at the original version of “The Big Sleep”. You can read my thoughts on the original film here.

First, a little backstory. “The Big Sleep” was filmed in 1944 and slated for a 1945 release. After viewing a final cut, Lauren Bacall’s agent, Charles K. Feldman, requested that scenes be re-shot to put more emphasis on Bacall’s character, as well as to add more scenes that showcase the natural chemistry between Bogart and Bacall. Hawks and his team did just that, and the film was delayed until an August 1946 release.

What’s Different?: Roughly 15% of the film was changed from the 1945 cut to the 1946 theatrical release. As previously stated, the primary change is that while the original cut features Lauren Bacall and includes a potential romance between the two, Bacall’s Vivian is much colder to Bogart’s Marlowe. Their relationship ends at the same place, but it’s a much more gradual build to the final scene. Scenes were either reshot to now include Vivian in them (such as the scene of Marlowe bringing Carmen home after the murder), or completely scrapped in favor of new scenes. A scene of Vivian paying Marlowe for his services initially took place in his office in a quick, somewhat empty scene. The replacement is the “horserace” scene, arguably the most famous (if not the most racy) scene in the final film.

But Bacall wasn’t the only one affected by these cuts. Among other changes was the deletion of a sequence where Carmen seduces Marlowe. It was believed to be filmed in 1944, but not present in the 1945 cut before being restored. The original cut also features a lengthy scene of Marlowe and the D.A. discussing the case up to that point. It answers a lot of questions the 1946 version doesn’t, but it slows the pacing tremendously. This scene’s subsequent removal saw actors James Flavin and Thomas E. Jackson be completely cut from the film. Similarly, a reshoot of the Mona Mars scene (again, to better highlight Bacall) led to the original actor, Pat Clark, being replaced by Peggy Knudsen when Clark was unable to return to the studio.

Does It Help?: The original 1945 version is interesting to watch, but mainly as a supplement to the final cut. The changes made were substantial, but the original cut didn’t hurt the film too much. You could have released the 1945 version and still have a pretty decent film on your hands. The key difference is Bacall’s work. The 1945 cut features a more cryptic Vivian slowly warming up to Marlowe, while the 1946 cut allows her to be more heated towards the beginning, and therefore more vulnerable once Marlowe starts to solve the case. It’s the difference between a good movie and an outstanding one.

The Verdict: Stick with the 1946 cut. The 1945 cut is for movie lovers, or those who need a little more time figuring out the film’s twists and turns. I’m delighted that the UCLA Film Archive discovered and restored the 1945 version, and it lives alongside – but secondary to – the 1946 version, where it belongs.

#178) The Big Sleep (1946)

OR “Bogie Takes a Mulligan”

Directed by Howard Hughes

Written by William Faulkner & Leigh Brackett & Jules Furthman. Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler.

Class of 1997

NOTE: This post is about the original 1946 theatrical version. You can read my thoughts on the 1945 pre-release version here.

The Plot: L.A. detective Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is called by millionaire General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to investigate who is blackmailing his daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). On his way out, Marlowe meets Sternwood’s other daughter Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall), who suspects Marlowe has been hired to find her father’s missing protégé. There’s a twisted maze of murders and double-crossings throughout, but this is all mainly an excuse to get Bogart and Bacall back together on screen and let them heat things up with their newlywed passion.

Why It Matters: The NFR doesn’t even attempt to summarize the plot, gives no specific reason for the film’s inclusion, and focuses primarily on the story behind the original 1945 cut and subsequent reshoots.

But Does It Really?: The bad news: This is one complicated mystery. Even the people who made it weren’t sure who killed whom. The good news: The film (as well as Chandler’s novel) is more focused on character and atmosphere than plot. And it’s for this reason why the film succeeds. I have no idea what was going on, especially the further along things went, but I still had a good time. “The Big Sleep” is quintessential Bogie, quintessential Marlowe, and quintessential film noir. It’s baffling and convoluted, but fun and exciting nonetheless. I suspect “The Big Sleep” made the list in 1997 due to the (then) recent discovery and restoration of its 1945 prerelease version. How the NFR still hasn’t selected Bogie and Bacall’s first outing, “To Have and Have Not” is the real mystery.

Everybody Gets One: Screenwriter/novelist William Faulkner, and actors Dorothy Malone and Martha Vickers. But most shockingly, this is Lauren Bacall’s only entry on the list. She’ll always be immortalized by her four films with Bogie, but Bacall’s career spans an additional 60-plus years after that. These early films were just Act I for an endlessly fascinating life and career.

Wow, That’s Dated: Lots of wartime jargon (“The Big Sleep” was filmed in 1944 but not released until after the war). The prime example is the B sticker on Marlowe’s windshield, meaning he is allowed eight gallons of gas a week during the war rationing.

Seriously, Oscars?: Not only was “The Big Sleep” left out of the Oscars in 1946, but so was almost every other Warner Bros. release from that year. The only WB films to sneak in were “Humoresque” and the Foghorn Leghorn short “Walky Talky Hawky”. Neither won.

Other notes

• Did we catch the opening credit shadows on a smoke break?
• Marlowe pronounces shamus as “shah-mus” rather than “shay-mus”. Is the former also acceptable or did no one notice?
• Martha Vickers was just one of the millions of Americans who were married to Mickey Rooney at one point.
• “She tried to sit on my lap when I was standing up.” There are so many great film noir lines like that throughout, you need a second viewing just to catch them all.
• The thing I always like about Lauren Bacall is that no matter how fierce or fiery her characters are, there’s always a hint of vulnerability just underneath.
• It’s always nice to see a detective using his local library. Knowledge is Power!
• ACME Book Store: Their best seller is “How To Catch a Road-Runner Using Rocket-Powered Skates, Painted Tunnels, and One ‘Help’ Sign”. (That’s TWO Looney Tunes references in one post!)
• Shout-out to Charlie Chan.
• I’d like to report a robbery: Dorothy Malone practically steals the film right from under Bogie in her one scene. She does, however, fall for the trope of the bookworm removing her glasses and letting her hair down.

• Jesus, does every woman in this movie want to go to bed with Marlowe? Is that why it’s called “The Big Sleep”?
• The ear tug that Marlowe does throughout the film was apparently Bogie incorporating his own physical trait to the character. And here I thought he was saying hi to Carol Burnett’s grandmother.
• Howard Hawks gets his trademark rapid-fire delivery from his actors, but only rarely allows them to overlap their dialogue.
• Wow, how did any of the racehorse banter get past the censors? There is nothing subtle about those innuendos.

• Bacall does her own singing! Next stop, “Applause”!
• A punch to the spine, that’s gotta hurt.
• The plot is super dense, but that’s one hell of an ending. It still works, despite the massive headache I’ve acquired from trying to follow the plot.

Legacy

• Lauren Bacall was in serious danger of being a one-hit wonder before this film. The new cut that emphasized her romantic tension with Bogart helped solidify her as a bona-fide movie star, and her career took off from there.
• Although they were several films of the other Philip Marlowe books, Bogart never played Marlowe again.
• This film never got a sequel, but the original novel did. Robert B. Parker got permission from the Raymond Chandler Estate to pen the 1991 follow-up “Perchance to Dream”. It follows Marlowe and Vivian a few years later following the death of General Sternwood, and apparently isn’t that great.
• “The Big Sleep” was remade for film in 1978, transporting the action to present day England and starring a way-too-old Robert Mitchum as Marlowe.

• “Now wait a minute, you better talk to my mother.”

• Bogart’s Philip Marlowe was one of the inspirations behind “The Cheap Detective”.

Further Viewing: Siskel & Ebert give a review and brief overview of the original version’s release in 1997.