The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

A young bishop (David Niven) is struggling to get his cathedral built and it’s affecting his marriage. He prays for guidance and in walks Dudley (Cary Grant) claiming to be an angel. But instead of focusing on the cathedral, he concentrates on what really matters.

The movie began production with Grant in the bishop role and Niven as the angel. When the director was replaced, the new director reversed the roles and recast the part of the Wife. Also, the Bishop’s daughter was the daughter in It’s a Wonderful Life. You know the one: “TeaCHER says, evRY time A belLL rings …” But I want to talk about Loretta Young.

Amazingly adorable in her early roles, here she is quite charming. The story of her illegitimate child with Clark Gable frequently comes up. He was married, and she hid the pregnancy from the media. She put the girl into an orphanage for a year, then “adopted” her. I thought this was heartless for quite a while but a few details had escaped me. One, both of their contracts likely would have been terminated had this gotten out, and Loretta would not recover as she traded on her good girl image. Also, she was only 22 when Judy Lewis was born. Gable was 34, the pig! I’ll remember to cut her a little slack from now on.

The Bishop’s Wife is a film likely saved by studio interference. First by changing directors and the role reversal, but also by bringing in Robert Sherwood and Billy Wilder to fix a few scenes after initial filming had wrapped. That couldn’t have hurt. The end result may have gone way over budget, and released two months too late for Christmas, but it is quality Holiday fare. It has humor and heart. Elsa Lanchester was, again, wonderful in a supporting role. Also look for the obvious stunt doubles in the ice skating scene. AMRU 3.5.

“For some time now, every time I pass the cemetery, I feel as though I'm apartment hunting.”

Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Travelling circus performer Tito (Lon Chaney) finds an abandoned child and decides, over the objections of his partner, to raise her. As she blossoms into a beautiful woman (Loretta Young), he discovers he has fallen in love with her. No, that's not creepy at all. Thanks for asking.

Because our sad clown must repress his forbidden love, all he can do is cry. His doctor, realizing that a woman is the blame for his ailment, gives the very bartenderly advice to tell this woman how he feels. As chance would have it, doc was also visiting with a patient who, because he lives a life of frivolity and pleasure, can only laugh. The advice for him is to find a woman, one woman, who he truly loves and settle down. The two men decide to hang out together, and unknowingly, woo the same dame. Go figure.

Another tragic romance for old friend Chaney. Certainly the best so far in the "Imperative, Noun, Imperative" genre of movie titles, edging out "Burn, Witch, Burn". Chaney again proves himself the master of non-verbal storytelling. And once again he left his mark on younger colleagues. Director Herbert Brenon would badger the 14 year old Loretta Young (ok, even creepier) when Chaney was not on the set. So, he was always present when she was working, even if he had no reason to be. For that Young said "I shall be beholden to that sensitive, sweet man until the day I die".

The movie is short (reel 4 is missing and presumed lost forever) and the story isn't anything to write Oscar about, but you can't take your eyes from Chaney. His emotive face and stage presence dominate every scene. Once again, I was totally sucked in. He appeared in a fair number of films before he died at ... about my age. Most are gone forever, but I'll try to see what's left. AMRU 4.

"Laugh, clown, laugh, even though your heart is breaking!"

Platinum Blond (1931)

Stew Smith (Robert Williams) is a newspaper reporter covering a society story. Seems a foolish young man of breeding and culture made some hard to keep promises to a lowly chorus girl, and she has the love letters to prove it. Stew meets with the Schuylers to get the story, where he meets our titular character.

Funny, isn't it how whenever someone refers to a character for whom the movie is named as "titular", that seldom that someone is either male or flat-chested. Apropos of nothing, that character is played by our very own Jean Harlow.

Boy meets Girl, boy earns the trust and respect of girl, boy MARRIES girl, girl's family approves not at all of the situation, work-a-day boy becomes a fish out of water, or more appropriately, a "Bird in a Gilded Cage", and starts to go a little nuts. We've seen the story a million times.

Jean was the biggest name and, as indicated earlier, the "titular" character, but the movie is really about Stew and Gallagher (Loretta Young). Gallagher is a woman, but not a real woman. She's one of the guys, a real pal. Seems our Stew never noticed how Gallagher absolutely glowed in soft focus. Live and learn.

Now, I didn't know anything about Loretta Young. I found out later that she had a child out of wedlock with Clark Gable (while he was still married, no less!) and is best remembered for her TV series. Back in the day, however, she was hot. 18 when the movie was released, she stood up to the more veteran actors and out shined Harlow herself.

It was kinda nice to go back to Capra thumbing his nose at society muck-a-mucks, and the performance of Williams was strong (and who doesn't like a little depression jiggle), but the movie left me somewhat flat. A little punching up of the script would have served it well. AMRU 3.

We all know that Capra and Young went on to long successful careers in cinema, and that Harlow went on to a tragic and short life, but Williams wins the cupie doll today. The sharp and witty reporter dropped dead of appendicitis three days after the premiere. So it goes.

"Yea, I know those bluenoses. Their ancestors refused to come over on the Mayflower because they didn't want to rub elbows with the tourists... So they swam over!"