Queen Christina (1933)

The brash young queen of Sweden (brash young Swede Greta Garbo) puts her reign into jeopardy when she falls in love with the Spanish envoy (John Gilbert).

Pretty racy, even for the pre-code era. Greta’s Christine kisses the pretty Ebba full on the lips and later flies into a jealous rage when she learns of her plan to marrying a man. All is forgiven later when Christine herself later falls for a man while dressed as a boy. No one in the tavern doubts that she is a young man, even for a minute, but it’s not very convincing to the viewer.

John Gilbert, Greta’s former fiancee, plays her Spanish lover. Laurence Olivier was originally cast but the notoriously difficult Garbo insisted they had no chemistry. Gilbert is a member of a club of big Hollywood stars that could not make the transition to talkies. His fall from grace appears is a little complicated but seems to include drink and a lack of friends among the studio executives. Solid in the role, Queen Christina should have revived his career but that didn’t happen. He appeared in only one more feature film and died from a heart attack three years later. He was only 38.

Everyone’s favorite elderly Englishman C. Aubrey Smith is Christina’s faithful man at arms. Her cousin and potential suitor was played by Reginald Owen, who would later play my third or fourth favorite Scrooge.

Whether it be women’s empowerment or lesbian subtext, Queen Christina is a fascinating watch. It is an engaging, progressive, and surprising story. Based on real events, but let’s not pester historians with any questions. AMRU 3.5.

“Of course. It has to be. I felt it. I felt it! The presence. Oh, life is so gloriously improbable.”

Corvette Summer (1978)

When a restored Corvette is stolen from a high school shop class, an obsessed twenty-something student (Mark Hamill) travels to Las Vegas to find it. Along the way he meets up with a hooker with a heart of gold (Annie Potts). Will love bloom?

Fresh off his success with Star Wars and with the Holiday Special on the horizon, Hamill wanted to do something different, and playing a 26 year old high school virgin apparently fit the bill. This was Potts’ first film role. Interestingly, both actors were injured in serious car accidents just prior to filming.

In addition to Luke Skywalker and Ghostbusters' Janine there are quite a few familiar faces. Dick Miller, who has appeared in just about everything, has a small role. Danny (Partridge) Bonaduce is one of Luke’s schoolmates, as is Wendie Jo Sperber. She was all over television and light comedies in the 80’s, most notably Bosom Buddies and Back to the Futures, one and three.

If not for the cast, Corvette Summer would have been long forgotten. It’s mostly about a broke teen in Las Vegas chasing a Corvette with no plan on what to do if he finds it. I watched it for Mark and Annie, others may want to skip. AMRU 2.5.

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

The US Navy, with help from two scientists, fights an enormous hextopus. Will love bloom?

Released two years after “It Came from Outer Space”, it helped solidify the “It Came From” cliche for B movie titles. And say what you will, it is an accurate description of where the It came from. But one big difference between this film and the former is the budget. While From Outer Space was a B movie, From Beneath had practically no budget at all. Ray Harryhausen created his monster with only six legs to save money. Because it’s never seen in full, it is not noticeable. What is sometimes noticeable is that many scenes only got a single take. If it was good enough, it was good enough.

All the tropes of the subgenre are here. Military type partners with nerdy scientists, one being a pretty woman (Faith Domergue), to do some detective work and eventually save the day. Think of films like Them!, Cosmic Monsters, and The Monster That Challenged the World. 50’s audiences were always flabbergasted that a young, attractive woman could be an actual scientist. 50’s sexual politics rears its head again when Commander Pete pursues Domergue’s Professor Joyce a little too aggressively.

Short, watchable, and forgettable, It Came from Beneath the Sea is one of many also-rans of the era. It offers nothing new or interesting. The best think I can say is that it is inoffensive. Unless you are a woman scientist. AMRU 2.5.

Design for Living (1933)

Two friends, an artist (Gary Cooper) and a playwright (Frederic March), meet a pretty woman (Miriam Hopkins) on a train and proceed to fall in love. Unable to choose between them, she decides they should all live together. Only no sex.

Pre-code films can be, in addition to other things, pretty risque. And when it comes to risque dialog, Design for Living just may be the pre-codiest. It begins with Hopkins' Gilda (pronounced Jilda) suggestively placing her legs between those of the sleeping men, and it escalates from there. Many times pre-code films will gratuitously show the lead actress undress down to a fairly unrevealing nightgown or make a sly comment about sex, and it wouldn't even hit my radar. But the dialog in Design for Living was downright scandalous.

Based on a Noel Coward play, it was reportedly rewritten by Ben Hecht, retaining only one line. But the sharp dialog is the highlight here. Several changes were made to get it past the Hays office, but it would be denied a certificate for re-release in subsequent years.

Playing Gilda's boss is distinctive character actor Edward Everett Horton. He has shown up in a variety of 1930's films. Frequently an unlikable if not villainous character, he is always memorable. The bulk of his film roles were prior to 1950 but he continued to work until his death in 1970.

Design for Living is a surprisingly entertaining watch and perhaps my favorite Gary Cooper performance. Miriam Hopkins was deviously adorable and I loved every minute of it. AMRU 4.5.

"For the good of our immortal souls!"