Cleopatra (1934)

Beleaguered by Rome, Queen Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert) shores up power by seducing Cesar (Warren William). When his reign is cut short (spoiler alert!), she pivots to Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon). Things don’t go well for him either.

Director Cecil B. DeMille wanted to produce a version of Cleopatra for the common man, and by all accounts he succeeded. Loads of pre-code sex, corny and awkward dialog, Busby Berkeley-esque cinematography, it was quite the spectacle. Impressively one of three Colbert films nominated for Best Picture, but they did nominate twelve that year. She would strike pay dirt with It Happened One Night.

In preparation for the production, DeMille screened the 1917 version. Three and a half years later, that print was destroyed, making this the oldest surviving version of the story. To flaunt the Motion Picture Production Code, he included as much sex as he could get away with, including an opening featuring a slave girl who appears to be naked to those inclined to believe she is.

C. Aubrey Smith crafted a career playing the “elderly Englishman”. He managed to appear in 110 films, including some pretty good ones, despite being past fifty when his career began. Here he was an elderly General. Antony’s Wilcoxon would later achieve immortality as the Bishop in Caddyshack. Well, maybe immortality isn’t the right word.

Cleopatra is an interesting, if peculiar watch. The dialog is, by design, jarringly informal. The Oscar-winning cinematography is still impactful, but limited by the format of the day. Look for the impressive crane long take. AMRU 3.

“What? Have you heard of Cleopatra?
Of course. All kinds of things. Is she black?”

The Egg and I (1947)

On her wedding night Betty (Claudette Colbert) discovers her urban professional husband (Fred MacMurray) has quit his job and bought a chicken farm. Adjusting to the rustic lifestyle is difficult and fraught with challenges.

This Fish Out Of Water story, based on but not closely resembling a memoir by Betty MacDonald, inspired a short lived TV series, ten Ma & Pa Kettle movies, and Green Acres which I watched in syndication. It is anecdotal in nature, moving from one minor catastrophe to another. The movie was a success but its real legacy are the Kettle’s, our Ozarkian noble savages.

Maybe you will recall Billy (big as a) House from Bedlam. Yea, I know, fat shaming. Here is plays an annoying travelling salesman. He was replaced in the Kettle films with Emory Parnell. Richard Long looked much younger than he would just two years later. You may remember him in Big Valley, or as the Professor in The Nanny And. He would die before reaching my great age.

Competently made, predictable comedy, and kinda boring. Not much else to say here. It didn’t hurt to watch and everything made sense (with the possible exception of the ending), but fairly unspectacular. My mom enjoyed the Kettle films in her youth but we both agreed that there were few laughs to be found here. AMRU 3.

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Well, I was going to do The Invisible Man, but another blog I follow beat me to the punch. So, for the sake of professional courtesy, I'll hold off for a bit.

Next on the list is The Palm Beach Story, a Claudette Colbert screwball comedy. It seems that Gerry Jeffers (Claudette) is married to Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea), who is hard working but ... what was that? Tom and Gerry Jeffers? Tom and Gerry? Seriously?

Whatever. Back to the story. Tom can't get a break and Gerry believes she is holding him back. She respects him, but says it's mostly a loveless marriage. She decides to take money from an old looney guy and go to that stereotypical place that people get divorces at. That's right, Palm Beach. Then she can somehow help him out. Seems Tom has this idea of building an airport out of netting. I guess this sounded plausible during the war.

Well, ol' Tom isn't totally on board with this quickie divorce thing, so he ALSO borrows money from an old looney guy and is in hot pursuit. That's right. Tom is chasing Gerry. Along the way, Gerry meets millionaire J.D. Hackensacker the third (Rudy Vallee). Gerry is going to marry him and funnel his money back at her future Ex. What nice people she is. Mary Astor plays Rudy's sis. How she ever got confused for a beauty, I'll never know.

The opening sequence made absolutely no sense and I was convinced this was a sequel. After viewing I searched for part one, but it doesn't exist. The opening plays into the story but it could have been skipped and not effect the story. When I read on Wikipedia what it meant, my reaction was "Oh, whatever".

Witty dialog and frank talk about divorce and infidelity made this movie interesting. Excellent pace, acting, and production all around. I didn't love it, but it very well might be worth a second look. Eventually. AMRU 3.5.

"That's one of the tragedies of this life, that the men most in the need of a beating up are always enormous."

It Happened One Night (1934)

Clark Gable was loaned out to 'Poverty Row' studio Columbia as punishment for being difficult. Myrna Loy turned down the lead because she didn't want to be in another movie set on a bus. Lead actress Claudette Colbert called it the worst movie of her career and refused to go to the premiere. Then this low budget picture won Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. The first film ever to win all five big awards. Columbia was Poverty Row no longer.

Colbert runs away from her rich daddy to be with sugar-daddy husband in New York (Daddy is trying to get it annulled), Gable is a fired newspaper reporter looking to get work again. They meet up in a bus station. She (the prodigal Babe-in-the-Woods) needs help getting to New York and he needs a story. They agree to help each other, sorda.

Claudette Colbert was cute as a spoiled heiress, but after seeing Myrna Loy in The Thin Man, I wonder if Loy could have been even better. Remembered as being the first "screwball comedy", I'd classify it as a romantic comedy by today's standards. Friz Freleng is said to have pattern some of Warner Brother's cartoon characters after Gable and others.

Clever, witty, fun, this movie is a treat. I must see it again, and in fact, I did. I returned it late just so that my wife could watch it. She liked it as well. AMRU 4.