1933 we continue to see the expansion of types of storytelling in the talkie era. The Marx Brothers, getting their chance, never shut up or shut off the zaniness; we’ve got great all female driven storytelling; Busby Berkeley brought us 3 elaborate musical spectacles; and we get our first foray into spectacle monster sci-fi, size wise anyways.
The 3rd of Busby Berkely’s musicals of the year is big and crazy as advertised. James Cagney leaves the gangster world for Hollywood at a time like his present, when “talkies” were replacing silent movies. Cagney has to make 3 giant musical spectaculars to sell to movie theatres, which we all see, including some legendary moments like a human waterfall.
Mae West was a Broadway sensation before this film, which saved Paramount from bankruptcy. Her first feature is a delight, with West proudly being a woman in total control of her surroundings, including sexually (for the 30s). Cary Grant begs her to stop her ways, but as he’d learn, you can’t stop Mae West’s greatness.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were very much of their time, great for a few bucks at the moment, tough for lasting legacy culturally. This is their best film, taking advantage of their unusual pairing: fat jolly fellow with confused sorta doofus.
Charles Loughton got it. Henry VIII was a worldly fellow, lusting for everything put in front of his face. Loughton, playing the famous English monarch sinks his teeth into this character like Henry sank his teeth into pieces of chicken, one of the funniest gregarious sequences of the year.
George Cukor directs this all star cast of rich socialites invited to a lavish dinner, but bringing along all sorts of secrets and desires. Cukor makes it rompy fun, letting his cast like the Barrymores, Mary Dressler, and Jean Harlow among many others chew scenery.
HG Wells’s classic story as told by the great Claude Rains, making his US debut here. Jack Griffin (Rains) has developed a drug that makes him completely invisible, and also completely insane, turning this into a Universal monster movie with awesome effects for its time, and a truly sinister, sorta relatable anithero.
The first of many adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s wonderful novel about the March sisters. Getting the juicy role of Jo is Katharine Hepburn, one of the roles that made her a star. Outside of Hepburn you’ve got Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Jean Parker playing the other March sisters, portraying the great female empowerment of the Alcott novel.
Like most Marx Brother movies, its quippy, moves fast, and has lots of gags of all kinds, keeping you entertained. Unlike the Marx Brothers, this one has a more pointed edge, mocking the lunacy of poorly run dictatorships and the rush to stupid wars.
The best of Busby Berkley’s musicals is this one, a movie musical about making a movie musical. You get behind the scenes footage putting the movie together, creating the basic story of actors and performance and their bickering. While the dialogue is old fashioned, some of the jokes are more cutting than you’ll think for 1933, and the musical numbers are truly a sight to see, brilliantly shot to make a stage play look like a constantly shapeshifting work of art.
Using Stop Motion animation, the 50 foot ape comes to life early on in movie history, along with a series of spectacular action sequences that should still dazzle and impress movie watchers today. Fay Wray is Ann Barrow, the actress “sacrificed” in the jungle to Kong, who takes a liking to her, and the beast finds himself attracted to her beauty, culminating in one of the most famous movie scenes in history featuring the Empire State building.
