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DVD The Front Page
Howard Hughes produced this first film version of the Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play, fresh from its wildly successful Broadway engagement; it's at once a close transcription of the stage piece and, under Lewis Milestone's aggressively inventive direction (which includes using a bouncing camera to underline the rapid-fire dialogue), a typically eccentric, anything-goes bit of early sound filmmaking. Pat O'Brien, in one of his first films, flies through the role of Hildy Johnson, the ace tabloid reporter with dreams of getting married and going straight; sleek Adolphe Menjou is his boss, the wily editor Walter Burns, who's desperate to keep Hildy on staff to cover an upcoming execution. Director Howard Hawks added whole levels of thematic depth and dramatic tension when he made Hildy a woman (Rosalind Russell) in his 1940 remake, His Girl Friday, but the Milestone version has its own gritty integrity and even manages to challenge Hawks in the strength of its supporting cast: Mae Clarke, Walter Catlett, Frank McHugh, Edward Everett Horton, Slim Summerville, and George E. Stone. --Dave Kehr
The sound was so distorted neither of us could understand the dialog. We gave up watching it after 15 minutes.
Below '0'....
...is the rating for Madacy releases. Whatever low is the price, it's still too high, regarding the ultimate lack of quality in their products, and I will wait for a real production of this movie on DVD by people knowing their trade and having some respect for their customers. Pleaaaaaase, change the rating, and allow for "0 -or under- to 5' option, because if I don't want to put '1' (which is far too much in this case) my review won't be accounted for, and the likes of Madacy (I never met worse) should be prevented from releasing such crap.
A FAST AND FURIOUS 1931 NEWSPAPER YARN.
A Chicago reporter wants to retire and marry, but is tricked by his scheming editor into covering one last case. Based on the famous 1928 play by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, this gem isn't exactly the jewel HIS GIRL FRIDAY is - but it's definitely worth a look. Better than you'd think! It's a virile, dizzy-plotted drama which is considered by many to be the epitome of newspaper reporter flicks. A brilliant early talkie which perfectly transfers a 2O's stage classic onto the screen - with zesty aplomb. Superficially, a shade or two primitive due to its age, it should be seen by every serious student/fan of classic pre-code cinema. The plot is just the same as the one used in HIS GIRL FRIDAY, except that Hildy Johnson is as originally written - a man - in the form of Pat O'Brien. In the aforementioned, casting Rosalind Russell and changing Hildy's sex was an inspired stroke of genius: Howard Hawks should be commended. Menjou is terrific as Walter Burns: he won a BA AA nomination. Originally Louis Wolheim was to play the role, but he up and died suddenly. Nominated for Best Picture & Best Director AA as well. Now if the video folk could only improve the quality of the video transfer itself - which is admittedly quite poor, unfortunately.
The Front Page, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's classic 1928 newspaper play, has had three official film versions and contributed structural DNA to half the movies ever made about professional camaraderie and fierce love-hate friendships. Lewis Milestone's 1931 movie is well respected (Billy Wilder's 1974 version isn't), but this is one case where the remake towers brilliantined head and blocked shoulders above the original.
Howard Hawks had the inspired notion of making Hildy Johnson--the ace newsman whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--a she instead of a he. What's more, she's not only Walter's star reporter but also his ex-wife. When Hildy (Rosalind Russell) comes to tell Walter (Cary Grant) she's leaving the newspaper... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Cary Grant - Rosalind Russell Director(s): Howard Hawks DVD Release Date: Released the 01 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Ranking No. 21 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films, this 1940 classic is a bit dated in its noble sentimentality, but it remains a luminous example of Hollywood classicism from the peerless director of mythic Americana, John Ford. Adapted by Nunnally Johnson from John Steinbeck's classic novel, the film tells a simple story about Oklahoma farmers leaving the depression-era dustbowl for the promised land of California, but it's the story's emotional resonance and theme of human perseverance that makes the movie so richly and timelessly rewarding. It's all about the humble Joad family's cross-country trek to escape the economic devastation of their ruined farmland, beginning when Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns from a four-year prison term to discover... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Ford DVD Release Date: Released the 06 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of the top five screwball comedies of the '30s, this helped to cement a genre that waxed golden until the end of WWII. Director Leo McCarey won an Oscar for Best Director for this 1937 romantic comedy--one of the most successful films of his career. Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are a squabbling couple who separate because of supposed infidelities on both sides. They part but cannot really keep away from each other. Grant finds himself hooked up with a socialite, Dunne becomes engaged to a millionaire hick played by the hapless Ralph Bellamy (as if he ever stood a chance as the "other" man!). When not dating others or baiting one another in a verbal war, Grant and Dunne wage a custody battle over their pathetic pooch. Gags, double entendre, witty remarks, snide comments, and fast-paced... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Irene Dunne - Cary Grant Director(s): Leo McCarey DVD Release Date: Released the 11 March 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Great Ziegfeld stars William Powell in a biopic "suggested by romances and incidents in the life of America's greatest showman, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr." With admirable accuracy, the film follows Ziegfeld's career from small-time sideshow barker to creator of the famous Ziegfeld Follies, the collection of singing, dancing, and comedy vaudeville acts that launched the careers of such luminaries as Fanny Brice, Ray Bolger, and Harriet Hoctor, all of whom play themselves in the film. In the title role, Powell offers a believable combination of ambition and hucksterism, and his Thin Man costar Myrna Loy makes a late appearance as his second wife, but it's large-eyed Luise Rainer who has the showier role (and won an... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): William Powell - Myrna Loy - Luise Rainer Director(s): Robert Z. Leonard DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Based on an Earnest Hemingway best-selling novel, the 1932 film Farewell to Arms, is a touching love story set in war-torn Italy during World War I. Gary Cooper portrays an American ambulance driver in the Italian Army that falls in love with an English Red Cross nurse (Helen Hayes). The trials of war and the jealousy of a friend (Adolphe Menjou) put their love to the ultimate test. Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes deliver great performances and director Frank Borzage creates the feeling of authenticity of the era. The special effects in a film made in 1932 cannot be compared to the technology involved in today's movies, but Frank Borzage worked wonders with the technology available at the time. The ending gave me mixed emotions. The wonderful delivery of Helen Hayes allowed me to forgive the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Helen Hayes - Gary Cooper Director(s): Frank Borzage DVD Release Date: Released the 11 August 1998 Usually ships within 3 to 4 days
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