TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Collections

[rohmerin]

I watched all the box in the weekend and I want more. The documentary is wonderful, and there are a lot of films that aren't avalaible. The beast of the city, for example, looks a great movie.

The two Norma Sherer films in the bos are the worst of all. Old and bad theatre movies. Very dissapointing plots, but she's great, and I loved the way she moves, in a silent way.

Night Nurse is terrific, I'm crazy about that one. Female is amazing, but the ending is very MACHISTA. I don't know how machimo and machista is in English.

I miss Red Dust, my favourite pre-code film. I got a print from the net and it was so funny, much better than the boring Ford'd remake that I don't like.

[wpqx]

Female had a great start but the ending just seemed to completely subvert everything that made the beginning worth watching. Ruth Chatterton however was probably never better. Nearly all Shearer films to me are extremely dated and I never found her to be all that great an actress and was more the result of Thalberg and MGM trying to force her upon audiences. It would be nice if there was another set forthcoming considering how great the first installment was (Whale's Waterloo Bridge was revelation).

[myrnaloyisdope]

Beast of the City is excellent, with vigilante cops, mobsters, and Jean Harlow, plus one of the greatest and most unexpected final scenes I have ever seen. I'm hoping The Story of Temple Drake gets put out at some point, though I think it's Universal. That's among my favorite pre-codes. It's salacious, dark, and has Miriam Hopkins best performance.

Red Dust does need to be out pronto, though I like Red-Headed Woman, I guess it's complete lack of comeuppance for Jean Harlow that I like.

Female is indeed 50 minutes of awesome undone by 10 minutes of blatant sexism.

I would love to see some Joan Blondell movies come out, but I have my doubts about that happening. But Warner's does have a ton of great stuff they could put out in future volumes.

[zedz]

Female is indeed 50 minutes of awesome undone by 10 minutes of blatant sexism.

A ridiculous, delirious film. It almost seemed like a crypto-remake of L'Inhumaine (but not that ridiculous or delirious). It's well worth purchase just for the OTT deco set design (including the wonderful pet organist stuck halfway up a wall of the grand foyer).

[domino harvey]

The set design in Female is indeed fantastic. I particularly liked the bookkeeper's giant warehouse of an office with the map on the wall behind the sole desk. And man, what a left turn into hell the film takes in those last ten minutes. My favorite line was her entire argument against remaining boss of the factory: "I shouldn't be here-- I'm a woman!"

[BrianInAtlanta]

Female had a great start but the ending just seemed to completely subvert everything that made the beginning worth watching. Nearly all Shearer films to me are extremely dated and I never found her to be all that great an actress and was more the result of Thalberg and MGM trying to force her upon audiences.

Strange coincidence in that I just finished watching Shearer in Let Us Be Gay (1930). It has an abrupt right turn in the last 20 seconds that makes the ending of Female look gradual and subtle by comparison. Made up for it, 'tho, in a negligee scene that Norma could have played topless and not revealed more.

[wpqx]

I'll have to be on the lookout for that

[filmnoir1]

I understand everyone complaints that many of these films' endings seem tacked on but you have to look at them in the context of the time of their production. Even those films made before the actual enforcement of the Production Code 1934-1965, have to be careful in how they handle the summation of the events that have been portrayed or face the local censor boards who would often ruthlessly cut original prints. Thus it could be possible that a film seen on the East coast could differ drastically from one shown in the Midwest.
I am glad to see that Female has elicited so much discussion because it is a great example of the quality and craftsmanship displayed in those early WB films of the 1930s. I would direct your attention to the way Curtiz uses mirror shots in the film to comment visually on the duplicitous nature of Alison Drake.

[shearerchic]

Where is Vol 3 as promised??

[Cash Flagg]

From classic flix:

The new year is coming in with a bang with a last minute announcement that **Warner** has scheduled their Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 3 for a March 24th release date. All 6 films are directed by William Wellman and like previous FH sets, titles will not be available as singles. It will retail for $49.92.

Other Men's Women (1931)
This is the story of a love triangle between two burly railroad men and the one woman they both desire (Mary Astor). Jack, an engineer (Regis Toomey) and Lily's husband, is more solid and reliable. Bill (Grant Withers) is a carefree ladies' man with an irresponsible streak. Also featured in secondary roles in this melodrama are James Cagney and Joan Blondell as a wisecracking waitress. Directed with his signature virile style, Wellman balances scenes of fraying domesticity with vigorous vignettes of tough railroad life.

The Purchase Price (1932)
This film is a brisk Wellman mix of comedy and melodrama about torch singer Joan Gordon (Barbara Stanwyck), who tiring of her relationship with small-time hood Eddie Fields (Lyle Talbot), flees to North Dakota and becomes the mail-order bride of down-to-earth farmer Jim Gilson (George Brent). Their wedded bliss is threatened by Gilson's own stubbornness, a lecherous neighbor and the reappearance of Fields.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Classic Cartoons:
o You Don't Know What You're Doin'!
o Moonlight for Two
* The Wall Street Mystery Short
* Theatrical Trailers

Frisco Jenny (1932)
Along with his films about men in dire straits, Wellman helmed a string of so-called women's pictures like this one. Ruth Chatterton plays the title role of Frisco Jenny, a woman orphaned by the 1906 earthquake who becomes the madam of a prosperous brothel. She puts her son up for adoption and as he rises to prominence as district attorney he becomes dedicated to closing down such houses. When her associate proposes killing the DA, she kills the associate and must face execution.

Midnight Mary (1933)
Working on loan-out for MGM, this crime melodrama very much in the Warner mode was based on a story by Anita Loos, about a young woman on trial for murder (Loretta Young). The story is told in flashback, as she awaits her verdict. Mary Martin recalls how her life of desperate poverty leads to involvement with gangsters. When she meets a young lawyer in a brothel, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, he helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she chooses to face the consequences rather than cause him scandal. By the writers of the pivotal Warner Bros. pre-code gems, Baby Face and Female.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Commentary by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta (Midnight Mary)
* Shorts:
o The Studio Murder Mystery
o Goofy Movies #1
* Classic Cartoon: Bosko's Parlor Pranks
* Theatrical Trailers

Heroes for Sale (1933)
Heroes for Sale, filmed with raw, gritty immediacy by the no-nonsense Wellman, covers all the Depression-era bases, and puts the spotlight on the plight of veterans. This is the hard-hitting story of Tom Holmes (Richard Barthelmess), an unsung war hero left wounded and addicted to morphine whose struggles make him an American Everyman, a tough hero for a tough time.

Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
It's the depression, and Tom's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomores decide to hop the freights and look for work. This socially conscience message film helped draw attention to wandering youths cut adrift by hard times. Frankie Darro, whose acting career stretched from the 1920s into the '70s, portrays Eddie. And the actress posing as a boy in the film is played by Dorothy Coonan, who became the real life Mrs. William Wellman.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Commentary by John Gallagher (Heroes for Sale)
* Commentary by William Wellman Jr. and Frank Thompson (Wild Boys of the Road)
* Classic Cartoons:
o Sittin' on a Backyard Fence
o One Step Ahead of My Shadow
* The Trans-Atlantic Mystery Short
* Theatrical Trailers

Bonus disc with two full-length documentaries.

Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
The documentary traces Wellman's life from his birth in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1896, through his distinguished World War I career as a flier (which later got him the job of directing the classic silent film Wings), his start as a mail boy at Goldwyn, his rise to director in the 20's, his five marriages and stormy career through the 30's to late 50's, with a total filmography of more than 80 films.

The Men Who Made the Movies
William Wellman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter-director of the original A Star Is Born (1937), was called "Wild Bill" during his World War I service as an aviator, a nickname that persisted in Hollywood due to his "larger-than-life" personality and lifestyle. A leap-year baby born in 1896 on the 29th of February to a stockbroker father in Brookline, Massachusetts, Wellman was the great-great-great grandson of Francis Lewis, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His mother, the former Cecilia McCarthy, was born in Ireland. Despite an upper-middle class upbringing, the young Wellman was a hell-raiser. He excelled as an athlete and particularly enjoyed playing ice hockey, but he also enjoyed less savory pastimes, like joy-riding in stolen cars at night.

[lubitsch]

=D> A very welcome set. I don't know the first four films but HEROES and WILD BOYS are very remarkable films. However I find it very surprising that Warner didn't include the supposedly sleaziest Wellman film from this period, SAFE IN HELL. I wonder if they are saving it for other purposes.

[What A Disgrace]

Superb news. I will probably buy this lovely looking set.

I hope Warner can find a good excuse to release some Raoul Walsh films in a box

[HerrSchreck]

Fucking A-ok!

I wish they woulda squeezed their eyes shut and thrown the Louise Brooks/Rich Arlen vehicle BEGGARS OF LIFE in there for little discernable reason (does this film have an official release anywhere on zemlya?).

[What A Disgrace]

Beggars of Life is a Paramount property.

[HerrSchreck]

Correctamundo-- forgot about that. Therefore either Universal (Universal + silent films = getting old & dying while waiting) or Paramount itself, depending on who has the rights. Hopefully Paramount-- since they're working on Wings, and Brooksie has had a resurgence (though clearly the time to release it would have been two-three yrs ago when Pandora, Prix de & Tagebuch came out in R1-land)

[Matt]

I was just looking at my film diary (yes, I keep one) and noticing that I was still catching up on TCM's Wellman retrospective with my TiVo a year ago. This looks to be the best FH set yet.

[myrnaloyisdope]

I just jizzed in my pants. That's easily the set of the year for me.

Safe in Hell would have been a nice addition, as would have The Star Witness, but for the most part they picked his best films from the period.

Heroes For Sale and Wild Boys of the Road are absolutely essential, two of the finest documents of the depression era. Each bursting with frenetic energy, melodrama, and realism.

Other Men's Women is a fun if slight little film, probably most worth watching for its raw energy, provided through Wellman's abundance of on location filming, and the often naturalistic dialog. Oh and early appearances by James Cagney and Joan Blondell.

Frisco Jenny is first class melodrama, with Ruth Chatterton giving a wonderful performance. That closing scene is devastating.

Midnight Mary is Wellman's only film at MGM during the period, and it's interesting to see how gracefully he handles the MGM style. Despite the noticable differences in tone, pacing and style, the film still fits nicely with the rest of Wellman's work in the period. Loretta Young was never sexier than in this film, her seduction of Ricardo Cortez might be the sexiest scene I've seen in a pre-coder.

As for The Purchase Price, well I haven't gotten around to that one yet, so hopefully that one is a worthy inclusion.

Ooh, and I've been wanting to see the Wellman episode of The Men Who Made The Movies for a long time now.

I just think it's wonderful that Wellman is getting a set of his own, as I think he's terribly underrated, and his pre-code work in particular has been neglected for far too long.

[souvenir]

Add me to the excited camp. I've seen The Purchase Price, and it's a solid vehicle for Stanwyck. Her performance is incredibly tender and full. The mail-order bride situation is handled almost delicately by Wellman, including the idea of assumed sexual relations and the awkwardness therein.

[rohmerin]

Fantastic set. =D> =D> =D>
Estoy súper feliz, but I miss Red dust and Gabriel over the white house on DVD. :-" When WB, when?

please, when you have information or /and confirmation about the subtitles in the box, Spanish or English, please, post it !

[myrnaloyisdope]

rohmerin, good call on Red Dust and Gabriel, both great films deserving of DVD releases.

I managed to watch my copies of The Purchase Price and The Hatchet Man last night, and though The Purchase Price was a pretty solid melodrama, with a strong Stanwyck performance, and the interesting and often neglected theme of marital sexuality, I must say that The Hatchet Man is pretty incredible, and leaves me feeling a little bit sad that it was not included in the set.

The Hatchet Man might be Wellman's most atmospheric film, with some great set design, and some great camerawork. Obviously the film's great flaw is the presence of Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young in yellow-face, but they both play their roles straight (no me-so-sollys here), and I found them each to be quite good. Robinson in particular stands out as the jilted husband, whose kindness and vulnerability are both his greatest strengths, and his greatest weaknesses. He really carries the film, though I found Young in yellow-face strangely attractive.

There's also some very Wellman-esque touches as the film's 2 crucial acts of violence are both implied rather than shown, which is a trademark of Wellman's, that both frustrates and exhilarates...the film's final payoff is pretty mind-blowing, I think I had read 2 detailed synopses before seeing the film, and still I was in awe of how cool the sequence was.

What a great film...here's to Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 4 including some more Wellman pre-codes.

Ooh, I should add that if someone has Love is a Racket and/or a better quality copy of The Hatchet Man, they should PM me.

[der_Artur]

rohmerin, good call on Red Dust ...

So maybe I would not be the only one to embrace a "Jean Harlow" collection?

The set sounds interesting, and after reading all your excitement I am really looking forward to it. I think I'll watch "Night Nurse" tomorrow to get me into a Wellman-mood.

[domino harvey]

I don't know why they didn't just put Red Dust on the Mogambo disc

[rohmerin]

Dios, Mogambo is such boring and dissapointing film to me. I've never liked it. There's no passion, there's no sin, there's nothing except the beauty of Gardner and Kelly and the "monería" (from mono, ape, monkey) of a dumbo older Gable. Thank's WB for not putting Red Dust with the Ford's one.

I expect there wil be a Jean Harlow box beacuse Red dust is an amazing, funny, sexy, comical film, Gable is not a monkey, even he's hot, Mary Astor is better than cold-Kelly, and the set of black and white MGM Indochine is nicer, more beautiful, mistery and romantic than the Technicolor African remake.

There's a Jean Harlow film that I've never seen about "her", I mean, a Hollywood star in the movies, with Powell may be. Is it good? is it pre-code? is it Bombshell? I'm not sured about the title.

I've got The hatched man, but I don't think the film is good. I didn't like it very much. I agree that Chinese made by American stars, weird... but I love The good earth, curioso.

[filmnoir1]

This is great news. I can't wait to get my hands on this set. William Wellman is one of the unsung heroes of directing at Warner Brothers.

[HerrSchreck]

Good lord, I recently saw The Hatchet Man (which myrnaloyisdope was rhapsodizing on earlier)-- this thing is one of the strangest films not only from precode but out of Classic Era Hollywood in general.

The whole treatment of the characters, all occidental big names with weird makeup to look Chinese-- a mensch like Robinson done up like a tong assassin, Loretta Young with her makeup making her look more like a space creature than a Chinatown girl. The whole thing feels straight from Mars. Weird weird weird-- what an odd specimen.

The final killing is utterly unexpected and cooler than Greenland. But this makes the Toler Chans or the Lorre Motos look like Hands Across America.

What's so weird about them is the absolutely American, casual delivery of lines and characterization. It's like the cast is actually playing roles of regular white people at a China- themedcostume party, rather than acting parts of actual Chinese characters.

Eddie G truly did play EVERYTHING in his lifetime.