"Annie Christie" - Grets Garbo, Marie Dressler and Charles Bickford (1930)

 

Anna Christie (1930) is a pre-Code film of the Eugene O'Niell play. Starring Greta Garbo, this was her first "talkie". The advertisements all said "Garbo Talks!" Directed by Clarence Brown, it is the story of an alcoholic woman with a past in prostitution who reunites with her long estranged alcoholic father. 

She then falls in love with a sailor, which infuriates her father, who is a sailor himself and deserted his family. He fears for her future based upon his own past. With both men holding her up on a pedestal, and both telling her what to do with her life, she is forced to confront her past. 

The film was a huge success, and was also released in a German-language version with Garbo in both, and is notable for its gritty and powerful performances. Garbo and Marie Dressler were exceptional, as well as Garbo's would be lover, played by Charles Bickford.

The film garnered 3 Academy Award Nominations including Best Actress for Garbo in her riveting performance. All doubts about her ability to act in "talkies" disappeared with this fim.

"Goodbye Mr. Chips" with Robert Donat and Greer Garson (1939)

I have to confess that this has always been one of my favorite films, mainly due to the personality of Mr. Chips. He reflects my own lack of confidence and shyness when I was younger. And, just like Mr. Chips, I required time and patience to overcome those obstacles. Even today;to some extent; I still identify with his character.

This movie; like so many others; begins at the end. It is 1937, and Mr. Chips is instructed by his physician not to attend Graduation ceremonies at Brookfield; an upper crust English boarding school; for the first time in 57 years, due to his health. Naturally he attends at the last possible moment before retiring to his cottage, where he falls asleep in front of the fire, reminiscing about his life as a teacher; and later as Headmaster of Brookfield. The rest of the movie is a flashback of his life there; from his first days as a novice teacher until his final ones as the most beloved and respected of both his students and his peers.

When “Chips”; as everyone called him; first arrives at Brookfield he is unsure of how to proceed. For a while it looks as though he has chosen the wrong profession for a shy and gentle man. His first days as a new Master are an exercise in futility. But time wills out and he slowly becomes an object of affection to his students.

When a German colleague takes him home for the holidays, Mr. Chips is transformed in many ways. He goes hiking in the mountains and gets stuck in the fog, forcing him to wait it out alone. Hearing a woman's voice calling out, he begins a perilous climb in search of the woman he assumes to be stranded. The woman turns out to be Katherine; an Englishwoman played by Greer Garson in her first screen role, for which she received an Oscar Nomination. She is the exact opposite of Chips; modern and outgoing. She even rides a bicycle! They spend the evening together on the mountain waiting for the fog to lift.

They become close quite quickly due to the anonymity provided by the fog and being so far away from the real world down below. Their affection for one another is palpable, but Chips dares not act upon his feelings, fearing rejection and humiliation. Actually, until he meets Katherine he is called by his surname of Mr. Chippings. It is actually Katherine who renames him "Chips."

When he and his German colleague Max; played by Paul Henreid; continue on their walking tour of the mountains they encounter Katherine and her lady companion once again. They become inseparable for the remainder of the trip, although Chips is still too "proper" to make his feelings known to this forward thinking woman. Indeed, it is she who engineers his asking her to dance on their last night together. And at the train station, while saying goodbye, she kisses him goodbye. To his way of thinking he is now engaged! Katherine has successfully maneuvered him into a de-facto proposal of marriage.

When Chips arrives back at Brookfield with his new bride, she quickly becomes the object of curiosity and attention at the all-male school. His students are simply shocked that he has a wife at all, while his bachelor peers are in awe at the beauty she brings to the school. They cannot understand how the shy and uncertain Chips could have managed to acquire such a lovely and beautiful woman for a wife.

His marriage marks a wonderful change in Chippings life. Katherine has the boys over for tea and becomes a part of the school. She helps Chips bring a new way of thinking and teaching to the institution. When she passes away during childbirth; on April Fool’s day; Mr. Chips is left alone once again. It is almost as if fate is mocking him. Surely he was a fool to believe that lasting happiness could be his. But the lessons he has learned from Katherine about taking chances and looking at things in a different light never leave him, and serve to endear him to both students and faculty.

When the First World War breaks out he watches as several of his students and colleagues march off to war, some never to return. When he reads out the name of Max, the German Professor; who had returned to his country at the outbreak of the war; along with the names of the English dead, the students; and the viewer; cannot escape the message.  ALL lives hold value, even the lives of "so-called" enemies like Max.

As a result of the shortage of manpower due to the war Chips is finally made Headmaster, a position he has dreamt about for the last 50 years. And when he does eventually retire; and subsequently passes away; it is with contentment. He has tasted of love and left his mark on several generations of young men, who are better off for his having taught them.

This movie is a gem. A more poignant film would be hard to come by. The book which sparked this film was written by James Hilton. Carefully directed and performed, this was a wonderful viewing experience which you will not want to end.

"How Green Was My Valley" with Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall and Donald Crisp

One of the most remarkable things about this film is that it was filmed in California. Unlike John Ford's later classic, "The Quiet Man", which would be filmed on location in Ireland, this one was filmed in America due to the Second World War, which had already begun in Europe, making it almost impossible to ship the actors, equipment and technicians safely to Wales. But, with John Ford directing, magic could be created anywhere.

This is the story of a Welsh coal mining family, living outside of Cardiff at the turn of the century. The Morgan's were a coal mining family; they always had been; and it was expected that they always would be. They lived in an idyllic town with all the things that were necessary to live a decent, if not hard, life. Mr. Morgan, played by Donald Crisp, and his wife, Sara, played by Sara Allgood, have 4 sons. The youngest, Huw, is played by Roddy McDowall, whose character also serves as the narrator, looking back on his time as a child in the valley. The Morgan's also have a daughter, Angharad, played by Maureen O'Hara.

The paradise of Huw's youth is interrupted when men from another town, who are out of work, come to Huw's village looking for jobs. Taking advantage of the glut in labor on the market, the owners of the mine choose to reduce wages, prompting the men of the town to form a Union and go on strike. The elder Mr. Morgan is aghast at the prospect and even outraged when his own sons decide to take part in that effort.

When Mr. Morgan is threatened over this issue, by the very men he has worked alongside for so many years, his wife, Sara, who has learned of a secret Union meeting that night, gets Huw to take her to the place where the meeting is being held. It is winter, and a snowstorm rages as Mrs. Morgan lambasts the men as cowardly in their actions towards her husband. After venting her rage at the men she leaves, with Huw, in the midst of the storm.

As the men, who are now somewhat ashamed of themselves, make their way back to their homes, they hear a cry for help. Mrs. Morgan has fallen into the stream, with Huw holding her head above the freezing waters. The men save her, and Huw, returning them to their home. It is months before the two recover from the events of that night, with Huw having to learn to walk again.

In the middle of all of this there is also the story of the Preacher, played with acidic cruelty by Arthur Shields, one of the finest actors to ever grace the stage or screen. He is a fire and brimstone preacher, who shows his true colors when he attempts to cast out a girl from the village who is unwed and pregnant. Only the brave protestations of Mrs. Morgan and Angharad save her from being exiled for the crime of being human and falling short of "God's glory."

While the Preacher is a vengeful man, his assistant, Mr. Gruffydd, played with great sensitivity by Walter Pidgeon, is just the opposite. He is kind and understanding. He is the one who helps Huw learn to walk again after that freezing night in the stream. He brings Huw all of the classics to read, things like "Treasure Island", which transport the boy beyond his limited world and sufferings. When Huw has recovered he is able to gain entrance to a Public School, opening the way for him to go beyond the coal mines to make a living. But the boy will have none of it, instead choosing to work beside his father and brothers in the mines.

When Angharad falls in love with Mr. Gruffydd, he gently lets her down, explaining that he has given his life to God. This sets the stage for her to marry the mine owner's son, which should give her happiness, but does not fill the hole she carries in her heart for her true love.

When the price of coal drops and the mines reduce wages again, 2 of the sons leave for America, breaking their mother's heart. The movie largely resembles some of my family's own background. They were Welsh, living just outside of Cardiff, at about the same time this story takes place. Perhaps that is why this movie strikes such a chord with me.

The film is filled with the imagery and hard work which was the way of life in Wales back then. Director John Ford, using wide sweeping panoramas, as well as tight close-ups, conveys all the joy, and hardships, of an era that tested the hearts and souls of all who struggled through those times. With the added attraction of the Welsh Singers, who play themselves, along with the antics of Barry Fitzgerald as the town "sportsman", Cyfartha, this film garnered 5 Academy Awards, and 5 additional nominations. From start to finish, this is a movie that will resonate with the viewer forever.

"It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert (1934)

During the Great Depression in the 1930's, a new genre of film made its appearance across the country. They were called "screwball" comedies, because the plots were slightly insane, and also, because like a good "screwball" in a baseball game, you were never really quite sure just where it was all going to end up. The other night I watched Frank Capra's "You Can't Take It With You" after quite a few years. I enjoyed it so much that I returned to the library for some more of Frank Capra's magical celluloid elixir. I came home with "It Happened One Night."

Briefly, the film is about a news reporter, Peter Warne, played by Clark Gable, who gets fired for some very good reasons. When he embarks on a bus trip back to New York he meets, and attempts to befriend, Ellie Andrews, played by Claudette Colbert, as she flees from her millionaire father, who is opposed to Ms. Andrews pending marriage to a social celebrity who may just be marrying her for her money.

Naiveté is the order of the day as Ms. Andrews tries to make her way back to New York via bus, exposing her to a level of living which she has never experienced before. And experience is just what she gets; from having her bags stolen, to being hit upon by a traveling salesman. Life on the road is not something she is prepared for.

Peter Warne, with his keen eye as a reporter, as well as a man of the world, discovers Ms. Andrews’ true identity and keeps a careful eye on her as she makes her way from Miami to New York aboard the bus. When her baggage is stolen, she is left penniless, and the two try to make it to New York on $4 dollars. Forced to leave the bus when her true identity is discovered by the philandering salesman "Shapley", played by Roscoe Karns, Warne and Ms. Andrews leave the bus and begin to hitchhike the remaining way.

Her father, a millionaire known simply as "Andrews", played by Walter Connolly, has all the airports, bus terminals and train stations watched by private detectives, but he has neglected the one way in which his daughter is now traveling; by thumb.

As the couple bicker and banter their way towards New York they discover a mutual respect for one another. This respect begrudgingly turns into something more, and though Ms. Andrews' father has finally accepted his daughter's impending marriage to the intended groom, he is only too happy to meet Peter Warne, and would be even happier to have him as a son in law instead. How all of this works out is the icing on the cake in this delightful "screwball" comedy.

Made with the same team of screenwriter Robert Riskin, working from a short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams, and directed by Frank Capra, this movie earned 5 Academy Awards in 1934. The categories were Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. They really don't make them like this anymore.