DINNER
AT EIGHT (1933) the “talkies” grew up with this adaptation of a Broadway
hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Under George Cukor’s canny direction
John and Lionel Barrymore, sex goddess Jean Harlow, and comedians Marie
Dressler and Wallace Beery enliven the sophisticated dialogue, revolving around
the lives of financial predators, actors on the rocks, hatcheck girls on the
way up and millionaires on the way down, all set against the background of a
glittering Manhattan dinner party.
THE
THIN MAN (1934) William Powell and Myrna Loy play Dashiell Hammett’s
married sleuths, Nick and Nora Charles. Notorious wisecrackers and party-goers
(the film was shot during Prohibition), the Charleses solve mysteries between
drinks: Nora: “What hit me?” Nick: “The last martini.” The pair had such
on-screen chemistry they went on to play in 13 other movies, including five
more Nick and Noras, but none equals this one. Directed with panache by W. S.
Van Dyke, and augmented by Asta, a dog with almost as much appeal as his
owners.
IT
HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) A cynical newspaperman (Clark Gable) and a pampered
heiress (Claudette Colbert) collide on an overcrowded bus headed from Miami to
New York. It’s hate at first sight as they share the last remaining seat.
“Remember me?” Gable demands the next morning. “I’m the fellow you slept on
last night.” Predictably they fall in love, but not before a series of tight
situations and colorful arguments. Director Frank Capra’s screwball comedy
remains fresh after six decades.
MY MAN
GODFREY (1936) A spoiled-rotten heiress (Carole Lombard) hires a
shabby-looking bum (William Powell) and learns about life. Many a subsequent
comedy was influenced by Gregory La Cava’s rambunctious screwball farce.
THE
AWFUL TRUTH (1937) Director Leo McCarey had a lot of help from Cary Grant
and Irene Dunne. But this story of a divorced couple who try to ruin each
other’s new romances owes its accelerated pace and high polish to him. Ralph
Bellamy and Mary Forbes supply the straight lines.
HOLIDAY (1938)
Cary Grant is engaged to the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. Trouble is,
she and her father expect him to become a faceless bureaucrat, and the young
man is far too lively for that. Only one person in the family understands
him–his fiancée’s younger sister, Katharine Hepburn. A wise and sparkling
Philip Barry script, enlivened by two performers at their peak. Lew Ayres was
notable as Hepburn’s hapless brother. Another George Cukor triumph, often
overlooked.
ADAM’S
RIB (1949) Of the nine films Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
made together, none tops this pairing. They play married lawyers who represent
opposite sides in a divorce case–thereby giving scenarists Ruth Gordon and
Garson Kanin opportunities to provide the stars with effective salvos in this
stylish battle of the sexes. Judy Holliday and Tom Ewell co-star as the pair in
Splitsville.
FATHER
OF THE BRIDE (1950) Spencer Tracy takes the title role in this family
comedy, and shows how to take an everyday event and make it into art. The bride
is Elizabeth Taylor at her most radiant; the groom is Don Taylor at his most
self-effacing. Billie Burke and Leo G. Carroll are relatively hilarious.
Vincente Minnelli directed.
BORN
YESTERDAY (1951) Garson Kanin’s famous play about an uncouth racketeer
(Broderick Crawford) who hires a tutor (William Holden) for his girlfriend
(Judy Holliday). Naturally, teacher and pupil fall in love. With George Cukor
at the helm, everything–eventually–goes right.
SINGIN’
IN THE RAIN (1952) It’s the end of the 1920s, and the beginning of the end
for silent movies. All very well for the mellifluous Gene Kelly, not so good
for the adenoidal Jean Hagen. Young Debbie Reynolds is hired to supply the
diva’s offscreen voice, and thereby hangs the tale of the funniest musical ever
made. Donald O’Connor’s “Make ‘Em Laugh” is a gem; Kelly’s title song became
his trademark. Adolf Green and Betty Comden wrote the knowing scenario; Stanley
Donen, a former hoofer, directed nimbly.
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
