The Dramas from Europe
It took me quite a bit of time to get through all the silent pictures in the book and what I noticed was some film genres such as comedy and Horror were so visual that their silent renderings had the ability for short and concise films. Dramas on the other hand required detailed conversations and explanations that in the silent world if you wanted to do it right resulted in very long pieces of film. Sound was a liberating development for Drama films as we could now hear what was being said and give detailed explanations which allowed for shorter takes of emotion. This development of Drama in these formative years of sound cinema allowed special directors an ability to dig deep into the human psyche. The Europeans were in the forefront of this art but Hollywood followed quickly.
The European Dramas
Freedom for Us ( A Nous La Liberte) (1931)
Another French eye opener to appear on our screens at this time was this exciting story of criminals turning into successful citizens and then back into derelicts. Something the French thought very romantic considering the Comedy,” Boudu left for drowning”, had a similar theme at the end. What places this film apart is that although it is very humorous in parts, it still takes itself very seriously with its depiction of human degradation not only in prison, but also in the mechanized factories of the industrial world. There is a real social message told here in the tale of two prisoners who escape prison to go in two different directions. One as a rich factory owning industrialist and the other as a returning prisoner after getting caught. The director is the comedy director Rene Clair and he shows great emotional touch here sprinkled with dry humor so that we, the viewer, come to understand that the difference between a prisoner and a factory worker is not that great at all. It is very clear that the great Chaplain saw this film and used it as his main influence for his masterpiece “Modern Times”. In fact Clair sued him for artistic theft for doing exactly that.
Zero for Conduct (Zero De Conduite) (1933)
Only the French had the courage to make a short movie on important sociological subjects. Jean Vigo, the director of this short film wanted to make a film about boarding school and what went on within its walls and received enough funding to make this short film. The result is an angry drama driven warning about our alienated youth. Today’s viewer is amused because these Youth are the generation of our parents and grandparents. Here they are wild, antiestablishment and searchers of freedom and destruction. The film is packed with so many great scenes of power. Even the teachers here are shown to be a bit twisted. It is obvious that all misfit teenage films derived their influence from this film. Without we would never have had ” If..” and “A Clockwork Orange”.
Land without Bread (La Hurdes (1933)
La Hurdes is a documentary from Spain, but the hurt and pain it shows fits into real drama. The great Luis Bunel made this movie and what he did was go into a section (at the time) of Spain that nobody cared about. Poor hot and uncultivated, the area called the La Hurdes was only 100 klm away from the university city of Salamanca. Here we are shown hunger pain and cruelty that lets us understand that only death can relieve the suffering of its inhabitants. Today one can take this message to some dark areas of Africa and Asia so it is as relevant as it ever was.
Triumph of the Will (Triumph Des Willens (1934)
Since I wrote about a humanist documentary in a Drama Post I need to mention this abhorrent propaganda film from the Nazis. It is a technically brilliant portrayal of the 6th Nazi Congress held in September 1934 in Nuremburg. Maybe I should have wrote about this film in my early Horror Post, because it shows us the living horror of the Nazis. Very hard to watch. It is however technically superb and taught future documentarians with an agenda how to manipulate the opinions of others through film.
L’Atalante (1934)
Jean Vigo directed and created this amazing film while he was dying of a sickness and he would not live to make any more movies. How lucky we are that he was able to complete this masterpiece. L’Atalante is a story of two people in love. One is a captain of a barge (boat) living on the boat with his assistant and a boy. The other is a city girl who is young and dreams of city life. Our captain marries his city girl and takes her to live on the boat. She is lonely and miserable but finds interest in the crazy assistant played by the great Michel Simon. Simone is an eccentric collector and lover of cats who is Jealous of this beautiful women because she has made his captain obsessed. The movie show raw love at its grandest. We have lust, anger, sympathy and jealousy. The Jealousy and anger causes our hero in the end to abandon his love and leave her to a cruel fate. In the end it is this fate that leaves him cold and he goes back searching for his true love. When he finds her the relief and happiness explodes out of the screen. Michel as the crazy outsider and it is through his character our heroes discover themselves. He steals every scene he is in. He is the one that turns the wheels of this love triangle and his performance is one of the greatest in the history of film. A masterpiece and a must see film.
Hollywood Drama and Adventure
The Mamoulian Drama
Love me Tonight (1932) and Queen Christina (1933)
Rouben Mamoulian realized how sound aided sight in the telling of sweet romantic interlude. While “Love me tonight” has music and seems light, it is a deep romantic drama at its core. It also allowed the possibility of love joining the poor and rich. The educated and ignorant. The Class and the unclassed. American and French. The move is light entertaining and funny but also heralded the new drama.
Queen Christina on the other hand was a romantic drama disguised as a historic action film. Mamoulian’s depth touch in recreating the Swedish court of the 17th century was breathtaking. What is eye opening about this film is have a woman as sexy as Greta Garbo try to pass herself off as a man and succeed. If her attempts actually succeed then our male lead is really a closet homosexual. A fact that was not lost on the director and a secret message he wanted to expand on. He did it with huge success and his film is a wonderful adventure.
Drama Adventure
Drama in the early films quickly developed into adventure set in exciting exotic locales.
Shanghai Express (1932)
Shanghai express is a rousing drama adventure set in 19th century China. It was directed by a silent movie giant by the name of Josef Von Sternberg. Sternberg preferred the control of the studio in his films so he created some of the most amazing sets ever made. For this film he out did himself with wondrous scenes of authentic looking eastern markets and a railroad track that runs right through a city street. Apparently this was something that existed in those days and the little touches of details that Sternberg preferred made this film special. Sternberg was a German expat and he liked working with another German expat. That being the incomparable Marlene Dietrich whose physical beauty was only matched by her deep sexy voice. Movies never sounded better.
Captain Blood (1935)
Here we have a film about a doctor turned rebel turned military hero. All in the 17th century wartime Europe. It is a nice, but pretty basic adventure. The thing that stands this film out is that the main character is played by the sex symbol and recently disgraced superstar Errol Flynn. Flynn does everything from conducting a field operation, rebelling in the king’s court, acting as a family doctor, commanding battleships to victory and battling in a glorious sword fight with his famous smile always on his face. This was a bit too much for me but Many 1930s young ladies loved it. The best thing about this movie however is Basil Rathbones villain. Rathbone was born to play the villain and this move was the start for him of a long villainous career.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
If one wanted to know if the early film makers new how to make a rousing action adventure with deep drama then tell them to watch “Mutiny on the Bounty”. Here we have a great famous story and an amazing performance by the great Charles Laughton as the immortal Captain Bligh. A villain who believed in what he did. He had Morals. They were just corrupt. The battle of wits Laughton does with the heart throb Clark Gable are priceless. We all know that the bad Captain Bligh is smarter but took solace in the Hollywood magic that in those days always let our hero come out on top.
The 39 Steps (1935)
At the beginning of sound and in the decade of the 30s, an Englishman named Alfred Hitchcock started making a name for himself by directing great action filled crime dramas. Of the many superb films Hitch made in those days, from England, his best was” The 39 steps”. If you watch this film today you will be sucked in immediately by the story and the predicament of our hero and the great conclusion. All throughout there is danger and mystery as to what the 39 steps mean. We get espionage and deceit throughout the movie. The two main actor are great. Robert Donat and Madelaine Carroll and their constant banter throughout this adventure is what drives the engine of this delightful film. All filmmakers today who want to create an adventure and nonstop excitement in a fast paced movie have to study this glorious film. If you have not yet seen it, do so now. You will not be disappointed.
Surrealistic Drama
Peter Ibbetson (1935)
In 1935 Henry Hathaway directed one of the more mystic dramas made by Hollywood. Starring Gary Cooper and Ann Harding, the movie detailed a lost love that could only be consummated in the world of dreams. I kid you not. Ahead of its time cinematography was used to visualize a dream world that existed only in the minds of our quite insane heroes. While Cooper once again proved that he was such a limited actor, nearly ruining the film, Harding is magnificent as the female love interest. Making use of Gothic atmosphere in its spiritual and surrealistic tone, “Peter Ibbetson”, is an interesting work that was way ahead of its time.
1001 Movies before you die 