2024 Blind Spot Series: The Roaring Twenties

 

Based on the short story The World Moves On by Mark Hellinger, The Roaring Twenties is the story of three army friends whose lives would intersect following the end of World War I as they would experience the events of the 1920s through their different lives as well as getting into the world of crime. Directed by Raoul Walsh and screenplay by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, and Robert Rossen, the film is a look into the lives of three men who would all find a degree of success and failure during the days of Prohibition. Starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, and Paul Kelly. The Roaring Twenties is a dazzling and riveting film by Raoul Walsh.

The film revolves around three men who fought in World War I as they would deal with its aftermath as well as being part of the world of bootlegging and crime through different means during the era of Prohibition. It is a film is an exploration into the three different journeys of three men who would find some success during the era of Prohibition only for one of them to fall spectacularly towards its end and aftermath. The film’s screenplay is straightforward though it features narration by John Deering who talks about the events that these characters would endure with its focus on the film’s protagonist in Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney). Bartlett was a soldier for the Army in World War I as he found himself in a foxhole with another soldier in George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and later a younger soldier in Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn) as they would survive the war but Bartlett stayed behind in Europe for more than a year as he returned home without a job or any prospects except for being a cab driver thanks to the help of a friend in Danny Green (Frank McHugh).

During one of his cab trips, he is asked to deliver some liquor to a club owner in Panama Smith (Gladys George) where he gets into trouble despite Lloyd’s help to get him release yet Smith realizes Bartlett’s worth as they collaborate with each other in running their own bootlegging operation. With Lloyd serving as an attorney for Bartlett, Bartlett also reconnects with a young woman in Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane) whom he had corresponded with during the war as he got her a job as a singer for Smith’s speakeasy club. Bartlett hopes to be with Jean although she is more interested in Lloyd as a conflict with another bootlegger in Nick Brown (Paul Kelly) has Bartlett and his crew stealing a shipment where he reunites with Hally who works with Bartlett to anger Brown. However, the conflict between Bartlett and Brown starts to boil over where Hally starts to take charge against Bartlett’s wishes leading to trouble with Lloyd wanting out of the business. The script is filled with some unique dialogue that plays into the period of the times as well as the drama and some of the dark moments in the film with some dark humor involved as well.

Raoul Walsh’s direction has elements of style yet much of his direction is grounded in a world that was decadent and violent as it plays into a time where everyone doing illegal things was the norm until the end of Prohibition. Shot on location on the studio lots at Warner Brothers in Hollywood, California, Walsh maintains this atmosphere of a world where war veterans find themselves disconnected with life at home as Bartlett is unable to get back his old job as a mechanic. Walsh’s direction does have some wide shots of the locations as well as the space of a room or a club while much of his direction is based on the usage of close-ups and medium shots in the way characters interact with one another. Even in the way Walsh catches a reaction such as Bartlett’s first meeting with Jean only to learn she is underage as well as the scenes in the nightclub years later when Jean meets Lloyd for the first time. The way Walsh create these simple shots display the sense of emotion and euphoria that happens as well as the way he presents some foreshadowing such as an early scene of Bartlett, Hally, and Lloyd hearing the news of the armistice as it reflects on the direction they would take in their lives.

Walsh also plays into this growing powerplay between Bartlett and Hally with the latter feeling like he has become a lackey for the former as he would do what he can to rise and take over. Even as Bartlett starts to cope with the decisions, he has made that would alienate both Jean and Lloyd, the film’s third act plays into the stock market crash of 1929 where Bartlett’s fortunes dwindle to the point that he makes a deal with Hally that would end up being bad for him. It also plays into this period of post-Prohibition where the aftermath of Bartlett’s fall forces him to see reality as well as realize what he must do to make things right. Especially towards those who really did care about him where Walsh creates an exhilarating sequence that plays into a man that is trying to find some redemption as well as break a pact that they made during the war. Overall, Walsh crafts a compelling and chilling film about the rise and fall of a bootlegger and the people he meet during his journey.

Cinematographer Ernie Haller does brilliant work with the film’s black and white cinematography as it plays into the dark atmosphere of nighttime exterior scenes to the more vibrant look of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as some of the club scenes. Editor Jack Killifer does excellent work with the editing as it has some style in its usage of transition wipes as well as some straight cuts to play into the suspense and action. Art director Max Parker does amazing work with the look of the sets such as the interiors of the clubs as well as a factory that stored some liquor during a heist. Wardrobe designer Milo Anderson does fantastic work with the look of the suits as well as the dresses and gowns the women wear.

The special effects work of Edwin du Par and Byron Haskin do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal photographic effects to play into some of the montages. The sound work of Everett Alton Brown is superb for its sound work in the way tommy guns sound as well as the atmosphere of a location and other sparse sounds. The film’s music by Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld is wonderful for its orchestral score mixed in with elements of the jazz music of the time as well as songs that were part of that period that features musical direction by Leo F. Forbstein in selecting some of the traditional songs that were performed during those times.

The casting by Steve Triller is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Vera Lewis as Bartlett’s old landlord, Elliott Sullivan as a cellmate of Bartlett following his first arrest for liquor distribution, Joseph Crehan as Bartlett’s old boss, Abner Biberman as Hally’s right-hand man Lefty, Joseph Sawyer as a former army sergeant that Hally hates, and Elisabeth Risdon as Jean’s mother whom Bartlett and Danny meet early in the film. Paul Kelly is superb as a rival bootlegger in Nick Brown whom Hally was working for until he reunited with Bartlett as he is someone that does not like Bartlett’s methods prompting him to wage war on Bartlett. Gladys George is fantastic as Panama Smith as a club owner who teams up with Bartlett to create an empire of their own while she becomes concerned about his decisions as well as harboring her own feelings for him. Frank McHugh is terrific as Bartlett’s friend/roommate Danny Green who helps find Bartlett a job as well as help him distribute liquor though he becomes concerned for some of the things they are doing in the film’s second act.

Jeffrey Lynn is excellent as Lloyd Hart as a young army soldier that Bartlett and Hally meet in a foxhole as he is also a law student that eventually becomes Bartlett’s lawyer until things become out of control. Priscilla Lane is amazing as Jean Sherman as a young woman that Bartlett was corresponding with during the war as he would later meet her again while distributing liquor at a show where he hopes to win her over except that she finds herself falling for Hart while also caring for Bartlett. Humphrey Bogart is phenomenal as George Lally as a soldier that Bartlett meets as he is also a bootlegger that also has ambitions yet feels like he is being slighted when he can do so much more to the point that he would do things to usurp Bartlett. Finally, there’s James Cagney in a tremendous performance as Eddie Bartlett as a soldier who returns home from the war only to become unemployed as he finds money through delivering liquor and bootlegging where he becomes ambitious but also starts to question everything once things fall apart as it is a performance full of charm and wit as well as a vulnerability in how he deals with his losses and regrets.

The Roaring Twenties is a spectacular film by Raoul Walsh that features a great leading performance from James Cagney as well as an incredible supporting performance from Humphrey Bogart. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling look, energetic tone, and story of ambition and chaos during the days of Prohibition. It is a film that manages to be much more than a gangster and crime film as it is a study of a period in which everything was wild until things got darker with those trying to pick up the pieces. In the end, The Roaring Twenties is a sensational film by Raoul Walsh.

© thevoid99 2024

Marie Antoinette (1936)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/7/06.

The story of Marie Antoinette has been told in various forms with many known to the fact that she was the Queen of France born from Austria who was later beheaded in 1793 during the French Revolution. Since then, the stories have become legend to such tales as her spats with King Louis XV's mistress Madame du Barry, the infamous tale of the Affair of the Necklace, and the widely debated yet legendary supposed affair with Swedish Count Axel Fersen. In 1938, MGM studios to make a project on the life of Marie Antoinette into a motion picture at the request of the late Irving Thalberg. Basing on the biography of Stefan Zweig, the 1938 epic tale of Marie Antoinette tells the tale of the young woman who becomes Queen of France as she tries to win the heart of King Louis XVI, feuds with Madame du Barry, get scandalized by the Affair of the Necklace, and to her great demise. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke with a script by Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda, and Claudine West, Marie Antoinette is a dramatic yet old-school 1930s take on the life of the French Queen with MGM studio actress Norma Shearer in the title role after a two-year absence. Also starring John Barrymore, Tyrone Power, Robert Morley, Anita Louise, and Joseph Schildkraut. Marie Antoinette is a fine, elegant costume drama that goes into her legend.

Being called by her mother and Queen of Austria Maria Theresa (Alma Kruger), young Antoine is wanting to hear the news from her courtesan Feldi (Cecil Cunningham). Feldi gives in by telling Antoine that she's to be married. Once meeting her mother, Antoine learns that she will be marrying the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI (Robert Morley) where she'll be accompanied by ambassador Mercey (Henry Stephenson) to Paris. Upon arriving in Versailles, Antoine is now christened as Marie Antoinette where she meets King Louis XV (John Barrymore), the shy Louis XVI, and Duke Phillipe d’Orleans (Joseph Schildkraut). Upon her meeting with the Dauphin, Louis tries to tell in a speech where the meeting is awkward as the king announces the wedding in a beautiful ceremony. Marie's beauty is transfixed as she attracts the likes of Princess Lambelle (Anita Louise) while being attended to by Comtess de Noailles (Cora Witherspoon). On the night she and the Dauphin are to consummate their marriage, Marie is forced to learn of Louis's insecurities as he admits that he didn't want to get married but wants to try and like Marie.

The marriage wouldn't be consummated for seven years as Marie has very few allies and is often ridiculed by the likes of Madame du Barry (Gladys George), who gives her a present as a joke about her unconsummated marriage. With the Duke of Orleans as her ally, she escapes herself through parties and such often being with Princess Lambelle and Comte d'Artois (Reginald Gardiner). In one such party at a gambling house, hoping to win a wager over her necklace, she finds a Swedish count named Axel Fersen (Tyrone Power) to pretend to be a Russian but loses the wager. Hearing about her parties, Count Mercey arrives to tell her that she must behave accordingly to the rules of Versailles while publicly acknowledging Madame du Barry in front of the king. Marie does but only to be further ridiculed by du Barry over the Dauphin's lack of public appearance since it's often that she's accompanied by the Duke of Orleans.

After a meeting with the king, Marie learns that her marriage is to be annulled as the Duke of Orleans chose to cut ties with her as she finds out why he associated himself with her. Hoping to talk to Mercey about everything, she finds herself comforted by Count Fersen, who knew her as a kid since they used to have the same music teacher and such where they fall in love. Hoping to take her back to Austria, Fersen has plans to see her again as she must return to Versailles for some news. After a confrontation with his grandfather, the Louis XVI tells Marie that the king is dying as he is faced with all of the decisions and things into becoming a king. With the news that Marie is now Queen of France, she secretly meets Count Fersen as she hopes to run away with him. Fersen, realizing of her new role, decides not to interfere with her destiny as he chooses to go to America to aid them in the revolution as he and Marie parted ways.

Years after the birth of their first two children, things seem to go well for Marie and Louis XVI but for France, the country is badly in debt and people are starving. With the Duke of Orleans already masterminding every amount of trouble of making the people turn against the monarchy, Marie and Louis XVI hope everything will turn around. Then one day, Marie was offered a huge, expensive necklace that was given to her but she turns it down considering the economic turmoil yet a plot involving a countess and a cardinal lead to the infamous Affair of the Necklace that would soil Marie's reputation for the worse. With the people of France declaring revolution, Louis hopes to have his troops support him but instead, they mock him. With Princess Lambelle choosing to stay in Versailles with Marie, the monarchy are now trapped as government officials hope to rid of the system as the French Revolution is underway.

Hoping to escape, she finds help from none other than Count Fersen who makes a plan for the entire family plus Lambelle to escape to Austria where Marie hopes to get aid. Everything goes well but when someone recognizes the king, everything falls apart as everyone is captured. Marie is forced to watch in horror as she sees Lambelle killed in front of her eyes while the Duke of Orleans helped succeed in aiding the execution of Louis XVI. With their two children, they have a final dinner on the day before he's executed as everything becomes tense as Marie hopes to count on Count Fersen one more time but not even he could help her as she awaits her doom.

While the film is true to the history set in two parts with the first half of Marie playing the role of bringing France an heir and the second about the French Revolution. The interpretation of the film is more of a dramatic retelling rather than a serious, historical type of film. Director W.S. Van Dyke definitely creates a sumptuous, epic, costume drama with all of the lavishness of the times. Still, despite a well-structured script and a faithfulness to history and legend, the film does lack a sense of serious historical context. Largely due to the fact that since the source they used was from the Stefan Zweig biography, Van Dyke wanted to make a film that was entertaining where some parts of the film is dramatized but then again, that was the approach of the times. While the legendary yet debated affair of Fersen is expanded more in several scenes, the role of the Duke of Orleans is much bigger since the character is played a villain when in reality, he was someone not liked by Marie Antoinette yet he did play his part in the execution of Louis XVI.

Despite those flaws, the film at a running time of nearly 150-minutes moves pretty fast due to the structure while the portrayal of Marie Antoinette is somewhat sympathetic to her. She's not portrayed as some monster or a careless queen but someone who is naive of her role while searching for love. Van Dyke's approach was right since he wanted audiences to have the main character to be likeable. More importantly, the dramatic direction and staginess might be dated to today's audience but back then, it worked since the drama works to carry the story and bring sympathy to Marie as Van Dyke does some fine work. Even capturing the lavishness of the 18th Century by actually shooting some parts of the film in Versailles.

Helping Van Dyke with his lavish vision is cinematographer William Daniels whose black-and-white photography filled with nice, soft touches in some of the film's more romantic settings as the picture looks wonderful though it probably would've looked amazing in color. The production design from art director Cedric Gibbons is wonderful for the lavishness and period to detail of the 18th Century with the advantages of the film shot in Versailles. The costumes of Adrian and Gile Steele are also wonderful for the lavishness and the bouncy sides of the dresses. Editor Robert Kern does nice perspective cutting for some of the sequences while bringing style to the editing that gives a leisurely flow to the film that isn't too slow and not too fast either. Herbert Stothart adds an epic, triumphant feel to the film's orchestral score in the first half while a more engaging, suspenseful tone in the film's second half as the music works to play to the times.

The film's large cast that includes such notable small performances from Cecil Cunningham, Cora Witherspoon Marilyn Knowlden as Princess Therese, Scotty Beckett as the young Dauphin, Alma Kruger as Empress Maria Theresa, and Reginald Gardiner. Gladys George is great in her role as lecherous, slimy Madame du Barry with her insults and power-hungry desire to be more than a madam as George brings a lot of vamp to the character. Henry Stephenson is also excellent as the wise Count Mercey, who reminds Marie of her role and is shown more in his attempts to save her from execution. Anita Louise is also good as Princess de Lambelle whose loyalty for Marie is matched by her role as being Marie's partner-in-crime of spending and such. Joseph Schildkraut is wonderfully good as the evil, manipulative Duke of Orleans, a character that is expanded for the film. While not much is known about the man, Schildkraut is excellent in the role of a traditional villain who can create great schemes and such. John Barrymore is great as the power-hungry, decadent King Louis XV with his love for du Barry and his role over his grandson as the legendary Barrymore proves his brilliance in the great role.

In his film debut, the late Robert Morley is extremely impressive as the awkward, insecure Louis XVI. While Morley may not pass as a young 15-year old Dauphin, Morley does have the physique and indecisive personality that the man had while in later scenes, we see him try to be powerful in an awkward way. Morley really owns the character as his performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Tyrone Power is also great as the very good-looking, charming Axel Fersen. Power's performance is the opposite of Morley as he is someone who knows how to comfort Marie while being the one who knows when not to be involved in her destiny. It's a superb performance from the great Tyrone Power.

Finally, there's Norma Shearer in the role of Marie Antoinette which is nothing short of brilliant. Shearer may not look like the 14-year old Antoinette of Austria in the film’s early sequence but her exuberance in the film's first half is wonderful as is her dramatic portrayal of the young queen. In the second half, Shearer really takes stage as a woman trying to protect her family while being aware of the country's economic despair. It's a great performance from Shearer who really exudes the woman who started out dreaming of being a queen only to be sinned for her naivete as Shearer herself, would be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress while winning the Volpi Cup at the 1938 Venice Film Festival.

Despite some flaws and an overly-dramatic acting style and interpretation, W.S. Van Dyke's version of Marie Antoinette is an entertaining film led by the wonderful performances of Norma Shearer and Robert Morley. While some might feel that the acting style and dramatic approach might seem dated, it's too easy to think of that since this is a film that is more of a historical, dramatic epic that does its job in entertaining. When comparing it to the recent, 2006 film version by Sofia Coppola, it's really incomparable largely due to the sources, interpretation, and everything else the two films have. Still, the best source on Marie Antoinette's life on a non-literary media is a 2006 PBS documentary recently shown on television that gives a lot of historical context. Yet, the 1938 version of Marie Antoinette is a great companion piece of her life to both the documentary and Coppola's film version.

Related Review: Marie Antoinette (2006)

(C) thevoid99 2011