Customer Reviews

Animal Kingdom [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nice one. Leslie Howard is a lot more interesting in this than he ever was as Ashley Wilkes. Perenially sympathetic Myrna Loy is sexy and not so nice. Ann Harding and William Gargan are quite solid. The dialogue is snappy and great. The acting is first rate. The conflict itself doesn't have so much merit. This is rather a shallow and quickly told story about a man choosing depth over surface. But still the movie is a lot more vibrant than some of today's fare, at once a little bit thoughtful and entertaining.

In my opinion, a great film adaptation of Philip Barry's Play, with a luminous performance by grand actress, Ann Harding; Myrna Loy is excellent too, as Leslie Howard's alluring, sensual and manipulative wife; Leslie Howard's good as usual, and all of them get fine support from Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase, Henry Stephenson, and especially, William Gargan, who is hilarious as a joke of a butler! (he's an ex-fighter). Perhaps it may be regarded as kind of talky and stagy by today's standards, but anyway it's pretty adult stuff with great dialogues and subtleties, and a great example of what could be done with a fine script and cast, before the Production Code was fully enforced in 1934.

The Alpha Version of this Historic film, the first shown on the opening night of Radio City Music Hall, is exceptional, and the best Alpha print I have ever seen. This is also a smart, intelligent film. More prints like this one and Millie could give Alpha a better reputation than it currently has.

The Animal Kingdom features one of the more shocking elements of the pre-code era. It revolves around a man, his former mistress, and his current wife. Leslie Howard plays Tom Collier, a wealthy man whose family wishes he would settle down and be more dignified. He does so with Cecilia (Myrna Loy), a somewhat haughty, controlling woman from high society. However, in order to make his marriage work, his mistress Daisy (Ann Harding) breaks ties with him. He is hurt by the separation and begins to pursue her without realizing his true feelings for her.

The relationships between the characters are very believable and engrossing. It helps that the stars are phenomenal actors. Howard is particularly wonderful. His acting is subtle but charming, intelligent, and powerful. Everything he says seems important and thoughtful, even if he's delivering a casual response. Harding complements him well. Although some of her gestures seem very overt and stereotypical, it is difficult not to believe them to be true. She is entirely genuine and agreeable.

The Animal Kingdom sports some mighty terrific acting by a wonderful cast. The plot of this pre-code drama moves along at a very good pace; it could have been edited just a little but this is very minor. The cinematography is very well done throughout the film; and the choreography works best in crowded scenes including the surprise birthday party. There are two very minor disappointments: The quality of the print could have been a little bit better; and once or twice there was the very obvious and distinctly different noises of the two cameras that were rolling when a scene involved two people talking.

When the action starts, we quickly meet the somewhat bohemian Tom Collier (Leslie Howard) who happily owns and runs The Bantam Press, a small independent publishing company. He lives with his girlfriend Daisy Sage (Ann Harding); Tom and Daisy snub the conventional wisdom of the time that a man and a woman had to be married before they could live together. Tom's father Rufus Collier (Henry Stephenson) has nothing but disdain for Tom's lifestyle; but it is the pretty society girl Cecilia "Cee" Henry (Myrna Loy) who steals Tom from Daisy when Daisy is away for a while. In fact, as the picture begins, Daisy is sailing into New York harbor that night only to find out that Tom, who she still thinks is her man, will be marrying "Cee" very soon.

Daisy certainly does take it very badly, although she admits along with Tom that they never had any real strings attached to their relationship. Tom still wants to be friends with Daisy and see her from time to time; but Daisy angrily refuses and Tom leaves without even taking his belongings. After Tom marries "Cee," he never sees his old friends anymore; his quirky butler and friend "Red" Regan (William Gargan) stays on--but only for a while. "Red" can't take the stuffiness of life in Connecticut with "Cee" and Tom so he leaves just as "Cee" has convinced Tom to fire him anyway.

Tom eventually simply shows up at Daisy's Manhattan apartment and they quickly rekindle their friendship--and their old flame, too. Tom doesn't tell all of this to "Cee;" but "Cee" decides to test how everything is going by throwing a surprise birthday party for Tom--and "Cee" makes sure to invite Daisy as well as Tom's old friends "Franc" Schmidt (Leni Stengel) and Joe Fiske (Don Dillaway).

What happens at that party? "Cee" has also invited a man who has not so secretly wanted her for a long time, a fellow named Owen (Neil Hamilton)--how will he figure into all this? Will "Cee" and Daisy get along that night? What will happen if "Red" has trouble on his new job and wants to return to his old job working for Tom and "Cee?" Watch and find out!

The DVD comes with nothing in the way of extras except scene selection; but with these budget DVDs that's the way it goes, I guess.

The Animal Kingdom showcases the fabulous talents of Leslie Howard, Ann Harding and Myrna Loy. Look for a wonderful performance by William Gargan as "Red" the butler, too. Most if not all of the plot could even take place in these times so the film remains relevant despite the passage of time. I highly recommend this film for classic movie buffs; and of course people who are fans of the actors in this movie will want this DVD as well.

This story just crackles and the cast is spectacular. There is no extra features to speak of, but the film transfer is very good and the audio is clear. Myrna Loy enthralls as the conniving and greedy wife who is shielded from society by the veil of marriage, and Ann Harding is endearing and sharp as the loving and supportive artist girlfriend of the always exceptional Leslie Howard. This story was ahead of its time with the lover holding the moral high ground. If you love classic movies that swirl with dialogue and character development, then this is for you. A must-see Pre-Code film.

Philip Barry's very successful stage play was the basis for this well-acted romantic vehicle which should still appeal to the sophisticated and intellectual. Howard plays a rich publisher who leaves his artist-mistress to marry socially active Loy, only to discover that the security of married life doesn't exist: his wife turns out to be a Lorelei who's encouraging an affair with another man (Hamilton)... In an ironic and interesting contrast, Loy acts more like his mistress and Harding is more wife-like. Howard's acting expertise is shown to advantage here, he being caught in a classic triangle and eventually realising just how essentially shallow Loy really is and what a prize he had in Harding. Ann Harding gives her usual sensitively sincere performance and although Myrna Loy was not yet considered star material when she was given the role of Cecilia, she clearly gives a masterful portrayal of the flirtatious vixen. There is a splendidly amusing performance given by William Gargan as Regan the butler: at a party, he pours himself drinks and oafishly makes himself at home, acting as if he belonged among the elite company. It is, however, Howard who carries the film: he was the epitome of the sensitive gentleman in films such as this in the decade of the 1930's.

...but viewing this DVD is horrible. I bought this with some trepidation since it an Alpha studio copy and they are not exactly known for their high quality transfers (IMO) but unfortunately they seem like the only game in town when trying to get these older movies on DVD. Going by some of the other reviews in here saying it is the best Alpha transfer they'd seen, I bought this DVD. The story is top notch. No problem. But I expected more quality than what's on this DVD. Highlights were very washed out to the point where you could hardly distinguish the faces so don't expect even a good transfer with this DVD. Mediocre maybe. Unless I happened to get a really poorly manufactured DVD i couldn't rate this any higher (and that's only due to the story).

While it seems a bit high-brow, the actors do an excellent job, and the ladies costumes alone make it worth watching. Good, adult entertainment.

In the biography, "Ann Harding - Cinema's Gallant Lady" (2010) Harding raves about her talented co-star Leslie Howard: "What a craftsman! He's an absolute challenge, with his perfect timing, and the way he sustains everything and throws the ball right back every time. I think he's the finest actor we have." The chemistry between the two penetrates every scene they share in The Animal Kingdom. Ann's character shirks convention. She is content to be Howard's mistress and is surprised to learn he is going to marry an opportunistic young woman played by Myrna Loy (who is also excellent here). Harding observes the Howard-Loy attraction is a combination of lust (Howard) and visions of dollar signs (Loy). According to author Scott O'Brien, playwright Philip Barry "intended the part of Daisy Sage, Ann's role as a young, budding artist, to be an extension of the character she had played in Holiday." The direction has a stagy feel, but the top-notch acting of this trio is well worth watching.