Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forgotten Star, Forgotten Director Deserve Your Attention, August 25, 2001
This review is from: Blessed Event [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Roy del Ruth was one of a number of directors who really thrived at the Warners/First National studios in the years before the Production Code (there were others, among them Mervyn LeRoy & Lloyd Bacon). The fast-n-furious, low-budget topicality of the WB 'house style' pushed these men into doing breathless, lightning-paced work. When they moved on to greener pastures (Del Ruth & LeRoy both spent many years at high-toned Metro), the zip and zing of their Warners work was long gone. Lee Tracy (who came West to Hollywood after originating the Hildy Johnson role in THE FRONT PAGE on Broadway) was an ideal Warners leading man during this period, the wisecrack-slinger all others are measured against. Here he's so good, so inspired at mixing verbal pyrotechnics and comic physicality, you'll be wondering how it's possible his career didn't soar for another 25 years. (Besides his heavy drinking, which couldn't have helped him, he earned the wrath of Louis B Mayer during the shooting of VIVA VILLA by urinating on the Mexican army from his hotel balcony, causing enough diplomatic hubbub to effectively end his career as a lead in A-pictures.) This is probably his best film, playing a Walter Winchell-like columnist named Alvin Roberts, and Tracy plays him with such cheerful unscrupulousness you might almost forget what a rat the real Winchell was. But, again, this ain't the real world, exactly - this is pre-Code Warner Brothers, where even an unprincipled cur could be a hero so long as he scraped the bottom with pluck and moxie. Don't be surprised at the many one-liners and situations in BLESSED EVENT that would become taboo in two short years: abortions, adultery, homosexuality and ethnicity are all fair game for Tracy and Del Ruth's satirical arrows, and only an insufferable prude would stifle his laughter. Not until Preston Sturges played chicken with the Hays Office in the early 40s would such darkly funny farce be allowed on the screen again. Keep an eye out for this one and prepare to become a Lee Tracy fan for life. You may also find yourself making a mental note to seek out a few more Roy Del Ruth pictures. Use 1935 as a cutoff date and I think you'll be amply rewarded.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tabloid Journalism, March 14, 2002
This review is from: Blessed Event [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Lee Tracy stars as a newspaper writer who makes a name for himself by writing a gossip column often dominated by news of "blessed events", which end up being stories about expected babies that are full of innuendo and scandal. He feeds off of workers all over town for his stories, and daily libel suits only intensify his search for a great story or rumour. Needless to say, people and their lives get ruined when he's on a roll. Tracy is amazing in the lead, firing of dialogue like a champion. He really has star presence, although his career in films never went anywhere. He's supported by a good cast of familiar Warner Brothers faces like Ruth Donnelly and Ned Sparks. A particular standout is Allen Jenkins as a henchman of a mobster. Watch his face as Tracy describes in detail what it's like to be in the electric chair. I was surprised by how open the film was about tabloid journalism, carrying a message that is still fresh today. It is also a lot more adult than you would expect of a 1930's film, but it was made before the Production Code would have disallowed such things. Like many of director Roy Del Ruth's film, it's filled with energy, fun performances, and some good camera work. This is one to watch.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Hurry, look up nadir!", July 9, 2010
This review is from: Blessed Event [VHS] (VHS Tape)
For fans of early 1930's films, Lee Tracy is both fondly remembered and highly regarded. The red-headed actor had a charisma and charm that suited the pre-code Hollywood era perfectly. The raw energy and enthusiasm for life which came across so well onscreen was very much a genuine facet of his own personality. It would be the factor which would eventually derail his career, but the Atlanta born actor enlivened and added spark to many great films during the early period of sound. Perhaps the most supreme example of his talent was in director Roy Del Ruth's, Blessed Event. Snappy and full of sharp and sometimes ribald dialog, it was a showcase for everything great about Tracy, and pictures during the pre-code era. The play by Manuel Seff and Forest Wilson was adapted to the screen in winning fashion by Howard Green. Rivaling later films like Howard Hawks' His Girl friday, itself a remake of The Front Page, the repartee comes fast and furious, is often bitingly funny, and filled with enough great throwaway lines to make at least a good five pictures. As cynical as Ben Hecht's script for Nothing Sacred, and containing just as much dark humor, this is a film anyone purporting to love the movies should see. A great cast surrounds Tracy in this one, including Mary Brian, Allen Jenkins, a very young Dick Powell, Emma Dunn as Alvin's mother, and Ruth Donnelly, who shines bright as Tracy's co-worker. Tracy's Alvin Roberts is given the spotlight, however, as the up and coming reporter finally gets his chance and sets the streets of New York buzzing with his racy column, Spilling the Dirt. He's working in obscurity for the Daily Express until he's allowed to fill in for a vacationing reporter, and starts telling the public what they probably shouldn't know. The boss has given Alvin and inch and he's taken ten miles. Everyone is sure he's going to get canned, but when circulation skyrockets, he becomes a star. Nothing is too low, too risque, or too sensitive to reveal to the readers, who can't wait to hear what's been going on behind closed doors. Dick Powell is crooner Buddy Harmon, who once got Alvin fired from a job. Alvin has a long memory, so he uses his clout to flame that fire, while at the same time taking potshots at mobsters and members of high society alike. Donnelly is fabulous as the gal taking down notes and answering calls, wisecracking with some of the best lines. Mary Brian brightens the scenery as Tracy's love interest, Gladys; if only Alvin could find a heart somewhere, that is. Just how low he'll go is made evident when a desperate showgirl named Dorothy Lane asks him not to print anything about her blessed event, and he announces it to the whole world, ruining her life. He finally finds a heart, or something close to it, but his staccato-style tabloid column may have gone too far. Allen Jenkins is memorable as the Chicago enforcer, Frankie Wells, who becomes pals with Alvin's mom, whom it just so happens, adores Buddy Harmon! He's supposed to be keeping Alvin's mouth shut about a big-time gangster's love-life but becomes a source instead. A frantic race by Gladys and Frankie to keep Alvin from crashing Buddy Harmon's new nightclub, Chateau Harmony, leads to a shooting, and a fine finish to this breezy and racy film with a terrific performance by Lee Tracy. Moving faster than a speeding bullet, and smacking into your moviegoing senses with as much force, this is a wonderful example of pre-code Hollywood, and a nice showcase for the talented Lee Tracy. Put this one on your list!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
