1933 was a very good year in the history of cinema. From musicals like 42nd Street or Footlight parade to comedies like Duck Soup (Marx Brothers) or Sons of the desert (Laurel & Hardy), from King Kong to the first acting appearances of John Wayne or Cary Grant, and Billy Wider's directing debut, Mauvaise grain.
There were also great movies by Greta Garbo, Mae West, and Barbara Stanwyck, in Baby face.
Now, if you're planning to watch a 1933 movie tonight and you don't know which one to choose, you can pick any of the above, according to your mood, and you won't be disappointed.
This one here, however, is pure Capra, which always means racism, male chauvinism, simple minded Christianity and cheap American patriotism. And yes, once more, here it is.
The plot is ridiculous, as expected from this director, but it makes some sort of sense at the beginning:
In the midst of a raging war with airplanes throwing bombs and hundreds of people dying in the streets, our all White American hero gets hit on his head by... a wooden stick. Only some seconds later, we watch how her girlfriend gets hit on her head too... by another wooden stick.
The virginal missionary girl, who's wearing a transparent blouse, showing her nipples, cries like Joan of Arc and speaks of Christ, while his wicked captor, the Chinese General, well, is doing his thing, I don't know what, because I can't avoid the fact that the Chinese General, the main character, is being played by a Swedish actor with tons of cheap paint on his face.
The virtuous Christian woman calls him a 'yellow swine' and that's it, pretty much. All of the Americans survive and only some thousands of Chinese die, so everything is good.
The ending, though melodramatic, is not as bad as Capra's usual, and the movie is not that long. Those are the only 2 reasons why I won't rate it 0. Barbara Stanwyck is not at her best, but she's OK.
There's so many wonderful movies to watch in your lifetime, please don't waste your time on this.
There were also great movies by Greta Garbo, Mae West, and Barbara Stanwyck, in Baby face.
Now, if you're planning to watch a 1933 movie tonight and you don't know which one to choose, you can pick any of the above, according to your mood, and you won't be disappointed.
This one here, however, is pure Capra, which always means racism, male chauvinism, simple minded Christianity and cheap American patriotism. And yes, once more, here it is.
The plot is ridiculous, as expected from this director, but it makes some sort of sense at the beginning:
In the midst of a raging war with airplanes throwing bombs and hundreds of people dying in the streets, our all White American hero gets hit on his head by... a wooden stick. Only some seconds later, we watch how her girlfriend gets hit on her head too... by another wooden stick.
The virginal missionary girl, who's wearing a transparent blouse, showing her nipples, cries like Joan of Arc and speaks of Christ, while his wicked captor, the Chinese General, well, is doing his thing, I don't know what, because I can't avoid the fact that the Chinese General, the main character, is being played by a Swedish actor with tons of cheap paint on his face.
The virtuous Christian woman calls him a 'yellow swine' and that's it, pretty much. All of the Americans survive and only some thousands of Chinese die, so everything is good.
The ending, though melodramatic, is not as bad as Capra's usual, and the movie is not that long. Those are the only 2 reasons why I won't rate it 0. Barbara Stanwyck is not at her best, but she's OK.
There's so many wonderful movies to watch in your lifetime, please don't waste your time on this.