Thoughts From The Music(al) Man (2019) on… Star Of Midnight (1935)

Now we’re back for The Thin Man starring William Powell and Ginger Rogers. Wait, Ginger Rogers? Oh, that’s right, this is the 1935 film Star Of Midnight.

When Alice Markham disappears from Chicago, her boyfriend Tim Winthrop (Leslie Fenton) comes to New York to ask his lawyer friend Clay “Dal” Dalzell (William Powell) to help him find her. Dal is reluctant at first, but the two of them and Dal’s marriage-minded girlfriend Donna Mantin (Ginger Rogers) go to see the show Midnight, which features the big star Mary Smith, who always wears a mask in public. Before he can see the show, Dal is called away to see gangster Jimmy Kinland (Paul Kelly) to negotiate for some letters Donna wants back. After doing so, Dal returns to his apartment to hear that Mary Smith had disappeared, and newspaperman Tommy Tennant (Russell Hopton) comes to tell him what he found out about Mary Smith. However, before Tennant can tell Dal anything, he is shot and killed, and the killer tosses the gun at Dal. Having handled the gun, he is suspected by the police, so he decides to try and solve the case, with the aid of Donna (whether he wants her help or not). As he gets further into the situation, he learns why Alice had disappeared from Chicago, and tries to set a trap for the murderer, who is hunting her down, too.

In one of those examples of how Hollywood hasn’t changed in many years, with the success of The Thin Man came a number of copycat movies, as the studios tried to cash in on the idea. Thin Man star William Powell was in the process of signing a contract with MGM afterwards, but signed a quick deal with RKO, which allowed him to star in two similar films, the 1936 film The Ex-Mrs. Bradford and this one. Co-starring with him was Ginger Rogers, who was enjoying her own success co-starring with Fred Astaire in their own series of films. She did Star Of Midnight in between filming Roberta and Top Hat with Fred Astaire.

Personally, having finally seen The Thin Man, it is easy for me to say that that is the better movie. The overall film is fun, made better by the chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy. That being said, Star Of Midnight comes awfully close, for me! Ginger’s not Myrna Loy, but she certainly brings her own brand of sass to the role, which is still just as fun in my book! While the relationship is an unmarried one, there is still enough history shown between the two, and I enjoy watching it a lot! I’ll admit, William Powell’s Clay Dalzell is very similar to Nick Charles, including a fondness for drinking, but while similar, it still works well with this movie! While I would say the right film ended up starting a franchise, I know I can’t help but wish that Star Of Midnight had been the start of a series for its two leads as well! It’s just a wonderful movie that I would easily recommend for fans of either star (or fans of The Thin Man, for that matter)!

This movie is available on DVD from Warner Archive Collection.

Film Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Thin Man (1934) – William Powell – My Man Godfrey (1936)

Upper World (1934) – Ginger Rogers – Top Hat (1935)

Gene Lockhart – Wedding Present (1936)

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An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2019) with… The Thin Man (1934)

If you’re ready for mystery mixed in with a bit of screwball comedy (not to mention one that works at Christmastime, too), then look no further than The Thin Man from 1934, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy!

Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O’Sullivan) announces to her inventor father Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis) that she plans to marry her boyfriend Tommy (Henry Wadsworth) just after Christmas. Clyde says he has a business trip (which he refuses to discuss), but he promises to return before Christmas. However, when he doesn’t show up by Christmas Eve, Dorothy begins to worry. At a party, she runs into an old family friend, former detective Nick Charles (William Powell), who is in New York for the holidays with his wife, Nora (Myrna Loy), and their dog Asta. She tries to convince him to look for her father, but he doesn’t want to become involved. After Clyde’s mistress Julia Wolf (Natalie Moorhead) is discovered murdered, Nick can’t help but get dragged into the case, pushed along by his wife. After a thug is murdered and another body is discovered in Clyde’s laboratory, Nick and Nora gather all the suspects together at a dinner party, where the murderer is revealed.

Ah, yes, the movie that was the beginning of a franchise (and yet, in making it, who knew that would be the case). MGM had gotten the rights to the novel, written by Dashiell Hammett (who had also written The Maltese Falcon, amongst other novels). Director W.S. Van Dyke, himself a fan of detective novels, wanted to do it. And he wanted William Powell and Myrna Loy to do it, after working with them on the 1934 film Manhattan Melodrama and seeing how well they had gotten along on that film behind the scenes. However, the MGM executives were against the idea. At most, they were willing to let William Powell do it, since he had already portrayed some other detectives, but they weren’t as thrilled with Myrna Loy, supposedly only giving in if the movie could be done within three weeks so she could start her next film. Of course, Van Dyke (known to some as “One-Take Woody”) ran with it, getting the movie finished within twelve to eighteen days, and the movie became a big classic, spawning five sequels, many copycats and a two season TV series in the late fifties starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk, not to mention seven more films (besides the already mentioned Manhattan Melodrama) that paired up William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Going into the recent Blu-ray release, this was my first time seeing this movie. It turned out to be a wonderful and very enjoyable surprise! While the mystery itself was fun, it was very much secondary in this movie. Instead, the focus was on the relationship of William Powell’s Nick Charles and Myrna Loy’s Nora. For a film that was shot in a very short period of time, they give us such a rich relationship! Their banter alone makes the film fun (with some lines definitely showing the movie to be a pre-Code). And, of course, they clearly make good use of the then-recent repeal of Prohibition, considering how much they imbibe martinis and other alcoholic drinks. But the comedy works, and for that alone, I have absolutely no trouble whatsoever with recommending this movie to anybody!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2019) with… The Thin Man (1934)

As with a lot of older movies, being a popular film proves to be just as much a curse as it is a blessing. Due to its popularity, the studio made so many release prints off the original camera negative that it was in bad shape, and was essentially destroyed back in the late 1960s. Partly because of that, this movie has apparently never looked that great on home video. But in preparing this movie for Blu-ray, the good people working for the Warner Archive Collection made use of a safety fine grain film stock (made before the original camera negative was gone) and a dupe negative in place of some sections that were in bad shape to restore this movie. All I can say is that, in my opinion, their hard work has paid off, resulting in one of this year’s best film restorations (so far)! So I would definitely recommend WAC’s recent Blu-ray release of this great film!

Film Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

*ranked #3 in Top 10 Disc Releases Of 2019

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Man Of The World (1931) – William Powell – Star Of Midnight (1935)

Love Me Tonight (1932) – Myrna Loy – Libeled Lady (1936)

Original Vs. Remake: My Man Godfrey (1936) vs. Merrily We Live (1938)

Ok, so this isn’t really a case of “Original Vs. Remake,” but since the movies My Man Godfrey (1936) (MMG) and Merrily We Live (1938) (MWL) seemed fairly similar to me, I felt the need to compare the two, and let you know what I think about them. Of course, to simplify things, I’ll just borrow the plot descriptions from both of my reviews.

In My Man Godfrey, we find Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) and her sister Cornelia (Gail Patrick) competing against each other in a scavenger hunt for the social elite. They both come to the city dump, looking for a “forgotten man.” Cornelia, who is a spoiled brat, finds Godfrey (William Powell), and offers him five dollars to come with her, but he turns her down. Irene, who is a little more scatterbrained, but not quite so spoiled, realizes the idea is wrong, and Godfrey agrees to come with her to help her beat Cornelia. Afterwards, she hires Godfrey to be the family butler. The rest of the movie is about Godfrey as he works for the family, who are all a little screwy, except for the father, all the while Godfrey tries to keep his own background hidden while avoiding the affections of Irene, who falls for him.

In Merrily We Live, our story starts in the Kilbourne household, where their chauffeur has disappeared with the family silver. Emily Kilbourne (Billie Burke), the family matriarch, has had a history of hiring tramps, but after this betrayal, she decides to stop, to the happiness of the rest of the family. However, Wade Rawlins (Brian Aherne) comes to the door after the car he was driving goes off a cliff while he is trying to get some water. The butler tries to make him leave, but Emily sees him, and decides to hire him. His reception from the other members of the family is a little cool at first, but slowly, everyone warms up to him, with all the female members of the house (except for Emily) developing a crush on him, as he falls for eldest daughter Geraldine (Constance Bennett).

Both movies definitely seem to go off on similar trajectories. Both feature tramps being hired by rich families as servants. Both have several female members of the household that seem to fall for the “tramps.” The fathers are the ones who appear to be the most normal members of the household (although Mr. Kilbourne in MWL seems to have a slight lapse when he gets drunk). One shared actor is Alan Mowbray (Godfrey’s friend Tommy Gray in MMG and the butler Grosvenor in MWL). Also, from what I have heard, actress Constance Bennett was actually considered for the role of Irene in MMG, losing out to William Powell’s choice of Carole Lombard. Of course, one shared coincidence between the two movies is that the actresses portraying the family matriarchs (Alice Brady in MMG and Billie Burke in MWL) were both nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their respective years (although neither won).

The differences in these movies are what everybody would most want to know about. When we first meet Godfrey, we can plainly see that he is a tramp, and we have little reason to doubt it. On the other hand, with Wade Rawlins (MWL) we really can’t say for certain that he is, just that he is wearing some old clothes and hasn’t shaved recently. Godfrey appears to be sane, and questions what is going on in the household, whereas Wade Rawlins appears to almost fit right in with the family. There is some element of timing at play as well, as the Bullocks (MMG), rich though they are, still can feel the effects of the Depression, as Mr. Bullock is constantly trying to remind everybody, while the Kilbournes (MWL) don’t seem to have any troubles with it.

The ultimate question here, which is the better movie? I myself believe them both to be wonderful movies. The main difference seems to be in the tone of the movies, as My Man Godfrey seems to be a mixture of comedy thrown in with some serious moments, as we all stop to think about the effect of the Depression, while Merrily We Live seems to keep seriousness at bay, with comedy constantly at the forefront. Due to this, most people would say that My Man Godfrey is the better movie. I myself would have to give a slight edge to Merrily We Live. I prefer the constant comedy, but it also may depend on mood. Either way, I highly recommend both movies if you get the chance to see them, they are both just that good!

My Man Godfrey

Film Length: 1 hour, 33 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

Merrily We Live

Film Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

The Winner (in my opinion): Merrily We Live (By a VERY slim margin)

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2018) with… My Man Godfrey (1936)

And now it’s time to dig into another recent release on disc, the 1936 movie My Man Godfrey, which stars William Powell as Godfrey and Carole Lombard as Irene Bullock.

To start, we find Irene Bullock and her sister Cornelia (Gail Patrick) competing against each other in a scavenger hunt for the social elite. They both come to the city dump, looking for a “forgotten man.” Cornelia, who is a spoiled brat, finds Godfrey, and offers him five dollars to come with her, but he turns her down. Irene, who is a little more scatterbrained, but not quite so spoiled, realizes the idea is wrong, and Godfrey agrees to come with her to help her beat Cornelia. Afterwards, she hires Godfrey to be the family butler. The rest of the movie is about Godfrey as he works for the family, who are all a little screwy, except for the father, all the while Godfrey tries to keep his own background hidden while avoiding the affections of Irene, who falls for him.

With this movie, we have a highly regarded screwball comedy. We have four Oscar-nominated performances, with William Powell (Best Actor), Carole Lombard (Best Actress), Mischa Auer (Best Supporting Actor) and Alice Brady (Best Supporting Actress), in the first movie to be nominated in all four acting categories. Carole Lombard’s Irene is particularly screwy (and I get the impression the screwball genre was coined by a reviewer talking about her character). To a degree, we find ourselves siding with Godfrey early on, when he first comes to work for the family. Their maid, who has already been working for them a while, warns him to keep his things near the door so he can make a quick getaway. As he meets the family, we certainly can see him considering leaving (and I think most of us would be considering it, too), but he ends up staying, feeling it would be better than to go back to the dump. He even ends up helping them before all is said and done.

I enjoyed this movie very much, and it is one I would definitely recommend to anybody that might be interested in it. The movie is in the public domain, so it is available on DVD from many labels, but for the best quality, with the most recent restoration, it is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Criterion Collection (it’s a bit more expensive, but I think it is worth it).

Film Length: 1 hour, 33 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

*ranked #4 on Top 10 Disc Releases of 2018

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Star Of Midnight (1935) – William Powell – Libeled Lady (1936)

We’re Not Dressing (1934) – Carole Lombard – Nothing Sacred (1937)

Shanghai Express (1932) – Eugene Pallette – One Hundred Men And A Girl (1937)

Rose-Marie (1936) – Alan Mowbray – Stand-In (1937)