Horning In On A Revolution


British Agent (1934) Is Russia, Romance, and Rebellion


Leslie Howard takes a notion to run things in Russia as its revolution boils over, till Red functionary Kay Francis intercedes on the Party's behalf. They play the eternal struggle between love and duty, as caught by Warner camera under direction of Michael Curtiz, with set designs by Anton Grot, so even where British Agent drags, there's plenty at least to look at. WB had ways of appearing more expensive than they were, British Agent at negative cost of $475K more like a million in terms of plush and crowded frames. Politics are sketched lightly and never an obstruction to romance. Hollywood had lately flirted with the Soviet experiment by way of planned projects that never came to fruition, for instance Frank Capra's MGM epic of the Red takeover which was scotched before lift-off. Many during our Great Depression wondered if Russians had the right idea, but movies weren't about to endorse five year plans, unless they came in terms of increasing profit. British Agent revolves around what its title implies: embassy man Leslie Howard trying to manipulate a war to his country's benefit, the Russians serving as background mob. Latter's leadership includes Irving Pichel and J. Carroll Naish, fanatics the both, but that's how movies portrayed most revolutionaries, save our own for American independence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Striking 50's Club Scene

Image
  This Could Be The Night (1957)  Pleases In B/W Scope A picture that J.J. Hensecker would have enjoyed if J.J. Hunsecker had been a real person, and perhaps a last to depict New York on Damon Runyan terms. MGM even arranged to have Earl Wilson host a trailer, him a columnist who would certainly have frequented spots like where action happens here. He appears on-camera with chanteuse Julie Wilson and mentions that he hasn't seen her around town lately because she's been in Hollywood mak ing this movie, such insider talk maybe a turn-off to rurals otherwise disposed to go see This Could Be The Night . It would probably have lost money anyway, this being 1957 when most of what MGM released lost money. For director Robert Wise, Night came between hit that was Somebody Up There Likes Me , and Until They Sail , a feature trio to argue Wise's reliability for polished product. Wise could take good material and reliably make it very good, like story-and-tempo minded filmmake...
Read more

Jet Aces On Short Rations

Image
Hell's Horizon (1955) Takes To Low Columbia Ceiling Slow build to a Korean air mission where bomber crew will sustain or crack-up according to character they've revealed in Acts One-Two. John Ireland is chief pilot, tip-off to modest cast otherwise aboard: Bill Williams, Hugh Beaumont, Jerry Paris, Bill Schallert. Love Is Splendor-ish girl interest is Marla English, borrowed from Paramount, striking Eurasian pose a la Jennifer Jones in the 20th Fox hit. Marla would be a cult chiller throb as The She-Creature , which she probably didn't find half so rewarding as this part, a better calling card for elevation out of B's (ME would instead quit biz altogether). Horizon saves its fuel for determining mission, which came excitingly at point where I'd almost lost hope for this Columbia release of a "Gravis Production," the independent set-up by producer Wray Davis and writer-director Tom Gries. Money man for Gravis was actually Jack Broder of Realart fame, who ...
Read more

Postwar Range Closing On Studio Westerns

Image
The Outriders Fills Metro Quota For Outdoors 1950 Overstuffed recliner of a comfort western where Metro took epic bumps of their own Northwest Passage  plus others and brought all to bear on J oel McCrea and Confederates as they flee a Union stockade toward big-scale con front with Quantrill renegades. Using history as backdrop made "A" oaters respectable, based-on-fact reassuring crowds that they weren't paying for another dumb shoot-'em-up, mentality that grafted psychology an d social issues onto outdoor subjects like Pursued , Devil's Doorway , Broken Arrow , others that gave impression of heft beyond cowboy/injun stuff at Saturday gathers. The Outriders locationed at Kanab , Utah , fresh site at a time when westerns needed background to distinguish themselves. Problem facing 1950 markets was glut of boots-and-saddle: good ones had a tough time standing out. Metro swapped leads like chessmen to train's departure for location: first Van Heflin  for  T...
Read more