M (Fritz Lang) ****

Director: Fritz Lang

Cast: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Grundgens, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Rudulf Blumner

Background: This was Fritz Lang's first sound film, and like most of his earlier films, he co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Thea von Harbou. This was the first major role for theater actor Peter Lorre.

Story: Hans Beckert (Lorre) is a serial killer who murders young girls. The police have been unable to catch him, but the criminal underworld sets out to get the job done themselves.

Thoughts: Every modern filmmaker and moviegoer should be required to watch Fritz Lang's M. Maybe then we'd be spared the ADD crap of modern blockbusters. M shows how brilliant a film can be when it has the patience let the suspense slowly build throughout the story. The most notable sequence is a long, mostly silent passage where a blind man notices the killer's presence and the underworld network tracks him to a building, where he hides in the attic as they get closer and closer to finding him. But the film isn't just visually brilliant, it explores the story through multiple levels, with a fascinating sequence at the end showing how the criminal underworld ironically views defense attorneys in a much different light when the tables are turned. Peter Lorre's performance is far removed from the standard one note villain. He doesn't play Hans Beckert as a purely evil psycopath, but as someone who feels he does not have control of his own actions. M is a film that plays against your expectations, where the criminals are self-righteous and child murderers are human beings. It's a thoughtful and frightening movie, coming from a director who by this point was a complete master at his craft.

Postscript: Fritz Lang regarded this film as his finest work. He went on to direct for three more decades. Lorre would be typecast for a bit as villains, but still had a successful film career, including supporting roles in classics such as Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.

Bad Girl (Frank Borzage) **1/2

Director: Frank Borzage

Cast: James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Minna Gombell

Background: Borzage was the master of melodrama, but here he took a departure from that concept for a more realistic exploration of love. In doing so, he cast two relative unknowns as his leads.

Story: A lower class young couple (Dunn, Eilers) falls in love and gets married, but a pregnancy threatens to doom their marriage.

Thoughts: This is the second time Borzage has attempted a departure from his usual style, and once again the result is merely an interesting failure. Here he doesn't necessarily abandon the melodrama, but the stark realism of the story is a contrast to the fanciful backdrops he's used for his previous films. The main problem here is the events move at an excruciatingly slow pace. The most interesting aspect of the film is the exploration of the difficulties of married life for people who don't have alot of money. Unfortunately, almost half the film is over before they even get married and it's quite a chore to make it to that point. It's interesting that the main problem between them was mostly a simple misunderstanding, which actually feels pretty authentic for the kind of troubles married couples go through. I just wish Borzage had gotten to that point a little sooner, because the first half of the film is almost a complete wash.

Postscript: Borzage won his second Best Director Oscar and the film also won for Best Screenplay. Dunn's most notable work after this would be Elia Kazan's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Sally Eilers made a pretty nice career of supporting roles through the late 40s.

A Free Soul (Robert Z. Leonard) *1/2

Director: Clarence Brown

Cast: Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, James Gleason

Background: Clarence Brown received an Oscar for directing Anna Christie, which was Greta Garbo's first talkie and also got her an Oscar nomination. Norma Shearer was coming off a Best Actress Oscar for The Divorcee. This is one of Gable's earliest major roles.

Story: Defense attorney Stephen Ashe (Barrymore) wins the acquittal of a gambler (Gable) on a murder charge, but is not happy to see that his daughter (Shearer) begins dating the man.

Thoughts: This is a movie that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be about. It alternates from love triangle to father-daughter drama about alcoholism to courtroom drama. Ultimately, it is not successful at any of them. The script doesn't seem to know what to do about the various characters. At one point in the third act, the film does a complete 180 on how we're supposed to view Gable's character. It's an abrupt and jarring twist that completely derails the movie. Once Barrymore wanders back into the film for a ridiculously contrived courtroom sequence, it's hard to take anything seriously. At the very least, we get confirmation on Norma Shearer's skill as an actress. She brings an astonishing elegance to her role and her wonderful presence makes the film somewhat bearable.

Postscript: Lionel Barrymore won the Best Actor Oscar for this film. The film also received nominations for Norma Shearer and Clarence Brown. Clark Gable and Leslie Howard would late appear together in Gone With the Wind.

The Smiling Lieutenant (Ernst Lubitsch) ****

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, George Barbier, Charles Ruggles

Background: This was the third of Ernst Lubitsch's early talkie musicals, the first of which (The Love Parade) also starred Maurice Chevalier and made him a star. Claudette Colbert also previously starred with Maurice Chevalier in 1930's The Big Pond.

Story: Niki (Chevalier) is a Lieutenant in the Austrian Royal Guard who falls in love with Franzi (Colbert). One day, he is winking at her on duty when his gestures are mistaken for a visiting princess (Hopkins) from the small kingdom of Flausenthurm. Niki is able to charmingly talk his way out of punishment for that offense, but can't talk his way out of the arranged marriage with the princess who now loves him.

Thoughts: Another delightful Lubitsch musical and among his best films overall. Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert make a terrific romantic pair, and the musical numbers between them are outstanding. However, the biggest surprise in the film is Miriam Hopkins. Her character appears at first to be a one note spoiled brat, but Hopkins (and Lubitsch) makes her a wonderful, charmingly naive person. This really sets the film apart from most that deal with love triangles by allowing us to like both choices. In fact, one of the best scenes is when the two women meet and actually gain an understanding of one another. There's quite a bit of sexual innuendo in this pre-code talkie and Lubitsch "touches" are found all throughout the film. My favorite is when Niki tries to talk his way out of the marriage:

"When you winked at my daughter, were your intentions honorable?"
"They were."
"Well, then naturally, you'll marry her."
"My intentions were dishonorable!"
"Then you'll have to marry her!"

Dialogue like that just can't be found in most films. Lubitsch wraps things up with a surprisingly satisfying ending that mixes sadness and happiness, and is a whole lot of fun.

Postscript: The film was nominated for Best Picture. Lubitsch would make his final musical the following year, a film called One Hour With You, also with Chevalier. He would also release Trouble in Paradise that same year, which turned out to be one of his most notable films and also starred Hopkins. Colbert would win the Lead Actress Oscar for the enormously successful 1934 film, It Happened One Night.

The Bachelor Father (Robert Z. Leonard) **1/2

Director: Robert Z. Leonard

Cast: Marion Davies, C. Aubrey Smith, Ray Milland, Ralph Forbes, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Nina Quartero

Background: Leonard had received an Oscar nomination for 1930's The Divorcee and had previously worked with Marion on in the abysmal 1929 musical Marianne.

Story: A wealthy Englishman (Smith) bachelor who has illegitimate children around the world tries to unite them so they can finally spend time with him. After an iffy beginning, they begin to bond, but Toni (Davies) isn't aware of the secret that he isn't her father after all, while she falls in love with his assistant (Milland).

Thoughts: Another vehicle for Marion that just doesn't live up to her talents. Once again, she's stuck in a film with a very static visual design and a script that doesn't give her the right material to work with. She brings as much as she can, with a winning enthusiasm that makes the film far more pleasant and entertaining than it should be. There is also a decent chemistry between her and Ray Milland. However, this film just doesn't have a strong narrative drive. It just kind of sits there, with very little plot progression until a rushed third act twist which is wrapped up too neatly. It's a shame because Marion is a very talented comedienne as she proved in Show People and The Patsy, but so far she has not picked very good projects in the sound era.

Postscript: Director Robert Z. Leonard would go on to direct Best Picture winner The Great Ziegfeld in 1936, for which he received his second Oscar nomination. Marion continued acting for another 6 years, including films with Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. Ray Milland would have a long and successful career, including a Best Actor Oscar for 1945's The Lost Weekend.

Schedule for 1931

Coming off the weakest year of the project so far, there appears to be a lot of promise for 1931. There are several entries by directors who have dominated my previous top 10's, such as Josef von Sternberg, Fritz Lang, Frank Borzage, King Vidor, and FW Murnau. We also get one of Chaplin's most notable films, not to mention the first appearances of Yasujiro Ozu, Frank Capra, James Whale.

Here is the full list, which is subject to change depending on availability...

An American Tragedy (Josef Von Sternberg)
Arrowsmith (John Ford)
The Bachelor Father (Robert Z. Leonard)
Bad Girl (Frank Borzage)
The Champ (King Vidor)
Cimarron (Wesley Ruggles)
City Lights (Charles Chaplin)
Dishonored (Josef von Sternberg)
Dracula (Tod Browning)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian)
Frankenstein (James Whale)
Freedom For Us (Rene Clair)
A Free Soul (Clarence Brown)
Little Caeser (Mervyn LeRoy)
M (Fritz Lang)
Maltese Falcon (Roy Del Ruth)
Mata Hari (George Fitzmaurice)
Miracle Woman (Frank Capra)
Monkey Business (Norman Z. McLeod)
Platinum Blonde (Frank Capra)
The Public Enemy (William Wellman)
Rich and Strange (Alfred Hitchcock)
Svengali (Archie Mayo)
The Smiling Lieutenant (Ernst Lubitsch)
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (FW Murnau)
Tonight or Never (Mervyn LeRoy)
Tokyo Chorus (Yasujiro Ozu)
Waterloo Bridge (James Whale)

1930 Year in Review

This turned out to be an extremely weak year for the most part. In fact, I panicked about halfway through, having not seen many films worthy of making the list and worrying that there wouldn't even be 10 films that I really liked. Thankfully, there were a few surprises (Billy the Kid, A Cottage on Dartmoor) that prevented an outright disaster, but this was still the weakest of the years since I started this project.

Part of the problem was technical issues with the early talkies. Many of the directors and actors were still not comfortable with the new format. Examples include the stilted acting from Greta Garbo in Anna Christie, the hideous editing in John Ford's Up the River, and King Vidor's surprisingly static Not So Dumb. It's not a surprise then that 4 of the 10 films on this list were silents, despite the silent era being dead two years earlier.

There were more foreign films this year, but those were also a mixed bag. Most of them were made with admirable skill, but the avant garde and surrealistic films just didn't work for me for the most part. I'll probably scale back on those in future years. There were lots of major directors making films this year, but many of them hadn't quite hit their stride yet (Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford) or had lost it (D.W. Griffith).

Without further delay, here is the top 10 list for 1930...

10. Song O My Heart (Frank Borzage)

A surprisingly skillful performance from John McCormack

9. The White Hell of Pitz Palu (Arnold Fanck, GW Pabst)

Amazing cinematography made this an exciting adventure.

8. Feet First (Clyde Bruckman)

Another of Harold Lloyd's wonderful thrill sequences.

7. The Blue Angel (Josef Von Sternberg)

The role that made Marlene Dietrich a star.

6. Morocco (Josef von Sternberg)

Marlene Dietrich's provocative act catches the eye of Gary Cooper.

5. Hell's Angels (Howard Hughes)

The spectacular dogfight sequence.

4. Billy the Kid (King Vidor)

Pat Garret (Wallace Beery) and Billy the Kid (Johnny Mack Brown) face off.

3. A Cottage on Dartmoor (Anthony Asquith)

The brilliantly terrifying face of Uno Henning.

2. City Girl (FW Murnau)

Newlywed bliss, before cultural differences would threaten them.

1. All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone)

This haunting image is one of the best closing shots in cinema history.

Best Picture

*All Quiet on the Western Front
Billy the Kid
City Girl
A Cottage on Dartmoor
Hell's Angels

Best Director

Anthony Asquith, A Cottage on Dartmoor
Howard Hughes, Hell's Angels
*Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front
FW Murnau, City Girl
King Vidor, Billy the Kid


Best Actor

Lew Ayres, All Quiet on the Western Front
Charles Farrell, City Girl
*Uno Henning, A Cottage on Dartmoor
Emil Jannings, The Blue Angel
John McCormack, Song O My Heart


Best Actress

*Marlene Dietrich, Morocco
Marie Dressler, Min and Bill
Mary Duncan, City Girl
Jeanette McDonald, Monte Carlo
Norma Shearer, The Divorcee


Best Supporting Actor

*Wallace Beery, Billy the Kid
Wallace Beery, Min and Bill
David Torrence, City Girl
Louis Wolheim, All Quiet on the Western Front
John Wray, All Quiet on the Western Front


Supporting Actress

*Evelyn Brent, The Silver Horde
Grayce Hampton, The Bat Whispers
Jean Harlow, Hell's Angels
Kay Johnson, Billy the Kid
Maureen O' Sullivan, Song O My Heart


Best Screenplay

*All Quiet on the Western Front (George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews)
Billy the Kid (Wanda Tuchock, Laurence Stallings)
The Blue Angel (Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmoller, Robert Liebman)
City Girl (HH Caldwell, Katherine Hilliker, Marion Orth, Berthold Viertel)
Song O My Heart (Tom Barry, Sonya Levien)

The White Hell of Pitz Palu (Arnold Fanck, GW Pabst) ***1/2

Director: Arnold Fanck, GW Pabst

Cast: Gustav Diessl, Leni Reifenstahl, Ernst Petersen, Ernst Udet, Mizzi Gotzel, Otto Spring

Background: Pabst and Fanck agreed to an unusual arrangement where Pabst directed indoor scenes and oversaw the dramatic structure of the film, while Fanck focused on the mountain scenes. At the time, Reifenstahl was a notable dancer who had only appeared in a handful of films.

Story: Dr. Johannes Kraft (Diessl) has been distraught since his wife fell during a mountain climb on their honeymoon ten years ago. He meets up with newlyweds Karl (Petersen) and Maria (Reifenstahl), and they join him on a dangerous climb to find his wife's resting place.

Thoughts: Plenty to like in this one. This mountain climbing film is incredibly exciting and features some amazing cinematography. The fantastic opening sequence provides a suitably compelling emotional backdrop for the film. The film is fairly light on plot and consists mostly of dangerous mountain climbing footage, but it is thrilling enough to keep you gripped for the full 2 hour running time. It helps that the cast is much stronger than you'd think for what is basically a standard action film. Gustav Diessl is great as the mysterious man who hangs around the mountain and Leni Reifenstahl is a revelation, making for an exceedingly likable heroine. They could have probably trimmed a bit from the running time, particularly a scene where a biplane flies around for an endless amount of time, but for the most part this is a wonderful adventure.

Postscript: The film was a major success at the box office and has gained a lasting reputation. It was referenced heavily during a scene in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Reifenstahl would go on to be a notorious Nazi propaganda filmmaker, with Triumph of the Will being her most notable film.

Song O My Heart (Frank Borzage) ***1/2

Director: Frank Borzage

Cast: John McCormack, Maureen O' Sullivan, Tommy Clifford, Alice Joyce, John Garrick, JM Kerrigan, J. Farrell McDonald

Background: Borzage was well known for directing romantic melodramas. McCormack was a world renowned Irish singer who performed in many operas and recorded several hit records, including the WW1 ballad "It's a Long Way to Tipperary". This was Maureen O' Sullivan's film debut.

Story: Sean (McCormack) is a well known singer who has retired to a small village near the woman he always loved (Joyce). She was forced to marry someone else, but he has left her and her children alone. Sean becomes somewhat of a father figure to her two children, and makes a career comeback at her urging.

Thoughts: This is a criminally underrated Borzage film that features a splendid performance from John McCormack. Despite not being an actor, McCormack gives a more polished performance than most other actors at the beginning of the sound era. His line delivery is fluid and he has the perfect look of a man who's experienced alot of sadness in his life. Of course, much of the movie consists of McCormack singing, but that's not a complaint because he's incredible to hear, his wonderful voice punctuating some powerful songs that are a perfect fit for Borzage's romantic melodrama. It's actually surprising that the main romance is between two supporting players and is only mildly interesting, despite a solid early turn by Maureen O' Sullivan. My favorite supporting characters are two charming old men (Kerrigan, McDonald) from the village who show up throughout the movie, sometimes commenting on the events and often getting into amusing spats. The film does feel a bit lighter than what you usually get from Borzage, but the sad, regretful nature of McCormack's character is right up his alley.

Postscript: This would be the only film John McCormack would make. Maureen O' Sullivan would quickly become a star, playing Jane in several Tarzan films in the 30s. Her successful acting career would last for another 50 years.

The Pay-Off (Lowell Sherman) ***

Director: Lowell Sherman

Cast: Lowell Sherman, Marian Nixon, Hugh Trevor, William Janney, Helene Millard, George F. Marion

Background: Lowell Sherman was a veteran actor from silent films dating back to 1914. When the talkie era began, he decided to try his hand at directing. This would be his third film as writer and star.

Story: Crime boss Gene Fenmore (Sherman) doesn't approve of one of his cronies robbing from a poor young couple. He takes the couple in and looks after them, while trying to instill a sense of decency among the gang. However, that doesn't go over well with Rocky (Trevor), who has his own ideas of how the gang should be run, and is ready to do it.

Thoughts: This is a fun little film that takes a different approach to the gangster genre. Lowell Sherman does a terrific job playing a very different crime boss than you usually see. It's a very laid back performance, but still manages to contain enough gravitas to make you believe that he can wield as much power as he does. His care for the young couple (despite the awful acting from these two) who have been caught up in the mess is actually very touching and I sympathize with his desire for the gang to use their brains when pulling jobs, instead of their guns. It's easy to root for him against the mindless thugs that are trying to take over his operation. Like many of the early sound films, the flaws come down to wooden performances (from the supporting cast), poor sound quality, and a very static visual design. However, Sherman's performance is memorable enough to make this work.

Postscript: Sherman would focus on directing and he made 12 films over the next 5 years. Among them was Morning Glory, which won Katharine Hepburn her first Oscar.

Murder! (Alfred Hitchcock) **1/2

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring, Edward Chapman, Miles Mander, Phyllis Konstam

Background: Hitchcock was a successful director by this point, with The Lodger and Blackmail doing very well in Britain. This was only Herbert Marshall's third film. The story was based on a play called Enter Sir John, and was Hitchcock's third talkie.

Story: A juror (Marshall) begins to have doubts over his guilty vote in what appeared to be an open and shut case, so he opens his own investigation to find out what really happened.

Thoughts: The first act of this film is a real treat, with some great tension built through the jury deliberations. And the casual nature that the jurors reach their guilty verdicts is rather chilling. Unfortunately, everything falls apart from there. Once the verdict is reached, Marshall begins a long and slow investigation with no suspense or tension whatsoever, feeling very much like a mediocre episode of Law & Order. The final twist is not properly set up, and just pops up out of nowhere with little dramatic buildup. Herbert Marshall is a solid lead, and it's easy to buy his determination to get to the bottom of the case, but it's just not exciting to watch him do it. This is another in a long line of early Hitchcock films that hint at his later brilliance, but contain too many flaws to be as highly regarded as his classics.

Postscript: Hitchcock would of course go on to become a Hollywood legend. Herbert Marshall would have a very successful career over the next two decades, with roles in such classics as Trouble in Paradise and The Razor's Edge.

Liliom (Frank Borzage) ***

Director: Frank Borzage

Cast: Charles Farrell, Rose Hobart, Estelle Taylor, HB Warner, Lee Tracy

Background: Liliom is a play by Ferenc Molnar. A previous adaptation in 1919 by Michael Curtiz was abandoned midway through. Borzage and Farrell had worked together with much success on four previous films.

Story: Liliom (Farrell) is an amusement park worker who loses his job for flirting with Julie (Hobart). The two end up getting married, but the unemployed Liliom does not make for a very good husband. He comes up with the idea to pull a robbery so he can earn money for his family, b ut the idea ends in tragedy.

Thoughts: It's nice to see that Charles Farrell is completely at home in talkies and he gives a solid performance here, playing someone much less likeable than he has in the past. Once again, we get a melodramatic romance from Borzage set against a fanciful visual backdrop. The main flaw here is for once Borzage and Farrell don't have a strong leading lady. Rose Hobart certainly doesn't match up to the wonderful Janet Gaynor, who worked with Farrell so well in previous Borzage films (Seventh Heaven, Lucky Star). Hobart's line delivery is incredibly flat and there is very little chemistry between her and Farrell. In fact, there's a tragic scene where she just stands there and barely reacts to what has just happened. But this is still a movie with some great moments thanks to Farrell's fine performance and Borzage's very impressive visualization of heaven.

Postscript: The film was not very successful. Fritz Lang would follow up with his own version of Liliom in 1934. The play was later adapted into the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.

A Cottage on Dartmoor (Anthony Asquith) ****

Director: Anthony Asquith

Cast: Uno Henning, Norah Baring, Hans Adalbert Schlettow

Background: Asquith was the son of a former UK Prime Minister. He had previously directed three silent films, none of them very successful.

Story: Joe (Henning) makes a daring escape from prison to see Sally (Baring), then we flash back to see what landed him in prison. We follow as he falls for Sally, his later disappointment, and his growing mad obsession as Sally falls in love with Harry (Schlettow).

Thoughts: Another of the very late silent films that shows the true power of the silent era. This is an absolutely wonderful film where not much really happens, but the emotion are expressed powerfully with some stunning images. Watching Uno Henning brilliantly depict a seemingly normal man's descent into madness and obsession is quite a treat. Director Anthony Asquith is able to create very suspenseful moments out of ordinary events. There is a scene in a movie theater that is a masterwork of editing. Later, there is a pivotal scene that takes place in a barbershop that is incredibly tense thanks to outstanding performances from both Henning and Norah Baring and Asquith's ability to milk the situation for maximum effect. The ending has some major surprises in store and I appreciate the unpredictable way the characters react to the situations that occur at the very end. What a fantastic job by everyone involved.

Postscript: Despite not being very well known by modern audiences, the film has an excellent reputation among critics and those who have managed to see it. Asquith went on to a long career, with notable films being The Browning Version, Pygmalion, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Neither Henning or Baring had very successful careers.

L'Age D'Or (Luis Bunuel) **1/2

Director: Luis Bunuel

Cast: Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Max Ernst, Josep Llorens Artigas

Background: Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali collaborated the previous year on the surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou, which contained many shocking images

Story: A young couple (Modot, Lys) are madly in love, but keep getting interrupted in the throes of passion. The interrupters include the bourgeois and the church.

Thoughts: I completely understand what Bunuel and Dali were going for here. Their attack on the corrupt bourgeois and organized religion was certainly meant to get a strong reaction and they definitely succeeded at that. The fascinating and often shocking images they produce definitely caught my attention and I can admire and sympathize with much of the point that they were making. However, the film is just too abstract and disorganized for my taste. That's not necessarily a knock on Bunuel, since that's exactly what he wanted. He was no fan of linear narratives and wanted to use film in a different manner. I admire him for that, but it's just not my cup of tea.

Postscript: The film caused quite a stir when it was release, causing mass protests. In some theaters, the audience was attacked and artwork from Dali and other surrealists was destroyed in the lobby. The film was quickly banned by censors and didn't premiere in the United States until 1979.

The Blue Angel (Josef Von Sternberg) ***1/2

Director: Josef Von Sternberg

Cast: Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti, Hans Albers

Background: Josef Von Sternberg and Emil Jannings previously collaborated on 1928's The Last Command. Prior to this, Marlene Dietrich had acted in a few German silent films, but was mostly known for her stage performances.

Story: Professor Rath (Jannings) disapproves of his students visiting a local cabaret to see Lola Lola's (Dietrich) act. He takes a visit to the cabaret in an attempt to catch them there, but finds himself drawn to Lola.

Thoughts: Emil Jannings scores again with another compelling performance in a von Sternberg film. He does a terrific job with the sad portrait of a noble professor whose desire causes his downfall. This was the movie that made Marlene Dietrich a star. Her performance here isn't as accomplished or provocative as in her Hollywood follow up Morocco, but she still has a wonderful screen presence and it's easy to see why this man falls for her. Von Sternberg is a great storyteller and he moves swiftly through the plot here, nicely building up to the dramatic moment when Professor Rath must perform in his old hometown. The ending is perhaps a bit overly melodramatic, but it is suitably set up by the rest of the movie. This film was made in both English and German language versions, but I recommend watching the German version with subtitles as the case is more comfortable with the dialogue.

Postscript: This role won Dietrich a contract with Paramount and she worked with Von Sternberg later that year in Morocco, cementing her as a Hollywood star.

Beauty Prize (Augusto Genina) ***

Director: Augusto Genina

Cast: Louise Brooks, Georges Charlia, Augusto Bandini

Background: Fresh off her career defining turn in Pandora's Box, Louise Brooks makes her talkie (and singing) debut in a French language film. GW Pabst (director of Pandora's Box) and Rene Clair collaborated on the screenplay.

Story: Lucienne (Brooks) is a typist who decides to enter the Miss Europe beauty pageant. She wins and becomes an instant celebrity, much to the displeasure of her boyfriend.

Thoughts: Louise Brooks is always a welcome presence and her performance in Beauty Prize doesn't change that. She plays more of an innocent ingenue in this one, a departure from her most well known roles, but nothing new for her (see: Beggars of Life). It's pretty interesting to watch her get caught up in the world of being a celebrity and how that affects her relationship. It's am,using that her character is named Lucienne so people can call her Lulu (her famous character from Pandora's Box). My main quibble with the film is the story moves through the events in a fairly unimaginative fashion. She does this, then this, then that, and so on. It's just a little too plain for the film to be truly compelling, although the ending certainly does reach that status. Brooks carries this movie and makes it eminently watchable and seeing her sing for the first time is a delight.

Postscript: Louise Brooks returned to Hollywood, but would only make 6 more films. After her retirement, she was found working as a salesgirl at Saks 5th Avenue.