Movies Came Out In (1930)
Winner:
All Quiet on the Western Front – I read this book as a high schooler and really enjoyed it. I just watched this movie recently and it was a little strange. Because of the way the movie was filmed (specifically speeding up the footage during war scenes), the film felt like it had a comedic feeling to it, and it’s really not supposed to. It’s a serious film and a serious topic (“war is hell, not roses and lollipops”). For that reason, the book does a better job of telling the story. I’m sure if this film were remade today, it would be drastically different. But given that it’s almost 90 years old, I suppose it’s not that bad.
The Big House – Just watched recently, and the movie isn’t that bad given its age. It’s corny at times, but the overall plot is pretty decent. Man goes to prison for DUI manslaughter, gets celled with a couple of no-goods, escapes are plotted, DUI-man turns out to be a rat, one of the no-goods actually “turns good”, that’s the plot in a nutshell. The acting is just so-so and very typical of the period.
Disraeli – This was an extremely hard film to find and unfortunately wasn’t worth the pursuit that I had to go through. The film is set in the 1870’s and involves the British Prime Minister (Benjamin Disraeli) scheming and finagling to purchase the Suez Canal before the Russians do. It’s about as riveting and interesting as it sounds, which is to say: not very. The film feels very “play-like” and the acting is a bit on the corny side.
The Divorcee – This movie starred Norma Shearer and is very typical for the types of roles that I’ve seen her in. The plot is: When a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind. The storyline is a bit flat and uninspired, and the ending leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t recommend watching this film, but if you do at least it’s not a major time sink as it’s only 84 minutes long.
The Love Parade – Watched on TCM. Not normally the type of movie that I would watch, but I actually didn’t mind this film. It had a cute story (a queen of a fictitious country marries a man who’s life turns out not to be what he expected), the songs/singing weren’t that bad and/or intrusive, and it had some relevance despite being close to 80 years old (like the Queen/King’s relationship in “The Crown” on Netflix). Can’t say that I’d go out of my way to watch it, but it was worth watching in my opinion.
Brian’s Winner:
All Quiet on the Western Front
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Ceremony Year (1931) – Movies Came Out In (1930)