March 10

Happy Birthday Barry Fitzgerald and Gregory La Cava.

Gregory La Cava was spotlighted for his birthday on TCM. I was really looking forward to the films there is a nice mixture, pre-code, comedy, drama and Gene Kelly. I have seen Living In a Big Way before and loved it. It is more of a drama than musical, but Gene does have a few dance and song numbers. Gene always looks good.

I watched Smart Woman with Mary Astor. Mary is married and meets a rich noble British man on the boat from Europe to America. She and her husband are separated and he is interested in another woman. Mary, the Britain, her husband, his girlfriend, the girlfriend's mother, Mary's sister and sister-in-law all meet up at Mary's house. Mary acts like she love the Britain, but she really loves her husband. The brother-in-law and the Britain each encourage the girlfriend to the Britain, so the couple can stay married. The Britain convinces the girlfriend and her mother to leave on their own. Great fast paced story pre-code story.

I also watched The Half-Naked Truth. It is a 1933 film and what I feel most intrigued about is the variety of voices in the film. The fast talking Lee Tracey, the accented Lupe Velez (wearing a racy costumes for most of the film and who sings without an accent, and when she is angry she speaks Spanish very fast), the deep voiced Eugene Pallette and the bumbling stuttering Frank Morgan.

Lee plays a carnival hawker for Lupe. He comes up with the idea for Lupe to admit that a man in the town was Lupe's father who “deceived” Lupe's mother. Lupe will tell the town the man's name at the evening show. At the nights show the police come arrest the workers as a fraud. There is a big fight and Lee, Lupe (in costume with her little dog) and Eugene go to NYC. Lee convinces people that Lupe is a Turkish princess and stays in a swanky Broadway hotel. Lee hires a lion and gets raw meat as a photo op for reporters. Lee goes to Follies producer, played by Frank Morgan to hire Lupe. Frank kicks Lee out of the theater. Lee doesn't give up and plants a story in the newspaper that Frank has hired Lupe. Lee writes a contract for Lupe to work in the Follies for Frank. He doesn't like the contract, but signs it anyway. Lupe then sings for Frank. It is not good. Since he signed the contract he keeps her in the show as an exotic dancer. When she dances the people in the audience are bored. Lee decides to cause a ruckus off stage stating that a Turkish man in the crew is upset because the dance is sacred. Lee has Lupe go into the song that she sang for Frank and modern jazz dancing. This the audience likes. It is a combination Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker and Fanny Brice in a skimpy costume. The musicians give their best, the people on stage start dancing and the audience is riveted.

The next night Lupe has dinner with Frank and Lee is jealous, of Frank or what Frank can do for her publicity wise I can't tell. Lee and Eugene leave. Lee starts his own publicity agency and the first thing he does is create a nudist colony. The nudists cover themselves with straw, that looks like bird nests. Lee does his best to ruin Lupe. He puts a story out who Lupe is really. He puts a huge picture of Frank and Lupe on the building across the street. He then takes the nudists out for a ride through NYC, which a huge crowd follow them. Of course the police stop them. Lee blackmails Frank into taking one of the nudists into his show. Lupe is then fired. Eugene buys a carnival and Lupe joins him. Eugene asks Lee to join him while they are in town. The last line is that Lee says “I've a big surprise for you” to Lupe as she dances on stage. As “The End” comes up the wedding march plays. This is probably the most unique and different film I have seen. Or maybe second to The Loved One. It is very much a comedy, but the actors play it straight like they are in a drama and let the story carry the comedy. That is probably due to La Cava's direction. That also happens in My Man Godfrey.