![]() Robert Barrat! Before he is executed he is aided by his friend, played by David Manners, and escapes for parts unknown. “The Devil’s in Love” 1933 Fox * Interesting and off beat film with a rare starring role for Victor Jory as a French Foreign Legion doctor wrongly accused of poisoning his sadistic commanding officer, played with zest by the unbilled Mr. ![]() Loaded with Wellman flourishes (no other director capitalized on Loretta’s startlingly expressive, soulful eyes like he did!), beautifully photographed by James Van Trees and with stunning fashions by Adrian, all guided by the sure hand of one of Hollywood’s finest directors! But its Loretta’s film from start to finish and she is utterly compelling and, to quote Leonard Maltin: “mezmerizingly beautiful!” Gets my highest recommendation! This is a dangerous guy to be around! We also meet Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, Andy Devine, Harold Huber and several familiar character players. He often tends to lapse into caricature but here he’s smooth but with an underlying malevolence that is palpable and convincing. Along the way we meet oily racketeer Ricardo Cortez in what I feel is his best ever performance. While Mary waits in court to be sentenced for murder, we see the ups and downs of her life from adolescent to the present and what transpired to get her into her current predicament. She was given a role she could really sink her teeth into and rose to the occasion beautifully! An Original story by Anitas Loos, told almost entirely with flashbacks. "Midnight Mary" 1933 MGM William Wellman and Loretta Young team up again for what might be my favorite of all her films that I’ve seen to date. This was easily the least of all the films of Lettathon 2013. Myrna Loy stole the show as the metaphorical “Squall” that came into their lives like a storm, leaving a path of destruction in her wake! Her performance is hilariously campy! Director Alexander Korda was obviously not comfortable directing a talking picture at that point. Loretta was sabotaged by lame dialogue and a completely two-dimensional character to play. Alice Joyce comes the closest to giving a believable performance. Stiff, slow and cheap-looking early talkie is a curio at best. Because of his kindness she actually changing her mind about quitting the picture business all together! Thank you Mr Chaney! ![]() Chaney, as always, is simply fantastic.Ĭhaney stood up for Loretta who was constantly being verbally abused by the director. Loretta was already showing the beauty, poise and emotional sincerity that would become her hallmarks. Loretta was only 15 years old when she got to play opposite the great Lon Chaney in her first starring-role! The film has some fine moments, especially with the two stars together. Reviews are in chronological order of release, not in the order of my viewing them.Īn *asterisk indicates a “first time viewing” Loretta photographed by the great George Hurrell ![]()
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