Disraeli (1929)

Directed by: Alfred E. Green

Starring: George Arliss

Plot: British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli navigates through treachery at home and abroad to purchase the Suez Canal.

Thoughts: As far as biographical films go, this is okay. This is pretty much a vehicle for George Arliss to do his thing, which he does well. Dialogue is written well, but the production just felt a bit flat to me. I can't quite figure out why.

Disraeli is a remake of the 1921 silent film that also starred George Arliss. Benjamin Disraeli was Britain's prime minister from 1874-1880 (and also served in the office in 1868) and has been generally regarded well in the eyes of history. He was, and still is, the only ethnically Jewish prime minister ever to serve in the office.

The film that survives today is from a 1933 version, which is cropped on the left because it had been mastered to incorporate the sound-on-film track. Previously, the soundtrack was played through the old, record-based Vitaphone system. So far, Disraeli has only been released on VHS (back in 1994) and no DVD release is currently planned. Occasionally, it does show up in the Turner Classic Movies schedule rotation.

George Arliss took home a Best Actor award that night. The film was also nominated for Best Writing, Achievement, for Julien Josephson's screenplay.

The Love Parade (1929)

Directed by: Ernst Lubistch

Starring: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lupino Lane, and Lillian Roth

Plot: A womanizing diplomat returns home and settles down with the queen of his country.

Thoughts: Overall, this film was a lot of fun. I was expecting a fairly dry musical about royalty and such only to be pleasantly surprised to see a fairly brilliant comedy with some very delightfully catchy songs. That's not to say it doesn't have its flaws, like MacDonald's operatic solos and the last 15 minutes where we veer into rather sexist territory. Still, this film is worth a look if only for the musical number about a couple describing how they'd beat the crap out of each other.

The Love Parade is based on the play, The Prince Consort, by Jules Chancel and Leon Xanrof. The film is styled like a play, only with a much bigger scope. The sets are quite elaborate, not to mention huge, and a metric ton of extras are present (mostly as soldiers). While many a critic claims The Broadway Melody as the first musical, I'm with the side that thinks that honor goes to The Love Parade. The songs are actually part of the story whereas that was only done once in The Broadway Melody.

The level of effort in this film was so apparent, that it garnered an unprecedented six Award nominations but sadly, won none. Aside from Best Picture, The Love Parade was also nominated for:

• Best Actor for Maurice Chevalier's amazing performance as Count Alfred Renard;
• Best Art Direction for Hans Dreier's epic sets;
• Best Cinematography for Victor Milner's capable eye;
• Best Director; and
• Best Sound, Recording for Franklin Hansen's relatively polished (at the time) soundtrack.

The Broadway Melody (1929)

Winner

Directed by: Harry Beaumont

Starring: Charles King, Anita Page, and Bessie Love

Plot: A pair of Midwest Vaudeville performers look to get their big break on Broadway.

Thoughts: This film is often considered the first modern musical despite only three occasions of spontaneous song, two of those being somewhat functional. This was apparently the best the 1928-1929 consideration period had to offer, according to the Academy. Given the other nominees, I would have to agree.

Of all the films nominated, The Broadway Melody does stand out as being the most polished out of the nominees that year. It's not a vehicle for a single actor like In Old Arizona or Alibi nor does it rely on spectacle like The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Since The Patriot was essentially a silent, that means a talking film would have an edge.

As for the film itself, it's okay. It had a fairly predictable story and decent characters. It's certainly not a terrible way to waste 90 minutes, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. Whereas in 1929, this would have been awesome. The technical achievement for the era was unmistakable. So successful was this film, that it spawned four "sequels" of sorts and was parodied in dog form as The Dogway Melody (which you can see on the 2005 DVD release).

While Best Motion Picture was the only statuette The Broadway Melody took home, the film was also nominated for Best Actress (Bessie Love) and Best Director. Best Actress that year went to Mary Pickford in Coquette while Frank Lloyd received the Best Director nod for the silent The Divine Lady (one of the few times the Best Director did not direct a Best Picture nominee).

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

Directed by: Charles Reisner

Starring: Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny, and almost everyone from MGM's parade of stars

Plot: None really, just a showcase of various acts to show off this new thing in film called sound.

Thoughts: As I've mentioned in previous reviews, sound was the big thing in film at the time and studios really wanted to cash in. And what better way than to put together a giant production involving almost all of a studios talent? Many of whom would be seen speaking nationally for the first time?

You would think that such an undertaking would be a delight to watch. Unfortunately, it's not. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 was actually a bit of a bore to watch. Much of the comedy wasn't very funny and a lot of the dancing and music left me scratching my head while asking how this film performed so well let alone earn an Oscar nod. You have to remember that the late 1920's were a different era where Vaudeville and live entertainment were considered just as viable as cinema. Also, the culture then wasn't as saturated in celebrity news as we are now. So, when an opportunity came to see your favorite stars sing, dance, and talk, it was a no-brainer that you would want to check it out.

While there were some interesting acts and musical numbers, most of it felt like amateur night on the MGM lot. Evidently, many parts of this film were produced after hours so as not to interfere with the studio's production schedule. The film also underwent several direction and director changes and didn't finish production until nine days before its debut.

According to several sources, there are no complete copies in existence. Also, the film was only released on laserdisc as part of the pricey Dawn of Sound box set and there are currently no plans for it to be released on DVD. There is a fairly low-resolution version available to view at Google Video if you'd like to see it.

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 only received the one nomination for Best Production that year. It lost to another MGM film, The Broadway Melody, which I'll look at on Wednesday.

Alibi (1929)

Directed by: Roland West

Starring: Chester Morris, Eleanore Griffith, and Regis Toomey

Plot: A strident police captain investigates a murder whose main suspect is an ex-gangster with a seemingly airtight alibi.

Thoughts: Last time we looked at the first talking Western, now we'll see one of the earliest, if not the earliest, talking gangster film. It's a decent film that initially plays into ambiguities. You're not sure who committed the murder and you're not entirely sure to trust the police either. However, by the last half hour, it was very clear who was who as the stereotypes were trotted out.

Based on the play "Nightstick", Alibi borrowed a bit from the German expressionism found in many of the latter day silents (particularly in the beginning of the film) before delving into the gangster genre. While the aforementioned stereotypes were present, they're portrayed very well. The acting in Alibi was good, with Chester Morris chewing some serious scenery toward the end of the film. It wouldn't surprise me if James Cagney based his gangster characters after Morris' performance here.

One of the more interesting aspects about this film is that both a talking and a silent version were produced and released. However, it was the talking version (using Fox's Movietone process) that earned the Outstanding Picture (eventually to become Best Picture) nomination. The film was released on VHS and is available on DVD, but the opening credits had to be digitally recreated; my guess is that they've been lost. As with other early talking films, dialogue can be a bit difficult to discern at times. Whereas the DVD for In Old Arizona had a subtitle option, there was no such option with this DVD.

Alibi did not take home the 2nd Academy Award ceremony's Outstanding Production award or any other award that night. Chester Morris was nominated for Best Actor, but lost to Warner Baxter for In Old Arizona. Also, William Cameron Menzies was nominated for Best Art Direction, but lost to Cedric Gibbons for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (which was not nominated for Outstanding Picture).