1930 Bonus List: Some Great Movies

1930 blogging, bonus list!

11 Great Movies from 1930

To conclude our festival of 1930, I’ve got a list of recommended movies.  This mini-list is excerpted from the “Doubling the Canon” list (as compiled by participants on the IMDb Classic Film message board) combined with the 1930 list from the They Shoot Pictures Don’t They? list of 1,000 great films.

The They Shoot Pictures list is a 1,000-movie canon of great films;  the “Doubling the Canon” list adds an additional 1,000 movies to the canon.  And now I’m excerpting the 1930 movies.

11 Great Movies from 1930

(Combined list, with They Shoot Pictures picks in caps and Doubling the Canon picks in lower case, all presented in alphabetical order.)

À propos de Nice / Jean Vigo

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT / Lewis Milestone

BLOOD OF THE POET, THE (LE SANG D'UN POETE) / Jean Cocteau

BLUE ANGEL, THE (DER BLAUE ENGEL) / Josef von Sternberg

EARTH (ZEMLYA) / Aleksandr Dovzhenko

L'AGE D'OR / Luis Buñuel

MOROCCO / Josef von Sternberg

PEOPLE ON SUNDAY (MENSCHEN AM SONNTAG) / Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann

Tale of the Fox, The (Le Roman de Renard) / Wladyslaw Starewicz

UNDER THE ROOFS OF PARIS (SOUS LES TOITS DE PARIS) / René Clair

Westfront 1918 / G.W. Pabst

Here’s the full They Shoot Pictures list.  And here’s the  “Doubling the Canon” list.  Special thanks to the two masterminds behind these lists: Bill Georgaris who manages They Shoot Pictures and Angel Gonzalez Garcia who now leads the "Doubling the Canon" project.

I created and launched  “Doubling the Canon” project around half a dozen years ago, ran it for a few years, and then handed it off to Angel’s capable hands where it’s flourished since.

Next up on the random year(s) generator:  1856-1860.  (Coming soon…)

© 2012 Lee Price

1930 and the Blues

1930 blogging, part 5 of 5

Country Blues of 1930

In these long breaks between the signature 21 Essays series, I’m running a new feature where I randomly select a year or set of years, and then brainstorm on some possibilities for 21 Essays series that could emerge from the assigned time.   For the current round, the roulette wheel has spun, gradually slowed, then clicked to a stop, pointing at:  1930.

The Mississippi Sheiks, circa 1930.

So here’s my fifth and final 1930 series possibility:  21 essays on the Mississippi Sheiks and their popular 1930 blues recording “Sitting on the Top of the World.”

While southern country blues had been around for many decades, the Mississippi Sheiks were among the very first groups to successfully get their music preserved on vinyl, hear it played on the radio, and to scratch out a brief career playing the blues live.  They were a guitar and fiddle group, with Bo Carter frequently singing lead supported by Lonnie and Sam Chatmon and Walter Vinson.

“Sitting on Top of the World” was written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon and it swiftly became a standard, covered not only by blues artists but eventually by top-selling mainstream artists such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Harry Belafonte.  Two decades later, this type of blues began to merge with country to create the new rock and roll sound.  Numerous rock musicians and groups—including Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Cream, and Jack White—have paid their respects with covers of “Sitting on Top of the World.”

Here’s the original Mississippi Sheiks version:

Here’s legendary bluegrass guitar player “Doc” Watson paying his respects:

And here’s contemporary rock star Jack White banging out a great version on piano from the movie It Might Get Loud (2009).

This is the last of my official 1930 ideas (with no promises that I’ll necessarily be getting to any of them…) but I’ve got one more bonus entry of some classic 1930 movies that I’ve saved for last.  I’ll post it tomorrow.

Next up on the random year(s) generator:  1856-1860.  (Coming soon…)

© 2012 Lee Price

1930 and Gershwin

1930 blogging, part 4 of 5

Rhythms of 1930

In these long breaks between the signature 21 Essays series, I’m running a new feature where I randomly select a year or set of years, and then brainstorm on some possibilities for 21 Essays series that could emerge from the assigned time.   For the current round, the roulette wheel has spun, gradually slowed, then clicked to a stop, pointing at:  1930. 

So here’s my fourth 1930 series possibility:  21 essays on a popular Broadway play of 1930 called Girl Crazy.

On Broadway in 1930:  Ethel Merman and the chorus of Girl Crazy.

While movies were often kind of dull in 1930 (going through some difficult adjustments in the switch from silent to talkie), music was enjoying a solid-gold year.  The 1930 pop charts are bursting with riches.  There’s “Mood Indigo” by the up-and-coming Duke Ellington, “Georgia on My Mind” by Hoagy Carmichael, “Ten Cents a Dance” by Rodgers and Hart, “Body and Soul” by Johnny Green, and “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Irving Berlin.

But I decided to go with Girl Crazy when I realized that three major musical contenders for the year—the Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” and “But Not for Me”—all came from this one musical.  I’ve seen it in a couple of guises but never the actual original play.  I really like the 1943 Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland Girl Crazy movie, which uses six of the play’s songs and reworks the plot for its stars.  And I really like Crazy for You, the 1992 retooling of Girl Crazy with over a dozen Gershwin hits borrowed from other plays and movies.

I’m interested in that original production.  It’s got great songs, the star-making debut of Ethel Merman, the first major role for Ginger Rogers, and a legendary opening night pit orchestra with Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, and Jimmy Dorsey, all conducted by George Gershwin.  And no one captured it on tape or vinyl!

Here’s Ethel Merman, 26 years after her stage triumph, suggesting what Broadway audiences were treated to in 1930:

Tomorrow, I’ll be proposing the last of these 1930 ideas (with no promises that I’ll necessarily be getting to any of them…).  But I’m wide open to other suggestions.  Any ideas for 1930 movies, books, short stories, poems, songs, or other cultural artifacts that might inspire a good 21 Essays series?

Next up on the roulette wheel of years:  1856-1860.

© 2012 Lee Price

1930 and the Fox

1930 blogging, part 3 of 5

Foxes of 1930

In these long breaks between the signature 21 Essays series, I’m running a new feature where I randomly select a year or set of years, and then brainstorm on some possibilities for 21 Essays series that could emerge from the assigned time.   For the current round, the roulette wheel has spun, gradually slowed, then clicked to a stop, pointing at:  1930. 

So here’s my third 1930 series possibility:  21 essays on Le Roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox) by Ladislas Starewicz.

A classic anti-hero, the Fox emerges from an
illuminated manuscript in Ladislas Starewicz'
The Tale of the Fox (1930).

Sooner or later, I can guarantee that I will do a series on Ladislas Starewicz, pioneering animation genius.  I could do the series on his acclaimed early silent masterpiece The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912), or on his unclassifiable and jaw-dropping brilliant short Fetiche (The Mascot) from 1934, or maybe today’s choice, The Tale of the Fox.  At a time when live-action directors were struggling to adjust to the demands of their new clunky, stagebound sound equipment, Starewicz brazenly embarked upon the production of a full-length animated epic (seven years before Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).

The Tale of the Fox is sixty minutes of wall-to-wall brilliance.  Starewicz’ approach to folk tales is urbane, witty, and lavishly imaginative.  For decades, this masterpiece was virtually impossible to see, but now all it takes is a simple click to YouTube, where you’ll find a surprisingly clean and attractive print. Sample a bit of the beginning for a taste of the Starewicz style then stick around for the fun ride (and imagine what the world would be like if this had caught on rather than the Disney approach…).

Over the next two days, I’ll be proposing some more 1930 ideas (with no promises that I’ll necessarily be getting to any of them…).  But I’m wide open to other suggestions.  Any ideas for 1930 movies, books, short stories, poems, songs, or other cultural artifacts that might inspire a good 21 Essays series?

© 2012 Lee Price

1930 and Pluto

1930 blogging, part 2 of 5

A New Planet for 1930

Pluto, once a planet...

In these long breaks between the signature 21 Essays series, I’m experimenting with a new feature focused on possibilities for future series.  I’ll spin the roulette wheel to pick a year (or set of years) and then brainstorm on some potential essay topics.  This time the wheel spins, gradually slows, then clicks to a stop, pointing at:  1930. 

So here’s my second 1930 series possibility:  9 essays on Pluto, once the ninth planet from the sun… now just another dirty iceball on the outskirts of town.

Pluto was both discovered and declared a planet in 1930 only to linger through decades of doubt until the final eclipse of 2006, when it was downgraded to a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt.  But there will always be more to Pluto than just an ex-planet.  Starting in 1930, Pluto was Disney’s favorite all-purpose mutt, providing dependable support for Mickey and Minnie.  And Pluto will always be one of the Big Three Roman gods (but now he’s the only one without a planet again).

As usual, there’s more to the story than the sound bite that Pluto was bullied out of the solar system for being the runt of the litter.  Here’s a science lesson, delivered by C. G. P. Grey, compressing Pluto’s 76-year run as a planet into five very entertaining minutes:

My biggest problem with the idea of doing 9 essays on Pluto is that I can’t hope to beat C. G. P. Grey’s video for sheer entertaining Pluto-nerdiness.

Over the next three days, I’ll be proposing some more 1930 ideas (with no promises that I’ll necessarily be getting to any of them…).  But I’m wide open to other suggestions.  Any ideas for 1930 movies, books, short stories, poems, songs, or other cultural artifacts that might inspire a good 21 Essays series?

© 2012 Lee Price

1930 and the Detective

1930 Blogging, Part 1 of 5
"If they hang you, I'll always remember you."

In these long breaks between the signature 21 Essays series, I’m experimenting with a new feature focused on possibilities for future series.  I’ll spin the roulette wheel to pick a year (or set of years) and then brainstorm on some potential essay topics.  This time the wheel spins, gradually slows, then clicks to a stop, pointing at:  1930. 

So here’s my first 1930 series possibility:  21 essays on Sam Spade, private detective.

I’m cheating a bit here because the character of Sam Spade really dates back to September 1929 when the first of five installments of Dashiell Hammett’s novel The Maltese Falcon appeared in the Black Mask pulp magazine.  The serial concluded with the January 1930 issue and was published in book form by Alfred A. Knopf shortly afterward.

Maybe I could attempt to somehow separate my image of Sam Spade from Humphrey Bogart’s 1941 portrayal in John Huston's classic movie adaptation…  but I honestly don’t think I’d be up to the task.  I’ve read the book twice and both times found it impossible to read without picturing Bogart up against Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, Jr., and Mary Astor as they size each other up and plot their double-crosses.  All the hardboiled layers of Spade’s personality are present in the book, yet they’re illuminated by Bogart’s performance in a way that leaves the role inseparable from the actor.

So I’m thinking that a close examination of Sam Spade would need to encompass both the 1930 novel and the 1941 movie.  I don’t think I could do it any other way.

Over the next four days, I’ll be proposing some more 1930 ideas (with no promises that I’ll necessarily be getting to any of them…).  But I’m wide open to other suggestions.  Any ideas for 1930 movies, books, short stories, poems, songs, or other cultural artifacts that might inspire a good 21 Essays series?

© 2012 Lee Price