Classic Film Review: Annie Oakley (1935)

Annie Oakley stars Barbara Stanwyck as the title character, an expert shooter plucked out of obscurity and made into a star. She takes a shine to fellow shooter Toby Walker (Preston Foster) but their agent Jeff Hogarth (Melvyn Douglas) also has his eye on her. While Annie and Toby's relationship flourishes in secret, he intervenes in a scuffle which may have lasting consequences, both for his future with Annie and his career. The film also stars Moroni Olsen as Buffalo Bill and Pert Kelton as Vera Delmar, an old associate of Toby Walker's.

This is certainly a romanticised biography but Stanwyck is more enjoyable as Annie than I had expected. Occasionally, the switches between her rough charm and wise ways are a little jarring and the film is heavy handed in showing her early 'benevolence' to Toby but, on the whole, Stanwyck inhabits the part reasonably well. Preston Foster as Walker is equally enjoyable. My only previous experience of him was in The Harvey Girls (1946) and it was nice to see him in a leading role that did justice to his screen persona. As for the rest of the cast, there are a lot of small parts that make the film feel less artificial although, despite enjoying Pert Kelton, I couldn't really work out the point of her character.

For a 1935 film, it still looks very good. The speeded-up fight scenes obviously feel dated but the Wild West showman scenes are probably as enjoyable to watch now as they would've been to their original audience. The choreography and planning is astounding and some of the horse stunts are brilliant. Perhaps what lets the film down most are the racial slurs which slide between demeaning and interrogatory. There are moments when you do glimpse an argument against racism but at other points it indulges in racism stereotypes. Some of them are meant to be taken lightly and almost work - Chief Sitting Bull (Chief Thunderbird) trying to camouflage himself on a street in full headdress for instance - but others just don't. However, as products of contemporary attitudes, they can be overlooked.

Overall, Annie Oakley is a good film, not great but enjoyable by any standard. Barbara Stanwyck certainly tries to get into the role and, in the end, the nice little relationship that develops between her and Foster is what keeps the film going.

Classic Film Review: The Bride Walks Out (1936)

The Bride Walks Out stars Barbara Stanwyck as newly-wed Carolyn Martin. Despite knowing his views on women and work, Carolyn marries Michael's Martin (Gene Raymond) in a very hurried ceremony and settles down to live on his $35 a week. She met a handsome playboy, Hugh McKenzie (Robert Young) in court on her wedding day (don't ask) and he begins to fall for her. When Carolyn finally realises that they can't survive on Michael's wage, she is forced to secretly get a job, which may spell the end of her marriage. The supporting cast includes Ned Sparks and Helen Broderick as Paul and Mattie Dodson and Hattie McDaniel as Mamie.

The 'family values' in this film are a little hard to stomach for a modern viewer. It's not so much Michael's desire that his wife shouldn't work but his pig-headedness when it turns out she has to. As a consequence, he's not a very sympathetic character at all and I found myself rooting for Hugh McKenzie instead. Not because he was rich and could give Carolyn everything she wanted from life but because he listened to her and seemed to derive happiness from her happiness. Of course, the resolution depends on a Carolyn/Michael reconciliation, one that feels completely out of place. Domestic bliss gone awry stories can work but this was too run of the mill with a boring and stubborn husband. The thing that really frustrated me was the scene at the very beginning where Carolyn and Michael argue about their potential life together before they get married. At this point Carolyn seems like a sensible person but she marries him anyway!

Barbara Stanwyck did a reasonable job with a thin character, though her scenes with Robert Young and Helen Broderick were much more preferable to her scenes with Gene Raymond. They really didn't fit together as a couple at all and Raymond couldn't inject much sympathy into what is essentially a stupid character. Ned Sparks provided decent comic relief but, to be honest, my favourite performance was from Robert Young. However unrealistic his drunk scenes were, I enjoyed them and the film only ignited when he was on screen. The furniture repossession scene - where everyone gets drunk - is probably the funniest of the film, if only for Helen Broderick laid on top of a piano.

Classic Film Review: Double Indemnity (1944)

Double Indemnity stars Fred MacMurray as Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who gets drawn into a woman's plan to kill her husband for the insurance money. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) is enticing to Neff and, together, they exact a plan to kill her husband in an accident which would trigger the 'double indemnity' clause of the insurance contract they have tricked him into signing. As an insurance salesman, Neff knows what works and what doesn't. He thinks he's developed the perfect crime but one kink in the armour and the shrewd investigations of his boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), throw a spanner in the works.

The tension of this film comes not from 'will they get caught' or 'who did it'. The film opens with Neff struggling into his darkened office and recording a confession for Keyes. From then all, it's all about how he got involved, how he tried to execute the plan and how it went wrong. It's about seeing how the dynamic changes between Neff and Phyllis and his growing friendship with her step-daughter, Lola (Jean Heather). Double Indemnity triumphs easily on this score: it's always interesting and small touches add to the tension throughout.

Even though the two protagonists are essentially unpleasant, the dark dynamic between them is what makes the film so good. Barbara Stanwyck was a revelation to me, having only previously seen her in the comedy The Mad Miss Manton (1938, reviewed here). There's so much going on behind the eyes that it's easy to think Phyllis is a blank but Stanwyck plays it very cleverly. MacMurray is as solid as usual and the rest of the cast fit in brilliantly.

This is definitely a classic and definitely a film I'm going to watch again. I think on second viewing I'll enjoy it even more.

Classic Film Review: The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

The Mad Miss Manton is a madcap film that stars Barbara Stanwyck as Melsa Manton, a socialite known for her pranks to police. However, when she finds a dead body (and the dead body disappears) the police are angry with her for wasting their time and she enlists her group of friends to help her prove there was a body - but all doesn't go to plan. She is faced with irate police officer Lieutenant Brent (Sam Levene) and journalist Peter Ames (Henry Fonda) who quickly falls in love with her but is still all for letting the police deal with the investigation.

This film's tricky. It obviously doesn't take itself too seriously and goes for the laughs whenever it can but there is still a murder at the heart of it and one of the final scenes between Melsa and the killer seems far too dark for the ending of such a film. The murder mystery aspect is also a bit convoluted with more faces than necessary put into the picture at one point. Without proper guidance, I was a bit confused about what was going on when Melsa was shot at.

The 'group' of socialite friends Melsa assembled was possibly too large - sometimes they blended into each other and their personalities on the whole seemed far too similar. However, Levene and Fonda as Brent and Ames raised the film a little with their distinctive personalities. Levene particularly added much amusement to the film, though I was slightly sick of his predictable reactions by the time the credits rolled.

However, that's not to say that The Mad Miss Manton isn't a funny film. It is. This was my first introduction to Barbara Stanwyck and it was a relatively good one. Melsa's a strong character, dominant over those around her, with the exception of her maid Hilda (Hattie McDaniel). I also liked the twist of Melsa and her friends 'proving' something only for it to backfire. All in all, this was an enjoyable comedy, hardly ground-breaking but entertaining enough for a lazy afternoon.