Movie Reviewed: The Crash (1932), starring George Brent and Ruth Chatterton
The Gault’s after Wall Street Crash
When Geoffrey Gault (George Brent), a bank executive becomes a victim of Wall Street crash of 1929, his wife Linda (Ruth Chatterton) abandons him in New York and goes to Bermuda where she meets a wealthy Australian sheep farmer. The romance blossoms and he falls in love with Linda and she becomes attracted to his wealth and life-long financial security. This movies based on a novel by Larry Barretto was directed by William Dieterle. Ruth Chatterton looks stylish with her wardrobe while playing as a deceiving gold digger. George Brent is ill at ease as a spurned husband, but as always in Chatterton movies, she steals the show.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Movie Reviewed: Beauty and the boss (1932), starring Warren William and Marian Marsh
Movie Reviewed: Beauty and the boss (1932), starring Warren William and Marian Marsh
Beauty and the Beast
This is a formula comedy based on a Hungarian play by Ladisalu Fodor and Paul Frank about a Viennese businessman named Baron Josef von Ulrich and his office secretary. The Baron finds that all his secretaries are pretty and are distracting him during business hours, hence he hires a plain looking young woman as his office assistant (Marian Marsh). It soon turns out that she is not plain at all, but a gorgeous young woman, who is not only distracting him but testing his patience as to how long it will take for him to fall for her. This is a delightful comedy of trial and errors that ultimately makes the boss submit to the charming young lady. There are some humorous spark of words between the boss and beauty leading to a beautiful union. The film is directed by Roy Del Ruth and well supported by Charles Butterworth, David Manners, Mary Doran and Lillian Bond
Beauty and the Beast
This is a formula comedy based on a Hungarian play by Ladisalu Fodor and Paul Frank about a Viennese businessman named Baron Josef von Ulrich and his office secretary. The Baron finds that all his secretaries are pretty and are distracting him during business hours, hence he hires a plain looking young woman as his office assistant (Marian Marsh). It soon turns out that she is not plain at all, but a gorgeous young woman, who is not only distracting him but testing his patience as to how long it will take for him to fall for her. This is a delightful comedy of trial and errors that ultimately makes the boss submit to the charming young lady. There are some humorous spark of words between the boss and beauty leading to a beautiful union. The film is directed by Roy Del Ruth and well supported by Charles Butterworth, David Manners, Mary Doran and Lillian Bond
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Movie Reviewed: The son of sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Blanky.
Movie Reviewed: The son of sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Blanky.
Rudolph Valentino’s classic films
Son of Sheik was released at the time of Rudolph Valentino’s funeral during which thousands of mourning female fans caused a riot. The box office was besieged and grossed $1 million within a year and soon doubling that amount. Valentino was 31 at the time of his death. The plot was adapted from Edith Hull’s novel in which Valentino plays the son of a sheik meets Vilma Banky who plays the role of a nomadic dancer. He immediately falls in love with her. She asks, “who are you my Lord,” “I am he who loves you, is that not enough” says Rudy. When he is captured and tortured, he believes that she has tricked him, but soon realizes that she really loves him. Finally they meet and ride off to his sheikdom. Valentino took the role of his own father as sheik and Agnes Ayers reprised her part as his wife and Montague Love played the role of son’s rival.
Rudolph Valentino’s classic films
Son of Sheik was released at the time of Rudolph Valentino’s funeral during which thousands of mourning female fans caused a riot. The box office was besieged and grossed $1 million within a year and soon doubling that amount. Valentino was 31 at the time of his death. The plot was adapted from Edith Hull’s novel in which Valentino plays the son of a sheik meets Vilma Banky who plays the role of a nomadic dancer. He immediately falls in love with her. She asks, “who are you my Lord,” “I am he who loves you, is that not enough” says Rudy. When he is captured and tortured, he believes that she has tricked him, but soon realizes that she really loves him. Finally they meet and ride off to his sheikdom. Valentino took the role of his own father as sheik and Agnes Ayers reprised her part as his wife and Montague Love played the role of son’s rival.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Movie Reviewed: Trouble in Paradise (1932), starring Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins
Movie Reviewed: Trouble in Paradise (1932), starring Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins
Marriage is beautiful mistake two people make together
Critics wrote raving reviews for this movie, released in 1932, at the height of Great Depression, and they still have not stopped yet! It is a sophisticated comedy of director Ernst Lubitsch, but in 1932 the audience response was not sensational and it did not receive any nominations for the movie in which quintessential Lubitsch displayed his directorial talents with smooth narrative for this comedy. It has a delicate eroticism and verbal wit but Lubitsch brings out something special from every actor in this film.
Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins play a pair of jewel thieves and prey upon a wealthy socialite played by Kay Francis. When Marshall falls in love with Kay, Miriam is not too happy and some of the best dialogues of the movie come out when they fight about the lost love. In supporting roles; Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, and Aubrey Smith perform splendidly. Samson Raphaelson’s screenplay is well written for the Aladar Lazlo’s play.
Marriage is beautiful mistake two people make together
Critics wrote raving reviews for this movie, released in 1932, at the height of Great Depression, and they still have not stopped yet! It is a sophisticated comedy of director Ernst Lubitsch, but in 1932 the audience response was not sensational and it did not receive any nominations for the movie in which quintessential Lubitsch displayed his directorial talents with smooth narrative for this comedy. It has a delicate eroticism and verbal wit but Lubitsch brings out something special from every actor in this film.
Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins play a pair of jewel thieves and prey upon a wealthy socialite played by Kay Francis. When Marshall falls in love with Kay, Miriam is not too happy and some of the best dialogues of the movie come out when they fight about the lost love. In supporting roles; Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, and Aubrey Smith perform splendidly. Samson Raphaelson’s screenplay is well written for the Aladar Lazlo’s play.
Movie Reviewed: Rain (1932), starring Joan Crawford and Walter Huston
Movie Reviewed: Rain (1932), starring Joan Crawford and Walter Huston
A controversial pre-code film starring Walter Huston and Joan Crawford
Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as a wild lady Sadie Thompson and features Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform her, but his own morals come into question. The role of Sadie Thompson was written for Gloria Swanson, but director Lewis Milestone, relied on his instinct to cast Joan Crawford. With her curly blonde hair, thick make-up, large beauty-spot, gaudy dresses, jingling bracelets and high heels she accepted to take a shot at it in this Joseph Scheck’s production. Incidentally Crawford was loaned out by MGM to United Artists to do this film. It didn’t help; Rain was not well received critically or financially. The unglamorous role for Crawford, and bold story about religious hypocrisy caught depression-era audiences off guard. The film earned $538,000 in the US and Canada and $166,000 elsewhere resulting in a total loss of $198,000. Years later, critics looked at the artistic elements of the movie and began to appreciate the efforts of Joan Crawford and Walter Huston. Maxwell Anderson wrote the screenplay for this story from Somerset Maugham.
A controversial pre-code film starring Walter Huston and Joan Crawford
Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as a wild lady Sadie Thompson and features Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform her, but his own morals come into question. The role of Sadie Thompson was written for Gloria Swanson, but director Lewis Milestone, relied on his instinct to cast Joan Crawford. With her curly blonde hair, thick make-up, large beauty-spot, gaudy dresses, jingling bracelets and high heels she accepted to take a shot at it in this Joseph Scheck’s production. Incidentally Crawford was loaned out by MGM to United Artists to do this film. It didn’t help; Rain was not well received critically or financially. The unglamorous role for Crawford, and bold story about religious hypocrisy caught depression-era audiences off guard. The film earned $538,000 in the US and Canada and $166,000 elsewhere resulting in a total loss of $198,000. Years later, critics looked at the artistic elements of the movie and began to appreciate the efforts of Joan Crawford and Walter Huston. Maxwell Anderson wrote the screenplay for this story from Somerset Maugham.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Book Reviewed: Peter O'Toole: Hell raiser, Sexual Outlaw, Irish Rebel (Blood Moon's Babylon Series), by Darwin Porter
Book Reviewed: Peter O'Toole: Hell raiser, Sexual Outlaw, Irish Rebel (Blood Moon's Babylon Series), by Darwin Porter
The sexual odyssey of Peter O’Toole
This is the third memoir of Peter O’Toole; the first two being, “Loitering with Intent: The Child” is about his childhood in the years leading up to WWII, and the second book, “Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice,” is about his years spent training with a cadre of friends at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Both books were published in 1997. The current book chronicles his sexual odyssey and exploitation of his fame and popularity with more than one thousand women including his co-stars, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Anita Ekberg and Diana Dors. The most notable being the Princess Margaret while she was still married to Lord Snowdon.
O’Toole was known for leading week-long sex orgies with women who pursued him obsessively. This tremendously gifted Irish actor with severe addiction to alcohol and women could have ended up in jail had he not be a famous actor. A self-described romantic, O'Toole regarded the sonnets as his favorite English poems. He was also political active early in his career opposing the Korean War, and later the American involvement in Vietnam. Peter O’Toole achieved fame and recognition for playing in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he received his first Academy Award nomination but lost the award to Gregory Peck for “To Kill a Mocking Bird.”
When NBA star Wilt Chamberlain revealed that he had physical intimacy with over 20,000 women, the perception of him in the sports world changed, especially for his fans. Peter O’Toole is not an alec, he is a smart Irishman; standing at 6’2”, this blonde and blue-eyed dude published his sex-escapades posthumously, baring his mind, his soul, his body and the rest.
The sexual odyssey of Peter O’Toole
This is the third memoir of Peter O’Toole; the first two being, “Loitering with Intent: The Child” is about his childhood in the years leading up to WWII, and the second book, “Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice,” is about his years spent training with a cadre of friends at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Both books were published in 1997. The current book chronicles his sexual odyssey and exploitation of his fame and popularity with more than one thousand women including his co-stars, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Anita Ekberg and Diana Dors. The most notable being the Princess Margaret while she was still married to Lord Snowdon.
O’Toole was known for leading week-long sex orgies with women who pursued him obsessively. This tremendously gifted Irish actor with severe addiction to alcohol and women could have ended up in jail had he not be a famous actor. A self-described romantic, O'Toole regarded the sonnets as his favorite English poems. He was also political active early in his career opposing the Korean War, and later the American involvement in Vietnam. Peter O’Toole achieved fame and recognition for playing in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he received his first Academy Award nomination but lost the award to Gregory Peck for “To Kill a Mocking Bird.”
When NBA star Wilt Chamberlain revealed that he had physical intimacy with over 20,000 women, the perception of him in the sports world changed, especially for his fans. Peter O’Toole is not an alec, he is a smart Irishman; standing at 6’2”, this blonde and blue-eyed dude published his sex-escapades posthumously, baring his mind, his soul, his body and the rest.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Book reviewed: Rastram: Hindu history in United Indian Ocean States, by S. Kalyanaraman
Book reviewed: Rastram: Hindu history in United Indian Ocean States, by S. Kalyanaraman
The United States of Indian Ocean Nations: Is such a union ever possible?
I have strong interest in the ancient civilization of the Near East during fourth and third millennium BCE, and the birth of the first Indo-European language; and a proto Indo-Iranian religion that eventually led to the Vedic culture in India. Having read many publications from this author at the online journal Academia.Edu, I thought this work refers to a discussion of social and economic union of the three major civilizations of Asia during the Bronze Age. But this book is about the future; towards the unification of nations along Indian Ocean, for political and economic benefits, similar to European Economic Community (EEC). The title of the book is somewhat misleading, since the European Union is failing, and no one would ever think that it is possible for very diverse nations along the Indian Ocean would ever go through the economic and political unification like EEC. Nations of South Asia, Egypt, parts of the Middle East and Eastern Africa, South East Asia and Australia are as diverse as one can be. Differences in race, culture, religion and political instability in many of these nations ring alarm bells before one can effectively strategize EEC style unification. In recent years, Asia has to cope with a rapidly changing external security environment with the rise of China as a power player. Other challenges include rapidly changing economic opportunities, the regional war against Islamic terrorism and boundary disputes among Asian countries are very troubling. The author is giving the wrong message at the wrong time when experiments with European Community is measuring up to be a disaster with failing nations like Greece, Portugal and Spain. People in many member nations are calling for an end to the European Union.
The discussions in this book are sparse and diffused; it needs some focusing. Reparations for the wrong done by British and Islamists in India are a bit farfetched. There are extensive references to dharma found in Hindu literature, and using dharma as the guiding force to govern the new union is untenable. The book quotes many scholars about the wisdom contained in the ancient texts of India but rarely refers to the original publications in the professional journals: The book also cites numerous references to articles of Wikipedia. I would rely more on original publications.
The author is a frequent contributor in the field of the etymology and semantics of Meluhha, the name for the Indus civilization found in Mesopotamian texts. Meluhha is an important historical source about the movement of people, goods, language, art and written communication between these two regions during the fourth to second millennia BCE. Despite the author’s contributions in this field, the book is poorly written. I have a friendly advice to the author; he has to summarize his arguments and discussions at the end of each chapter so that the reader understands the gist of the discussion. The final chapter must include the overall message of the book to make it clear to the reader that his arguments set forth in the introduction may be achievable through his discussions in various chapters. There must be a “take-home” message for the reader that sums up the book.
The United States of Indian Ocean Nations: Is such a union ever possible?
I have strong interest in the ancient civilization of the Near East during fourth and third millennium BCE, and the birth of the first Indo-European language; and a proto Indo-Iranian religion that eventually led to the Vedic culture in India. Having read many publications from this author at the online journal Academia.Edu, I thought this work refers to a discussion of social and economic union of the three major civilizations of Asia during the Bronze Age. But this book is about the future; towards the unification of nations along Indian Ocean, for political and economic benefits, similar to European Economic Community (EEC). The title of the book is somewhat misleading, since the European Union is failing, and no one would ever think that it is possible for very diverse nations along the Indian Ocean would ever go through the economic and political unification like EEC. Nations of South Asia, Egypt, parts of the Middle East and Eastern Africa, South East Asia and Australia are as diverse as one can be. Differences in race, culture, religion and political instability in many of these nations ring alarm bells before one can effectively strategize EEC style unification. In recent years, Asia has to cope with a rapidly changing external security environment with the rise of China as a power player. Other challenges include rapidly changing economic opportunities, the regional war against Islamic terrorism and boundary disputes among Asian countries are very troubling. The author is giving the wrong message at the wrong time when experiments with European Community is measuring up to be a disaster with failing nations like Greece, Portugal and Spain. People in many member nations are calling for an end to the European Union.
The discussions in this book are sparse and diffused; it needs some focusing. Reparations for the wrong done by British and Islamists in India are a bit farfetched. There are extensive references to dharma found in Hindu literature, and using dharma as the guiding force to govern the new union is untenable. The book quotes many scholars about the wisdom contained in the ancient texts of India but rarely refers to the original publications in the professional journals: The book also cites numerous references to articles of Wikipedia. I would rely more on original publications.
The author is a frequent contributor in the field of the etymology and semantics of Meluhha, the name for the Indus civilization found in Mesopotamian texts. Meluhha is an important historical source about the movement of people, goods, language, art and written communication between these two regions during the fourth to second millennia BCE. Despite the author’s contributions in this field, the book is poorly written. I have a friendly advice to the author; he has to summarize his arguments and discussions at the end of each chapter so that the reader understands the gist of the discussion. The final chapter must include the overall message of the book to make it clear to the reader that his arguments set forth in the introduction may be achievable through his discussions in various chapters. There must be a “take-home” message for the reader that sums up the book.
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