Sunday Movie Review: "Waterloo Bridge" (1940)

I am on a bit of a Vivien Leigh high at the moment, probably because I just finished Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind and while reading all 950 pages I could not help but constantly think of Vivien, and became even further convinced (as if I needed anymore convincing) that no other actress on the planet could have played Scarlett O'Hara.

I mean, it's not like she didn't know that already.

Oh well any excuse to post flawless Vivien GIFs. Anyways, here's my Waterloo Bridge (1940) review for you.

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WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940): Cast, plot details

On the eve of World War II, a British officer, Roy, revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina named Myra he met just before he left for the front. Myra stayed with him past curfew and is thrown out of the corps de ballet to survive on the streets of London - but her undying love for Roy keeps her spirits high. Then, a misunderstanding jeopardizes everything. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

• Vivien Leigh as Myra 
• Robert Taylor as Ray Cronin
• Virginia Field as Kitty, Myra's best friend

THE VERDICT: ★★★★ 1/2 

Bittersweet romance with a convincing chemistry between the two leads - a beautiful movie, give it a watch.

I'm really late on seeing this movie, aren't I? Especially being a Vivien Leigh fan and all. But this is a movie that is sadly not for rent on Netflix, and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stumbled upon it on Youtube. Anyways, I'm really happy I did. I'll tell you straight off, I really enjoyed this movie, if you can't tell already.

The plot is a little old fashioned and I supposed it isn't one that ages all that well. I can't say much more without giving away the plot, but for those who have seen the film will understand. But anyways, all the while, I enjoyed the plot very much. The chemistry between Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor very believable, and I enjoyed the spontaneity of their relationship a whole lot. 

Vivien Leigh was simply marvelous in this, as she always is. I absolutely loved her character throughout the whole movie and felt entire sympathy for her no matter what she chose to do. Of course, it broke my heart just a bit to see the innocent ballerina transform into a woman torn by guilt and the realities of war. But Vivien played her to perfection, oh, just as wonderfully as she had played Scarlett O'Hara two years earlier, and I can barely think of any flaws in her performance. She's such a wonderful, wonderful actress, and of course, totally gorgeous too (like you didn't already know that). She photographs particularly beautifully in this movie. This was a very fragile character, but Vivien's performance made me empathize with her through and through.

Then there is Robert Taylor, who I have barely seen in anything. But I must say, he really won me over with this movie. His love for Vivien was convincingly palpable and though it would be hard to keep up with Vivien's stunning performance in this, he does very well, perhaps not equalizing her (because, it is very much her film) but still giving a very great performance. While watching, you feel his sorrow as much as you feel hers.

Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) is a movie from the same year starring Lucy, and two actresses from that movie I also found in here: Virginia Field and Maria Ouspenskaya. I actually can't remember what Virginia Field was doing in Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) but anyways, I liked her a lot here as Myra's resilient best friend, who takes to the streets of London with her when she gets kicked out of the troupe defending her. And Ouspenskaya who was notorious for playing madams of all sorts (in Dance, Girl, Dance a burlesque madam and in this one an uppity, Russian madam of a ballet troupe), was terribly annoying to bits and pieces in this, I just wanted to slap her across the face - but that is what the role was supposed to be like, anyways.

The bottom line is: I really, really enjoyed this movie and the performances within it. I want to check out the pre-code 1931 version of it as well, and if you haven't seen this one yet, I really encourage you to do so. Don't deprive yourself for as long as I did and watch it.

PHOTOS & TRIVIA

• This was the personal favorite film of both Vivien Leigh & Robert Taylor
• One of the earliest Hollywood films to include World War II in its plot, as the US had not yet entered the war and Poland had been invaded only a few months before the film's premiere. 

A MOVIE TIDBIT

You should really go watch it, though, and you can do so here. As for now I'll leave you with the most gorgeous scene in the movie that should win your heart over. Just saying. 

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I know I wasn't around last week, but hey, forgive me, I've been reading Gone With the Wind! I have a few posts already written up for this week, though, so I don't think my promises thin and frivolous, dear readers, they haven't been in vain.

ALSO! All bloggers - we have had a wonderful response for our "Great Recasting Blogathon," but we're always looking for more, so if you haven't signed up already, you can check out the details here. Remember, you don't have to choose the film now. (I haven't even decided yet, and I'm co-hosting this thing!) And don't forget to grab a banner for your sidebar to get the word out. Thanks to those who have already joined us! :)

Dueling Divas || Greer vs. Joan ["When Ladies Meet"]

I'm here to write a post for Backlots's "Dueling Divas Blogathon," but first, guys... THANK YOU!!! Over the past two days I have not only reached fifty followers, I've exceeded it. Honestly, you people, I can't thank you enough! Like, every one of you that follow me! I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm overreacting - but I'm thinking back to when no one followed me, and there were no comments, and it was just loneliness, and now I get awesome comments from all of you like everyday, and for me it's really really supportive. <3 So thanks soo  much for following me, I'm really Vivien Leigh cat smiling, and in my appreciation here's a GIF of Greer smiling as large as I am now:

[via]

Thank you so, so, much all of you! And now, onto the blogathon [but THANK YOU AGAIN!]:

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A quick warning: There may be a few spoilers in this, but I'll give you a great fair warning when they're on the way. Apologizes!

About a month ago, I wrote a review for a 1941 MGM vehicle, "When Ladies Meet," starring Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, and one of my newest favorite actresses, Greer Garson. In my review I gave this film three out of five stars, and you can check out the review to read more about what I thought of the actual movie. For this blogathon, I'm going to focus on the rivalry between Greer and Joan's characters in this movie - though the irony of it is, at times they don't really act like rivals at all. Here's the plot, supplied by IMdb [with some slight doctoring by yours truly]:

Mary (Joan Crawford), a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher, Rogers (Herbert Marshall). Her suitor Jimmy (Robert Taylor) is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife, Claire (Greer Garson), without telling Mary who she is - and the two land up liking each other. 

In this first ring we have --

[via]

Claire Woodruff. [Greer Garson]. Beautiful redheaded wife of book publisher Rogers Woodruff [Herbert Marshall]. Bright personality and a little bit of a social butterfly. An elegant dresser and a fan of color blocking. She is an expert sailor and knows everything there is about boats and the like. She does hurt inside over her husband's numerous, obvious infidelities, but it's hard to tell by her bubbly, bright personality.  

And then over in the other ring, we have --

[I actually made this one, that's why it's so awful. ';)]

Mary Howard. [Joan Crawford]. Sometimes called Minnie by friends. A liberally thinking best selling novelist who is appreciative of new thinking and ideas. [Her latest novel happens to be about a love triangle.] Adored by suitor Jimmy [Robert Taylor] but madly in love with her new publisher, Rogers. He's married - but it doesn't matter... sort of. Interesting dresser and lover of big spectacle glasses that make her eyes look even bigger [if that's possible.]

Now that we've got our characters straight, the plot consists of a love triangle between these two beautiful ladies and Herbert Marshall - with Robert Taylor pulling the strings. His character, Jimmy, meets Claire at a party the same night Mary and Rogers are having a romantic dinner at home. He decides to have Claire and Mary meet, hence the title of this film, in hopes of breaking up Mary and Rogers's relationship. However, when he introduces the two to each other, he tricks Claire into pretending to be someone else, and therefore Mary doesn't know that the girl she is so quickly becoming friends with is actually her lover's wife. (After all, she was probably expecting  a frump, not Greer Garson.)

Okay, I'm going to give away the ending of the film here just because I think it needs to be included, but if you'd like you can just skip onto the next paragraph and onto the duel! In the end of the film, everything comes clean. Claire and Mary figure out who each other really are, and Rogers breaks it to Mary that he was never planning on leaving Claire for her. Claire and Mary manage to make amends, for they have respect for each other (after a very deep conversation between the two of them), and Claire leaves by herself (with Rogers chasing after her a little later.) Mary and Jimmy are left alone and the movie ends with the two of them in each other's arms. Predictable for the 40's, the married couple gets back together (most likely), proving adultery wrong - it all coincides with the Hays Code.

The irony of this rivalry is that when Claire and Mary actually meet each other, it isn't even a rivalry at all. Though before they probably contained nasty thoughts about one another, when they meet, well, it's all different - albeit, they don't know really know who the other is. Upon their first meeting, Jimmy introduces Claire to Mary as his "cousin," though Claire and Jimmy purposely act very flirty with one another, and Mary becomes obviously irked. But not much later and the two women are friends, and that night they have a very personal, honest conversation between the two of them. It is here where Claire gives away that her husband is a publisher (she doesn't give a name), and admits his many infidelities and how she feels about them. Here is where the two women grow in immense respect for each other: a respect so great that about ten minutes later, when Rogers bursts in the room and the truth comes out, they still manage to uphold that decency for one another.

Which lady was I rooting for? Okay, it's pretty obvious and call me biased: but Claire, or Greer, all the way. Yes, Mary was the writer, which was one thing I did like about her. But to me Claire's personality was the more likable one. She was really charming, and fashionable, and pretty - you kind of wondered what was wrong with Rogers for cheating on her all the time! I was "impressed", so to say, by her knowledge of sailing. There's a scene where she takes Jimmy on a boating trip that's so hilarious, mostly because Claire knows possibly everything about the boat and Jimmy is a mess. ;)

So yes, I was Team Claire. Since I didn't really like the Rogers character at all ("You dirty cheating rat!"), I more or less wanted Claire to land up with Jimmy. [SPOILER: That obviously didn't happen, but I really would've liked it to, they would've made a cute couple, I think.] 

Then there was Mary. I liked her obviously because she was a novelist, but a lot of it ended there. [Yeah, I can see you guys shaking your heads because you think this obviously isn't a fair comparison, not for me.] I think what bothered me the most was her ignorance of Claire [before she met her and she was a figment of existence, probably a frump who would happen to be her lover's wife]. I think it made her look selfish that upon beginning her affair with Rogers, she was only constrained by a little bit of guilt. It almost disgusted me when she took Rogers out to her friend's farm in Connecticut [this would later become the location of her meeting with Claire] to carry out the affair in a safe environment, more or less to protect herself instead of avoiding hurting Claire.

Plus, her fashion sense was kind of weird. I liked Claire's elegant gowns a lot (and the color blocked day dress she's wearing in the GIF above), but I just wasn't going crazy over Mary's Star Wars-Jedi like dress. And when you threw in the glasses she kinda looked like Gandhi.

When this movie was made, Greer was known for her work in 1940's "Pride and Prejudice", but Joan Crawford was the bigger movie star - it would be another year until the release of "Random Harvest" and "Mrs. Miniver," and Greer's successes in these two vehicles would launch a career that would make her the biggest star of the World War Two era. So at the time, Joan was the more popular one, but reviews of the film today often present Greer as the better actress in this film, and I must agree. But as I said in my review of this movie, Greer and Joan's acting styles are completely different - Greer is refined, Joan is more obvious - and therefore it isn't fair to contrast the two.

I did my best to try and find what the off screen relationship was between the two of these actresses: did they like each other? or not really? Here's what I found:

Greer showing off her legs backstage.

• "Joan was completely nonplussed that I refused to feud with her," said Greer. Apparently Joan grew more irked during filming when she perhaps realized how Greer's character was steeling the film, and it was not a "thankless" role as she had anticipated. About eight years later, Joan would seek revenge by embarrasing Greer at a dinner party. Joan seated Greer's then time beau (and later husband), Buddy Fogelson, at the main table with herself, and sent Greer to sit at the studio electricians table, "Because you get along with everybody, dear!"
• Joan's camp on the other hand, claims, that Joan was simply surprised that Greer was being headlined in this film along such big stars as she and Robert Taylor. She couldn't understand what she was doing there - but then again, she thought Claire's role a "thankless" one.

Oh, well!

Whose side are you on? [Even if you haven't seen this movie.] This is an interesting rivalry, on screen (where at times it wasn't much of a rivalry at all), and off screen, it appears, too!

I had a lot of fun with this topic and I thank Lara at Backlots for coming up with such an interesting topic! Be sure and go over to her blog so you can check out all the other entries! Thank you for hosting this, Lara! 

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By the way, despite the fact that I like Greer Garson a LOT (as we all know) and I was on her side in many ways in this post, I don't want you all to think I despise Joan or anything! And yes, I am Team Bette... but really. And to prove it to you, here's a candid GIF of Joan looking beautiful  with some gorgeous auburn hair: 

Oh, and I thought you all ought to know that while I was writing this post, Jeopardy was on TV and there was a Classic Cinema topic!!! One of the questions was about "Mrs. Miniver," and I nearly fell out of my chair before screaming at the screen the quite obvious answer! I got the daily double, too, after endlessly  insisting, "The African Queen! The African Queen!" 

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FIFTY + FOLLOWERS, EVERYONE! :) I'll be back soon to write a post for the Humphrey Bogart Blogathon!

Sunday Movie Review: 5 Mini Reviews

I have watched so many movies in the past week or so, that I couldn't decide on just one to do for this Sunday's SMR. Therefore, I have decided to do something I've seen Sophie and Clara do. It's basically 5 mini reviews, and well, yeah, it's just like it sounds. I don't plan on doing this often, at least not for SMRs. But this week I couldn't help myself, so I hope you don't mind. And, oh, I did chose "Random Harvest" for my header because that's probably the most well known among the films here. (Most of them are Greer films, a la my current obsession).

With the exception of one of these movies, you can see all of these films online for Free! Clicking the poster (there is a reminder underneath) should take you to the links to watch it if you're interested.

Desire Me 

(1947, no director's credit)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Shortly after WWII, flashbacks tell the story of Marise (Greer Garson), her husband Paul (Robert Mitchum), and Jean (Richard Hart), who was imprisoned with Paul in a German camp. While attempting to escape from the camp Paul is shot, and Jean goes to see Marise, confirming the news she had gotten already about Paul's death. Jean has fallen in love with Marise through the stories Paul told him, and wants to stay with her in the seaside town in Brittany where Paul owned a small business. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: I actually think this plot has a lot of potential. Kind of like My Favorite Wife, except in a reverse and much more dramatic. MUCH more. Anyway, it's obviously got a good ensemble cast, too. My problem with this is the way the plot is depicted did not do justice to the story. Marise and Jean "fall in love" within a week despite the fact Marise had just been confirmed of her husband's death. [SPOILER: Paul turns out not to be dead after all, and when he returns we cannot be satisfied by his reunion with Marise at all, because there was not enough background on the two for us to understand their love for one another, despite the fact that the script tries to make it obvious that these two were madly in love before he set off for war.]. It's all a big flashback and the pairing of Mitchum and Greer are not utilized at all; they have, perhaps, five minutes of screen time together. Richard Hart's character was a big, fat annoying jerk. Entertaining albeit all but this film was worked on by four directors - one of them being George Cukor - and none of them wanted their name on this, so that ought to give you a hint! It is said one of these directors made Greer do 125 takes of the single word, "No!" - at which Robert Mitchum rolled his eyes and could no longer take Hollywood seriously. Uh, well, it's entertaining none the less - though sometimes at it's own expense.

2.5 / 5

Random Harvest

(1942, Meryvn LeRoy)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Wounded World War I soldier Charles (Ronald Colman) has no memory of his past, and when he meets Paula (Greer Garson), he's certain she's the one for him. They marry, but Charles is hit by a car, regains his memory of his life before Paula, and loses all memory of Paula. He returns to his wealthy relatives, and a desperate Paula takes a job as his secretary to be near him in this tragic romantic drama. [from Netflix]

Verdict: Like most everybody, I ADORED this film... and it made me love Greer even more, if it's possible. There really isn't much to say except it's just a wonderfully sweet film whilst still being so entertaining, too. Greer is just wonderful as the beautiful showgirl who takes Charles under her wing and cares for him so. A real sweetheart of a character without being too sappy (so of course, Greer is perfect to play it). And Ronald Colman (by the way, he looks like Clark Gable's twin at times for sure!) as Charles (or "Smithie", for those of you who have seen the movie ;D) - well, he's pretty much adorable, most of the time anyway. I thought he played the part quite well because you must admit, it's certainly a hard one to play. This movie is heartbreaking, glorious, entertaining, but the ending is so satisfying, above all. I strongly encourage you see it; and there isn't really much more left to say. (Except you must see it, seriously!) OH! And go right this instant and watch Greer being fantastically entertaining and adorable in her rendition of the Scottish song "She's Ma Daisy." Seriously, if you haven't fallen in love with Greer yet you will after seeing it. ADORED her and it. (You don't know how long I was going, "She's my daisy!! - My bonny daisy!!" to myself after that... :D).

5/5

Scandal at Scourie

(1953, Jean Negulesco) 

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: The big hearted Victoria McChesney (Greer Garson) meets a little orphan named Patsy by chance, but the two quickly become inseparable. Victoria adopts her and takes her home to husband Patrick (Walter Pidgeon), despite the fact that the McChesneys are Protestants and Patsy Catholic. This causes scandal in the town and puts strains on Patrick, who is trying to run for a position in the town government. This MGM vehicle is set in the 1890s small town of Scourie in French Canada.

Verdict: I actually quite enjoyed this. This film is based around religion so steer clear if you don't like "those" type of movies. I thought it was really sweet and gosh, Greer was wonderful as the gutsy Victoria. (There is actually a scene in here where she marches into a barber shop, red hair flaring, and beats a man with a wet towel - several times - and douses him oil. She then goes home and breaks the news to Patrick in the most adorable way. That scene alone is worth watching the movie!). And I liked Walter too as her husband, and the little girl who played Patsy was adorable. The Technicolor is gorgeous and this beautiful small town of Scourie comes alive excitedly. Plot is perhaps a little dated in some people's eyes, but I had no problems with this and I liked it. Agnes Moorehead makes in appearance as a nun (Sister Josephine), as well! I also think this was the last movie from the famous pairing of Greer and Walter, so if you're a fan of them certainly see it for that reason alone.

4/5

When Ladies Meet

(1941, Robert Z. Leonard)

[you can hit the poster to watch a tidbit of this movie - the whole movie is on Youtube, but you have to pay to see it :( ]

Summary: Mary (Joan Crawford), a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher, Rogers (Herbert Marshall). Her suitor Jimmy (Robert Taylor) is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife, Claire (Greer Garson), without telling Mary who she is - and the two land up liking each other. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: Anyone would get excited to see this film just by checking out that cast! Okay, so I won't call this movie disappointing because by golly it's entertaining. That is for sure. This movie actually had me gasping outloud and going, "Ohhh" because I knew something explosive was going to happen at points. ;) I mean, it's one of those ironic films that can be somewhat frustrating (appropriately so) because you know what's going on and you desperately need the characters to know as they sit there, having nonchalant conversations that are yet so ironic! (If that makes sense). My one issue though was Herbert Marshall. I just didn't like him :( He seemed quite cardboard, and it helped that I hated his character of course. Joan Crawford is good, nothing exactly special - this will sound biased because of the Greer crazy stage I am at currently that I did think that Greer shone brighter BUT this is not to say Joan was bad or anything. And to be fair, Joan and Greer's acting styles are completely different, but that makes it fun to watch. As for Robert Taylor, this was my first movie of his and I really liked him, so I'm certainly going to see more. Back to the plot, though: Another problem was this was the abrupt ending, I HATED it. Had it been done neatly, it may have been able to salvage this film for four stars. A merge between a screwball comedy and a drama, this is worth seeing to see Greer and Joan "meet" but far from being  an excellent film.

3/5 

Ball of Fire

(1941, Howard Hawks)

[this time I'm linking to the lovely Film Classics.com website, where the full movie is uploaded]

Summary: Gary Cooper plays a serious but lovable English professor working with his colleagues on a dictionary of American slang. When a red-hot nightclub singer (Barbara Stanwyck) on the run from the mob takes refuge in their house, she also finds a place in their hearts. But where there's a ball of fire there's bound to be trouble, and before they know it, the professor and his cohorts are learning a lot about language -- and life. Howard Hawks directs. [from Netflix]

Verdict: This has also got a really great cast. Besides Coop and Stany, you've got some of my character actor favorites among the "seven dwarfs" (AKA, Gary's professor colleagues), like S.Z "Cuddles" Sakall (I simply ADORE him and get excited whenever his name runs through the opening credits of a film), Henry Travers (who was Clarence in one of my favorite films, "It's a Wonderful Life"), and Richard Haydn (Max in another favorite: "The Sound of Music"). To top it off, Dana Andrews playing a mobster. ;) I really enjoyed this movie and I learned a lot of 40's slang, so I wish I'd seen it before I'd written my vintage vocabulary post last month. Gary Cooper was adorable and loveable as the nerdy professor ("I love him because he doesn't know how to kiss," Stany explains) and Barbara Stanwyck a lot of fun as Sugarpuss O'Shea. I know Lucy wanted this role really badly, and I of course would have loved to have seen her play it, BUT this is not staying Barbara was bad because she wasn't. She was really good. (Only you know the nutsy Lucy fan I am, I wish she was in everything (; ). Anyway, this was a fun screwball comedy directed by one of the masters of the genre, Howard Hawks (he needs no referencing, but "Bringing up Baby", for starters). I suggest you watch it, a daffy little modern take on Snow White and the seven drawfs. :) Also, watch it for the adorable "yum yum" scene with Stany and Coop. :)

4/5 

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This post actually took me a lot longer to write then I thought it would! -;) But I had fun writing it and was kind of surprised with the variation of ratings I gave the films. Anyhow, I'm sorry I didn't just review one film but I hope you were able to get my opinions on all five anyway and enjoyed reading. Like I said, I don't exactly plan to make a habit of doing these mini reviews for the SMR, but for this Sunday I had to make allowances.

By the away, a quick plug for the blogathon Bette at Bette's Classic Movie Blog is hosting: it's called Mustaches for Movember, and the subject is basically to write anything pertaining to classic movies and mustaches. A strange topic, but it's in honor of this program called Movember which raises awareness each November for men cancers. Bette can explain it better than I can (in fact, I probably confused you) so go take a stroll over to her blog and be sure and sign up - if you write a blog, that is! ;)

Also a plug for myself: again, if you haven't voted in the Rebel Without a Cause vs. West Side Story poll, please do as we're tied currently with three votes each. If you care to break that tie, scroll up to my sidebar and vote for the better film (in your opinion)! Poll will end in four days.

One quick last note: Thank you for 40 + followers and to the rest of you that read my blog through other subscriptions :) My followers gadget is slightly screwing up at times, I think for the moment it's alright, but I am trying to fix some problems it may have with not displaying all of my followers. 

That's it, so have a great start into the week, everyone!