Tonight's Movie: The Final Edition (1932)

THE FINAL EDITION is a very enjoyable entry in the long line of newspaper movies I've watched so far this year. It provides a strong role for Mae Clarke as a fearless newswoman.

Clarke plays Anne Woodman, a reporter on the Bulletin. Anne's on-again, off-again boyfriend is also her editor, Sam Bradshaw (Pat O'Brien).

When a crusading Police Commissioner (Wallis Clark) is murdered, Anne is determined to get the story. Her enterprising detective work leads her to Sid Malvern (Bradley Page), the assassin, and some incriminating papers. When Malvern discovers Anne is on to him, her life is in danger...

THE FINAL EDITION has a good script with some sharp lines and nicely done wisecracks. (References to coke and heroin are among the giveaways that this film is a pre-Code.) The story moves along at a brisk pace, wrapping up in 66 minutes. Despite the short running time, O'Brien and Clarke do a good job putting some color into what otherwise might be stock characters.

O'Brien is relatively understated as the news editor, and he tends to recede into the background as a supporting character, while Clarke is the one who drives the movie's action. This is Clarke's film all the way, as she eavesdrops on the commissioner's widow (Bertha Mann) giving key information to the police, then follows Malvern to his vacation hideout, luring him with a ladylike "come hither" act and a black bathing suit.

It's a particularly good role for Clarke, seen by me this year in THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931), THREE WISE GIRLS (1932), and LADY KILLER (1933). Her "innocent" act in the final sequence, after being caught redhanded with the crooks' incriminating papers, is quite funny, as she insists on correcting the men's grammar while they threaten her.

It was rather interesting comparing this film to the later FRONT PAGE WOMAN (1935) with George Brent and Bette Davis. O'Brien as the editor in THE FINAL EDITION is more respectful of the female reporter's abilities in this, yet at the end Clarke suddenly announces that reporting is too stressful and she'd like to take O'Brien up on his marriage proposal. It's rather ironic that Clarke bluntly quits, meanwhile in FRONT PAGE WOMAN, George Brent hounds Bette Davis to quit throughout the film, yet ultimately seems open to them continuing to work together.

THE FINAL EDITION was directed by Howard Higgin. It was shot by Joseph Walker. The supporting cast includes James Donlan, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Mary Doran, and Morgan Wallace.

This movie is not available on DVD or VHS. It can be seen on Turner Classic Movies.

"Newspaper" films previously reviewed this year: THE LAWLESS (1950), TRY AND GET ME (1950), HIGH TIDE (1947), PICTURE SNATCHER (1933), JOHNNY COME LATELY (1943), APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW (1957), THE SELLOUT (1952), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), and FRONT PAGE WOMAN (1935).

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings in The Dark Pages

Over at Speakeasy, Kristina has a preview of the latest "really big" issue of the film noir publication The Dark Pages. This new issue focuses entirely on two key noir actors, Robert Ryan and Sterling Hayden.

I'm happy to share that I contributed an article on Robert Ryan and his role in the founding of Oakwood School, a private school in North Hollywood which is now six decades old. It's a unique story which I hope sheds a little light on the man Robert Ryan was off camera.

Kristina has a great overview on the issue, including the names of several other bloggers who contributed.

Subscription info for The Dark Pages can be found here.

This is the perfect time to wish my Dark Pages editor, Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, Happy Blogiversary! Karen's excellent blog Shadows and Satin just turned two years old. Congratulations, Karen!

Previous Dark Pages posts: January 2011, December 2011, and January 2013.

Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Coming next week: AVA GARDNER: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS, based on interviews with the late writer Peter Evans. According to Vanity Fair, the conversations were for a planned memoir which was dropped, as Gardner became gunshy when she learned Evans had had a legal tangle with Frank Sinatra years earlier. She later published AVA: MY STORY with another writer. Evans obtained the permission of the Gardner Estate to publish the interviews prior to his own passing in August 2012.

..."36 Reasons to Love London." (Via Viv and Larry.) My daughter particularly appreciated Nos. 6, 7, and 9 during her months in London, where she became addicted to Indian food!

...Among the DVDs coming this August from Criterion: TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942) and THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE... (1953). And coming in September: THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965).

...Hollywood has convinced the powers-that-be to remove most of the green bicycle lane paint which was making location filming in Downtown Los Angeles problematic.

...Raquel reviewed Robert Montgomery in SO THIS IS COLLEGE (1929) for "Warner Archive Wednesday" at Out of the Past. Since it stars one of my favorite actors and is set at my daughter's alma mater, USC, this is one I have to see!

...I enjoy perusing the annual Books for the Beach list compiled by Virginia Hume (daughter of newsman Brit Hume). CITIZENS OF LONDON by Lynne Olson, on the nonfiction list, is now on my "to read" list, as I've always been interested in the London Blitz.

...Among recent posts at Greenbriar Picture Shows: Robert Taylor in THE LAST HUNT (1956) -- John McElwee writes that Taylor "registers darker than dark and ramps Old West noir to level of heavy-lidded menace few stars of his stature would have dared" -- and a story on Harold Lloyd and SAFETY LAST! (1923).

...Coming in October: VIVIEN LEIGH: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT by Kendra Bean of Viv and Larry. Kendra is a Californian now living in London.

...Some Warner Archive reviews of interest by Glenn Erickson at DVD Savant: Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 7, THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944), and I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI (1951).

...POWDER RIVER (1953), a recent Fox Cinema Archives DVD release, receives an enthusiastic review from Toby at 50 Westerns From the 50s. You've got to love a Western with a supporting cast including John Dehner, Frank Ferguson, and Robert J. Wilke, just for starters. Those were the days!

...I've had good luck with the print quality of '40s Fox Cinema Archives releases. I'm very interested in the new release PARIS AFTER DARK (1943) starring George Sanders and Brenda Marshall.

...I've recently come across some interesting BELL TELEPHONE HOUR DVDs, such as Howard Keel with guests Ann Blyth and Sally Ann Howes, John Raitt with guest Rise Stevens, Gordon MacRae with Sheila MacRae, and Carol Lawrence with Robert Goulet, Howard Keel, Larry Kert, and Matt Mattox. I'm going to have to check some of these TV concerts out!

...Back in print in August: a 60th Anniversary Edition of the children's classic LITTLE WITCH by Anna Elizabeth Bennett.

...Kristen reviews the 2002 biography Pier Angeli: A Fragile Life at Journeys in Classic Film. It was written by Jane Allen and published by McFarland.

...Notable Passing: Sad news this week with the passing of James Gandolfini at the too-early age of 51. His funeral will be Thursday. The film credits of the SOPRANOS star included last year's ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012).

Have a great week!

Today at Disneyland: Tiki Room Golden Anniversary

Today marked the Golden Anniversary of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened in Adventureland on June 23, 1963.

Disneyland marked the anniversary in style, reprinting the original brochure introducing the attraction, which describes the show as being "brought to life through the wonders of AUDIO ANIMATRONICS!"

The crowds were out in force today to visit the "musical luau":

There were also climbers scaling the Matterhorn today! Click the photo to enlarge.

After stopping by the Tiki Room, we switched parks and enjoyed an afternoon with friends at California Adventure, where we rode Toy Story Midway Mania, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and Grizzly River Rapids.

All in all, another great afternoon at the Disneyland Resort!

October 2013 Update: Here's a photo post on the Tiki Tiki Tiki Realms exhibit in the Opera House.

A Visit to Monument Valley: Part Three

Time now for the third and final post looking back at my recent visit to Monument Valley.

Part One, focusing on Goulding's Lodge, can be found here. Part Two, which covered the Lodge museum and a location for SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949), is here.

This time around I'm sharing some of the beautiful scenery as seen in John Ford's films. While Goulding's Lodge is located in Arizona, these movie locations are found in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which is just over the state line in Utah. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park has a $5 entrance fee per day.

There's a dirt road which loops through the park past most of these sites. It's a bumpy road which must be driven very slowly; the complete loop takes between two to three hours. The map is laid out for drivers in a brochure given out at the park entrance.

Despite the difficulty of the road, I much preferred driving it in our own air-conditioned car to the option of the open-air tour vehicles seen throughout the valley, as those passengers appeared to be fighting the dust and wind.

One of the most famous sites in the valley is John Ford's Point...

...which can be seen in THE SEARCHERS (1956):

This is one of the monuments known as the Mittens:

And more beautiful scenery:

Those who love Westerns in general and John Ford Westerns in particular should definitely make it a point to visit Monument Valley. Two days and one night was the perfect amount of time for us to take in everything we wanted to see and do; my husband even took an early morning horseback ride through the valley.  He provided the photos of the interesting rock formations with holes seen above.

The Monument Valley area has changed little over the decades, and the scenery is pretty much exactly as Ford and Company saw and filmed it. I found it even more moving than I expected to see the valley in person and walk in the footsteps of filmmakers I admire so greatly. Monument Valley is a highly recommended experience.

Tonight's Movie: The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1942)

THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE is an entertaining entry in the early '40s Michael Shayne detective series starring Lloyd Nolan.

Shayne is called by his friend, Catherine Wolff (effervescent Marjorie Weaver), to masquerade as her brand-new husband after someone takes a shot at her at the family mansion.

There are plenty of strange goings-on at the mansion, where dark and stormy nights abound.  Those on hand include Catherine's father (Paul Harvey), beautiful stepmother (Helene Reynolds), and a scientist (Henry Wilcoxon) working in the basement.

There's also a slew of family servants, including the butler (Billy Bevan), the caretaker (Francis Ford), the cook (Ruth Warren), and a maid (Mary Field). The local chief of police (Olin Howlin) is also around for the fun along with the coroner (Jeff Corey). Things get even crazier when Catherine's real bridegroom (Richard Derr) suddenly shows up.

This is a variant on an "old dark house" mystery, with Nolan's wisecracking Shayne and Weaver's bouncy bride lightening the tone considerably; Howlin's police chief is also nicely amusing.  The scene where the chief patrols the mansion during a rainstorm is a stitch.

THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE is a fun comedy-drama which wraps everything up in a tight 65 minutes, just as a good detective series movie should.

Marjorie Weaver had previously appeared in MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (1940) and would later appear in another entry in the series, JUST OFF BROADWAY (1942). In each of the three Michael Shayne movies she appeared in, she played a different character.

The movie was directed by Herbert I. Leeds. It was photographed in black and white by Joe MacDonald. The musical score was by David Raksin (LAURA).

This movie was the fifth film in the series; it was the fourth and final film in the Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. I DVD collection, which for unknown reasons omitted the third title in the series, DRESSED TO KILL (1941). The DVD can be rented from ClassicFlix.

Previous reviews of films in the Michael Shayne series: MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (1940), SLEEPERS WEST (1941), DRESSED TO KILL (1941), and BLUE, WHITE AND PERFECT (1942).

Tonight's Movie: Monsters University (2013)

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is a highly enjoyable Disney-Pixar film which provides smart fun for the entire family.

Naturally, the film lacks some of the surprises of the original MONSTERS, INC. (2001), which debuted unusual concepts such as monsters being jolly good guys who scare as a way to power the monster universe.

That said, the movie gets high marks for meticulously creating a monsters college world, which was also shared via the movie's brilliant Monsters University website and marketing campaign.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY takes the characters back in time to when Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) first sets foot on the campus of Monsters U. He first meets Sullivan (John Goodman) when blustery showoff Sulley -- the son of a famous monster -- arrives late to the first day of class.

Sulley seems as though he's on the fast track to be a champion scarer from the outset, but nice, earnest Mike has to study hard for a chance to make the grade in the School of Scaring. Imperious Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) is skeptical that Mike has what it takes to be truly scary.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is a well-made, upbeat film which may be slightly predictable, as Mike and Sulley experience "personal growth" via their friendship and their college experience, but it is no less enjoyable for that. There are plenty of amusing and recognizable moments, particularly for anyone who's ever been to college.

Crystal and Goodman are perfect voicing their characters; the friendship of Mike and Sulley is right up there with that of Woody and Buzz in the Pixar pantheon.

While watching the movie, I reflected how much I appreciated that MONSTERS UNIVERSITY lacks the darkness of Pixar films such as WALL-E (2008) and UP (2009), which is the same reaction I had to the original MONSTERS, INC. It's a relief to watch an animated film which is simply funny and goodhearted, without some of the typical dark overtones which tend to turn up not just in Pixar films, but also in a number of classic Disney cartoons, including PINOCCHIO, BAMBI, DUMBO...

The film also blissfully lacks the crass touches and tacky language which marred the otherwise creative WRECK-IT RALPH (2012). I agreed with many of the points along these lines in Leonard Maltin's review. It's a movie parents can show their children with absolutely no hesitation, and that's sadly a rare thing these days. It also won't rot the brain cells of either children or their parents, but instead is intelligent and amusing.

Some reviewers seem to have been extra-hard on the film because it didn't reach the high standards Pixar has so often attained. But the reality is that most of the movies I watch are not four-star classics, but good, solid middle-of-the-road movies which tend to wear well over time. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is certainly in that league.

Nathan Fillion (CASTLE) voices frat boy Johnny; I was amused that the ROR fraternity members were decked out in USC colors and wondered whether it was a coincidence.

Steve Buscemi, who voiced Randy in the original, also recreates his original role. Pixar regulars Bonnie Hunt and John Ratzenberger are both on hand, and when Ratzenberger's Yeti shows up late in the film, there's a wonderful inside joke regarding his job.

I need to watch the movie again to find the Pizza Planet truck and the Luxo, Jr. ball which appear in each Pixar movie, as I was completely oblivious to them on my first viewing!

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY was directed by Dan Scanlon. It runs 110 minutes.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY was preceded by the Pixar short THE BLUE UMBRELLA (2013). I felt that THE BLUE UMBRELLA was a little too derivative of Disney's Oscar-winning cartoon short PAPERMAN (2012) or even ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (1961), as two umbrellas find each other and, in so doing, unite their owners. That said, some of the shots were exquisite; I particularly loved the look up into the falling rain and the shots of blue and red rain boots.

Tonight's Movie: Hard to Handle (1933)

HARD TO HANDLE is a fairly amusing James Cagney pre-Code which is part of the Warner Archive's Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 5 DVD collection.

Cagney plays Myron "Lefty" Merrill, who's always hatching a plot to make money. He meets Ruth (Mary Brian) when she wins a dance contest he sponsors -- but his partner skips out with the grand prize money.

Despite that little problem, sparks fly between Ruth and Lefty, to the horror of Ruth's mercenary mother, Lil (Ruth Donnelly), who wants pretty Ruth to marry someone with lots of money.

Lefty courts Ruth coast to coast, through good times and bad, with her mother alternately helping or hindering his campaign for Ruth's hand in marriage, depending on how much he has in his bank account at the time.

Cagney is his usual energetic self as a go-getter always looking for the next big money-making idea. Mary Brian, of BLESSED EVENT (1932) and GIRL MISSING (1933), does a nice job as Cagney's sweetheart.

Ruth Donnelly is one of my favorite character actresses, but her ultra-managing mother in this is way over the top and wears a little thin at times. That said, she does have some very good lines, and it was a huge role for her. In reality, she was just a decade older than her onscreen "daughter," and just three years older than Cagney.

Allen Jenkins is one of the film's top-billed actors, but he's only in one sequence, as the radio announcer for the dance contest which opens the movie. Sterling Holloway is one of the dance contestants. Claire Dodd plays her typical role as the "bad girl" other woman with verve.

I was puzzled by an actor who looked a lot like Frank McHugh but clearly wasn't him; the mystery was solved when I learned it was McHugh's brother, Matt!

Fans of Cagney's THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) will appreciate the joke that one of his get-rich-quick schemes in HARD TO HANDLE is called "Grapefruit Acres."

Early on in the film, when Lefty comes up with a promotional treasure hunt scheme for a seaside amusement park, I recognized Pacific Ocean Park, which can also be seen in GUN CRAZY (1950) and MAN IN THE DARK (1953).

HARD TO HANDLE was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and filmed by Barney McGill. It runs 78 minutes.

Previously reviewed films from the Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 5 Collection: MISS PINKERTON (1932) and LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT (1933).

Today at Disneyland: A Visit to Club 33

We're very fortunate to have been able to visit Club 33, Disneyland's "secret" members-only fine dining restaurant, a few times over the years.

Club 33 is always a very, very special experience, so we were happy to be able to visit again to celebrate our younger daughter's high school graduation. We've taken each of our children for a visit as they graduate; three down, one to go!

It was a lot of fun showing her the phone booth from one of her favorite Disney movies, THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE (1967), as well as the table from MARY POPPINS (1964), the harpsichord ordered by Mrs. Disney, and the very special French lift up to the dining floor.

Taking in the view of New Orleans Square from the Club 33 balcony:

The complimentary mini appetizer featured cucumber and caviar, followed by a citrus drink chaser. My first time to taste caviar! I enjoyed it.

After dinner the restaurant surprised our daughter with this nifty dessert:

She loved the cake, and she also said that her Shirley Temple drink -- called a Mickey Mouse at Club 33 -- was the best she's ever tasted.

Our chocolate cake was likewise amazing, worth every penny!

This fall our daughter heads for her paternal grandparents' alma mater, the University of Oregon, where she currently plans to major in communications. Her other goals include studying abroad in Germany and joining the marching band, though college plans are always subject to change. It should be an exciting four years!

Photos from previous visits: June 2006, August 2007, and June 2011.

For more on Club 33, an article was posted earlier this year at an L.A. Weekly blog, and more photos and details are at Eater.com.

Update: Here are photos of our 2016 visit!