30 Questions, AKA the reason I've been an antisocial blogger.

Thanks to the increasingly (and deservingly) lionized Matthew Coniam of Movietone News, I've another survey to complete, this time about films of the thirties and forties. Well, mainly.



So here goes. It's terribly hard by the looks of it. Especially that last one-- gulp.


But first, this is the reason I haven't read a lot of your blogs on this topic. Didn't want to subconsciously steal your answers, y'know. ;)

1. Your favorite Humphrey Bogart film in which he doesn't play a gangster or a private eye. (Oh, and not including Casablanca either.)
Marked Woman. No doubt. His performance in that one is my favorite, including his performances as hoods and whatnot.

2. Your favorite appearance by a star in drag (boy-girl or girl-boy).
Well, I suppose the obvious answer for me'd be Katharine in Sylvia Scarlett, but...the one that first came to mind was June Preisser in Sweater Girl. That hat is simply divine.

3. Your favorite Laurel & Hardy film; short or feature, or one of each. (This will sort out the men from the boys - or perhaps the men from the girls.)
You're Darn Tootin'. The first one I ever saw, and still my favorite.

4. Your favorite appearance by one star in a role strongly associated with another star. (E.g.: Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, Grace Kelly as Tracy Lord, Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates...)
Vince Vaughan as Norman Bates. Hah! You wish. Man alive-- I keep forgetting this is 30s and 40s. So I'll say it anyway...Tammy Blanchard as Sybil in...Sybil. But sticking to the rules I'll make it Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett. Then again, she and Judy are both pretty famous for it. And this in no way means I prefer Janet to Judy. Just thought I’d clarify, hee hee.

5. The thirties or forties star or stars you most think you'd like, but have yet to really get to know.
Ooh, good 'un. Audrey Totter. And Tallulah Bankhead probably. After all, she was friends with Dorothy Parker. As for the men, Van Johnson seemed like a nice guy. But I’ve only seen him in one or two things. Same for Lew Ayres.

6. Your favorite pre-Petrified Forest Bette Davis film.
Tie between Dangerous and Bordertown. Is that allowed? ;)

7. Your favorite post-Mildred Pierce Joan Crawford film.
Johnny Guitar. I just adore seeing gals in westerns.

8. Your favorite film that ends with the main character's death.
Well, Dark Victory's definitely up there...that or Waterloo Bridge. Ooh, or DOA. I’m too indecisive for my own good.

9. Your favorite Chaplin talkie.
Monsieur Verdoux, but (shh-- don’t tell) I’ve never seen Limelight. Relax though, I just added it to my Amazon cart.

10. Your favorite British actor and actress.
Robert Donat and Margaret Lockwood, but Phyllis Calvert’s growing on me.
EDIT: Okay, I peeked at someone’s answers. I need to get it into my head that Vivien Leigh is indeed a British actress. Ho hum.

11. Your favorite post-1960 appearance by a 1930's star.
Olivia de Havilland in Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. If she qualifies as a ’30s star. She should, by the way.

12. Dietrich or Garbo?
Garbo. For now, as I've yet to really watch a lot of Marlene.

13. Karloff or Lugosi?
I fell in love with Lugosi when I first saw a picture of him from The Black Cat. How debonair can you get?

14. Chaplin or Keaton? (I know some of you will want to say both for all of the above. Me too. But you can't.)
Keaton. But you must understand how very hard it was for me to choose. I hope Charlie does.

15. Your favorite star associated predominantly with the 1950's.
Gloria Grahame...Is that okay? Golly I hope so. Because I was gonna say Lucille Ball, but the work I love most isn't associated with the fifties-- she is. Oh drat, I just rambled, didn't I?

16. Your favorite Melvyn Douglas movie.
Too Many Husbands. Only because A Woman’s Face belongs too much to Joan. So there. ;)

17. The box-office failure you most think should have been a success.
Well, I’d love to say The Pirate, but I can understand why it was a failure at the time. Silly audiences. So I’ll go with Sturges’ Unfaithfully Yours. Linda Darnell, Rex Harrison-- brilliant.

18. Your favorite performance by an actor or actress playing drunk.
I know it’s only for a bit, but Una Merkel in Midnight Mary plays drunk to perfection. So that’s it for me.

19. Your favorite last scene of any thirties movie.
Why oh why couldn’t The Lady Eve have been made just two years earlier? Shucks...how about Bringing Up Baby?

20. Your favorite American non-comedy silent movie.
Too difficult, so I’m going to rely on one of my favorite techniques-- cheating. Sadie Thompson or The Eyes of Julia Deep.

21. Your favorite Jean Harlow performance.
The Beast of the City....I like her in comedy, but prefer her in stuff like this.

22. Your favorite remake. (Quizmaster's definition: second or later version of a work written as a movie, not a later adaptation of the same novel or play.)
Good definition. Um...Good News, from ‘47. Though I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t really
compare.

23. Your favorite Orson Welles performance in a film he did not direct, not including The Third Man.
Actually, the only movies I’ve seen with Orson (that aren’t off limits, of course) are The Long Hot Summer and Three Cases of Murder, so I’ll go with the latter.

24. Your favorite non-gangster or musical James Cagney film or performance.
Does Hard to Handle count? He’s not really a gangster...more of a general ne’er-do-well.

25. Your favorite Lubitsch movie.
One Hour With You. But Trouble in Paradise is a close second. And I’ve always wanted to see Cluny Brown.

26. Who would win in a fight: Miriam Hopkins or Barbara Stanwyck? (Both in their prime; say in 1934 or so.)
You kidding? Well, Bette shook Miriam around, and Barbara could totally take Bette, so it’s Barbara Stanwyck by a mile-- and she wouldn’t even break a sweat. She wouldn't have to put a doorknob in her glove for it, either...

27. Name the two stars you most regret never having co-starred with each other, and - if you want - choose your dream scenario for them. (Quizmaster's qualification: they have to be sufficiently contemporary to make it possible. So, yes to Cary Grant and Lon Chaney Jr. as two conmen in a Howard Hawks screwball; no to Clara Bow and Kirsten Dunst as twin sisters on the run from prohibition agents in twenties Chicago, much though that may entice.)
Okay. Linda Darnell and Judy Garland, in a sort of film noir spoof. Like Lady on a Train, but this time with two ladies. Hahaha, I’m probably the only person who’d see it, but you did ask. I was gonna say John Wayne and Stanwyck, but then remembered he had part in Baby Face. Thank goodness. Otherwise this would be far too hard.

28. Your favorite Lionel Barrymore performance.
Sue me, but it’s You Can’t Take It With You. If you’d have said favorite Lionel Barrymore film, the answer’d be altogether different. :)

29. Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard or Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour? (See note on question 14.)
Eek-- you’re killing me. Bob and Paulette, but only because of my sworn loyalty to Paulette. Otherwise, I like him best when with Lamour.

30. You won't want to answer this, but: there's been a terrible fire raging in the film libraries of all the major studios. It's far too late to save everything. All you can do is save as much as you can. You've been assigned the thirties. All you'll have time to drag from the obliterating inferno is one 1930's film each from Paramount, MGM, RKO, Columbia, Universal and Warners. Do you stomp around in a film buff's huff saying 'it's too hard, I can't choose just one' and watch them all go up in smoke? Or do you roll your sleeves up and start saving movies?But if the latter: which ones...?
Ahh! This is entirely too cruel. Thirties is the toughest of all (but you knew that, didn’t you?)
Well, I was gonna come up with awesome answers of movies that had tons of stars, or compilation films and such, but then decided to pick my actual favorites. So, here goes...but please, never ever (ever) try to recreate this one in life.

RKO--Stage Door. Ha, Ginger and Kate! Take that, fire!
Paramount-- I’m No Angel
MGM--I’m giving two answers. Gone With the Wind and (because MGM didn’t really produce GWTW by itself) Babes in Arms.
Universal-- Dracula.
Warner Bros.-- Baby Face. (I think I can actually hear Bette screaming)

I think I’d manage to save these and, in the midst of choosing between His Girl Friday and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for Columbia, pass out due to smoke inhalation. I did try though, but just couldn’t save them all. Don’t judge me. ;)

Sigh. Now that’s over, I can read all of your marvelous posts.