Classic Romantic Comedies Vol. 3: The Mad Miss Manton

We travel, this time, two years later than our last entry into this series, all the way to 1938 for what will likely be the most obscure romantic comedy that I write about.  It features a duo who will definitely appear again, and a women who you will soon grow tired of me praising. 

Directed by Liegh Jason, The Mad Miss Manton, stars the great Brabara Stanwyck as wealthy (is there any other kind?) socialite Melsa Manton, who stumbles upon a corpse in an abandoned building one night while walking her dogs.  When she returns with the police the body is gone, and the cops and media brand it as another one of her (and her band of socialite friends') pranks of which the whole of Manhattan are intimately familiar with.  Reporter, Peter Ames, played by Henry Fonda, is particularly nasty in his apprasial of Miss Manton's trickster ways in a column that he writes for a local paper.  Concerned with solving the murder, saving her name, and sticking it to Peter Ames, Melsa and her band of friends go investigating.  What follows is a delightful 80 minute romp in which Melsa and her girls slowly uncover the identity of the body and the perpetrator, with Ames and the police nipping at their heels.

As you would expect, Ames quickly changes his tune about Melsa, deciding that there is something to her story and mounts his own investigation.  The two butt heads, and as you would expect end up together at the end, and it is their sparkling banter that really lifts this out of the realm of silly screwball comedy and into something more special.  The dialogue is sharp and delivered at a machine gun pace, and as is the case with the majority of comedies starring Barbara Stanwyck she is the smartest person in the room and easily lays Henry Fonda's character to waste.

It is interesting to note that Henry Fonda hated his role in this film, and resented being forced to star in it (a victim of Hollywood's studio system).  He is quoted as saying that he did his best to ignore everything that had to do with the film, including the director and his leading lady.  It is said that his relationship with Stanwyck on this film was very icy, which is surprising considering their considerable chemistry.  It comes as an even greater shock that they would work together on two more occasions, and that Fonda would later admit to a great fondness for Stanwyck that some say was more akin to love.  As mentioned previously, this will not be the last time we focus on this duo.

Here's the first few minutes of the film:

Forgotten Retro Film Gem - The Rocketeer

A couple weeks back I re-aquainted myself with the 1991 Joe Johnston directed film The Rocketeer.  I think that it is a film that deserves its due; not only as a fun family friendly action adventure movie, but also as a great demonstration of the magic of art direction.

The Rocketeer takes place in 1938 Hollywood, where the glamour of Hollywood clubs, studios, and estates is juxtaposed against gritty depression era airfields.  The titular hero, test pilot Cliff (played by the sadly forgotten Bill Campbell) discovers an experimental jet pack one day after a police chase destroys the plane that he and his partner Peevy have put their entire savings into.  After briefly testing the pack a near disaster forces Cliff to don the pack.  His escapades lead the media to dub him the Rocketeer and alert mobsters to the existence of this deadly weapon.  Throw in Cliffs plucky damsel in distress girlfriend Jenny, played by Jennifer Connelly, and a dapper Hollywood heartthrob with sinister motives and you've got a fun little adventure film.

The movie is a treat, but it's the art direction that is unbelievable.  From the fantastic period costumes, especially those featured in the South Seas Club sequence,  to the antique planes, to the phenomenal set design.  I especially have to mention the South Seas Club once again, from the women in the water tanks dressed as mermaids, to the giant clam shell that opens to reveal a sexy torch singer, to the sea shell shaped podiums that the band sit behind it ranks very high on my list of favourite film sets.  Just to whet your appetite, here's a scene featuring the club...