Search for Beauty (1934)

Search for Beauty (1934)

[6] Three con artists trick two celebrity athletes into serving as editors for a new 'Health and Fitness' magazine. The athletes (Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino) soon learn they are just figureheads meant to draw credibility and increase circulation for…
Thirty Day Princess (1934)

Thirty Day Princess (1934)

[6] Sylvia Sidney (Sabotage, Beetlejuice) plays two roles in this spin on the classic tale of The Prince and the Pauper. After a European princess (Sidney) comes down with the mumps on a good will tour of America, her political…
Ladies Should Listen (1934)

Ladies Should Listen (1934)

[5] Cary Grant stars as a wealthy Parisian with terrible taste in women. When one of his most recent girlfriends rejects him over the phone, he jokes about killing himself -- bringing his apartment's telephone operator, played by Frances Drake…
Twentieth Century (1934)

Twentieth Century (1934)

[6] A floundering Broadway director ingratiates himself to an old flame in order to rekindle his career in Twentieth Century. This film is often regarded as the grandfather of screwball comedy, one of my favorite genres. John Barrymore and Carole…
The Little Minister (1934)

The Little Minister (1934)

[5] A young minister (John Beal) falls in love with a gypsy (Katharine Hepburn) and begins a village scandal. Hepburn and Beal are fairly matched and the rural setting is lovingly evoked through impressive indoor sets. The story, based on…
Spitfire (1934)

Spitfire (1934)

[4] Katharine Hepburn goes as far against type as possible in Spitfire, playing a hillbillie faith healer who gets accused of witchcraft by her backwoods community. Hepburn is far too erudite to sell the role convincingly, but it's interesting to…
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

[8] This one is often regarded as the first quintessential Alfred Hitchcock film, and what's not to like? A little girl is kidnapped and her family are forced to go through the hoops for her safe return. Peter Lorre steals…
Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

[6] Poachers are looking to rob a legendary elephant graveyard of its ivory in the first Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan sequel. I think the sequel is just as entertaining as the original.  The sexual innuendo is more pronounced (we even get…
Born to Be Bad (1934)

Born to Be Bad (1934)

[6] Cary Grant and Loretta Young star in this pre-Code drama about a devious mother and her young son who feign injury to fleece a wealthy businessman after a minor car accident. Hollywood is known for neat and tidy little…
Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

[5] I love the concept, but Death Takes a Holiday has a hard time overcoming the theatricality of its source material, a stage play by Alberto Casella. The sets are extravagant and the visual effects used to depict Death are…