A Woman Rebels (1936)
[6] Katharine Hepburn plays a woman determined to dodge marriage and make a career for herself. She gets pretty far, until an unexpected turn of events turns her into a single mother. A Woman Rebels presents a peek at the…
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
[7] Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland reteam after their initial pairing in Captain Blood. This time, they're in a love triangle that plays out during an Indian massacre of British women and children, later spurring into action the contents…
Tarzan Escapes (1936)
[6] Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan take a third swing at playing Tarzan and Jane in another solid entry in the long-running Tarzan series. This time around, swindlers convince Jane to leave the jungle to settle an inheritance dispute back…
Satan Met a Lady (1936)
[4] This second retelling of The Maltese Falcon (before John Huston proved the the third time was the charm) is a bizarre pseudo-comedy with an ingratiating performance by Warren William in the role Humphrey Bogart would later immortalize. Warren got…
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
[5] This early Best Picture Oscar winner is a three-hour mix of song, dance, and narrative, much like Broadway Melody before it. I was expecting a real stinker, especially when the opening credits revealed "Fashion Parades by Adrian". But apart…
Swing Time (1936)
[6]
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, filmdom’s undisputed dancing duo, are at their apex in Swing Time, directed by George Stevens (is there any genre that man didn’t tackle?) I’m not a fan of old song and dance flicks, but Swing Time is cute enough. The dancing sections are consistently entertaining and technically innovative. My favorite number is one where Astaire dances with three shadows of himself. They’re in synch for a while, and then start competing with each other. Unfortunately, Fred’s in black face for the whole number, but you’ll have that in films from the 30s and 40s.