Becky Sharp ~ 1935 -colour

QUICKIE: It's "Gone With The Wind" in shorthand.

PLOT: Set against the background of the Battle of Waterloo, Becky Sharp (Miriam Hopkins) is the story of Vanity Fair by Thackeray. Becky and Amelia (Francis Dee) are girls at school together, but Becky is from a "show biz" family, or in other words, very low class. Becky manages to insinuate herself in Amelia's family and gets to know all their friends. In the movie we get to see the class distinctions in England at the time, and get a sense of what it was like for the English military at the time of the Napoleonic wars. We also get a clear look at how "orphans" are viewed and treated. Her mistreatment forms her character into a sardonic gold digging social climber. After using various men to raise her status within society, Becky's standing is dealt a serious blow and she is forced to work as a singing girl in a beer hall. Undaunted by her decline, Becky vows to once again gain her status within society and eventually resumes her climb.

SUMMARY: Miriam Hopkins was nominated for an Oscar for her role, but lost to Bette Davis for her film Dangerous. (IMDB) This film was nominated for two other categories at the Venice Film Festival and won Best Colour Film. This was the first feature-length three-color film, the very first film in "Technicolor". It is a remake of Vanity Fair, yet a different film in many respects. So, there is alot of talk about this film and how it compares to the novel, the Broadway play, it's various remakes, and all the hub-bub over the colour. While all of that is interesting, none of it mattered to me before I watched the film. I had just finished watching Myrna Loy as Becky Sharp in the 1932 Vanity Fair, so I was familiar with the story and eager to see this film.

This Becky Sharp is an amazing character. Where so much is implied and quieted down with the Myrna Loy version, Miriam Hopkins is brash, loud and daring. She openly insults people and royality call her "fascinating" for it. She rides higher and higher, with it all culminating one night at a Royal banquet. The battle of Waterloo breaks out and in that moment her world crashes as well.

Sometimes I really enjoy watching movies about people living by their wits and using people. At least Becky is beautiful and vivacious. She enlivens many mens' lives and she should be getting something in return for that. Besides scorn, which she got anyway from the ladies. Many people seem to forget how times were so different in the past and the only way a woman had to get ahead in the world was to play the game and "marry up". No one enjoys poverty, so it was natural for a woman to go after as much as she could. Keep in mind that the men encouraged this behavior in women as well. For if it didn't work, women wouldn't have behaved that way. This movie also hints at the hostility between the classes and just how difficult it is to rise above one's station. But Becky gets it very clearly, which is probabally why she can work the system so well. Society is shallow and built on appearances. Behind closed doors it's a different world.

I loved this user review on IMDB:
"This is "Gone With the Wind" for people who don't care too much about quality. Miriam Hopkins is cast in the Scarlett role - selfish, social-climbing, with no compunctions about using people at whim. The difference is that Scarlett eventually learns her lesson and we have hope, at the end of the story, that she'll live according to the knowledge she's acquired. At the end of THIS story - we're positive that Becky's going to eventually end up in hell, and good riddance. Becky's a manipulative brat who rises to the top, comes crashing down and is eager to start the cycle again."

Family Collection: Disc 54 - side A

Creature Double (triple) Feature: Watch Vanity Fair before this film, then after both, you can watch Reese Witherspoon in the 2004 remake. That's alot of Becky Sharp!

Watch for free Here:
http://www.archive.org/details/Becky_Sharp

Mr. Imperium ~ 1951 -BW

QUICKIE: It's like a musical Cinderella with a sad ending.

PLOT: This romantic tale centers on a playboy crown prince (Ezio Pinza) who meets up with a nightclub singer (Lana Turner) while they are both vacationing in Italy. Falling in love, the two embark upon a clandestine romance that they are eventually forced to end due to interference from both of their professions. 12 years later, the two meet up again and realize they still love each other, but now she has become a Hollywood star and he has become King of his country.

SUMMARY: Alternate Title of: You Belong to My Heart. Ezio Pinza is a bass opera singer and makes his film debut in this musical where he sings quite a few songs as well. IMDB states that "this movie turned out to be such a stinker that MGM waited to release it until after Pinza's second film, "Strictly Dishonorable"".

I wouldn't call it a stinker, but it isn't a heavily engrossing film either. It's a sweet musical story of love and how life can complicate things. The humour is light, the songs are nicely done. Lana Turner's song of "My Man and My Mule" is pretty funny. Other than that bit of humour, this is a classy film, meaning there's no down and dirty complicated anything... other than the relationship itself being complicated. The costumes and sets are really superb as well. This is such a simple film that I think it's fine for children to watch it. Although the ending is sad because life forces them to part ways again. Cedric Hardwicke showed everybody up with his sublime evil as the Prime Minister intent on keeping the Prince on track.

The ending is noticeably badly edited as it's said briefly that there's a bomb threat against the King if he returns to the throne, and this is why he chooses to go, to "spare" his son's life. So, I can only conclude that there was a scene edited out in reference to the bomb threat. Too bad that was edited out as it would have added much more emotional depth to the lovers parting again.

As of this posting, I can't find the movie online yet, but try a google search yourself. It's a sweet, simple movie for those times when you want something nice and not too deep.