Friday was movie night. This time we watched 1931 and 1932 Best Picture winners Cimarron, and Grand Hotel.
Cimarron, a novel written in 1929 by Edna Ferber, in 1930 it was made into a movie by RKO. Both the book and movie are about settling in Oklahoma from the land rush up until the 1930's. That said the costumes were in keeping the the times and so was the language, beliefs. Reading the Wiki link it states that the movie is now considered racist. For us today yes it is, however if shown to a pioneer it would have been tame in their views of people.
In Cimarron, the lead male character Yancy Carvat played by Richard Dix. Kept leaving his wife and children to feed his wanderlust. Sabra Carvat played by Irene Dunne, was left to run the business, raise the children and hold down the fort. This would be a good movie for U.S history buffs to see. The opening shot of the land rush for the movies time was amazing.
Grand Hotel, had a list of stars that is longer than my arm. Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lionel and John Barrymore, and many others. This film was a more contemporary film than Cimarron.
Grand Hotel had a more modern feel as the setting all took place in an art nouveau setting. The shots from the top floor down to the lobby show a beautiful hotel. I would love to see a place like that.
There is not just one plot but several. Business men trying to get a deal across, a stenographer wanting to be an actress, a Baron who is down on his luck, a ballerina looking for love and a career boost. A man who finds out he is going to die, who spends all he has for a last few weeks in the lap of luxury. While each plot is interesting and separate they are all interconnected. This is a good movie just for the interchange of plots.
Next month we are going to watch 1933 Cavalcade and 1934 It Happened One Night.
