The Truth About Youth (1930)

Dating from 1930, The Truth About Youth is a surprisingly enjoyable potboiler from First National and Vitaphone Pictures -- definitely a B-List production, but one starring a pair of future A-Listers (namely Loretta Young and Myrna Loy) who show some significant talent in spite of the somewhat limited material. The only real stumbling point in this picture is the ending which features a twist that might make even M. Night Shyamalan raise an eyebrow (and no, Loretta Young does not see dead people).

The plot here is fairly straightforward: Richard Carewe (Conway Tearle) has raised Richard "The Imp" Dane (David Manners) in his father's stead, and has arranged for him to marry Phyllis Ericson (Loretta Young), but whilst out on a tear (under the premise of attending a psychology lecture) he becomes smitten with a nightclub singer named Kara (alias The Firefly, played by Myrna Loy). The Imp convinces Kara that he is a rich young bachelor and marries her in secret. When Phyllis discovers a letter from Kara to The Imp, Richard the Elder deftly convinces her that the letter was actually written to him -- the letter having been addressed only to "Richard" -- and sets about trying to fix the whole mess. He bribes Kara into pretending that she and he are in love, and shenanigans ensue. 

It's a standard Good-Woman-Bad-Woman motif, with Loretta Young as the innocent sweetheart and Myrna Loy as the money-grubbing chiseler. Loretta gets top billing and does a good job with her character, but as she is wont to do Myrna basically steals every scene in which she appears, and by and large steals the whole movie -- in one particularly memorable scene she throws a delightful little fit, replete with slapping of man-face and tossing of pottery (this after The Imp admits that he isn't all he claimed to be). Myrna also sings two numbers in the nightclub, although it's fairly obvious to the attentive viewer that it isn't her voice, and that she is only lip-syncing. Still, she sells the hell out of it, bless her heart.

Loretta and Myrna appear in only a single scene together, but it is easily the best scene in the movie. Phyllis follows Richard to the nightclub and pretends to be starstruck by Kara, essentially telling Richard that she wants to be just like Kara when she grows up, much to his consternation (she suspects that Richard's courtship of Kara isn't on the level, as the saying goes, and it's clear that her praise is purely to test Richard). 

The male leads, on the other hand, aren't nearly so interesting. Conway Tearle does a decent job with his character, but there isn't much about his role that's particularly memorable. The same goes for David Manners, whose character's nickname might be the only really notable thing about him -- he doesn't do much to break the mold of the Generic 30s Guy, although it should be said that the script doesn't really give him much opportunity to do so. 

Finally, there's the ending. Although Richard manages to get The Imp to divorce Kara, he refuses to marry Phyllis, claiming that he never actually loved her. Phyllis takes the news shockingly well, exclaiming that she really loved Richard the whole time. This ending really doesn't make much sense at all, which has the unfortunate effect of upending the picture in the last five minutes. We do see that The Imp's devotion to Phyllis is questionable, but the movie gives us no hints whatsoever that Phyllis is really in love with Richard. It's kind of a shame, since I really enjoyed the picture up until that the script decided to drop that pipe-bomb in my lap.

Yet even if the ending doesn't really work, the picture is still enjoying. The acting feels quite crisp for its time, and the camera work here isn't nearly as stiff as in other movies from the same time. Then, of course, there's Myrna Loy, who has an uncanny ability to make any movie better by here mere presence. Indeed, she's pretty much the number one reason to watch the picture. The Truth About Youth is worth at least one viewing, especially for Myrna Loy fans.

[Image Sauce]

Miss Loy

Having recently finished reading her autobiography, I can now say with some certainty that Myrna Loy was one of the coolest people to ever walk the face of the earth. Seriously people, go hunt down a copy and read that shit. It's an enlightening and enjoyable read.

Happy Birthday, Myrna Loy

No words. Just awesomeness.

Free Associations, Ep. 9A: Taking the Joke too Far

In the last installment in my series of often bizarre free associations, I ruminated on the similarities between actress Joan Crawford and dictator Joseph Stalin, two of history's most memorable megalomaniacs. The similarities, it must be said, do not end with Mommie Dearest and Uncle Joe themselves. If Joan Crawford is the equivalent Stalin, it may be said with some--although not too much--certainty that Myrna Loy is the equivalent of Klim Voroshilov.

Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov was one of Joseph Stalin's closest and most loyal accomplices, having served alongside him during the Russian Civil War. Likewise, Myrna Loy (nee Myrna Williams) began her Hollywood career at the same time as Joan Crawford; the two appeared as extras in the 1925 MGM production Pretty Ladies, and thereafter became life-long friends. Appropriately enough, Voroshilov was appointed both the Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council and the "People's Commissar for Military and Navy Affairs" that same year. Myrna would receive an honorific title of her own, eventually attaining the rank of "Queen of Hollywood" in 1938 (not quite the same thing as Marshall of the Soviet Union, but it's in the same ballpark).

Naturally, there are a few minor differences. Primary among these must be the fact that Myrna never threw her former comrades under the proverbial bus for the sake of purging opposition from the party (although she might have, had Joan asked her to). Secondly, Myrna never had the honor of having a tank named after her (although she damned well deserved it!). Finally, it has to be said that Klim Voroshilov was rather a bumbler, both on and off the battlefield--his less than stellar leadership cost the Soviet Union tremendous casualties during the Winter War, and he later made an ass of himself by dropping the ceremonial Sword of Stalingrad when it was presented to him (whilst Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt were watching, no less!). Myrna would never have conducted herself in such a shameful manner in the presence of her superiors. Furthermore, she no doubt would have crushed the Finnish army in a matter of days, had she been in charge.

One final thought: if Joan Crawford is Stalin and Myrna Loy is Voroshilov, I suppose that would make Christina Crawford the equivalent of Yakov Dzhugashvili.

A Sure Sign of Obsession

I fell asleep extremely early last night, with the result that I had many quite vivid dreams. One of these took the form of a picture that starred Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy and Clark Gable (rather an ensemble cast, to say the least). As is so often the case with dreams, the details are sketchy, but I do remember that Myrna Loy was some sort of con-artist-cum-jewel thief, and Norma Shearer was the intended victim. What role Joan Crawford and Clark Gable played is somewhat less clear, but I'm fairly certain that they would have struck up a romance that would have complicated Myrna's diabolical schemes in some way or another.

There was also a merry-go-round involved, but I'm not sure that that detail doesn't make things even more confusing.

Ultimately, I am left with two nagging, unanswered questions: Why wasn't this movie ever made? And why can't I have more dreams like this?

Madness

It's been a pretty hectic few weeks here in Sigmaville. I left Tacoma at the end of March, and the odds are that I probably won't ever return. I'm back in Kansas City, where I spent a painfully awkward adolescence and where I will probably be living for the next couple years. I know I'm going to miss the Northwest quite a lot--the four years I spent there were probably the best I'll ever see. Nevertheless they are gone, and it accomplishes naught to pine for the past. On the plus side, I finally managed to land a job, where I will start working tomorrow. After nearly a year of joblessness, it's both a relief and a source of trepidation to be going back to work.

For a while I was thinking of my expulsion from the Northwest as the end, but in the last few days I've begun to think of it as a new beginning of sorts. In a few months I'll hopefully be living on my own again. Kansas City isn't perhaps as bad I sometimes make it sound--after all, it is the city that at various times was home to Wallace Beery, Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford. There also exists a great deal of Jazz Age and Art Deco ephemera in Kansas City, as the years between the two World Wars was a sort of heyday for the city. And besides, it's not as though I'm trapped here forever. I've been kicking around the idea of moving to Upstate New York In a few years--after I've paid off my student debts, upgraded my computer and bought a new car. Syracuse seems appealing, if only for the Niagara-Mohawk Building.

In any event, I've rambled on long enough for now. So that this post has some redeeming value, here's a picture of Myrna Loy.

To Celebrate the Inauguration of a New President...

I'll probably be doing this all night long.

Brain Droppings

Once again at a loss for meaningful things to discuss at any length, I am again forced to resort to sharing my often nonsensical stream of consciousness with the faceless masses of the internet. Here's the latest installment of my own Brain Droppings.

• The homonymous new album by Taake is out (it has been for some time, actually). My first impression is that it's decent Black Metal, but only that. The folkish elements that truly made Taake great and set the band apart from the rest of the horde seem to be missing, and the music just doesn't seem to make a lasting impression. I suppose I should expect this sort of thing from a guy who claimed he wanted to lose fans, however.

• In the unlikely event that I should ever manage to land myself a wife, I can only hope that she is half as awesome as Nora Charles, especially as portrayed by Myrna Loy in The Thin Man. While I'm being unrealistic, it wouldn't hurt if she looked like Myrna Loy, too. Men must marry Myrna, after all.

• Speaking of The Thin Man, it is great old flick that everyone and their mother ought to see (and considering that you can watch the whole thing on Youtube, there really is no excuse not to).

• The phrase "everyone and their mother" is interesting. By definition, wouldn't the term "everyone" include mothers to begin with? And what about the mothers' mothers? Are they included as well?
  

• The video for the song "Flight" by the British Ambient/Experimental band Stray Ghost is strange but interesting. Buster Keaton seems so far removed from the atmosphere of the track, but with the footage edited as it is, the video and the music seem to go together oddly well.

• I've been following along with the current unpleasantness in the Gaza Strip. Not particularly closely, mind you, but more with the detached interest with which the casual sports fan watches the Super Bowl. I predict that Israel wins in a blowout. Also, what's the over/under on civilian casualties?

• Now that I've installed a new video card, my computer now seems to be in complete working order. This would be great if I had money to waste on computer games.

Relevant to my Interests, Ep. 12

Myrna Loy was one of the most successful stars of the 1930s, being crowned the Queen of Hollywood in 1938 (opposite Clark Gable, who received the miter and scepter of the King of Hollywood). Her amicable on-screen persona (which earned her honors as the "perfect wife") was matched by the all-around awesomeness of her actual self--she made only one movie during World War II, as she was working full-time for the Red Cross (she had previously been blacklisted by Adolf Hitler for denouncing him). She was also a proponent of the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and opposed the anti-Communist witch hunt of McCarthy and the House Unamerican Activities Committee in the 1950s.

Also, she was hot. Let's not forget that ever-so-important detail, shall we?