Oct 13, 2022
For this MGM 1941 episode, we again pair a classic with a rarity: Cukor's A Woman's Face, starring Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, and Conrad Veidt, and The Trial of Mary Dugan, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Laraine Day, Robert Young, and Tom Conway (aka "The Nice George Sanders"). We discuss A Woman's Face as a proto-Warner Bros. Crawford noir, the persona of Robert Young, the uses of no-subtext acting, and the starkly different construction of these two women-on-trial movies. And in our Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto segment, we take a brief look at Buck and the Preacher, directed by and starring Sidney Poitier (and co-starring future acteurist spotlight subject Ruby Dee, although she doesn’t get a lot of screen time in this one).
Time Codes:
0h 01m 00s: A WOMAN’S FACE [dir. George Cukor]
0h 50m 59s: THE TRIAL OF MARY DUGAN [dir. Norman Z. McLeod]
1h 21m 53s: FEAR & MOVIEGOING IN TORONTO: Sidney Poitier’s Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Studio Film Capsules provided by The MGM Story by John Douglas Eames
Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler
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* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s
* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)
* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.
* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!
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