Blind Alley is going to air on Turner Classic movies on Wednesday, January 7th at 5:30pm EST.

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Merrily We Live is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Saturday, September 20th at 11:00am EST.

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College Coach is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, September 3 at 11:30am EST.

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The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Monday, August 4th at 6:00am EST

A while back I went to a screening of Ruben Mamoulian’s Applause starring Helen Morgan. The host began his introduction with something along the lines of “there were a lot of wrecks in 1929 and most of them were on the screen.” I think this perfectly sums up the pains Tinsel Town was experiencing as it launched into its first full blown year of talking pictures. While a few gems managed to make their way to audiences (Applause being one of them), many features of 1929 tended to be stiff and stagey, and generally difficult to sit through. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an interesting film because it’s really hard to watch and yet features so many great talents of the day that as a classic movie fan, it almost seems like necessary viewing.

On paper, the Hollywood Revue of 1929 sounds kind of great. Most of MGM’s biggest stars (sans Garbo) were dragged out to perform tricks on the pseudo vaudeville stage where the film takes place. Jack Benny plays emcee, Joan Crawford tap dances with flailing arms, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert perform Shakespeare in two-color Technicolor, comedy is dished out by Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, etc etc etc. It all culminates in a splashy color finale with everyone belting out “Singing in the Rain” while wearing yellow slickers.

In reality, the film suffers from that poor early-talkie sound quality and very static camera work, which is typical of so many movies from 1929. Also, the material itself tends to be really dated and kind of corny. Despite its shortcomings, I still recommend Hollywood Revue for early film fans, though it is more tolerable to watch in small parts instead of all at once.

For Ann Dvorak fans, it’s not to be missed. The chorus is featured prominently in a lot of the musical numbers and a teen-age Ann is very easy to spot, usually on the left and always very enthusiastic. She even gets to speak two words and slaps Jack Benny! I especially love the “Lon Chaney Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out,” number, which does not star the actor himself, but has actors dressed up like Chaney monsters terrorizing Ann and other chorus girls.

When the film was released, MGM pulled out all the stops in promoting it including a gala premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in late June of 1929. A couple of days before opening night, the studio promoted the film by setting up a “living billboard” on Wilshire Boulevard. This advertisement spelled out HOLLYWOOD REVUE is giant letters with a chorus girl perched upon each one. Photos of the “live ad” show Ann sitting atop one of the letters and looking extremely bored. This bizarre publicity stunt would be repeated on a larger scale in Times Square when the Hollywood Revue of 1929 had its New York premiere.

‘G’ Men is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, July 24th at 8:00pmEST

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The Crowd Roars is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Friday, May 9 at 2:30am EST

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‘G’Men is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Sunday, April 27 at 6:00am EST

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Heat Lightning is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Friday, April 18th at 11:15am EST.

Heat Lightning is one of my favorite Ann Dvorak movies, so I am really excited this little seen pre-code gem is being aired. The tale of two sisters running a gas station/rest-stop in the middle of nowhere was directed by Mervyn Leroy, who brought us the glorious Three on a Match, and costars Aline MacMahon. Ann’s role as Myra is relatively small compared to Aline’s, but it’s more substantial than most of her other 1934 Warner Brothers appearances (Gentlemen Are Born, I Sell Anything), and she has a great meltdown scene towards the end. Filmed on location in Victorville in late November of 1933, the strong supporting cast includes Preston Foster , Warner regulars Glenda Farrell, Lyle Talbot, Ruth Donnelly and Frank McHugh, as well as Jane Darwell and Edgar Kennedy. It’s fantastic.

I don’t know if TCM has ever shown Heat Lightning (my old copy is from a TNT airing), so this is one Ann Dvorak screening not to be missed!

Mrs. O’ Malley and Mr. Malone is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, April 17 at 1:00am EST.

By 1950, Ann Dvorak has been a freelance actress for 14 years and her days in Hollywood were winding down. During this later part of her career, Ann tended to have supporting roles, but she is usually pretty effective (A Life of Her Own, Our Very Own, Walls of Jericho). I have only sat through Mrs. O’ Malley and Mr. Malone once, and have never had the urge to revisit it. As I recall, Ann has very little to do and this role is not nearly as memorable as the aforementioned titles. Even though the film is only 69 minutes, this comedy/murder mystery set on a train feels much longer. If one is a fan of Marjorie Main or James Whitmore, then this is probably enjoyable enough, but from an Ann Dvorak standpoint, I recommend tuning into TCM the following day for Heat Lightning instead.

Interestingly, I just realized that Norma Taurog directed this film. He had directed Ann 17 years prior in 1933’s The Way to Love.

Housewife is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Friday, April 11 at 10:15am EST.

It’s been a while since I watched this 1934 feature which pairs up Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis for a second and final time. This story about a devoted housewife (Dvorak) who supports her husband both morally and financially, only to have him stray after a successful vixen (Davis) is not groundbreaking, but it’s enjoyable enough. Bette has far more to do in this one than their previous pairing in Three on a Match, and it’s always fun to watch a couple of great Warner ladies sparring on screen.

I do not believe that Davis was overly fond of either picture she made with Ann, but in Whitney Stine’s Mother Goddam she did mention that she “was always impressed with Ann Dvorak’s performances. She was also a smashingly nice person.”