Tag Archives: Kay Francis

Notes on “Let’s Go Native”

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Like many early talkies, the 1930 “Let’s Go Native” is so effortlessly weird it serves as proof an innate American tendency toward surrealism. Jeanette MacDonald — still in her lingerie-naughty, pre-MGM phase — plays a Broadway … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Eugene Pallette, Film, Jack Oakie, Jeanette MacDonald, Kay Francis, Leo McCarey, Let's Go Native, movies, Musicals, the old weird America | 3 Comments

Book Notes: “Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career”

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I semi-enjoyed this biography of the ’30s film star Kay Francis, a once hugely popular and famous actress from the Hollywood Golden Age who is now remembered only by film buffs. For the uninitiated, Francis was known as … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Movies | Tagged Hollywood, Kay Francis, Pre-Code | 2 Comments

Movie Still Du Jour

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Kay Francis and William Powell in Tay Garnett’s ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932). Not only was this Francis’s personal favorite of all her films, but Charles Willeford was a fan. Thirteen years old when he saw it, he later … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Hollywood, Kay Francis, Pre-Code, Tay Garnett, William Powell | Leave a comment

“Lawyer Man” (1933)

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I enjoyed this Pre-Code film directed by William Dieterle starring William Powell as Anton Adam, a lawyer who is “just a small time mouse trying to be a big time rat.” Tired of defending nobodies on the Lower … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Movies, Performers | Tagged Joan Blondell, Kay Francis, lawyers, Pre-Code, William Dieterle, William Powell | 4 Comments

Movie Still Du Jour

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins in Ernst Lubitsch’s TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932) Click on the image to enlarge.

Posted in Movies, Performers, Women men and fashion | Tagged Ernst Lubitsch, Kay Francis, Miriam Hopkins | 10 Comments

Notes on “Man Wanted”

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Although William Dieterle had a long, distinguished career, I think he was at his best in his early Hollywood pictures. Movies like “Jewel Robbery” and “The Last Flight” have a light, off-the-cuff quality that leavens the director’s taste … Continue reading →