WATERLOO BRIDGE (1931) shows how much further films made before the 1930s’ Production Code had teeth could push the envelope. They had sex workers in movies made under the code but even though nobody says outright what chorus girl Mae Clarke’s side hustle is here it’s much more obvious. But not to naive WW I soldier Douglass Montgomery who has no idea why Clarke hangs out at Waterloo Bridge, falls in love and wants to marry her; she refuses though I’m not sure if it’s fear of bringing scandal down on him, fear he’d reject her if he knew the truth or fear she’s truly unworthy. It’s good — I can see why it was remade twice — but resolves all the moral questions by having the Bad Girl Die (just like Anne of the Indies and The Spanish Main). But I knew that going in so I can’t say it’s exactly disappointing. “If Mr. Gladstone were alive, it would be a very different cup of tea.”
RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932) is another pre-code film, starring Jean Harlow as a conniving flirt who seduces boss Chester Morris away from his wife; instead of a happy ending she’s increasingly pissed that his social circle won’t accept her and eventually begins thinking she can do better … Harlow’s character gets much more of a happy ending than I expected and doesn’t reform to do it. With Lewis Stone as Morris’s father, Una Merkel as Harlow’s bestie and Charles Boyer as a sexy chauffeur. “If you don’t ask them within five minutes of their arrival, I’ll walk in and make a scene Shakespeare couldn’t top.”
TANGLED (2010) is Disney’s delightful take on the Rapunzel tale, with Mandy Moore as the Disney princess with the endlessly growing hair. Here the witch who kidnaps her is draining the hair’s magic to preserve her own immortality and keeping Rapunzel imprisoned in a tower under the pretense of protecting her. All of which falls apart when roguish thief Flynn (Zachary Levi) unintentionally liberates her for adventures in the world outside. This is one lively, adventurous Disney princess even though her ability to turn even the darkest hearts to light verges on parody. Well worth seeing. “Though I’m really quite a blighter/I’m a lover not a fighter/Because way down deep inside I’ve got a dream!”
I KILL GIANTS (2017) is the film version of the graphic novel about a girl convinced she’s defending her town from giants even though nobody else can see them. The book played into one of my least favorite tropes — the fantasy battle that’s all in someone’s head — but the film, by focusing on the real world, works much better, particularly with Madison Wolfe’s excellent performance in the lead. Unfortunately it still has an afterschool-special quality; the giants are stock CGI; and the protagonist has more problems than the film admits. She’s not simply retreating into fantasies of giant-killing to deal with her problems she is literally seeing non-existent giants attack the town. That feels like mental illness more than emotional struggle. “I’m mean to people who are dumb — and most people are dumb.”
The animated NIMONA (2023) has commoner-turned-knight Sir Ballister framed for murdering the queen, giving him a reputation for evil that draws the eponymous shapeshifter to appoint himself his sidekick only to discover she’s More Than She Seems. I enjoyed ND Stevenson’s graphic novel and found it perfectly cinematic but the changes, as online discussion suggests, seem to be making it a more kid-friendly tale. The book was better but this wasn’t bad. “Okay, most people scream at that part.”
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