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Post by topbilled on Jan 30, 2023 1:29:50 GMT
Superb 30s melodrama from nickandrew26 on the IMDb
This is one of the rare melodramas from 1930's MGM that is really not outdated as others. It is a funny, but genuinely touching story of a devoted housekeeper (Marie Dressler) who marries her wealthy employer, which does not settle well with his grown children. Dressler is just perfect and the ending is so perfect and bittersweet.
A powerful study of how devotion and love can overcome greed robert-temple-119 on the IMDb
This was truly Marie Dressler's finest hour. She was justly nominated for an Oscar for the lead role of Emma in this film. Clarence Brown, who directed so many of Greta Garbo's films, had directed Dressler as Marthy in ANNA CHRISTIE with Garbo, and clearly appreciated her unique screen power by casting her in EMMA. It is not often that a 64 year-old actress can entirely dominate a film, but that is what happens here. Among the cast was the young Myrna Loy. The film is based on an original story by Dressler's close friend, the screenwriter Frances Marion. It concerns a middle-aged woman named Emma who is the maid to a family of a man with three children. When the story starts, his wife is in the middle of childbirth. She dies and the baby is also not breathing, but Emma saves the little boy. She then acts as mother to the four children until they are grown up.
The mother of all nannies LeonLouisRicci26 on the IMDb
It wouldn't be surprising that this movie was underwritten by Kleenex. It is a sorrowful weeper that is also a very charming picture. Movie buffs are aware that Marie Dressler was a fine actress who achieved major popularity and acclaim late in life but for a few brief years she was at the top of her game and was awarded for her craft both by her peers and the public. Virtually unknown today, Dressler and this film become a gem of a discovery for those searching for character studies. This is a heartwarming movie with comedic elements and high drama.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 30, 2023 4:05:11 GMT
Reference guide on EMMA (1932)
What this film is not... - It's not a precode about sex and sin. And there's no violence in it.
- It's not a film in which Myrna Loy has a large role...this was only her first MGM picture, two years before being paired with William Powell...she has a supporting role as one of the grown children.
- It's not a film with uniformly good acting. In fact I'd say the acting styles of the leads are not entirely in sync. But it's Marie Dressler's show, and she runs rings around everyone else. You get so caught up in what she's doing on screen it doesn't always matter that the other cast members are not fully registering.
- It's not 100% dramatic. Though it is marketed as a drama, there are several notable comedy scenes. Marie Dressler had costarred with Chaplin in her younger days and she was adept at physical antics. So they give her some slapstick and other amusing business to do in the story, which may not always work, but it adds variety. And I think Dressler still puts a lot of it across due to her charm and uniqueness.
What this film is... - It's a motion picture with a strong female performance that earned an Oscar nomination. A performance by a 64 year old actress who was as far from glamorous as they come.
- It's a film that does not have a traditional happy ending.
- It's something that will make you think about caregivers and the role of nurturers in a family.
- It's a film that has a few over-the-top moments, especially during the courtroom trial scenes in the last act. It's 1930s style melodrama, and this type of sentimentality went over big at the box office.
- It's a film that stays with you long after you've seen it.
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Post by Andrea Doria on Jan 30, 2023 12:46:52 GMT
...and clearly it's not a version of Jane Austen's "Emma," which I would have expected it to be.
Thank you for this suggestion it sounds like something I'll love!
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 30, 2023 14:22:33 GMT
... and clearly it's not a version of Jane Austen's "Emma," which I would have expected it to be.
Thank you for this suggestion it sounds like something I'll love! I had the same thought and went to its IMDB page to see who was playing Austen's "Emma."
As you note, regardless, it looks like a fun movie for next Sunday.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 3, 2023 0:19:19 GMT
Yes, it is not based on a Jane Austen story. LOL
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Post by topbilled on Feb 4, 2023 18:18:32 GMT
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 5, 2023 19:58:33 GMT
Hi all, I've been watching "Executive Suite" on TCM waiting for 3pm and found it a bit hard to break away from the movie even though I've seen it, probably, ten time in the past thirty or so years.
Looking forward, though, to not-Jane Austen's "Emma" as I've never seen this one.
Logging onto my old computer now, so that I have a second screen.
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Post by Andrea Doria on Feb 5, 2023 19:58:39 GMT
Counting down to the start...
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Post by topbilled on Feb 5, 2023 20:01:08 GMT
Welcome all....
Just pressed play.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 5, 2023 20:01:45 GMT
My parents weren't very open with me, I'm still waiting to have the "sex" talk, but they also never tried to pawn ideas like "babies come from storks" off on me either.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 5, 2023 20:03:06 GMT
Who'd name their kid Gypsy? LOL
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 5, 2023 20:03:36 GMT
Back of the envelope, $5000 in '32 = ~$100,000 today.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 5, 2023 20:06:12 GMT
Great cast...Marie Dressler and Jean Hersholt...Myrna Loy and Richard Cromwell.
The scene where she wills the baby to live as the mother dies...what a way to start the film and to indicate the strong bond Emma and Ronnie will have.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 5, 2023 20:07:42 GMT
Great cast...Marie Dressler and Jean Hersholt...Myrna Loy and Richard Cromwell.
The scene where she wills the baby to live as the mother dies...what a way to start the film and to indicate the strong bond Emma and Ronnie will have. Amazing how young Myrna looks.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 5, 2023 20:09:25 GMT
"Scamps" and "Swells" two words that have disappeared.
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