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Café Metropole1937 US Dir Edward H Griffith Cast Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Adolphe Menjou, Gregory Ratoff, Ferdinand Gottschalk IMDb |
Solid comedy, good stuff.
In a very good film it doesn’t make a bit of difference, but in one that’s just-good I still find I can’t really care about an Old Hollywood film full of actors I don’t care about. I don’t much care about Loretta Young and Tyrone Power. Nicey-nice Young has always grated on my nerves, and her pouting, screaming and crying bit brought it almost up to the level of loathing — and never would I have guessed she was 24 filming this, would have sooner believed 44, with her bizarrely plastic features diffused in comically dense soft focus; here on my first real acquaintance with Power he does nothing for me particularly (and seriously, he looks like her son). The first half hour or so is much more Adolphe Menjou’s show, and I was correspondingly more engaged then, not surprisingly. (He really is the cutest — and brings all the class here.) Anyway, a good but unremarkable comedy that genre/actor fans should find satisfying at the least.
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Have been enjoying catching up with your blog in recent days — your post on LILLY TURNER makes me want to go get out the recording I made from TCM right away…the pre-Code George Brent (i.e., FEMALE) has been a revelation for me in recent months. Enjoying your reviews very much.
I’ve seen 2 of the Power-Young films from the new Power DVD set but not yet CAFE METROPOLE. Give Tyrone a chance to grow on you — have you seen THE MARK OF ZORRO? SON OF FURY? I think he’s at his best in ’40s swashbuckling mode (though I like him in anything).
Fun bit of trivia — my husband works with Adolphe Menjou’s grandson.
Best wishes,
Comment by Laura — 22 August 2008 @ 22 August 2008Laura
Judging by your love of pre-Codes, I think you’d definitely enjoy Lilly Turner and I definitely recommend you see it asap!
Both the Wellman/Chatterton films are essential, and I would guess most people (including the talent) prefer Frisco Jenny, but I prefer Lilly — for a film dismissed at the time as a routine soaper, it’s pretty dark in places, and swings to the wildly romantic in others in a way that borders on brilliant pastiche.
I will have to give Power a serious look someday — to date Metropole is the only film I’ve seen him in. I don’t outright dislike him as I do Young; so far he more or less strikes me as an empty shirt. But I know his best roles lie ahead of me.
Ha! That’s awesome about Menjou!
Comment by Lauren — 30 August 2008 @ 30 August 2008