Les Miserables 1935  N/R, 109 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Richard Boleslawski
Cast: Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Florence Eldridge, Rochelle Hudson, Marilyn Knowlden, Frances Drake, Jessie Ralph, John Carradine, Ferdinand Gottschalk, John Beal, Jane Kerr, Mary Forbes, Florence Roberts, John Bleifer
This excellent movie deals with a starving man, Jean Valjean (Fredric March), who steals a loaf of bread and is sent to prison. After 10 years, he escapes from prison and is taken in by Bishop Bienvenu (Cedric Hardwicke) who helps him reform. Valjean becomes a respected businessman and, under an assumed name of Champmathieu, moves to a new town where he is elected mayor. Problems ensue when the town's chief of police, Javert (Charles Laughton), is suspicious of Champmathieu and then realizes who he really is. Valjean moves to Paris with his daughter Eponine (Frances Drake)–only to have further run ins with Javert when Javert has an assignment in Paris, and a final confrontation is a certainty. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
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Show Boat 1936 N/R, 113 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Drama / Romance
Director: James Whale
Cast: Irene Dunne, Helen Morgan, Allan Jones, Paul Robeson, Charles Winninger, Hattie McDaniel, Helen Westley, Donald Cook, Sammy White, J. Farrell MacDonald, Queenie Smith, Francis X. Mahoney, Marilyn Knowlden, Arthur Holh, Charles Middleton
This is the film that first brought Jerome Kern's Broadway musical to the screen. Cap'n Andy Hawk's (Charles Winninger) show boat troupe features married actors Julie and Steve (Helen Morgan and Donald Cook), but when it is revealed that Julie is a mulatto, she is fired, and Steve leaves with her. Cap'n Andy's daughter Magnolia (Irene Dunn) takes over the leading role and is joined by gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones) as her leading man. Later, Magnolia and Gaylord leave the show boat dreaming of a perfect life together, but problems lie ahead. Paul Robeson's poignant rendition of "Old Man River" is the highlight of this very good version.
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| 1. Les Miserables (1935)
2. Show Boat (1936)
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