A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) – J. Conway

Having not read the book for decades, the plot unfolded as if new for me, and although there is some spectacle (the storming of the Bastille, for example) and numerous character actors, the film was elevated primarily by Ronald Colman's performance as Sidney Carton whose moral action at the end of the film only slowly sunk in, a day or two after viewing. The Dickens novel must be much better but this remnant of the Golden Age of Hollywood might be as good as a pared down version of the book could be.

Captain Blood (1935)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Captain Blood (1935) – M. Curtiz

Pirates of the Caribbean indeed!  Tasmanian Errol Flynn swashbuckles into action as the gentlemen doctor Peter Blood turned prisoner of King James II turned slave on a Jamaican sugar plantation turned captain of a pirate ship turned….I won’t spoil it for you.  Michael Curtiz keeps the film moving along and Flynn is aided by 19 year old Olivia de Havilland as his love/hate interest, Guy Kibbee and Ross Alexander as pirates in arms, and Lionel Atwill as the villainous plantation owner. Flynn is certainly charismatic in his first major film but this is the one that typecast him forever. Sets, miniatures, and special effects make you feel that you really are on the high seas (sort of). A true “boy’s own adventure” as they might have called it back then.

The 39 Steps (1935)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The 39 Steps (1935) -- A. Hitchcock

Seeing this on Blu-Ray (without blemishes, more or less) helps one to see the pictorial beauty that Hitch wasn't always known for (is this really Scotland or the studio, I wonder). In addition, he lets certain moments hold for a beat or two before fading to black which lends an extra emotional resonance to some scenes. These things lift what is already a pretty tightly plotted adventure story, which created a template for some of his later films (Saboteur, North by Northwest). Robert Donat is accused of murder and needs to expose an international spy ring in order to prove his innocence. A key work from Hitchcock's British period.