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Office Boy

May 2nd, 2007 at 01:38 (1930s)

The film we’re looking for is a very funny vehicle for the main female character named Mary Magiz here, although she later considered this as her worst film. Mary Magiz is the material girl of 1934 (two years later she plays a rich and spoiled Park Avenue girl who leaves a horse in her father’s library), working as a chorus girl at the Atlantic City Theatre and dating a crook and working real hard to finally become his wife.

The movie is full of snappish remarks. For example when talking with her maid Mirabelle in the dressing room about career, meals and marriage:

Mirabelle: But there’s no sense to marrying a racketeer, they don’t live long.
Mary: Well, what’s wrong with that?

The performance of Mississippi Honeymoon at the Atlantic City Theatre is maybe the only anti-climax in this movie…too long and rather meaningless camp.

And then there’s a cow and Office Boy, the bodyguard of Shoots, the racketeer. Office Boy likes to iron his pants at night (”I always press my pants this time of the night so they’re nice and neat in the morning thus saving 74 pence.“).

Office Boy also takes care of Shoots private things like decorating the rooms after he gets a postcard of the newly-weds from their honeymoon.

The picture on the back of the card shows some kitschy putti.

And the result looks equally cheesy.

There’s one funny scene when Office Boy and Mary sit on the outside of a cafĂ© and Office Boy talks turkey to Mary.

Office Boy: You wouldn’t cross the street to help a dying pal.
Mary: No?
Office Boy: No! You’re for you, a hundred percent. And I don’t blame you for that. I tell you a little secret: I’m for me.
Mary: We got a lot in common.
Office Boy: I don’t know about me but you sure are common.

Another memorable scene happens when Mary hands out 100 $ to people waiting in a bread line. And as you may have guessed this causes a commotion as soon as people realise someone gives away money for free.

So what’s the name of this entertaining movie and of the main female actress plus you may also guess the horse movie mentioned above?

That was one of the things I knew I knew

April 28th, 2007 at 18:55 (1930s)

This one should be rather easy to guess with the inclusion of a few pics of the main characters here. Obviously this is a pre-Code movie made in 1933 with the female protagonist (Gertie Waxted, sic! One of the silliest names ever!) playing some kind of call girl (although we have to wait over 30 minutes until Gertie makes her first entrance in this movie) and chorus girls in short skirts in a night club.

The actress would soon become very successful and famous (she was even labeled Queen of Hollywood later) after playing in a movie opposite yours truly, i.e. Mr. Asta of course. After finishing this movie the director, who soon casted her in other movies like the ones with Mr. Asta, is reported to have said “This girl’s going to be a big star! Next year she’ll be a star!” Well, he was right.

But here she plays opposite the lawyer Jackson ‘Jack’ Durant, a man with a ludicrous moustache.

The Tony Gazotti character, whom the press almost reported dead, only dies at the end of the movie and the actor himself also starred in two of the movies with Mr. Asta (and the Gertie character of course) about a rather slim male person.

The plot is quite simple. Well, it was a Cosmopolitan Production based on a Cosmopolitan Magazine story by Arthur Somers Roche, so this certainly isn’t prize winning literature. A lawyer (Jackson ‘Jack’ Durant) think it’s more interesting and personally rewarding to defend crooks and gangsters (after he has just successfully saved Tony Gazotti from the electric chair) and therefore argues with his girlfriend, they separate but the girlfriend’s new flame is accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Mr. Durant takes this case and plays a private dick to solve the case. And finally he falls in love with the prostitute Gertie Waxted.

There’s another female actor in this movie, who became famous as the grapefruit girl in The Public Enemy. There’s a great scene here where she - as Mimi Montagne - wants to throw a bottle of perfume at her lover who has just left her.

But after taking a quick look at the bottle’s label she rather replaced it with another one.

Gertie also has a memorable scene when she realises that Mr. Durant doesn’t want to sleep with her. Her perplexed look in the mirror is priceless and you can easily guess her thought What’s wrong with me?.

Anyway, she stays at Mr. Durant’s place and sleeps alone while Mr. Durant spend the night on the couch in another room. The next morning Gertie expresses her slight disappointment: “Well, last night I didn’t exactly have to fight for my honour.” As if she would’ve offered much resistance in this fight.

Not only does our Gertie looks so sweet in this movie (that’s why I just couldn’t resist to post quite a few stills with her) but she also delivers some lines in a great, nonchalant manner:

Jackson: I’ve been stupid, very stupid.
Gertie: Of course, you’re a man!
Jackson: You shouldn’t have done this. Something might have happened to you.
Gertie: I knew. That was one of the things I knew I knew.
Gertie: You’re the strangest girl I’ve ever met.

And when Jackson finally tries to kiss her, Gertie makes sure he really, really means it:

No, don’t kiss me! Don’t ever kiss me, not if you don’t mean it! Not unless you’re crazy about me!

So, what’s the title of this movie and the name of the Gertie character?