'Flirting in the Park' is a weak start

Flirting in the Park (1933)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Eddie Nugent, Brooks Benedict, and Donald Haines
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

Two office ladies (Brewster and Tevis) spend a Saturday afternoon trying to one-up each other while on dates in the park.

"Flirting in the Park" was the first in a string of short films starring June Brewster, Carol Tevis, and Grady Sutton, all of which have been collected on a two-volume DVD series titled "Blondes and Redheads." When I first started watching and reviewing these films, I wondered why the Alpha Video releases didn't present them in order, but instead led off with films from the later period of the series.
Now that I've watched "Flirting in the Park", I understand why.

While "Flirting in the Park" starts out with some nice workplace comedy, not to mention a look into office life nearly a century ago, the viewing experience quickly sours. It's great to dislike the villainous manager who sexually harasses June (played by June Brewster) and then forces her to work Saturday afternoon when the rest of the staff gets to leave early, but it's not great when the characters we're supposed to like turn out to be petty, mean, and shallower than parts of the lake they go boating on. If this had been the first film in the series I'd seen, I don't know if I'd bothered with any others, until the day where my pile of unwatched DVDs was almsot empty. (A day that will likely never come because I have YEARS of backlog to go through.)

Much can be forgiven for characters who are funny, and that's the biggest problem here: There's very little that's funny in this film, even in the office where the film was at its most amusing. The only character here who has any charm to it is the one portrayed by Carol Tevis. She's socially awkward, but wants to be a guy magnet like her friend June... or at least be SEEN as such by June (even after June steals back the date that Carol stole from her early in the film). Carol also has the only really funny bit during the later part of the movie, a gag revolving around her showing June how good she is at flirting. (I don't want to give anymore details, because I don't want to ruin the only truly good part of this film.)

It's a shame that this otherwise good cast is stuck playing such unpleasant, unlikable characters. This goes double for June Brewster, and, despite my distaste for the character she was playing, I found myself thinking it was a shame she was more more successful in her career. (After struggling along in mostly  minor and supporting roles from between 1932 and 1938, she gave up on acting and married a vice cop turned gaming mogul... who went onto become a founding figure of modern day Las Vegas. The parts she played in this film series may well be the biggest she ever had.)

'Lost in the Stratosphere' is light but fulfilling

Lost in the Stratosphere (1934)
Starring: William Cagney, Edward Nugent, June Collyer, Frank McGwynn, and Hattie McDaniel
Director: Melvin W. Brown
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Two best friends and daredevil military pilots, playboy Lt. Tom "Soapy" Cooper (Cagney) and Lt. Richard "Woody" Wood (Nugent) see their friendly rivalry turn nasty when Tom unknowingly goes on a date with Wood's fiancee (Collyer) and subsequently steals her away when they fall in love. But when they are tapped for a dangerous test flight that will take them into the strasophere, they must set aside their grudges if they are to survive.



For about half of its running time, "Lost in the Stratosphere" is a fairly straightforward romantic comedy/buddy picture, with Soapy and Woody trying to outdo each other with bravery in the air, and by pranking each other on the ground. It's all fun and games, even if Soapy is something of a jerk and Woody is a bit of a dish-rag, until a girl they both truly love comes between them, Woody feels betrayed, and the film spends some time in melodrama territory. And finally, it becomes something of an action film in the third act, with Soapy and Woody struggling to save their lives in an experimental balloon.

This film belongs to William Cagney and Eddie Nugent in every sense. Not only are they equal co-stars, even if Cagney gets a little more scree time, but they are also the only performers who give truly colorful performances. June Collyer is her usual beautiful self, but she is really little more than window-dressing and her character has little definition beyond a vague sense that she was always a little too much woman (or maybe a little too much tomboy) for Woody to handle, even if she had never met Soapy. Aside from the characters portrayed by Cagney, Nugent, and Collyer, none of the others in the film rise above the level of stock figures. This isn't necessarily a negative, as it gives room for Soapy to be redeemed somewhat from pure jerkhood, but it would have been nice to see a little more of Collyer and her character.

One thing that works better in this film than many other flicks that are supposedly about pilots and high-flying action but end up being earthbound due to their low budgets, is that this film delivers just enough hint of aerial excitement to satisfy. Through the effective use of special effect model shots at the films beginning, and effective use of stock footage toward the end, as well as some nicely done sets, lovers of the old-time "men in their flying machines" will walk away from the movie just as happy as those who came for the old-timey buddy pic rom-com action.

Check it out. It's another fun little item that's laying neglected in Hollywood's ash-heap of history.

'Prison Shadows' done in by weak script

Prison Shadows (1936)
Starring: Edward Nugent, Joan Barclay, Lucille Lund,and Syd Saylor
Director: Robert Hill
Rating: Four of Ten Stars


When boxer Gene Harris (Nugent) kills two men in the ring in two fights seperated by a three-year manslaughter stint in the clink, his trainer (Saylor) smells a rat and tries to investigate.

That's not the best summary of "Prison Shadows", but a more detailed one would give away too much of the plot. Unfortunately, that plot is one that will barely make sense to even the most attentive viewer. It's not that it's overly complicated... it's just that it's dumb, with bad guys that are even dumber. (And they're not dumb for comedy... they're just dumb.)

And speaking of dumb. I think the character Gene has got to be one of the most frustrating characters I've ever experienced in a film. The level of obliviousness he shows to the affection that Good Girl Mary Comstock (Barclay) has for him while he carries his torch for Femme Fatale Clair Thomas (Lund) is maddening.I usually don't mind romantic subplots, but this one bugged the heck out of me.

It's a shame the script for this film is so awful, because all the actors are good in their parts--Nugent is perhaps the weakest of the bunch, but I may feel that way due to his bone-headed character more than anything. He wasn't exactly bad... he was just "blah" when compared to everyone else.