My 7th Movie, "All Quiet on the Western Front"

All Quiet on the Western Front was released in 1930.  It won the best production Oscar for that year.  It starred Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, Arnold Lucy, Ben Alexander, and John Wray.  It was directed by Lewis Milestone, who won best director for the movie.  The movie was based on the book of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.  The movie tells the story of several young, idealistic German youths being persuaded to enlist in the army during World War I to defend the father land, Germany.  They are implored by an older professor who gives an impassioned speech that preys upon the naivete of the German lads to join the war effort.  In a nicely filmed sequence, we see what each of the German youths see as their future as an army recruit, including the possibility of being a hero.  Upon signing up for the army, the young men are shipped off to boot camp and must report to a commander whom many of them know as their post man.  They realize who the commander is and begin talking with him with the level of familiarity of having known someone for some time.  However, the commander is an absolute dictator and the young men can't believe the change in his personality.  This scene was meant to evidence how some people react to gaining sudden power.  Prior to this scene, Himmelstoss was a civil servant.  He now commands the young recruits and does so with an iron fist.  This was the young German's first indication that the romantic notion of defending one's country was over-rated. After boot camp, the young men are shipped off to the front lines to fight.  They can't believe what they've gotten themselves into.  War is not the pretty picture that was painted for them by their professor.  As the film goes on, some of the young men are killed or wounded.  There are many remarks made about the atrocities of war.  There is one scene where the recruits (what was left of them) were moving on and they passed a stockpile of fresh wooden coffins.  Paul, the movie's hero, wryly comments that those coffins are for them.  One character, Stanislaus Katczinsky, so deftly played by Louis Wolheim comments that if the leaders of a country want to fight another country, they should be put in a barricaded field and fight it out amongst themselves.  He makes this comment because nobody knows why they are even fighting; they are simply doing what they were told. 
     This story and movie was a great condemnation of the war and was banned in many countries at the time of its release.  The story was told through the eyes of German soldiers, but because the actors were, for the most part, Americans and had American accents, it was hard to envision them as Germans.  Throughout most of the film I sympathized with the characters.  They didn't follow the stereotype of what people think of as being German really is.  I think this may have been done purposely to show the individuality of the people who are fighting in a war.  Paul is forced to kill a Frenchmen who comes into his trench.  He then regrets that he had to kill the man and vows that he will write to his wife and express his grief.  As the man is dying, Paul remarks that they are not different at all and could be brothers if it were not for the war.  A powerful message.  I think the director wanted to make the characters seem like they could be anyone and therefore did not employ German accents.  It was a good effect. 
     I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  The film's message was a bit preachy and heavy handed, but it is still true today.  I would recommend anyone to see this movie.  There isn't a great deal of action, but the battle scenes are spectacular, especially for the period.  I remember being so emotionally moved when I first saw Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" because of the point of view of the camera; it made you actually feel that you were in the battle scene.  This movie, which was released in 1930, did the same thing.  Lewis Milestone's directing and the director of photography did a remarkable job with the shooting of the battle scenes.  It was a bit graphic at times, including depicting a man who is blown apart by a bomb and the only remains of him were his arms which were still grasping the barbed wire.  In 1990, the film was selected and preserved by the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

My Sixth Movie, "In Old Arizona"

My sixth movie is "In Old Arizona".  The movie starred Warner Baxter as The Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood of the west created by O. Henry.  The movie focused on the rivalry between the The Cisco Kid and Micky Dunne (played by Edmund Lowe), a mounted law man.  They were both vying for the affections of a deceitful Tonia Maria (played by Dorothy Burgess).  Both men meet each other when the Cisco Kid comes into town, however, Micky Dunne does not realize that he is befriending the bandit for whom there is a 5000.00 reward.  The Cisco Kid prepares to leave to go see his girlfriend, Tonia Maria.  As he is leaving, Micky finds out that the Cisco Kid was indeed the same person he was talking to in the barber shop.  He begins to go after him.  In the mean time, the Cisco Kid knows that he is wanted and wants to stay ahead of the law, so he leaves Tonia Maria, telling her that he will return.  Micky then appears and meets Tonia at a local tavern.  He falls in love with her and goes to her home.  She falls for him as well.  She leaves with Micky Dunne the next day and realizes that he is actually gunning for the Cisco Kid after she finds the wanted poster that Micky was carrying.  She felt betrayed that she was being used solely to get the reward.  Micky convinces her that he was getting the reward for her and vows to take her to New York where he will provide her with all the luxuries she desires.  They both plot to trick the Cisco Kid upon his return to see Tonia Maria at her home.  She composes a note to be delivered to Micky telling him when the Cisco Kid was going to leave so that Micky can shoot him and they will collect the reward.  However, the Cisco Kid finds out their plan and tricks them.  He confiscates the note and changes it to tell Micky she will accompany the Cisco Kid, however they will switch clothes (the Cisco Kid will wear Tonia Maria's clothes and vice versa) so that Micky will shoot the one wearing the dress (which, unbeknownst to Micky, will actually be Tonia Maria.)  A nice plot twist.

The movie is a bit corny but well done for its day.  I have been a little harsh on my reviews of this period but I have to realize that it was the infancy of the movie industry of the day and be a little less critical.  Warner Baxter played a good part, however his accent was a little over the top.  Dorothy Burgess as Tonia Maria sounded more Italian than Latina, but she was convincing as a duplicitous lover who meets her comeuppance.  Overall, an enjoyable movie.

My Fifth Movie, "Alibi"

Alibi is a crime/detective movie released in 1929.  It is credited as being the first film of the crime genre.  Roland West directed and was nominated for an Oscar, as was Chester Morris for best actor.  It was also nominated for best art direction.  I enjoyed the movie, although the actors took such long pauses that it seemed like they forgot their lines.  For some reason, I've always loved the era of the twenties.  It seemed like such a fun time.  This movie had a lot of plot twists and suspense.  It involved a criminal who had a perfect alibi for a crime he committed; he was with his girlfriend and eventual wife at the time of the crime (which was the murder of a police officer).  However, there were 5 minutes that he was unaccounted for, so the police were honing in on the possibility that his alibi was faked.  To complicate matters, he was married to the daughter of the policeman who was investing the case.  I believe he married the woman to help complicate matters.  This was a fine movie that contributed to the development of all movies of this genre.