Showing posts with label Hattie McDaniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hattie McDaniel. Show all posts
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| Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart |
At the start of WW 1 Daisy Heath (Margaret Sullavan) is a sophisticated, world-weary Broadway star who is engaged to Sam Bailey (Walter Pidgeon of Forbidden Planet). Both Daisy and Sam are rather cynical about the war and soldiers, until Daisy meets a young Army man named Bill (Jimmy Stewart). Having no girlfriend, Bill has told his pals that Daisy is his gal, and she goes along with it out of compassion. Daisy begins to see Bill on a regular basis, telling herself and Sam that she's just being kind, but real feelings between both begin to develop. And then Daisy learns that Bill's unit is going overseas ... The Shopworn Angel is a lovely movie that features a superb performance from Sullavan [Only Yesterday] and excellent work from her two leading men; Hattie McDonald [Everybody's Baby] also scores, as usual, as Martha. If the film has any flaw it's that some may consider the ending more ridiculous than moving.
Verdict: Another luminescent Sullavan performance. ***.
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| Hattie: "Woman, you better run for your life cause I'm rowed!" |
Jones Family daughter Bonnie (Shirley Deane) has a baby girl and makes the mistake of ascribing to the dopey child-rearing theories of one Dr. Pilcoff (Reginald Denny of Strange Justice), who believes the baby should have little contact with the parents for the first year. This doesn't sit well with Bonnie's husband, Herbert (Russell Gleason), nor with any member of the Jones family, especially Granny (Florence Roberts). Pilcoff hires a hatchet-faced nurse (Claire Du Brey of Jane Eyre) who comes into conflict with the family, and especially with Bonnie's wise old housekeeper, Hattie (Hattie McDaniel of The Great Lie), in the movie's best and funniest scene. In this installment of the popular Twentieth Century-Fox series, Bonnie is pretty much an idiot, at one point suggesting that Hattie, who has eight children (including the adorable Triola), "doesn't know anything about children." She also objects strenuously and in almost racist fashion when she finds Triola in her daughter's crib. On the other hand, there's a great scene when the gang finds Bonnie's "missing" baby at a meeting of black families where Triola wins a prize and the Jones baby sits happily with the other infants. Granny is again revealed as the smartest member of the Jones family, cooking up a clever scheme to get rid of Pilcoff and his notions once and for all. The rest of the family is in tow, all giving fine performances, and McDaniel is as terrific as ever. Fun!
Verdict: One of the cutest entries in the series. ***.