Work has been very intense lately and all signs point towards it getting even worse in the following days so the last third of this year’s Summer Under the Stars might prove to be rather rushed, with few thoughts written by me about the movies. But at least I still have some energy to WATCH the films. Although I do think that Dolores del Rio deserves better – both in blog posts and in movie selections.
The Red Dance (1928), dir. Raoul Walsh
The Red Dance is a love story on the backdrop of Russian Revolution. It actually is a good movie and Dolores plays the main role. There is beauty to the world Walsh created and Dolores’s face has that silent movie gorgeousness. Personally, I could not connect with it in a way I often do when it comes to silent cinema – and I love it when I connect with silent cinema so when it doesn’t happen I’m really disappointed.
Wonder Bar (1934), dir Lloyd Bacon
Wonder Bar I did not connect with AT ALL and Dolores del Rio became sort of a non-character here. This is a musical set in a night club in Paris. Al Jolson plays the main character and at one point his performance is announced by something along the lines of „He’s going to do what he does best” and I thought to myself „Is it gonna be blackface?”. Reader, it was blackface. Plus, Kay Francis spends the entire film being sad and this is not the Kay Francis experience I want. I did not enjoy this one.
Swingin' at the Seance 