Private Lives (1931) - Movie Chain Review #2

Wendy from Movie Viewing Girl has started a movie review chain-- First she kicked things off by reviewing The Women, and I chose Norma Shearer as my link to the next review. Here are the rules if you'd like to participate!

1. Call dibs on doing the next review in the comments. First one to speak up gets it, others will have to wait to join up to the next link in the chain! (Chains usually only link one at a time, after all. It's not a movie review tree.)

2. Write your own review of another movie (it should be one not yet used in the chain) and post it on your blog. Make sure the link to the previous review is made clear and that you link back to the original post where the chain began (so we can keep track of how the chain grows). The link can be an actor or actress, director, or something more creative (like a theme).

3. Include the rules of how to continue the chain, and let someone else continue it!

 
Noel Coward's classic play has been filmed and produced countless times, but I think that the story found it's perfect cast in the 1931 MGM version. Private Lives stars Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery as an ex-husband and wife who bump into each other when each is on a honeymoon with a new spouse. (The premise alone is fantastic!) Despite their incessant bickering and arguing, they realize that the flame is still burning wild and decide to hightail it out of their honeymoon hotel to renew the love they long thought had died.

Once they are away together, the script provides a constant barrage of one-liners, insults and violence thrown together with some sticky gooey lovey dovey scenes. It's a marvelous combination, especially when the two people saying the lines and acting gooey are Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer. Their skill with the witty repertoire makes what could feel like a filmed stage play seem fresh, alive and vigorous. And their characters' love-hate relationship is so volatile and hilarious that you wish you could see their entire married life on film, instead of this tiny 84 minute segment.

The new spouses are played by Una Merkel and Reginald Denny- and when the four of them meet up the tension and hilarity is quadrupled! I think Reginald Denny and Una Merkel are both sorely underrated - fantastic character actors who had the good looks to be stars. All in all I think this is a 100% perfect movie, and definitely holds a place in my top 20 films of all time.

Private Lives is available to purchase here and to view here.

More Idiot's Delight..

I meant to add this to my previous post, but totally forgot until Raquelle mentioned it in the comments--One of my favorite scenes in any movie, EVER! Grab some popcorn and spend about one minute in a state of cinematic bliss:

Norma Shearer in Idiot's Delight

Yes, it's about wigs again...

In the comments on my last post, a lot of people brought up the fact that Stanwyck's character in Double Indemnity is a fake, artificial kind of person, hence the fake artificial wig. The only other instances I can think of off the top of my head in which the female lead sports a very unflattering fake head of hair are Norma Shearer's phony countess in Idiot's Delight and Stanwyck again in Baby Face (where she has several hair costume changes on her rise to the top) So I guess the "fake character? let's give her a fake wig" idea may actually be a pattern in classic film. (Three instances can make a pattern, right?)

What do you think of the Shearer wig, and can anyone help me think of more fake wigs/fake characters?

Norma Shearer

by Raquelle at
Out of the Past
Guest Blogger

Norma Shearer was a sight to behold. She was simply stunning and had an elegance and grace that translated well on film and in photographs. Shearer loved the camera and the camera loved her, but their courtship started off on very rocky footing. Over the years Shearer, along with the help of studio stylists and photographers, developed tricks and techniques for her so that the camera always captured her in the best light possible.

If Norma Shearer was so beautiful, what could she have had to hide? Shearer's biggest physical flaw was the slight cast in one of her eyes. Technically it was not a lazy eye but it was ever so off center, enough to make her look cross-eyed. At one point she had surgery to correct this, but it never did fully go away. So what did she do? She dealt with it. If you watch Norma Shearer's films or see any of her photographs, she'd always tilted her head and face at an angle. It created a dramatic look, showcased her spectacular profile and hid her major flaw. It took years of practice and it wasn't until well into her talkie career in which her crossed eyes are completely unnoticeable. She learned an effective trick from photographer George Hurrell that if she looked towards directly in the camera's direction she had to look past it, as though she was looking beyond at something very far away.

As I got to learn more and more about Norma, I discovered that she had even more physical flaws that she withheld from the camera. She had a short dumpy figure, a result of thick legs and arms on a petite body. She was also knock-kneed, something clearly visible when you see her silent film He Who Gets Slapped (1924). Shearer learned to hide her legs with long skirts and dresses and showcase her torso which was slender. She got very knowledgeable about lighting and refused to be shot at any unflattering angle. This oftentimes made her clash with her co-stars who also wanted to look their best on screen. The most notable one is Clark Gable, Shearer's co-star in A Free Soul (1931), Strange Interlude (1932) and Idiot's Delight (1939). Gable had huge ears which were very noticeable and everything possible was done to hide them. He was banned from wearing bowler hats, he had to always look away from the camera and oftentimes his ears were taped to his head so they would lay flat. You can imagine all the work it took to get the best lighting and positioning for when Gable and Shearer shared a scene. It must have been quite a battle!

Beyond the physical, Norma used her natural charisma to enhance her beauty. She always had lively expressions and elegant hand and arm movements. Her vibrancy was electric and seemed to light up the screen. Who would be searching for flaws when they would be too busy being entranced by her charm?

So why do Norma's flaws matter? Norma Shearer acknowledged what she had and what she didn't and worked very hard to be her best. It's something that made her notorious as a diva but to me it showed her admirable diligence to overcome obstacles in her path. I've learned from her and even I've developed tricks so I can look my best on camera.