Melodrama
Waterloo Bridge (1931)
Movie archaeologists who might have believed the long suppressed 1931 version of Universal’s Waterloo Bridge was lost were delighted when it was unearthed in the 1970s; it is now, happily, available to the rest of us as part of TCM Archive’s Forbidden Hollywood releases of pre-code talkies (1929-July 1934). Without question, the film is a… »
Dark Victory (1939)
Justly celebrated since its original release, Dark Victory (1939) continues to delight fully 70 years later. Though Bette Davis is in virtually every scene – this is not exactly an ensemble picture – she never outstays her welcome as her moods swing from… »
The Great Lie (1941)
In The Great Lie (1941), dashing Pete Van Allen (George Brent) is an ace flyer … and playboy society drunk. On a bender, he hooks up with snooty upper class concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor); before the night is over, they are married… »
The Old Maid (1939)
The Old Maid isn’t just remarkable for being made in 1939 — the year of Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz — but also for being the same year Bette Davis also starred in Dark Victory, one of her most indelibly famous films. Edmund Goulding, who would turn 50 during the filming… »
Torch Singer (1933)
In Torch Singer (1933), pregant and alone in the world, Sally Trent (Claudette Colbert) spends a few months in a Catholic woman’s home having her baby. Later, she finds she has no choice but to give up her daughter for adoption. Heart-broken, Sally returns to her singing career and transforms herself into a very successful… »
Merrily We Go To Hell (1932)
In Merrily We Go To Hell (1932), innocence and loyalty work against Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sidney) who, despite, her upper crust upbringing, is no class snob. A teetotaler, she is charmed… »