Post by Midge on Jan 31, 2008 4:34:38 GMT -6
This early talkie, directed by the distinguished Alexander Korda, aired on TCM the other night. The plot of The Squall is pure melodrama, and the whole movie comes across as static and stagey. But it's worth watching largely due to a entertaining performance by Myrna Loy and the presence of another future superstar, the teenaged Loretta Young.
The story begins on a rainy night in Hungary, where a gypsy caravan pulls up in front of a prosperous, upper-middle class home. Myrna Loy as Nubi, a gypsy girl, escapes a man who seems to be abusing her. She knocks on the door of the home seeking refuge, and the residents, a comfortable upper-middle-class family by the name of Lajos, agree to take her in. The family allows her to live in their home and earn her keep as a servant. But the Lajos's calm, happy existence is about to turn into chaos as Nubi repays their kindness by attempting to seduce every man in the household from the servant boy to the head of the household. Then the gypsy caravan returns, and we finally learn the truth about Nubi.
The main attraction of this potboiler is the performance of Myrna Loy. This was her "vamp" period, when her roles were confined to deadly Oriental temptresses and other exotic femme fatale types. Loy takes the script's hackneyed lines and stereotyped gypsy mannerisms and turns them into a fascinating, compelling performance. She commands the screen, and you can scarcely take your eyes off her. Decked out in a full Gypsy afro and flowing skirts, she rolls her eyes and flares her nostrils as she cries out such deathless lines as, "Me Nubi! Me good girl! Me stay here!" Sure, it's overacting. Sure, it's camp. Sure, it's the type of acting that has been parodied endlessly on late-night comedy shows. But when the actress camping it up is Myrna Loy, it's fun to watch. To see her here, you'd never guess that she'd go on to play so many perfectly ladylike wife and mother roles.
The 16-year-old Loretta Young is luminous as the gentle Irma, the neglected fiance of the Lajos's son Paul (Carroll Nye, who would later play Scarlett's second husband Frank Kennedy in Gone With The Wind). Young's line readings are is painfully amateurish, but she makes up for it with her beauty, her sincerity and those large, expressive eyes.
Also in the cast are Richard Tucker as the Lajos family patriarch, who is suspicious of Nubi from the start, and silent screen star Alice Joyce as his kindly wife. The wonderful character comedienne ZaSu Pitts plays a supporting role as the family maid, and Harry Cording is Pitt's boyfriend, the servant Peter, who is the first to fall victim to Nubi's deadly charms.
The lovely Miss Joyce had been a leading lady during the silent era, but her career didn't survive sound. It's not that she couldn't talk or that she was a bad actress. It's that her anemic voice doesn't match her dark, striking looks. You can barely hear her lines, and this detracts from her performance. Joyce retired soon after making this film.
The story begins on a rainy night in Hungary, where a gypsy caravan pulls up in front of a prosperous, upper-middle class home. Myrna Loy as Nubi, a gypsy girl, escapes a man who seems to be abusing her. She knocks on the door of the home seeking refuge, and the residents, a comfortable upper-middle-class family by the name of Lajos, agree to take her in. The family allows her to live in their home and earn her keep as a servant. But the Lajos's calm, happy existence is about to turn into chaos as Nubi repays their kindness by attempting to seduce every man in the household from the servant boy to the head of the household. Then the gypsy caravan returns, and we finally learn the truth about Nubi.
The main attraction of this potboiler is the performance of Myrna Loy. This was her "vamp" period, when her roles were confined to deadly Oriental temptresses and other exotic femme fatale types. Loy takes the script's hackneyed lines and stereotyped gypsy mannerisms and turns them into a fascinating, compelling performance. She commands the screen, and you can scarcely take your eyes off her. Decked out in a full Gypsy afro and flowing skirts, she rolls her eyes and flares her nostrils as she cries out such deathless lines as, "Me Nubi! Me good girl! Me stay here!" Sure, it's overacting. Sure, it's camp. Sure, it's the type of acting that has been parodied endlessly on late-night comedy shows. But when the actress camping it up is Myrna Loy, it's fun to watch. To see her here, you'd never guess that she'd go on to play so many perfectly ladylike wife and mother roles.
The 16-year-old Loretta Young is luminous as the gentle Irma, the neglected fiance of the Lajos's son Paul (Carroll Nye, who would later play Scarlett's second husband Frank Kennedy in Gone With The Wind). Young's line readings are is painfully amateurish, but she makes up for it with her beauty, her sincerity and those large, expressive eyes.
Also in the cast are Richard Tucker as the Lajos family patriarch, who is suspicious of Nubi from the start, and silent screen star Alice Joyce as his kindly wife. The wonderful character comedienne ZaSu Pitts plays a supporting role as the family maid, and Harry Cording is Pitt's boyfriend, the servant Peter, who is the first to fall victim to Nubi's deadly charms.
The lovely Miss Joyce had been a leading lady during the silent era, but her career didn't survive sound. It's not that she couldn't talk or that she was a bad actress. It's that her anemic voice doesn't match her dark, striking looks. You can barely hear her lines, and this detracts from her performance. Joyce retired soon after making this film.
Although she's not one of my all-time favorites, I do like her.
Most of what's on TV now is not worth watching.
