Poll

What's your favorite film by Sam Wood?

Beyond the Rocks
0 (0%)
Paid
0 (0%)
The Man in Possession
0 (0%)
Hold Your Man
0 (0%)
The Girl From Missouri
0 (0%)
Stamboul Quest
0 (0%)
A Night at the Opera
4 (22.2%)
Whipsaw
0 (0%)
The Unguarded Hour
0 (0%)
A Day at the Races
1 (5.6%)
Madame X
0 (0%)
Navy Blue and Gold
0 (0%)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
6 (33.3%)
Raffles
0 (0%)
Our Town
0 (0%)
Kitty Foyle
0 (0%)
The Devil and Miss Jones
0 (0%)
Kings Row
1 (5.6%)
The Pride of the Yankees
1 (5.6%)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
0 (0%)
Casanova Brown
0 (0%)
Guest Wife
0 (0%)
Saratoga Trunk
0 (0%)
Ivy
0 (0%)
Command Decision
0 (0%)
The Stratton Story
0 (0%)
Ambush
0 (0%)
other
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
5 (27.8%)
don't like any
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 18

Author Topic: Wood, Sam  (Read 4226 times)

Knocked Out Loaded

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Re: Wood, Sam
« Reply #20 on: July 20, 2017, 05:08:07 AM »
A Day At The Races, 35°
A Night At The Opera, 30°
Ambush, 25°
« Last Edit: April 18, 2022, 02:17:13 PM by Knocked Out Loaded »
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1SO

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Re: Wood, Sam
« Reply #21 on: July 09, 2018, 10:48:46 PM »
Our Town (1940)
★ ★ ★ – Good
Full of theatrical tricks that constantly break the 4th wall in a variety of ways, Sam Wood's direction is a triumph for finding suitable cinematic equivalents. A slice of small town life is the most Americana movie I've seen that wasn't made by Disney. I enjoyed the film's cheek. It's corny, sentimental, wistful, nostalgic and it does it in a very cutting-edge, Brechtian way. The final sequence really takes things to their limit. While it goes out all quaint and humble, and anyone who adds an ounce of cynicism may tear their hair out in places, it's a pretty original experience.

1SO

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Re: Wood, Sam
« Reply #22 on: September 02, 2019, 02:15:54 PM »
Updated Rankings

I watched Seven film by Sam Wood and still couldn't find a way to identify his style. He focuses more on the script than the camera, though Kings Row and Ivy are quite cinematic. He makes actors comfortable with giving big performances, which may be why he made one of the Marx Bros best films.



The Man in Possession (1931)
★ ★ ★ - Okay
Robert Montgomery shines as a disgraced family member who ends up as butler to his brother's fiancee. Doesn't quite achieve screwball lift, but has fun sputtering across the runway. Reginald Owen is a standout as the brother.


Hold Your Man (1933)
★ ★ ½
First half is Jean Harlow's finest performance as she out toughs Clark Gable, playing a smooth hustler. Back half sends to to prison and loses the energy (and the Gable.)


Stamboul Quest (1934)
★ ★ ½
Espionage thriller starring Myrna Loy. A couple of good surprises, but a mostly low-key affair. Usually it's fun trying to figure out which side people are really on, but it's kind of frustrating here because you have nobody to root for.


Madame X (1937)
★ ★ ★ - Okay
Melodrama goes through a lot of coincidence, but it's all worth it for the lacerating finale. A rare starring role for Gladys George (Maltese Falcon, Roaring Twenties). Great support by Warren William. That ending... damn.


Kings Row (1942)
★ ★ ★ - Okay
Ronald Reagan gives his best performance, though it still took most of the movie to get used to him as an actor. Charles Coburn and Claude Rains play small town doctors with different views on surgery. Ann Sheridan comes in after an hour and wraps all the threads around her finger. Good thing too, because until then it's mostly on the soft shoulders of Robert Cummings.


Guest Wife (1945)
★ ★ ½
Now in her 40s, Claudette Colbert is still a screwball comedy queen. The script is pretty lame and Don Ameche plays it too slick, but some of it works.


Ivy (1947)
★ ★ ½
Wood's most stylized film is the kind of murder noir I'm always looking to show Mrs. 1SO for Shocktober. It's not a tricky story and I still find Joan Fontaine to be pretty bland as an actress, but there are some good scenes, especially the ending. Always great to nail the ending.