Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (1955)

Machiko Kyō and Masayuki Mori star in the stunning historical drama, Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (1955), available for streaming on Filmstruck.

This is a Japanese film based on the beautiful poem "The Song of Everlasting Regret", written by Bai Juyi, which details the relationship between Emperor Xuanzong (Masayuki Mori) and serving girl Yuahan Kwei-Fei (Machiko Kyō) during the Tang Dynasty (6th century). 

The emperor - still mourning the loss of his beloved wife - has become neglectful of his duties, which causes much concern with his ministers. In an effort to make him forget his sorrow, the ministers begin a search for a shiny new concubine whom they hope will prove just the thing to set him straight.

In their search they discover a serving girl who just happens to be the spitting image of the emperor's late wife, so she is immediately dolled up and presented to the emperor. At first he is uninterested and a bit peeved at such an obvious manipulation, but as time passes he comes to care for her and before long the two are in love. As the story unfolds their happiness is threatened by political upheaval, corruption and misguided loyalties, which ultimately lead to tragedy.

Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi and co-produced by Japan's Daiei Film and Hong Kong's Shaw & Sons, Princess Yang Kwei-Fei was released in 1955. This is one of Mizoguchi's final films (followed only by Street of Shame in 1956) and is one of just two films he shot in color. The film is gorgeous in every way and the period costumes and decor of the time especially benefit from the director's choice to film in color. 

Both Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō were prolific actors during the 1950's and the two had starred together in another Mizoguchi film two years earlier, the fantastically unsettling drama/ghost story Ugetsu (1953). Their performances in Princess Yang Kwei-Fei are understated yet incredibly moving. 

Also among the talented cast are Mizoguchi favorite Eitarô Shindô, along with Sô Yamamura and Haruko Sugimura, who appeared in many of Yasujirō Ozu's films. 


(By the way, if you're interested in reading the poem on which the film is based, you can find one translation here.)

Lady of the Night (1925)

I just happened to turn the channel to TCM last Sunday evening and I'm so glad I did because I was able to catch Lady of the Night, which aired as part of their regular Silent Sunday Nights feature.

Released by MGM in 1925, the film stars Norma Shearer in a dual good girl/bad girl role. The first few minutes of the film introduce us to "bad girl" Molly Helmer who is born into a poor family with a convict for a father. Coincidentally, the judge who sends Molly's father to prison (Judge Banning played by Fred Esmelton) becomes a father at the exact same time when his wife gives birth to "good girl" Florence.

Fast forward eighteen years and the two little girls have grown into two young ladies: Molly is just leaving reform school at the same time Florence graduates from a ritzy private school. Florence has a lovely house and well-to-do father waiting for her, but Molly must take care of herself, so she takes a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall.

One night at the dance hall, Molly is harassed by an aggressive dance partner and her boyfriend, Chunky (George K. Arthur) attempts to defend her honor, but he is knocked down to the floor. Chunky's friend David Page (Malcolm McGregor) quickly steps in and saves the day, earning Molly's admiration in the process.

It doesn't take long for Molly to fall for David, and although he remains oblivious to her feelings, Chunky is very much aware of the situation and all he can do is sit back and watch his ladylove pine for another. The three spend quite a lot of time together and we learn that David is an inventor who has just put the finishing touches on a device that can unlock any safe. Chunky suggests David sell his invention to a criminal gang he knows, but Molly urges him to sell the device to a bank instead.

David does as Molly suggests and meets with a group of bank directors, one of whom is Judge Banning, Florence's father. In fact, the meeting takes place at the judge's home and at the conclusion of the meeting, David bumps into Florence on his way out. The two are instantly smitten with each other. From there we must wait and see how this mess of a love triangle (quadrangle, really) will play out...

Norma Shearer is a delight as Molly Helmer, the bad girl with a heart of gold. The role really suited her well. Florence's character was a bit colorless by comparison - a good girl with a heart of gold isn't nearly as interesting as a bad girl with a heart of gold! Seeing Shearer as a vamp with dark hair, dark makeup, painted-on beauty marks and a giant plumed headpiece was a lot of fun to watch.

Malcolm McGregor makes a handsome David (even though he is somewhat dense in his ignorance of Molly's very obvious feelings) and I enjoyed George K. Arthur in the role of Chunky Dunn. Chunky is loyal and sweet and you just feel so bad for him! 

Lady of the Night was Joan Crawford's first movie appearance and if it weren't for Ben Mankiewicz's intro at the beginning of the film I would never have known she was in it. She acted as Norma Shearer's body double - the "other Norma" whenever Molly and Florence are in a scene together - so we never see her face, just the back of her head a handful of times!

Overall I really liked Lady of the Night and found it to be surprisingly moving, especially considering the film is only about an hour long. I look forward to revisiting this one soon. 

In This Our Life (1942)

Released in 1942 by Warner Bros. and directed by John Huston, In This Our Life is a drama adapted from the novel of the same title written by Ellen Glasgow. The film stars Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland as sisters - Stanley and Roy respectively - two very different women born to the wealthy Timberlake family of Richmond, Virginia.

We learn at the onset that the sisters' father, Asa (Frank Craven) has just lost his portion of a successful tobacco company to his wife, Lavinia's (Billie Burke) brother, William (Charles Coburn).

Roy is married to Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan) and runs a successful operation as an interior decorator, while Stanley is just days away from marrying her fiance, Craig (played by George Brent).

The evening before her wedding Stanley runs off with Peter and it becomes apparent to everyone that they've been having an affair for some time now. Roy is devastated, but her hurt quickly turns to anger and she vows to move on with her life. She divorces Peter and he and Stanley marry and move to Baltimore soon after.

Stanley's betrayal forms a sort of bond between Roy and Craig and the two become friends then, over time, their friendship turns into romantic love.

Of course, while things are starting to look up for Roy, Stanley's situation has grown progressively worse. Her wild nature and Peter's hard drinking have resulted in an unhappy marriage and soon word reaches the Timberlake clan that Peter has killed himself, which means Stanley is moving back to Richmond...



Bette Davis initially pursued the role of Roy, but was forced to take the role of Stanley instead. She felt she was too old for the role and was dissatisfied with the script and the film, which she thought was a watered-down version of a powerful and moving novel that shed light on racial injustice.

I haven't read the novel, so perhaps my opinion of the movie would be different if I had, but I enjoyed the film and found it to be an entertaining diversion. Bette Davis is always interesting, even if I do think she was miscast - I had no problem with her age, but I didn't find her entirely believable as a femme fatale.

Olivia de Havilland is lovely, as usual. She had the "woman of quiet dignity" part down pat, didn't she? The role of the "good sister" suits her well in the film and she looks absolutely gorgeous.

Charles Coburn is sufficiently creepy as the sisters' uncle who has an unnatural interest in niece Stanley. George Brent and Dennis Morgan are nice additions to the film, though there isn't a lot of dialogue for either of them, which I found disappointing. It was interesting to see Morgan in an unflattering role as a cheating husband.

The film also features Hattie McDaniel as Minerva Clay, Parry's mother and the Timberlakes' maid. Unfortunately, it's a very small role for her. (I was also disappointed with Billie Burke's very boring role as the sickly mother.)

In an effort to avoid spoiler alerts, I won't go into specifics, but I will say that I really enjoyed Ernest Anderson's portrayal of Parry Clay, a young African American man who aspires to become a lawyer. It was so refreshing to see a film from this time period portray a person of color in a positive and realistic light. Anderson won the 1942 National Board of Review award for Best Actor for his performance.

Overall I enjoyed In This Our Life and found it to be a solid drama with a fine cast. An extra ten minutes might have helped to flesh out the characters a bit and I think the film would have been more powerful if we had been given more time to truly understand and care about the characters and what happens to them.