Best Films - 1933
by Andre Soares
Those looking for historical accuracy in Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina will be greatly disappointed, for credited screenwriters Salka Viertel, H.M. Harwood, and S.N. Behrman have concocted a highly fictionalized queen who experiences an all-consuming and ultimately tragic love affair with a Spanish envoy.
The unusual Swedish monarch is played with passionate determination by the equally unusual Swedish star Greta Garbo. Silent-screen superstar John Gilbert, by 1933 an alcoholic has-been, plays the role of the doomed envoy — and is the weak link in this romantic masterpiece. Out of loyalty to her old friend and lover, Garbo had demanded that MGM hire Gilbert for the part (the studio had wanted relative newcomer Laurence Olivier). But even though the film was a personal triumph for Garbo, Gilbert’s career continued its downhill slide.
One of the most ambitious productions of the early 1930s, Queen Christina remains surprisingly modern in its execution, while its star displays a transcendental form of romantic passion, the likes of which have rarely been seen on screen — or, dare we say, in life. Pictured above is the film’s final scene. Her lover dead, Queen Christina looks straight ahead but sees only nothingness, as William H. Daniels’s camera slowly approaches her face to capture what may well be the most awe-inspiring closeup ever recorded on film.
FILM
Queen Christina
Baby Face
The Barbarian
Dinner at 8
Gold Diggers of 1933
I’m No Angel
The Kennel Murder Case
King Kong
Lady for a Day
The Mystery of the Wax Museum
DIRECTOR
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina)
Howard Bretherton & William Keighley (Ladies They Talk About)
George Cukor (Dinner at 8)
Michael Curtiz (Mystery of the Wax Museum)
Michael Curtiz (The Kennel Murder Case)
Alfred E. Green (Baby Face)
Mervyn LeRoy (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Wesley Ruggles (I’m No Angel)
Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper (King Kong)
Sam Wood (The Barbarian)
ACTOR
Ramon Novarro (The Barbarian)
Lionel Atwill (The Mystery of the Wax Museum)
Fredric March (The Eagle and the Hawk)
Robert Montgomery (Made on Broadway)
Warren William (Lady for a Day)
ACTRESS
Greta Garbo (Queen Christina)
Constance Bennett (Bed of Roses)
Ruth Chatterton (Lily Turner)
Marion Davies (Peg o’ My Heart)
Myrna Loy (The Barbarian)
May Robson (Lady for a Day)
Barbara Stanwyck (Baby Face)
Barbara Stanwyck (The Bitter Tea of General Yen)
Mae West (I’m No Angel)
Loretta Young (Man’s Castle)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ned Sparks (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Guy Kibbee (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Guy Kibbee (Lady for a Day)
H.B. Warner (The Son-Daughter)
Warren William (Gold Diggers of 1933)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marie Dressler (Dinner at 8)
Mary Boland (The Solitaire Man)
Grace Bradley (Girl Without a Room)
Mae Clarke (Lady Killer)
Frances Dee (Blood Money)
Ruth Donnelly (Footlight Parade)
Louise Closser Hale (The Barbarian)
Jean Harlow (Dinner at 8)
Aline MacMahon (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Hilda Vaughn (Dinner at 8)
SCREENPLAY
Salka Viertel, H.M. Harwood & S.N. Behrman (Queen Christina)
James Ashmore Creelman & Ruth Rose (King Kong)
Erwin Gelsey, James Seymour, David Boehm & Ben Markson (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Maude T. Howell & Charles Kenyon (The Working Man)
Anita Loos & Elmer Harris (The Barbarian)
Frances Marion, Herman J. Mankiewicz & Donald Ogden Stewart (Dinner at 8)
Gene Markey & Kathryn Scola (Baby Face)
Robert Presnell (Employees’ Entrance)
Robert Riskin (Lady for a Day)
Mae West (I’m No Angel)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
William H. Daniels (Queen Christina)
Joseph H. August (Man’s Castle)
William H. Daniels (Dinner at 8)
Tony Gaudio (Ex-Lady)
Oliver T. Marsh (Dancing Lady)
Barney McGill (The Keyhole)
Ray Rennahan (Mystery of the Wax Museum)
Harold Rosson (The Barbarian)
Jan Stallich & Hans Androschin (Extase / Ecstasy)
Karl Struss (Tonight Is Ours)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Herbert Stothart (Queen Christina)
"Best Films of …" Annual List
Comments
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
