chetley

"Bombshell" does for the Hollywood of the 1930s what "The Player" does for the Hollywood of the 1990s. It's quite interesting to see how well established the Hollywood System was already in the early 1930s when this film was made. Already at that time the film world was centered on stars, studios, and a sycophantic support network that was focused on a false facades and phoniness. There are plenty of hilarious scenes in "Bombshell" sending up the studio system in a way that I found quite surprising given the year (1933) that this film was produced. It seems to present a sensibility - sarcastic, witty, honest - that I don't usually associate with the Golden Age of Hollywood. So many jokes about alcohol and drunkenness! "Bombshell" makes "The Thin Man" seem like an advertisement for AA by comparison.

Good supporting cast - nice to see Frank Morgan (aka the Wizard of Oz) as the inebriated father of star Jean Harlow. Lee Tracy is completely convincing as the smooth-talking oily agent who harbors a secret passion for his client. But what really makes "Bombshell" work - and which explains why I rate it at 8 out is 10 - is the tremendously self-effacing performance of Jean Harlow. She's just terrific!

"The Handcuff King" is another entry in the "nostalgic yet painful adolescence in rural Scandinavia" genre. This film has its share of sweet moments, but there are more painful ones as the central character, a young Finnish boy named Esko, has to deal with a dysfunctional family living in poverty. At the same time he is abused and shunned by his classmates and former buddies. The only redeeming feature in his other dismal life is the tenuous friendship he forms with a nice Swedish lad from across the border. Esko is appealingly imaginative, but the film is marred by some technical flaws, as well as by its descent into emotional manipulation. At the end, I couldn't help feeling that what Esko and his family really needed was a very good therapist and access to a steady supply of anti-depressants.