Suez

There could never be a product like this turned out today. The people are just not out there - at least not in the picture business.

Zanuck expressed the opinion that Annabella was the only one of Power's wives good enough for Power. Zanuck was never one to always hit it exactly right on the head but he got it right with this one. Watch these two in this - it's a union of giants!

Loretta Young !!!! Just plainly the most beautiful woman who ever lived. If Eugenie was one tenth this beautiful she deserved to wear a crown and live a hundred years, as the fortune teller predicted, and as Eugenie in fact did. Even Power's co-stars Madeleine Carroll in LLOYDS OF LONDON and Gene Tierney/Frances Farmer in SON OF FURY, ravishing as they all were, were not Young's equal.

Victoria was badmouthed as too prim and proper but according to Zanuck she must have walked out on a few wires or otherwise there would have been some holdups on both the Suez Canal and the telephone (see ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL).

There are so many elements in this that represent the very pinnacle of moviemaking that it would be gilding the lily to begin to enumerate them. We can but savor this thankfully as a flawless treasure; an example of the American commercial movie as an art form in the consummate sense.

Biopic upon Ferdinand de Lesseps : Tyrone Power who built the famous canal from Port Said to Suez . It is inspired by real events, being freely adapted by screenwriter Philip Dunne taking some actual facts here and there. It deals with Lesseps , his lovers : Loretta Young , Annabella , and his relationship with historical people as Napoleon III : Leon Ames , Benjamin Disraeli : Miles Mander , Gladstone : George Zucco, Egyptian Sultan : J Edward Bromberg, among others . He changed the map of the World!

This is a stirring and interesting saga about one of the world's most astonishing engineering achievements , dealing with a brave Man of two loves and one mighty deed . Well handling the human drama along with historic happenings , though director is partially unable -undeed unwiling- to combine both strands of his story in contrast to filmmakers as William Wyler , Raoul Walsh , King Vidor or Anthony Mann. In fact , Suez is a series of moving events and unfortunate incidents unconnected by dramatic urgency . In the film appears various historical characters , being well played , such as : Napoleon III : Leon Ames , his wife the Spanish Eugenia de Montijo : Loretta Young , Prime Ministers Gladstone : George Zucco and Benjamin Disraeli : Miles Mander. Adding other notorious secondaries and familiar faces : Nigel Bruce , J Edward Bromberg , Joseph Schildkraut , Henry Stephenson , Sidney Blackmer, Rafaela Ottiano and Sig Ruman . The action/disaster sequences are competently assured without ever going over the top. They are some impressive escenarios, as well as spectacular set pieces , including rocks falling, catastrophes , wild thunders causing destruction , wreck havoc and chaos on the monumental construction that are the highlights of the movie , but marred by excessive matte-painting.

The motion picture was well directed by Allan Dwan, it has virtues and some flaws, too. In his films Allan Dawn is compellingly concerned with the modest virtues of fairness and honesty , he was a prolific artisan, shooting all kinds of genres with penchant for western and adventure, such as : Enchanted island, The Restless Breed , Escape to Burma , Pearl of the South Pacific , Tennesse's Partner , Cattle Queen Montana , Passion , Silver Lode , Montana Belle , Northwest Outpost , Around the World, Young People, The Gorilla, The Three Musketeers , Heidi , Manhandled , The Iron Mask, Robin Hood , and many others . Rating 6.5/10 , decent historical/adventure/drama .

Enjoyable on every level, Tyrone Power is magnificent. Intriguing storyline rooted in history...they don't make 'em like this anymore! The cinematography is ahead of its time, the actors are perfect for their roles and the movie itself is timeless. If you are a Tyrone Power fan you will not be disappointed in this film. It's hard to find, but worth it if you can find it. I didn't think I would enjoy a movie from the 30's as I'm more a fan of the 40's and above, but once I started watching this film I couldn't look away. Of course, the fact that it's Tyrone Power and he's the most striking looking man of his time doesn't hurt either!

Suez (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Entertaining, if fairly flawed, look at Ferdinand de Lesseps (Tyrone Power) and the lose of his love (Loretta Young), which sends him off on a quest to build the Suez Canal. Along his mission he encounters political issues and a natural disaster as he tries to complete the work. There's no question that this movie was made to cash in on the wave of disaster flicks that followed the success of SAN FRANCISCO. Power and Fox had made one the previous year in IN OLD CHICAGO so they tried their luck again and for the most part it worked. I think there are some major problems with the screenplay and a lot of this is around the romance with Young's Countess Eugenie de Montijo. I never really bought her in the role and it's interesting that Young knew her role wasn't all that important so she made the studio agree to let her do her own costumes. This is important because the costumes that were designed for her were so large that many of the sets had to be redone just so she could fit through them. Her costumes certainly outshines her character and I also felt that Young just didn't feel too comfortable with the role, which I believe is the first time I've said that about my favorite actress. The screenplay also doesn't seem to know if it wants to center on the love story, the political stuff or the actual building of the canal. In the end I think the screenplay bites off much more than it can chew but there's still plenty here to enjoy. The best thing going for the film is some tremendous special effects that show up at the very end when a sand storm hits the crew as they're working. The effects are incredibly realistic, for the most part, and there are many times where you'll be asking yourself how they pulled off the trick. There are a couple terrific sequences where large drums of water fall over and take people with them that was very intense. This also leads to an incredibly powerful finale that I won't ruin but how it plays out on the love story was very effective. Power is his typical good self as he manages to be very believable in the role but he's also quite charming and he certainly knows how to woo the ladies. The real star of the movie is Annabella who is simply magnificent in the role of the girl who falls in love with Power but must sit behind the Young character. I thought Annabella did a terrific job with the accent, the charm, the flirtatious nature and she just really made a complete character and nailed every inch of it. Her scenes at the end with Power are extremely effective and really take the film to another level. As with many of the disaster films from this era (and the 70s for that matter) there's way too much story than what was probably needed but the performances and effects make this worth sitting through.

Tyrone Power plays the beleaguered Ferdinand de Lesseps in this big-budget retelling of the building of the Suez canal, appropriately called "Suez." Power, a huge star, was so often involved in these big budget films, truly the "Airport"-type movies of their day, that the poor man ended up taking part in the Chicago fire, the Suez sandstorm, and an Indian earthquake! Loretta Young is again his costar, this time as Eugenie, and she is her usual gorgeous self in magnificent gowns. The two made a ravishing couple - and in real life, he once called her on a Saturday night, lamenting that despite their big stardoms, they were dateless on date night, and asked her to a movie in Westwood.

The third prong of the love triangle is Annabella, a marvelous actress who became Power's first wife - and they were most definitely the Brangelina of their day! Unfortunately, Zanuck was so furious that his star broke the hearts of millions of women by marrying, that Annabella was blackballed. It's a shame, because on a radio retelling of "Rage of Manhattan" with Power, her fabulous acting is evident. Pity there were not more opportunities for her.

"Suez" is a little slow-going and nobody ages except for the touch of gray given Power, but the windstorm is magnificent. Power, who was only 23-24 at the time of filming, does a wonderful job, and is certainly up to his dramatic scenes. The later one with Annabella is most touching. The next to final shot of him receiving his award from Eugenie is memorable, as he walks, in a half bow, down the stairs backwards. Finally, the "Queen Christina" type close-up of Power's amazing face must last three minutes, but I could have stared at it for another hour.

All in all and despite the fact that it is probably the most historically inaccurate real-life story ever filmed, "Suez" is worth the watch, especially for the effects, done without computer generation and blue screens.