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The very idea of Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer in a movie together sounds impossibly perfect, but it's really true. What makes The Women so spectacular is that real acting wasn't required on Joan's part. She was just as sarcastic and cruel to Norma off the set as well. I could go on for years talking about their offscreen rivalry, but I should also note that The Women is a great movie. In addition to an all-star cast (headed by many a Scarlett O'Hara reject by GWTW's fired director George Cukor), there are no males - even male animals - in the film. The script is great, too. Shearer, Crawford, Russell, Fontaine, and Goddard spit lines at each other like nobody's business. Most people will agree with me that this is a first-rate movie that no film buff should miss under any circumstances. If you need further prompting, send me an e-mail, and I'll tell you all about the Crawford/Shearer rivalry...

I happen to adore this movie; it's my favorite classic comedy. Surely Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence did a better job than Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery, but Norma is my favorite actress, and Robert is my favorite of her many co-stars. The dialog is marvelous, and the plot is fun. I like the idea of the two exes who spend their honeymoons in adjacent suites. The fight between Norma and Robert could very well be one of the best ever filmed. This is such a fun movie, but is sadly a little forgotten. I hear that the MGM video release isn't being made anymore, so if you don't want to watch this gem on a grainy, used video, hurry to your local store and watch the clerk look at you funny when you sigh with relief over having gotten the last copy.

In 1929, MGM could have filmed The Iliad as a silent and filmed a nutrition label as a talkie, and the latter would have brought in more money. Audiences just wanted to hear talking, and if you threw in some singing and tap dancing, that couldn't hurt. I think that Broadway Melody is a very dull movie with a plot that, while not quite dated, is extremely boring. Bessie Love does most of the real acting, though she could have saved the effort. My personal favorite part was the shot of a dancer tap dancing on her toes, though my feet hurt just by watching. This movie obviously won an Oscar more for technical achievements than anything else, but I can't think of many films in 1929 that were as Oscar-worthy as those in the years to come or before. It was also, of course, the first major Hollywood musical, and some of the songs really are cute. But I'm sure that film historians would almost rather see a silent version of The Iliad.