The
night sky’s a big place. A canvas that needs a lot of stars to fill it. Movie
screens need stars too. And not just the
big ones. So much of what makes movies fun comes from the secondary players.
And, so often, the best ones leave a more lingering glow than the luminaries
they’re there to aid and abet.
I
love the movies of all eras. But I probably feel most comfortable – most at
home – watching films from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The period that crystallized
and defined so much of what we want, expect and love when we watch a film.
The 30’s represent the first full decade when the
screen spoke. Not every silent star faded with the talkies. Garbo, Colman, Crawford, Loretta Young, William
Powell and W.C. Fields all shimmered brighter when the world heard them talk.
But for every silent icon that lost their careers, ten newcomers lassoed fame, using their voices as well as their faces
to conquer the world. Or at least the very large part of it that went to the
movies.
Sound
gave full scope to supporting players as well. They were the ones who reacted
to the stars onscreen and made the stars react to them. Peppering the plot with comic or dramatic flourishes, supplying
warmth and chills, villainy, vamping or valor
as required.
Like
so many others, I’ve been watching these films and performers all my life. Mary
Gordon, Donald Meek, J. Farrell MacDonald, Jane Darwell are all like old friends.
Eternally welcome. It’s such a pleasure
when you’re watching an old movie and one of these beloved players unexpectedly
sweeps or bumbles or bustles or slips onto the screen. You feel like getting
out the good china and inviting them to stay for a week.
Anyway,
I’m a list-a-holic. So here’s my chronological list of favorite supporting
performances from the 30’s. You’ve probably seen many of these already. I can
verify that they all stand up beautifully to repeat viewings. The ones you
haven’t caught up with yet all represent treats to look forward to.
I
could spend forever watching tiny, venerable Etienne Girardot dither and
fume in 1934’s “The Firebird”. Ditto for Una O’Connor , sublimely freaking out
over Frankenstein’s monster. Hold onto your man whenever cool blonde troublemaker
Claire Dodd sidles into view. Dodd’s fantastic in the Warners programmer “The Payoff.” And she
doesn’t even get to play her last scene onscreen. James Dunn just describes it to Patricia Ellis.
But I‘ve pictured it so vividly in my head that, for me, it’s now a mythic
Dodd moment. Leaving me to wonder
forever, was it actually filmed and left on the cutting room floor?
I
wasn’t that high on Deanna Durbin. But I could never get enough of her sometime
nemesis Helen Parrish – the 30’s greatest proponent of junior deb bitchiness. A
bella donna blend of brisk entitlement and teen allure. The thing about Parrish
was that she could play sweet girls beautifully too. The same year she ran maid
Mary Treen ragged in front of her gargantuan
Park Avenue clothes-closet in Durbin’s “First Love”, she also played Deanna’s
loving sister in “Three Smart Girls Grow Up.” And made you want to settle down with her.
Hugh
Herbert is on this list four times. But I couldn’t leave off any of those performances,
all of which have me in stitches whenever I watch them. To me, he and Lou
Costello are the two funniest men I’ve ever seen in the movies.
And speaking of funny men, I love
W.C. Fields – but I’d have to say he’s never more fully Fields than when he’s
sparring with Kathleen Howard and Tommy Bupp in “It’s a Gift”. Possibly the two greatest foils he ever had. Both marvelous.
How
many actresses have played difficult mothers-in-law? A lot. But
no one has ever – ever – done it better than Lucile Watson in “Made for Each
Other”. Born in Canada, too, I’m proud
to say.
And “Gone
with the Wind” was just the most visible peak in Hattie McDaniel’s career. I’ve
gone on record before as saying this lady’s one of the goddesses. Give her a whole hour or half a minute. It doesn’t matter.
She makes magic.
The
Academy didn’t get around to recognizing
supporting performances till 1936. So for the better part of the decade, these
performers and their work basically went unacknowledged. I’ve used
asterisks to indicate performances that were
nominated. Double asterisks for actual
winners. As you’ll see the asterisks are
few and far between. But that doesn’t detract a whit from the wonderful
accomplishments celebrated on this list. And thanks to TCM and DVD’s, virtually
all of them are out there
to enjoy. So enjoy.
The
30’s -100 Favorite Supporting Performances
1. HARRY EARLES “Freaks”(’32)
Tod Browning
2. GEORGE SIDNEY “High
Pressure”(’32) Mervyn LeRoy
3. MAE WEST “Night
After Night”(’32) Archie Mayo
4. FRED ASTAIRE “Flying
Down to Rio”(’33) Thornton Freeland
5. CLAIRE DODD “Footlight
Parade”(’33) Lloyd Bacon
6. J. FARRELL
MACDONALD “Peg O’My Heart”(’33) Robert Z. Leonard
7. UNA O’CONNOR “The
Invisible Man”(’33) James Whale
8. EDWIN PHILLIPS
“Wild Boys of the Road”(’33) William Wellman
9. GREGORY RATOFF
“Let’s Fall in Love”(’33) David Burton
10. GINGER ROGERS “Flying Down to Rio”(’33) Thornton
Freeland
11. ERNEST THESIGER “The Ghoul”(’33) T. Hayes Hunter
12. CLARA BLANDICK “The Show Off”(’34) Charles F. Riesner
13. HARRY C. BRADLEY “House of Mystery”(’34) William Nigh
14. TOMMY BUPP “It’s a Gift”(’34) Norman Z. Mcleod
15. FRANKIE DARRO “The Merry Frinks”(’34) Alfred E. Green
16. JANE DARWELL “Heat Lightning”(’34) Mervyn LeRoy
17. ETIENNE GIRARDOT “The Firebird”(’34) William Dieterle
18. KATHLEEN HOWARD “It’s a Gift”’ (‘34) Norman Z. McLeod
19. GUY KIBBEE “Dames”(’34) Ray Enright
20. FRANK MORGAN “Success at Any Price”(’34) J. Walter
Ruben
21. MICKEY ROONEY “Hide- out”(’34) W.S. Van Dyke
22. DOROTHY TREE “The Firebird”(’34) William Dieterle
23. JANE WITHERS “Bright Eyes’(’34) David Butler
24. FRANK ALBERTSON “Alice Adams”(’35) George Stevens
25. PEGGY ASHCROFT “The 39 Steps”(’35) Alfred Hitchcock
26. ALICE BRADY “Gold Diggers of 1935”(’35) Busby
Berkeley
27. JOSEPH CAWTHORNE “Gold Diggers of 1935”(’35) Busby
Berkeley
28. BEBE DANIELS “Music is Magic”(’35) George Marshall
29. CLAIRE DODD “The Payoff” (‘35 ) Robert Florey
30. GLENDA FARRELL “Gold Diggers of 1935”(’35) Busby
Berkeley
31. ETIENNE GIRARDOT “The Whole Town’s Talking”(’35) John
Ford
32. HUGH HERBERT “Gold Diggers of 1935”(’35) Busby
Berkeley
33. HUGH HERBERT “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”(’35) William
Dieterle & Max Reinhardt
34. KATHLEEN HOWARD “The Man on the Flying Trapeze”(’35)
Clyde Bruckman
35. HATTIE MCDANIEL “Alice Adams”(’35) George Stevens
36. JOHN MCGUIRE “Steamboat Round the Bend”(’35) John
Ford
37. DONALD MEEK “The Whole Town’s Talking”(’35) John Ford
38. UNA O’CONNOR “Bride of Frankenstein”(’35) James Whale
39. EDNA MAY OLIVER “David Copperfield”(’35) George Cukor
40. BASIL RATHBONE “David Copperfield”(’35) George Cukor
41. ANN SHOEMAKER “Alice Adams”(’35) George Stevens
42. MARY ASTOR “Dodsworth”(’36) William Wyler
43. MONA BARRIE “King of Burlesque”('36) Sidney Lanfield
44. HELEN BRODERICK “Swing Time”(’36) George Stevens
45. EDWARD BROPHY “Strike Me Pink”(’36) Norman Taurog
46. JOHN BUCKLER “Tarzan Escapes”(’36) Richard Thorpe
47. DONALD CALTHROP “The Man Who Changed His Mind”(’36)
Robert Stevenson
48. FRANK CELLIER “The Man Who Changed His Mind”(’36) Robert
Stevenson
49. JANE DARWELL “Ramona”(’36) Henry King
50. JAMES ELLISON “The Plainsman”(’36) Cecil B. De Mille)
51. HUGH HERBERT “Colleen”(’36) Alfred E. Green
52. MARCIA MAE JONES “These Three”(’36) William Wyler
53. ALMA KRUGER “These Three”(’36) William Wyler
54. GAIL PATRICK “My Man Godfrey”(’36) Gregory LaCava
55. PHILIP AHN “Thank You, Mr. Moto(’37) Norman Foster
56. FAY BAINTER “Make Way for Tomorrow”(’37) Leo McCarey
57. JANE BRYAN “Confession”(’37) Joe May
58. BILLIE BURKE “Topper”(’37) Norman Z. Mcleod
59. ESTHER DALE “The Awful Truth”(’37) Leo McCarey
60. BILLY HALOP “Dead End’(’37) William Wyler
61. HUGH HERBERT “The Singing Marine”(’37) Ray Enright
62. MARY NASH “Heidi”(’37) Allan Dwan
63. PARKYAKARKUS “She’s Got Everything”(’37) Joseph
Santley
64. DITA PARLO “La Grande Illusion”(’37) Jean Renoir
65. SLIM SUMMERVILLE “Love is News”(’37) Tay Garnett
66. DOUGLAS WALTON “Flight from Glory”(’37) Lew Landers
67. SOLLY WARD “She’s Got Everything”(’37) Joseph Santley
68. EDWARD ARNOLD “You Can’t Take It with You”(’38) Frank
Capra
69. GEORGE BRENT “Jezebel”(’38) William Wyler
70. JUDY GARLAND “Love Finds Andy Hardy”(’38) George B.
Seitz
71. PAULETTE GODDARD “The Young in Heart”(’38) Richard
Wallace
72. IGOR ILYINSKY “Volga-Volga”(’38) Grigori Aleksandrov
73. HENRY KOLKER “Holiday”(’38) George Cukor
74. MOORE MARRIOT “Old Bones of the River”(’38) Marcel
Varnel
75. VARVARA MASSALATINOVA “The Childhood of Maxim
Gorky”(’38) Mark Donskoy
76. ROBERT MORLEY “Marie Antoinette”(’38) W.S. Van Dyke *
77. DORIS NOLAN “Holiday”(’38) George Cukor
78. DONALD O’CONNOR “Sing, You Sinners”(’38) Wesley
Ruggles
79. BRIAN AHERNE “Juarez”(’39) William Dieterle *
80. LIONEL ATWILL “Son of Frankenstein”(’39) Rowland V.
Lee
81. ROMAN BOHNEN “Of Mice and Men”(’39) Lewis Milestone
82. HENRY BRANDON “The Marshal of Mesa City”(’39) David
Howard
83. BILLIE BURKE “Remember?” Norman Z. McLeod
84. WALTER CONNOLLY “Fifth Avenue Girl”(’39) Gregory
LaCava
85. OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND “Gone with the Wind’(’39)
Victor Fleming *
86. ROBERT DOUGLAS “Over the Moon”(’39) Thornton Freeland
87. KAY FRANCIS “In Name Only”(’39) John Cromwell
88. SYDNEY GRENVILLE “The Mikado”(’39) Victor
Schertzinger
89. MARGARET HAMILTON “The Wizard of Oz”(’39) Victor
Fleming
90. SIR CEDRIC HARDWICKE “The Hunchback of Notre
Dame’(’39) William Dieterle
91. J. FARRELL MACDONALD “Susannah of the Mounties’(’39)
Walter Lang & William A. Seiter
92. HATTIE MCDANIEL “Gone with the Wind”(’39) Victor
Fleming **
93. BUTTERFLY MCQUEEN “Gone with the Wind’(’39) Victor
Fleming
94. DONALD MEEK “Blondie Takes a Vacation”(’39) Frank R.
Strayer
95. EUGENE PALLETTE “First Love”(’39) Henry Koster
96. HELEN PARRISH “First Love”(’39) Henry Koster