David Manners: a little retrospective
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classicfilmThere are actors who, when they show up in a movie, cause one to groan inwardly, “Oh lord, not him.” For me, David Manners has always been one of those actors. Seeing him in Dracula* or The Mummy, I found him impossible to like: handsome, sure, but bleating, strident, poorly-timed, and cheesy. Is it any wonder the monsters held such fascination for the heroines, when David Manners was the only other option?
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was selling him short--can a person really build a Hollywood career out of being handsome but annoying?--so when it came time to do aclassicfilm post, I thought I’d check out a few of Manners’ other films and see what he was really made of.
David Manners in The Tempest, his first acting role. Image courtesy of Davidmanners.com
Manners got his start acting on stage, and made far more films than I’d initially realized. He retired from cinema early, eventually becoming an artist and author, and passed away in 1998. (You can check out a full bio, filmography, and other info at DavidManners.com, a wonderful site assembled by a personal friend of Mr. Manners.) Through a cunning combination of library loans, YouTubery, and visits to the Internet Archive, one can actually see several of Mr. Manners' films, although some have not been issued for home viewing, and at least one is lost entirely.
The Black Cat is a truly bizarre horror film, one that I'd watched long ago. I'd expected to find Manners irritating and forgettable upon rewatching it, but I was pleasantly surprised. His character--the utterly normal, good-natured, well-bred husband--is similar to his roles in Dracula or The Mummy, but the script allows him some witty lines and other humorous business. As a hero, he is not particularly effective--the movie, as with the other horror offerings, requires that he not be--but he is certainly less bleating and frantic than I'd previously seen. Is it possible that Manners had a knack for humor? (The Black Cat is currently available on the Bela Lugosi Collection DVD set.)
The Moonstone: alas, I can't recommend it, at least not until a full version is available. The version at Archive.org (and apparently on DVD as well) is missing around 15 minutes, which may or may not be the minutes Mr. Manners most appears on screen. (I guess I'll never know.) He's acceptable in the five or so minutes he does appear, but doesn't really get to do anything.
The Death Kiss is worth a watch--and you can do that here. In a lot of ways, it's kind of a terrible movie, with a silly plot, some rotten lines, and bad acting from about half of the cast. Oddly, however, it's also got several early 1930s luminaries: David Manners, Edward van Sloan, Bela Lugosi, and Vince Barnett. Don't know Barnett? I didn't either, without his Italian accent--he played Camonte's secretary in Scarface. His comedy comes across much better here, and the scenes between Barnett and Manners have great humorous timing and are a lot of fun. Manners does his best to deliver his lines to good effect, but is frequently talked-over or otherwise put off his rhythm by the poor delivery of the lesser actors. Given a better budget and a better supporting cast, this movie really could have gone somewhere. Then again, given a higher budget, Manners might not have had such a large role.
(Trivia note: If you got a kick out of the flamboyant tailor in The Public Enemy, you'll be pleased to see him again in The Death Kiss as Howell--although the script's homophobic jokes about his character may be less pleasing.)
David Manners, Madge Evans, Joan Blondell, and Ina Claire in The Greeks Had a Word for Them. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The Greeks Had a Word for Them/Three Broadway Girls: This really is a must-see (right over here). Manners has a supporting role, as he often did in higher-budget movies, but he is permitted to play "light"--light comedy, light romance--even his seriousness seems light, rather than syrupy. By the time I finished the movie, it was definitely clear to me that this was Manners' niche, and that it was a shame we don't have more in this vein from him. He's pleasant, funny, has good timing, and just the right amount of sincerity; he doesn't try to steal scenes. If you don't care for Manners, watch this one for Joan Blondell, and for the risque humor.
I can't recommend Torch Singer enough, although not necessarily for David Manners' sake. The script requires him to do what he does least well: be indignant, self-righteous, and romantic at the same time. He does the best he can, and is still less irritating than he was in Dracula and The Mummy. The movie itself is pretty wonderful, and fortunately Manners' role, while important, is not the focus of the story.
As far as I can tell, Torch Singer is currently not available online. I watched it as part of the Pre-Code Hollywood collection from Universal.
Barbara Stanwyck and David Manners in The Miracle Woman. Image courtesy of Davidmanners.com.
If this little project brought me nothing else, it at least induced me to view The Miracle Woman. I talked a lot more about the movie here, but I'll say this: this is considered by a lot of folks to be the best performance of Manners' career, and they're probably right. He gets lots of screen time, has a great story, great direction, and great fellow actors. It's probably the best film of his career, period (although Journey's End, his first film, is also considered very fine). It was great to see Manners put through his paces as an actor. One thing that worked to his advantage is that he was allowed to keep things light, even when he was full of tortured emotion. That might sound contradictory, but I think you'll see what I mean if you watch it. One takes him seriously in those moments, but he's never strident or melodramatic. He's just enjoyable, believable, sympathetic. It's a great movie.
The Miracle Woman appears to be a little difficult to get ahold of; like many films from the big studios, it's somehow still under copyright despite its age, so as far as I know it's not freely available online. I found a VHS copy I could borrow through an extended library network, and I believe it may be available on a DVD box set. It's worth tracking down, if you can.
Honorable mention: Journey's End, a World War I drama by James Whale, and Manners' first film. I'll admit it: I didn't get around to watching this one, but it's on my list. You can see it here.
FYI: Copyright is always a funny thing with the stuff that's up at YouTube--at least one other Manners film, Beauty and the Boss, seems to be available there, but in sections. However, upload restrictions and a desire to stay under the radar of copyright-violation hunters cause our intrepid content providers to do things like chop the films up into several segments, use partial titles, not use a cast list, and other things which may make them harder to find. Bearing this in mind when seeking one's favorite early sound pictures on YouTube may be of some use.
I thought this month's "work" watching some of David Manners' stuff would be a real slog, but instead, it was an education. I can honestly say I really like the guy now, and I feel like I got some more insight into a film era that I enjoy, but don't know a lot about. I hope at least a few people read this and opt to give a movie or two on the list a try!
Bonus image: David Manners and Katharine Hepburn in A Bill of Divorcement, included because it is charming. Image courtesy Dr. Macro.
*"David then asked me why I loved Dracula so. He went on to say, 'You know, I'm so awful in that film!'" --Dracula, Davidmanners.com
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was selling him short--can a person really build a Hollywood career out of being handsome but annoying?--so when it came time to do a
classicfilm post, I thought I’d check out a few of Manners’ other films and see what he was really made of.David Manners in The Tempest, his first acting role. Image courtesy of Davidmanners.com
Manners got his start acting on stage, and made far more films than I’d initially realized. He retired from cinema early, eventually becoming an artist and author, and passed away in 1998. (You can check out a full bio, filmography, and other info at DavidManners.com, a wonderful site assembled by a personal friend of Mr. Manners.) Through a cunning combination of library loans, YouTubery, and visits to the Internet Archive, one can actually see several of Mr. Manners' films, although some have not been issued for home viewing, and at least one is lost entirely.
The Black Cat is a truly bizarre horror film, one that I'd watched long ago. I'd expected to find Manners irritating and forgettable upon rewatching it, but I was pleasantly surprised. His character--the utterly normal, good-natured, well-bred husband--is similar to his roles in Dracula or The Mummy, but the script allows him some witty lines and other humorous business. As a hero, he is not particularly effective--the movie, as with the other horror offerings, requires that he not be--but he is certainly less bleating and frantic than I'd previously seen. Is it possible that Manners had a knack for humor? (The Black Cat is currently available on the Bela Lugosi Collection DVD set.)
The Moonstone: alas, I can't recommend it, at least not until a full version is available. The version at Archive.org (and apparently on DVD as well) is missing around 15 minutes, which may or may not be the minutes Mr. Manners most appears on screen. (I guess I'll never know.) He's acceptable in the five or so minutes he does appear, but doesn't really get to do anything.
The Death Kiss is worth a watch--and you can do that here. In a lot of ways, it's kind of a terrible movie, with a silly plot, some rotten lines, and bad acting from about half of the cast. Oddly, however, it's also got several early 1930s luminaries: David Manners, Edward van Sloan, Bela Lugosi, and Vince Barnett. Don't know Barnett? I didn't either, without his Italian accent--he played Camonte's secretary in Scarface. His comedy comes across much better here, and the scenes between Barnett and Manners have great humorous timing and are a lot of fun. Manners does his best to deliver his lines to good effect, but is frequently talked-over or otherwise put off his rhythm by the poor delivery of the lesser actors. Given a better budget and a better supporting cast, this movie really could have gone somewhere. Then again, given a higher budget, Manners might not have had such a large role.
(Trivia note: If you got a kick out of the flamboyant tailor in The Public Enemy, you'll be pleased to see him again in The Death Kiss as Howell--although the script's homophobic jokes about his character may be less pleasing.)
David Manners, Madge Evans, Joan Blondell, and Ina Claire in The Greeks Had a Word for Them. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The Greeks Had a Word for Them/Three Broadway Girls: This really is a must-see (right over here). Manners has a supporting role, as he often did in higher-budget movies, but he is permitted to play "light"--light comedy, light romance--even his seriousness seems light, rather than syrupy. By the time I finished the movie, it was definitely clear to me that this was Manners' niche, and that it was a shame we don't have more in this vein from him. He's pleasant, funny, has good timing, and just the right amount of sincerity; he doesn't try to steal scenes. If you don't care for Manners, watch this one for Joan Blondell, and for the risque humor.
I can't recommend Torch Singer enough, although not necessarily for David Manners' sake. The script requires him to do what he does least well: be indignant, self-righteous, and romantic at the same time. He does the best he can, and is still less irritating than he was in Dracula and The Mummy. The movie itself is pretty wonderful, and fortunately Manners' role, while important, is not the focus of the story.
As far as I can tell, Torch Singer is currently not available online. I watched it as part of the Pre-Code Hollywood collection from Universal.
Barbara Stanwyck and David Manners in The Miracle Woman. Image courtesy of Davidmanners.com.
If this little project brought me nothing else, it at least induced me to view The Miracle Woman. I talked a lot more about the movie here, but I'll say this: this is considered by a lot of folks to be the best performance of Manners' career, and they're probably right. He gets lots of screen time, has a great story, great direction, and great fellow actors. It's probably the best film of his career, period (although Journey's End, his first film, is also considered very fine). It was great to see Manners put through his paces as an actor. One thing that worked to his advantage is that he was allowed to keep things light, even when he was full of tortured emotion. That might sound contradictory, but I think you'll see what I mean if you watch it. One takes him seriously in those moments, but he's never strident or melodramatic. He's just enjoyable, believable, sympathetic. It's a great movie.
The Miracle Woman appears to be a little difficult to get ahold of; like many films from the big studios, it's somehow still under copyright despite its age, so as far as I know it's not freely available online. I found a VHS copy I could borrow through an extended library network, and I believe it may be available on a DVD box set. It's worth tracking down, if you can.
Honorable mention: Journey's End, a World War I drama by James Whale, and Manners' first film. I'll admit it: I didn't get around to watching this one, but it's on my list. You can see it here.
FYI: Copyright is always a funny thing with the stuff that's up at YouTube--at least one other Manners film, Beauty and the Boss, seems to be available there, but in sections. However, upload restrictions and a desire to stay under the radar of copyright-violation hunters cause our intrepid content providers to do things like chop the films up into several segments, use partial titles, not use a cast list, and other things which may make them harder to find. Bearing this in mind when seeking one's favorite early sound pictures on YouTube may be of some use.
I thought this month's "work" watching some of David Manners' stuff would be a real slog, but instead, it was an education. I can honestly say I really like the guy now, and I feel like I got some more insight into a film era that I enjoy, but don't know a lot about. I hope at least a few people read this and opt to give a movie or two on the list a try!
Bonus image: David Manners and Katharine Hepburn in A Bill of Divorcement, included because it is charming. Image courtesy Dr. Macro.
*"David then asked me why I loved Dracula so. He went on to say, 'You know, I'm so awful in that film!'" --Dracula, Davidmanners.com
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 04:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 04:15 pm (UTC)Is that last pic showing up huge for you too? I resized it to be like 400px wide, but it is still showing up massive on screen for me. I think it's because it was cached large and Firefox is being lazy, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 04:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 04:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 09:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 09:05 pm (UTC)I should've posted some of the hilarious publicity promos for Dracula, but I was afraid of making it too pic-heavy. Next time, I guess. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 09:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 09:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-24 04:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-24 08:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-26 05:56 am (UTC)Some of the dialog in Journey's End was a bit hard to take, though:
*paraphrases one particularly staggering conversation*
"I say!"
"Me, too. Awfully!"
"Rather."
"Right-o."
"Cheerio."
"Cheerio."
:-D
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-26 10:13 am (UTC)