tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post9179536760149661371..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: Pre-Code Parade: HIGH PRESSURE (1932)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-45412606545079564632011-12-14T14:47:47.511-05:002011-12-14T14:47:47.511-05:00Erich, I saw Fashions also and also found Powell m...Erich, I saw <i>Fashions</i> also and also found Powell more of a jerk in it. That may be because it's harder to see the virtue in the intellectual piracy his Fashions character practices than in <i>High Pressure's</i> from-scratch hucksterism. Of course, you watch Fashions for the lunatic Busby Berkeley number "Spin a Little Web of Dreams," -- out of ostrich feathers, that is.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-39593659526018046552011-12-13T15:08:08.529-05:002011-12-13T15:08:08.529-05:00Some sharp observations on capitalism's huckst...Some sharp observations on capitalism's huckster addiction here, pal. Damn sharp. Powell is definitely more of a charmer but when the opportunity calls to get really sleazy, like the shameless double-crossing huckster in FASHIONS of 1934, Powell seems a little unlikeable. William got more charming the more genuinely evil his character became - more wolf-like and cartoonish. Powell tries to bring his dignity along with him down into the slime, and it always slows his progress. William on the other hand is always eager to toss that dignity aside and go slippy sliding.Erich Kuerstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02850572368098319317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-66892170167802180562011-12-13T12:32:42.354-05:002011-12-13T12:32:42.354-05:00Samuel, yep the titles I mentioned in the third pa...Samuel, yep the titles I mentioned in the third paragraph I think would give you the definitive answers to pre-code William vs. Powell. <br /><br />I like Warren William in a comedy, but Powell is miles ahead of him there. William was able to play less redeeming characters during the pre-code era but then the enforcement of the code really neutered him. Plus as Stangeland's book makes excellent point of, William was hurt a lot playing weaker roles opposite strong female leads ... Powell was better at making those movies his own. The thing that really seems to have killed William, was the same thing that made Powell a legend--his own contract with MGM in the later 30's. He was added to their star roster at that time, but you wouldn't know it from his output.Cliff Alipertihttp://warren-william.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-69923508448693165882011-12-13T11:56:07.173-05:002011-12-13T11:56:07.173-05:00Cliff, you prove my point about needing more evide...Cliff, you prove my point about needing more evidence. TCM needs to help me out soon, or else I may break down and actually spend money on the Warner Archive! As for your other point, Powell clearly had something that survived Code Enforcement, while Warren W. seems mainly to have been a creature of pre-Code ... but I don't know enough about his career to understand why he slid into Bs by the end of the Thirties. At least there's a biography to offer answers.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-58389313570305198002011-12-13T10:26:18.781-05:002011-12-13T10:26:18.781-05:00Recorded this the other night, really looking forw...Recorded this the other night, really looking forward to it!<br /><br />I recently mentioned elsewhere that William Powell was like my gateway drug to Warren William. Love them both, but even though I think Warren has a better overall pre-code run, the right guy is better remembered today. <br /><br />Not to keep bringing up The Mouthpiece ... but Warren William does a pretty good dead drunk in that picture! Try to catch The Mind Reader to see Warren William hit total rock bottom and Bedside probably sees him at his least redeemable ... but it's a ton of fun!Cliff Alipertihttp://warren-william.comnoreply@blogger.com