Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starred in this soapy melodrama placed in The Big Sur.

Elizabeth Taylor was probably at her most "naturally" beautiful in this film which was a complete success. It was the Golden Age of the Taylor-Burton "Touch of Midas"

Taylor played a boheme who lived in a house right out of Goodhousekeeping in the 1990s AND had an affair with Burton; now, how fictional could THAT be?

Allegedly, Taylor accepted this role to the ton of money they were willing to pay her.

I think this is one of my guilty pleasures.

Elizabeth Taylor is, arguably, at her most beautiful.

I adore this film.

Certainly not the best actress in the best movie, but I certainly enjoy this one. It gives a clear vision of the role stars had to moviegoers back then without trying to be more than what it is. Fans wanted her suffering in glamorous gowns, and they certainly got it here.

Vincent Price in The Oblong Box 1969. What's your thoughts on this movie?

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Two nights ago I watched Bordertown (1935), a melodrama starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis in one of her earlier dramatic roles after she received widespread praise for her role as Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage (1934).

Paul plays Johnny Ramirez, a man who grew up impoverished and had huge aspirations of making a better life for himself as an attorney at law. Bette plays Marie Roark, the wife of a nightclub owner who hires Johnny after he is unable to find work as an attorney.

I will not spoil the rest as I’d like you all to enjoy it like I did for the first time if you haven’t seen it already.

Personally, I enjoyed it but I feel like this film was absolutely butchered by the Hays Code which inadvertently led to Bette Davis receiving less screen time than she should have which is a shame because I watched this film to see her. Nonetheless, her acting and performance were phenomenal.

If you read the Wikipedia page after watching, you will see that the film had other ideas for the characters and plot until the code prevented those themes from making it into the Final Cut. Personally, I think those pre-code themes that didn’t make it in would’ve made the film all the more interesting.

I will say I was disappointed by the ending as it felt very dull. Maybe it’s because I prefer the endings to pre-code movies.

This film was my introduction to Paul Muni. He is a wonderful actor and I will be watching more films featuring him in the future. Totally recommend this film if you like Bette Davis or 1930s melodramas.

Boris Karloff for The Mummy 1931. What's your thoughts on this movie?

It's great to see these silent films getting new restorations. I hope we get US bluray releases of them and not just French.

Which one is your Favorite out of these?

You can't say all of them

The main highlights of this movie were the diverse appearances of early airplanes and the amusing cheats they used to win.

Boris Karloff for Frankenstein 1931. What's your thoughts on this movie?

Those who are fans of silent films/early pre-code films definitely know Anita Page and Esther Ralston… two blonde sirens who graced the silver screen with their beauty and magnetic screen presence.

Page quickly became a staple at Metro Goldwyn Mayer in the late 1920s, starring in grand productions like Our Dancing Daughters and The Broadway Melody. She was frequently cast alongside other big names like Joan Crawford, Marie Dressler, John Gilbert, and Marie Prevost.

Anita’s box office draw came to rival and even surpass those of established MGM leading ladies like Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo.

Esther Ralston’s career began as a child when she performed in various vaudeville acts with her parents and siblings. She spent much of her early life traveling around the United States with her family, performing in various theaters across the country until they settled in California.

Esther managed to get bit parts in several prominent silent films in the early 1920s. She was supposed to appear in an angel sequence on the film The Kid (1921) which starred Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. However, her scene was cut from the final film.

Ralston gained recognition as Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan (1924) which starred Betty Bronson as the titular character. Her beauty and elegant screen presence was noted by critics which catapulted her to major stardom.

During the late 1920s, Ralston starred in several lavish films for Paramount Pictures and her box office draw rivaled those of other popular contract players like Clara Bow or Jobyna Ralston. She made the successful transition to talkies in 1929 but was let go from Paramount after demanding a salary raise.

She then did some freelance work in both America and the United Kingdom before returning to Hollywood in 1933. She signed a contract with MGM and was slated to play the lead role in Payment in Full (1933) opposite of Otto Krueger.

Sadly, that would never come to fruition. Both Esther and Anita had their mainstream film careers essentially die at Metro Goldwyn Mayer in the 1930s due to rejecting sex pest behavior.

Ralston rebuffed the advances of Louis B. Mayer who greylisted her in retaliation. She only ended up doing one film for them before Mayer simply let her contract lapse.

The same thing happened to Page when she rejected sex pest behavior from both Mayer and Irving Thalberg. The careers of two talented ladies ruined due to egotistical predators.

It’s a shame too because both Anita and Esther could’ve continued to thrive in 1930s cinema, even when the Hays Code was put in place. Esther played glamorous, comedic society women and had a wonderful singing voice. I know I’ve posted this over and over again but I will forever die on the hill that she would’ve been amazing in the musicals that were being made in the mid to late 1930s.

Anita was known to play innocent, worldly characters with a bit of an edge. I think she would’ve continued to do great work in dramas, crime films or comedies. She too could’ve been in a musical or few aside from The Broadway Melody.

It’s a shame that their careers couldn’t flourish or continue due to studio interference. Even in their later films where they played supporting roles, you can’t help but notice the raw talent that oozed from the both of them.