Kathryn Sergava Movies
Her amazing likeness to Greta Garbo much heralded by Warner Bros. from 1933 to 1934, Russian ballerina Kathryn Sergava was very Garbo-esque indeed as the glamorous star enjoying Warren William's less-than-satisfactory bedside manners in the appropriately titled Bedside (1934). The role was in the supporting category, however, and Sergava had nothing of the real Garbo's mystique. All in all, she did much better on the stage where in 1942 she turned up as Ellen in the original cast of Oklahoma! Sergava also performed in Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1949), where she was choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and appeared on early live television. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1935
Ratoff is a lion tamer who hears that a rival of his has died by a lioness. Ratoff adopts the daughter of the deceased man, and he buys the lioness that killed him. As time goes on, he becomes increasingly jealous of the men who pay attention to the girl, who has grown into a beautiful woman. As his fame at the circus is being surpassed, he demands the woman marry him. She becomes involved with the very one surpassing his fame, however, and this pushes Ratoff too far. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Ratoff, John Loder, (more)
- 1934
Nathaniel West's novel Miss Lonelyhearts inspired two films of the early 1930s: Advice to the Lovelorn (33) and Hi, Nellie! Paul Muni stars in the latter film as a big-city newspaper editor who gets in trouble for printing unsubstantiated information about a murder case. Muni is demoted and forced to write the paper's advice column, signing himself "Nellie." As he recklessly dispenses frivolous advice, Muni keeps tabs on the person he'd accused of murder. Using his "Nellie" connections, Muni gets the goods on the killer--and nearly gets rubbed out by a gangster mob. Warner Bros. must have been crazy about Hi, Nellie!, since the studio remade the film three times: Love is on the Air (37), You Can't Escape Forever (42), and House Across the Street (49). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, (more)
- 1934
Having previously played dishonest politicians, lawyers, and businessmen, Warren William is cast as a fraudulent doctor in Warner Bros.' Bedside. Riding on the crest of a publicity wave, Dr. Louis (William) is able to move in the finest social circles with impunity. Only when he is unable to provide proper medical care for his own sweetheart Caroline (Jean Muir) does the truth come out: William "earned" his diploma by providing illegal drugs to a dope-fiend doctor (David Landau). Eventually, our "hero" comes to realize the gravity of his lies and rather belatedly vows to redeem himself. Reviewers in 1934 noted that the screenwriters worked so hard to make Warren William's character a heel that his last-minute reformation was thoroughly unconvincing; more to the point, William is more fun to watch when he's a louse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Jean Muir, (more)
Based on Al Jolson's 1931 Broadway hit, Wonder Bar transposes the "Grand Hotel" formula to a lavish nightclub in Paris' Montmartre district. Presiding over the evening's entertainment is manager-emcee Al Wonder (Jolson), who after greeting his guests in a multitude of languages (a la Joel Grey in Cabaret) introduces a steady stream of top variety acts. The star attraction of the Wonder Bar floor show is the Latin dance team of Inez (Dolores Del Rio) and Harry (Ricardo Cortez). Al worships Inez from afar, but she is hopelessly in love with Harry, a no-good louse who is carrying on with Liane (Kay Francis), the wife of prominent banker Renaud (Henry Kolker). Meanwhile, German military officer Captain Von Ferring (Robert H. Barrat), who has lost his fortune to bad investments, enjoys one last fling at the Wonder Bar before committing suicide. The two main subplots converge when Inez stabs Harry out of pique, whereupon the ever-loyal Al deposits Harry's body in Von Ferring's car, knowing full well that Von Ferring intends to drive himself off a steep hill to his death. Never letting Inez find out that she killed Harry, Al stands stoically aside as she finds true happiness with composer Tommy (Dick Powell). Lest this all sound heavily somberly serious, it should be noted that Wonder Bar is chock full of laughs, from both Jolson (who runs through quite a repertoire of tried-and-true routines) and the drunken antics of "tired business men" Hugh Herbert and Hobart Cavanaugh. The musical numbers staged by Busby Berkeley range from sedate to incredible, with the bizarrely racist 10-minute "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule" (truly a jaw-dropping experience) falling into the latter category. The film's most outrageous moment, however, is an uninhibited chunk of homosexual humor on the dance floor ("Boys will be boys!", crows Jolson) which just barely squeaked past the Hollywood censors! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Dick Powell, (more)
