Tag: Jean Harlow

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

Hell’s Angels

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Hell’s Angels, 1930

If you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, then you’re likely somewhat familiar with this week’s pick, Hell’s Angels (Disc/Download). As a fun experiment, I decided to watch them both back-to-back, to see whether the backstage drama depicted in The Aviator resulted in a Hughes film that stands the test of time. Happily, or rather, unhappily for reasons we’ll get to later, I’m here to report it does.

The film begins with three college friends: German Karl, and two English brothers, Roy and Monte Rutledge. They think they’ve all got more carefree Oxford days ahead of them, but what none of them realize is that they’ll soon be fighting on opposite sides, both in World War I and in pursuit of the affections of a fickle young woman: a braless, flawless Jean Harlow. Roy and Monte both think they have a shot with her, but she’s only interested in having fun while she’s still alive to have it (a statement that would prove to be horribly prescient given the actress’s death from kidney failure at the age of twenty-six). Roy becomes disillusioned with love while Monte becomes disillusioned with military service, realizing too late he and his fellow fighter pilots are merely pawns for politicians and privateers. He wonders why he and his brother are putting their lives on the line in the night patrol when the people sending them to the battlefield are home safe in their beds. It’s in this skepticism of war that the movie stays current, nearly a hundred years later. I’d imagine there are a lot of military personnel and their loved ones asking this very same question right now.

I’ve been wanting to feature the Jean Harlow cocktail on Cinema Sips for a while, and Hell’s Angels is the perfect pairing because in this breakout role, Jean likes liquor, she likes men, and she’s not afraid to declare it. While watching Hell’s Angels, I recommend slipping into something more comfortable to enjoy the classic Jean Harlow cocktail.

Jean Harlow

1 ½ oz light white rum

1 ½ oz red sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

Orange twist

Combine rum, vermouth, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Express the oils from the orange twist over the glass, then rest on the side.

Even if you think a war flick is not for you, Hell’s Angels is worth watching for its technical achievements alone. A silent film that had to be reshot for sound, it also mixes black & white footage with scenes in Multicolor processing, plus tinted frames. Not to mention the incredible (and dangerous) aerial stunts that took the lives of several pilots, and all those fluffy, precious clouds. This is a historical record of what was newly possible in cinema in the late-1920s/early-1930s, and also of what happens when one crazy guy just keeps throwing money at the problem. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Dinner at Eight

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Dinner at Eight, 1933

Last year around this time, I watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner because I thought it was a movie about people eating. Too late, I realized my mistake (I was already three drinks in before anyone even mentioned the dining room). This year, Dinner at Eight (Disc/Download) has fooled me anew, offering all the promise of a five-course meal with none of the calories. Really, after a year of pandemic weight gain, maybe that’s a good thing. I’m not sure who in Hollywood started the trend of “movies with dinner in the title that have nothing to do with dinner,” but let me just say, I am here for it every Thanksgiving. After a big meal, the last thing I want to see is more food.

There are a lot of familiar faces in this flick (Barrymores! Glenda the Good Witch!), but the true standout is Miss Jean Harlow. As soon as she appears onscreen, lounging in a silk bed eating bon-bons in the middle of the day, I am putty in her manicured hands. She takes a character that could have been a silly throwaway and turns it into the one thing that saves this movie from being too full of itself. Harlow is radiant in her satin negligees, platinum blonde hair, and hilarious facial expressions, and I find myself waiting for other actors’ scenes to end just so she’ll come back. Dinner at Eight is built around the premise of a group of upper-crust New Yorkers gathering for a dinner party, all of them hiding their own personal secrets, but the thing that sets Jean apart is she lets it all hang out. She doesn’t have time for bras, or politeness- in other words, the ideal dinner companion.

As these neurotic people navigate bankruptcy, career suicide, alcoholism, and afternoon trysts, I can’t help but think that Millicent Jordan’s bar cart better be stocked- they’ll all need a strong drink by the time a meal is actually served! Let’s toast them with this autumnal variation on a Manhattan, the Big Apple Martini.

Big Apple Martini

2 oz Applejack Brandy

½ oz Sweet Vermouth

1 oz Apple cider

Dash of Angostura Bitters

Luxardo Maraschino cherry (for garnish)

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a Luxardo Maraschino cherry.

If you’re like me, you’ll get so wrapped up in the drama of this movie that you won’t even remember these characters are eventually supposed to break bread. As the day gets longer, and eight o’clock seems oh so far away, you start to realize that in the world of Classic Hollywood dinner parties, time doesn’t exist—it’s merely a suggestion. Cheers!