Author Archives: Sonya Schryer Norris

1932-33: Cavalcade and King Kong

: Cavalcade : Cavalcade isn’t available on Netflix, wasn’t even reviwed by filmsite.org and didn’t fare well at Rotten Tomatoes. It was apparently the story of a privileged British family and their household. From reviews I saw I guess I didn’t miss much.  : King Kong : As iconic as it became, King Kong receivedContinueContinue reading “1932-33: Cavalcade and King Kong”

Happy (Santa) Holiday 2015

My parents had a very stoic take on childhood imagination. There’s no Santa, my brother and I were told plainly. No Easter Bunny. No tooth fairy. No God. If we wanted to be creative we could practice chemistry. Or physics. Or study geods. I’m not bitter. I look on my parents’ lack of ability toContinueContinue reading “Happy (Santa) Holiday 2015”

1931-32: Grand Hotel and Scarface

: Grand Hotel : Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Lionel Barrymore play characters in this very boring movie that takes place over the course of a single day in a Berlin hotel. The reviews literally call it a hotel where nothing happens. And let me tell you, the plot is slow and despite everyone tellingContinueContinue reading “1931-32: Grand Hotel and Scarface”

1930-31: Cimarron and City Lights

: Cimarron : Cimarron, based on Edna Ferber’s book, is a strange combination of a badly dated film with overt racism that scratches badly at modern sentiments with epic storytelling that isn’t all bad in places. It’s the story of the Yancey and Sabra Cravat family and their (fictional) role in the “settling” of Oklahoma.ContinueContinue reading “1930-31: Cimarron and City Lights”

1930: All Quiet on the Western Front

: All Quiet On the Western Front: This movie begins with a quote from the book: This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell ofContinueContinue reading “1930: All Quiet on the Western Front”

1929: The Broadway Melody

: The Broadway Melody : This film starts out with very rough cinematography, especially the aerial shots of New York, and continues into a high-budget musical with over-zealous acting and bad dialogue. I didn’t recognize any of the actors or actresses by name or face, not that that’s a big surprise.  A quick google searchContinueContinue reading “1929: The Broadway Melody”