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Reviews
Ladies Should Listen (1934)
Delightful surprise
I had low expectations of this post-code film after having watched Cary Grant in the previous, KISS AND MAKEUP. The entry credits for this film let everyone know that this is/was a Hays Code approved film (pretty much they started inforcing this around 1934ish). The 59/62 minute length should be the give away. If you are a quick study you can see where they have chopped this (by a startling change of scene), and likely severely edited it. During the film you can also see only one person in a bed, not two, (and fully clothed everyone.) Kisses get panned away as well. You can find a full list of the dos and don'ts on Wiki (gratis Hays in conjunction with his Jesuit accomplice.). One of the things that they did with these transition heavily edited films was to attach them to full length features either as a prelude or postlude.
A pity in this case, since the script - cut as it is - is surprisingly funny, and the lead actors managed to pull this off quite well. It perhaps also says something about the person who was tasked with the job of patching together what was left after the cutting room floor debris, since it does make a tidy little film. A delightful 1930s romp.
Elvis (2022)
Truth is Not Marching On Here....
This is arguably the worst acting that Tom Hanks has ever done. The Col. Parker "accent" that he put on he simply could not pull off. It rang fake, and at times his own clear voice came through unbidden.
The directors and script writers Buz Lurhmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pierce and Jeremy Doner made what will go down in motion picture history as the worst Elvis Presley rendering made. This idea was a mistake in its inception. You do not take the 1950s through the 1970s and try to attact the 2020s by instilling the 21rst century and stitching inappropriately into history. It simply does not and did not work. What a mess of confusion and inaccuracy.
Austin Butler as Elvis, Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla, and Helen Thomson as Gladys (Elvis's mom) are the best highlights in an otherwise disjointed mess. Their acting is outstanding in this film. It is a pity that their efforts were not applied to a better screenplay, direction, and production.