Dames

Dames
Warner Bros.
September 1, 1934
Musical, Comedy
DVD
C-

I was underwhelmed by the first quarter hour, which has mostly unfunny comedy, a song about falling in love with a thirteenth cousin before her conception, and no dancing.  Still, I've obviously seen worse.  Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley co-directed.

Topper Returns

Topper Returns
United Artists
March 21, 1941
Comedy, Fantasy
DVD
C-

While this has quite the early '40s cast, and the sets and costumes are impressive, I found it hard to care about the characters or the story.  And finding out that, after the obligatory first quarter-hour, the Joan Blondell character, the annoying, wisecracking but unfunny, gal-pal would be the ghost du jour, I'm glad I quit before getting in deeper.  This is loosely based on the Topper novel by then already "late" Thorne Smith.  Roy Del Ruth directed.

Bullets or Ballots

Bullets or Ballots
Warner Bros.
June 6, 1936
Crime Drama
DVD
B-

Not surprisingly, a fourth-billed-but-on-the-rise Bogie is the best thing about this movie, although it is interesting to see him set up as Robinson's rival onscreen.  The script is pretty sharp, although I felt like, despite the Warner Bros. fast pace, it could've actually been tighter, with too much time setting up phone calls and meetings and the like.  (The 1939 radio version, which is included on the DVD, eliminates much of this of course, although I prefer Blondell's version of Lee to Mary Astor's.)  Besides the proto-noirish feel of not knowing who to trust or believe, this movie is notable for actually managing to casually show four African-American performers onscreen together, including of course scene-stealer Louise Beavers.

William Keighley directed this movie a couple years before The Adventures of Robin Hood.