Ao Redor do Brasil (Brazil) ***

A documentary from Brazil.

Ivan (1932) ***

Uneven, but visually stunning film directed by Alexander Dovzhenko.

Call Her Savage (1932) ***

The Sign Of The Cross (1932) ***

Christians and lions and apes, oh my!

Where Now Are The Dreams Of Youth (1932) ***

The last, and probably the best, of Yasujiro Ozu's early "student comedies", more amusing than "Days Of Youth" (1929), "I Graduated But" (1929), "I Flunked But" (1930) and "The Lady And The Beard" (1931).

Number 17 (1932) ***

An early Hitchcock's film with an exciting action scene involving a bus chasing a runaway train.

The Big Broadcast (1932) ***

The first in the series of four Paramount radio musical films. Starring Bing Cosby. The sequels will star Jack Oakie, Jack Benny and W.C. Fields. Songs include:

"Here Lies Love"  **
"Please"  *
"Tiger Rag"  **
"Nola"  **
"Trees"  *
"Crazy People"  **
"I Was So Beautiful"  *
"Minnie The Moocher"  **
"Please" (reprise)  **

Le Marchand de sable (1932)

Anton Spelec ostrostrelec (1932) ***

Amusing Czech comedy about Anton, a sharp-shooter and a producer of musical instruments, eagerly awaiting to be decorated with a medal. Unfortunately, the authorities are one medal short and he must wait for another year. Then in the pub he drinks so much that he insults the emperor for which he is sentenced to jail. Anton decides to send his employee Josef in his stead. But Josef doesn't want to go to jail neither and he sends there in his place a vagabond who would like to wait out the winter in a warm cell. As luck would have it, the vagabond dies while serving the sentence. So it comes about that Anton is officially dead and in the town a solemn funeral is planned.

Maurin des Maures (1932)

Emma (1932) **

Marie Dressler is accused of poisoning her husband by his children she raised.

Smilin' Through (1932) **

An old-fashioned melodrama, but better than average. Classy, but manipulative to the extreme.

Rasputin And The Empress (1932) **

This Hollywood version of Rasputin's story was so inaccurate that his assassin, Prince Yusupov, actually sued the studio in a British court and won, forcing all subsequent films (whether inspired by true stories or not) to carry this now-classic disclaimer: "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental".

Lady And Gent (1932) **

Sa meilleure cliente (1932)

Night After Night (1932) **

This otherwise very forgettable film about a gangster (George Raft) who falls for a sophisticated society gal, has one redeeming quality - Mae West in a small supporting role (it was her first film). She literally steals the movie from its stars as a vulgar, wisecracking, candid and refreshing gun moll who won't be pushed around. She became a instant star as result of this appearance.

Glos pustyni (1932) *

A Polish "Morocco" (or "Beau Geste"). Boring, but exotic. Filmed in Algeria.

Speak Easily (1932) *

Buster Keaton plays a college professor who believes that he inherited a fortune and decides a finance a Broadway show.

One Way Passage (1932) *

A melodrama set aboard an ocean liner.

Seven Seas Part 2: Chastity Chapter (1932) *

The script was written by Kôgo Noda, based on a novel by Kaitaro Hasegawa (aka Itsuma Maki).

The Music Box (1932) *****

Stan and Ollie are pushing a piano up the steps. A well-deserved winner of an Academy Award as Best Short Subject (Comedy).

Towed In A Hole (1932) ***

Stan and Ollie are repairing a boat.

The Dentist (1932) ***

Directed by L.Pearce, and produced by Mack Sennett. After a game of golf, a temperamental dentist (W.C.Fields) returns to his patients. This film includes the notorious tooth-pulling sequence that caused quite a stir among censors.

The Chimp (1932) ***

What Price Hollywood (1932) ***

Hollywood melodrama about a famous movie star and the men in her life. An inspiration for "A Star Is Born" (1937) and its 1954 remake.

Their First Mistake (1932) ***

Stan and Ollie adopt a baby together. Of all their films, this is the one where their relationship is the most obviously homosexual.

Swing High (1932) **

Trapeze acts.

The Musical Doctor (1932) **

Directed by R.Cozine. In Doctor Rudy Vallee's hospital, physicians cure their patients with songs. Mae Questel (the voice of Betty Boop) plays a nurse.

County Hospital (1932) **

There is one classic gag (involving Ollie's leg in plaster attached to a rope held by a man hanging from a window), but otherwise it's a very disappointing Laurel & Hardy short.

Dream House (1932) **

Directed by Del Lord, and produced by Mack Sennett. Bing Crosby comes to Hollywood looking for his fiancee.

Scram (1932) **

A drunk gentleman invites two hobos (Stan and Ollie) to someone else's house.

Any Old Port (1932) *

A rather unpleasant Laurel & Hardy short, uneasily mixing slapstick humor with sexual abuse of women.

The Loud Mouth (1932) *

An annoying spectator wrecks havoc at sporting events. It's available here.

A Farewell To Arms (1932) **

An adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel.

The Phantom President (1932) **

George M. Cohen, the legend of American theatre (immortalized by James Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy"), in his best, though otherwise mediocre, motion picture. Musical numbers:

"The Country Needs A Man" *
"Somebody Ought To Wave A Flag" *
"Give Her A Kiss" *
"The Convention" *

Rain (1932) **

A self-righteous preacher (Walter Huston) tries to reform a prostitute (Joan Crawford). Set on a rain-soak Pacific island of Pongo Pongo, this melodrama is a little too discreet.

Mr Robinson Crusoe (1932) *

A young man (Douglas Fairbanks) makes a bet that he could survive on a desert island just like Robinson Crusoe. A predictable, completely uninvolving film.

Red Dust (1932) ***

Clark Gable and Jean Harlow heat up the screen in this sexy melodrama set in the Malayas.

White Zombie (1932) ***

Horror movie set in Haiti.

Tarzan The Ape Man (1932) ***

The first "Tarzan" movie starring Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.

Movie Crazy (1932) ***

Harold Lloyd comes to Hollywood, causing havoc on movie sets.

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) ***

A sort of a dry run before "King Kong" - an aventure film set on a mysterious tropical island - only, instead of a giant ape, we got a cruel villain who likes to hunt people.

The Kid From Spain (1932) ***

Forced to run away to Mexico, Eddie Cantor pretends to be a famous Spanish matador. Songs:

"The College Song" **
"In The Moonlight" *
"Look What You've Done" *
"What A Perfect Combination" ***

I'M A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932) ***

Excellent film that works equally well as a gangster film about an escaped convict and a serious drama about social injustice.

Fanny (1932) ***

A sequel to "Marius" (1931).

Boudu sauve des eaux (1932) ***

A philantropic bourgeois invites a homeless vagabond (Michel Simon) to stay in his house.

The Blue Light (1932) ***

Leni Riefenstahl plays a wild mountain girl in this German film.

Shanghai Express (1932) ****

A mysterious vamp (Marlene Dietrich) meets an old friend while travelling by train in China. Visually striking cinematography and beautifully designed sets.

One Hour With You (1932) ****

Lighthearted musical farce about frivolous wives and philandering husbands. The funniest moments include Maurice Chevalier singing about temptation ("Oh That Mitzi") and a sneaky butler wanting to see his master in tights. Great songs:

"What A Little Thing Like A Wedding Ring Can Do" **
"We Will Always Be Sweethearts" **
"Three Times A Day" **
"One Hour With You" ***
"Oh That Mitzi" **
"We Will Always Be Sweethearts" (reprise) **
"Now I Ask You What Would You Do" **

Horse Feathers (1932) ***

Marx Brothers are clowning again, only this time, they are doing it in a respectable institution of higher learning. "Everyone Says I Love You" is first sung by Zeppo, then sung and played on a piano by Chico, then played on a harp by Harpo and finally serenaded on a guitar by Groucho. Songs:

"I'M Against It" **
"I Always Get My Man" *
"Everyone Says I Love You" **

Grand Hotel (1932) ****

If all soap operas were as classy as this film, the genre would be far more respectable.

Freaks (1932) ****

The "freaks" are circus performers with various physical deformities. They are not the villains of this film. The ending is terrifying, but also very satisfying.

Scarface (1932) *****

The best gangster film of the early 30's. Directed by Howard Hawks and starring Paul Muni as the king of Chicago's underworld.

Trouble In Paradise (1932) *****

One of the greatest comedies ever made, a funny and very sophisticated farce about two con artists (Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins) trying to swindle a rich heiress (Kay Francis). Brilliant dialogues, delightful comic situations and plenty of sexual innuendos. A perfect example of the celebrated "Lubitsch touch".

Love Me Tonight (1932) *****

Glorious and enchanting musical starring Maurice Chevalier as a Parisian tailor courting a young princess (Jeanette MacDonald). A great masterpiece. Superb musical score by Rogers and Hart includes:

"Song Of Paree" *
"How Are You ?" *
"Isn't It Romantic ?" ***
"Lover" **
"Mimi" ***
"The Poor Apache" *
"Love Me Tonight" **
"The Son Of A Gun Is Nothing But A Tailor" ***

Chess-nuts (1932) ****

One of the finest Betty Boop cartoons, set on a chessboard with a jealous Black King lusting after his Queen (Betty Boop), who clearly prefers White King Bimbo. It includes some of the sexiest moments in cartoons.

Flowers And Trees (1932) ****

An old, lecherous tree trunk lusts after a beautiful female tree (drawn to suggest Jean Harlow). Rejected, the mean lecher starts a forest fire, courageously fought by trees, birds and flowers. Beautiful music and an excellent use of color to create mood and atmosphere, highlight this seminal work in the history of animation - the first color cartoon and the first cartoon to win an Oscar.

Crazy Town (1932) ****

A bouncy and effervescent cartoon with Betty Boop and her friends riding a trolley from one town to another (except the trolley isn't moving, the cities are!). People walk on their hands, fishes catch people, bald men get haircuts, women change heads and mice are roaring in cages. Crazy ideas, wacky gags and surrealism galore.

Boop-Oop-A-Doop (1932) ****

Animal trainer Betty must defend her virginity from the lecherous advances of a circus owner. She succeeds with some help from Koko the Clown. Very sexy and kinky, one of the best Fleischers' cartoons. The scene showing Betty whipping wild lions in a cage is superb.

Minnie The Moocher (1932) ****

Betty runs away from home and finds herself in a dark cave with Bimbo. They are soon joined by ghosts and skeletons, all singing the Cab Calloway title tune. A precursor of sorts to Betty's masterpiece, "Snow White" (1933), it's a first-rate musical cartoon, with inventive imagery and interesting ideas.

Betty Boop's Ups And Downs (1932) ****

First, Betty is forced to sell her crumbling house. Then, the Moon and other planets offer their bids for buying the Earth. Finally, the laws of gravity are repelled and everything floats freely in the air. It's the usual Max Fleischer's cartoony nonsense on a huge scale. Very weird.

The Office Boy (1932) ****

Flip becomes an office boy, sorting letters, cleaning desks and flirting with a sexy secretary, whose shapely derriere becomes the "butt" of countless gags (she even looses her skirt and tries to cover her panties with a graph chart). Very kinky and provocative, the film has an undeniable erotic appeal.

Mickey In Arabia (1932) ****

Mickey and Minnie travel to Arabia on a huge, exotic camel. When Minnie is kidnapped by sheik PegLeg Pete, Mickey tries to rescue her, but his camel is completely drunk. Superb action sequences and very elaborate settings make it one of Mickey's best films.

L'Idée (1932) ****

The Klondike Kid (1932) ****

Saloon pianist Mickey must fight against a ruthless Yukon bandit PegLeg Pete in this late entry in the Mickey-Pete-Minnie "kidnapping" series. Excellent visual effects and brief appearances by Pluto and Goofy.

Ape Girl (1932) ***

Freddy The Freshman (1932) ***

Cars racing, folks dancing, owls howling, spectators cheering and freshmen playing ball. Fast, loud, high-spirited romp with plenty of energy to spare.

A Hunting We Will Go (1932) ***

Bimbo and Koko are hunting big game (lions, leopards and bears). They want to impress Betty Boop, but wouldn't she rather be naked than wear fur?

Piano Tooners (1932) ***

Everyone knows Tom and Jerry as a cat and mouse team from the color cartoons by Hanna-Barbera for MGM in 1940's and 50's. But the original Tom and Jerry were two boys, one short, one tall, who starred in a series of black and white cartoons produced by Amadee Van Beuren. Their first film, "Wot A Night" (1931) was a masterpiece of surrealism, but some of their later films also had interesting ideas and weird gags. "Piano Tooners" has the duo fixing pianos before a big concert. Best gags include a key-extraction (without anaesthesia) and a fish-like note flashed down the toilet.

Moonlight For Two (1932) ***

A beautiful forest at full moon is the setting of this gentle musical cartoon with characters riding in wheelbarrows across swift streams, farm animals dancing in the barn and gunfights fought over foxy dames. Quite short, but very memorable, with beautiful backgrounds.

Seeing Stars (1932) ***

Typical Krazy Kat cartoon from the early 1930's.

Studie Nr 9 (1932) ***

A typical abstract film by Oskar Fischinger.

You Try Somebody Else (1932) ***

Ethel Merman sings the beautiful title song. There are also two animated sequences, one featuring Betty Boop defending her refrigerator from a hungry cat, another set in a prison.

Pots and Pans (1932) ***

Tom and Jerry work in a diner. A Van Beuren cartoon.

The Dancing Fool (1932) ***

Bimbo and Koko are painters working on a high-rise building, while Betty Boop is a dancing instructor.

Pencil Mania (1932) ***

A Van Beuren cartoon starring Tom and Jerry (a human duo). Quite innovative.

Stormy Seas (1932) ***