Maureen O’Sullivan

  • Hide-Out (1934)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2021) As much as I’d like to say something interesting or enlightening about Hide-Out, it’s the kind of film that’s good enough to escape snarky comments about its shortcomings but not good enough to get ringing praise. The plot isn’t that complex, as a wounded womanizing mobster ends up on a farm and spends his recovery time falling for the farmer’s daughter. There’s clearly a lot of comedy to be mined in how our urbane protagonist has to adapt to the farm — and some obvious romantic material with the daughter as well. It works more often than not — director W. S. Van Dyke clearly knows what he’s doing even with a middle-of-the-road script, and the acting benefits from the professionalism of Robert Montgomery and Maureen O’Sullivan — as well as an early role for Mickey Rooney. Hide-Out is entertaining even if not particularly memorable — and it ends on a sweet high note, ensuring a nice finish for the audience.

  • Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

    Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2021) Considering the familiarity, the rough technical qualities and the incredible racism of the 1930s Tarzan movies, it can be hard to find reasons why anyone not writing a thesis would want to watch them now. Tarzan the Ape Man as an example of the form and for Johnny Weissmuller, maybe. But surprisingly enough, Tarzan and his Mate is more interesting than its predecessor. This time around, European explorers come to Africa to find not just Tarzan, but Maureen O’Sullivan’s Jane Parker as well—and she has her own ululating scream! Not only that, but the Pre-Code nature of the film means that she wears an unusually skimpy outfit while affecting the refined manners of an English lady—all of which led to considerable controversy at a time where censorship was coming for the movies. Since the sequel has a bigger budget than the original, special effects are a little better this time around, and we still get Weissmuller (plus O’Sullivan) parading around convincingly as masters of the jungle. All in all, not a bad follow-up—and more interesting than the original, considering that the original was redone many times, but not its sequel.