Anthony Adverse (1936) - Mervyn LeRoy

Oh heavens not another one of these. Huge in scope and full of changing scenery and lots of things that remain unsaid, this extremely overblown film from Warner Bros. is far too characteristic of all too many films of its day. Buying into an attitude that's still somewhat in favor with Academy voters, which is to say a big budget must mean its a good film, because why else would they spend so much money on it. Frederic March, one of those actors you had to get in order to make your film credible gives another one of his performances, but not to a very great and exhilarating extent. He seems to be treading water here, and much of his period work has the same traits as previous prestige pictures he was involved in, most particularly Les Miserables. Olivia De Havilland makes a good turn for herself, despite a blatantly dubbed opera voice, but this is hardly a point of contention. Most of the remaining cast are irritating stereotypes and the "bad" people spend the entire time looking evil, which seriously beats things to a dull and bloody point. At 138 minutes this film is far too long for its own good, and with all the titles announcing narrative points, it just seems pointless. Sure it was based on a rather long book, but Christ almighty the time does not fly here. 

*Anthony Adverse was nominated for best picture in 1936.