Dangerous (1935) - Alfred E. Green

Oh good heavens its one of those. A melodramatic film about a stage actress, this for a time doesn't seem too far off from Morning Glory. However Alfred E. Green and particularly the developments in sound over two years were good enough to make this a better "made" picture. Not to say its particularly better, but the sound is more refined the music more subdued, and the acting a little more naturalistic. Davis has a few scenes where she gets to shine as an actress. Beginning the film as an acloholic, the only bit of mediocrity comes from her "performance" in the play. Not anything there to convince anyone that she's going to be the "greatest American actress". As it progresses however, the film gets more melodramatic, and concurrently worse. Franchot Tone, who was nominated for a best actor Oscar that year for Mutiny on the Bounty, delivers an uncharacteristically strong performance. Most people, even in 1935 viewed Davis' Oscar as an apology for snubbing her the previous year. In all honesty though I think she's better here than in Of Human Bondage (I never bought the Cockney accent). Does that warrant an Oscar? Well I don't find any particular fault with the Academy's choice here, but would like to do a little more research before outright agreeing. But I will say she's actually quite amazing here, which leads me to believe the Academy wasn't quite off their rocker. I'd hardly rate the film any better than average, but thanks to Davis and to a lesser extent Tone, this film has managed to hold up surprisingly well.

*Dangerous won for best actress (Davis)