1932 reteams the director/actor duo of Mervyn LeRoy and Paul Muni coming off their wonderful 1932 film- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. This here isn’t as strong a film- but it is certainly worthy of the archives. Scarface is also 1932 for Muni- so he is white hot at this point.
The World Changes has a young Mickey Rooney here early in the film in a small role—this isn’t his debut, but it is his first archiveable film. This is the year before Manhattan Melodrama and of course by 1937 and 1938 with Captains Courageous and Boys Town he’s a star.
Opens in the Dakota territory in 1856, this is the story of Muni’s Orin Nordholm Jr. from womb to tomb just about. Muni struggles in the early parts of the film playing younger than his age as a blonde hayseed. Muni gets better (and better suited to the role) later on when Nordholm becomes an older, wealthy industrialist. Muni always loved a challenge, and this is just one of the films playing great men. The Story of Louis Pasteur is 1936, and Emile Zola is 1937. Frankly, even if his performance is uneven– the film struggles in the few scenes without Muni. If you ever wondered if Muni could act- check him out here in comparison with his peers. He is hovering above them.
I think it is supposed to be a true story- not sure- but I love how they work in a chance meeting with Custer and Bill Cody.
Guy KIbbee is here – he is the Governor in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939
At the 5-minute mark, the characters praise the heavens and LeRoy tilts the camera up. The very next shot starts on the sky, tilts down, then goes right into a right to left tracking shot of the homestead and chopping wood.
An unfortunate choice to show the blonde Muni on a horse rustling up longhorns in rear projection—as if he didn’t already look out of place.
Mary Astor is solid as his wife
Montage heavy, pretty standard- newspaper clippings, an obituary, the globe spinning to show the passage of time
LeRoy does have an active camera. There is a tracking shot of Muni giving directions on the slaughterhouse floor. Later, the camera pulls back on Muni as he holds a thoughtful pose.
At the 51-minute mark, the three heads of Muni’s financial enemies are staggered in the frame— LeRoy knows what he has here, and goes back to this exact same shot maybe twenty minutes later.
A nice tracking shot in on a sick Mary Astor at the 60-minute mark as she calls Muni’s character a butcher
Again, especially for 1932- the early talkie era- this is a very active camera. LeRoy floats the camera from the first floor of the Union League Club to the second floor with Muni sitting in the window.
About a decaying important family- wealth and power—Welles or Visconti material
A dissolve flashback of Muni’s character’s life as he descends the stairs and passes
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