The Shining Hour
by Joseph L. Makiewicz, Frank Borzage
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DVD details
Actor: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Robert YoungDirector: Frank Borzage, Joseph L. Makiewicz
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 76 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-06-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Bros.
DVD Reviews of The Shining Hour
DVD Review: ray of light
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Shining Hour" was Joan's final MGM motion pictures after a string of lackluster pictures that presented her in the same role with the same, similar plot. Although it's certainly not one of my favorite movies, I consider it one of Joan's better movies of the late '30s because it included a strong story and Joan gave such a worthwhile performance that although was by now a standard performance, also had its own identity.
In "The Shining Hour" Olivia Riley, a former club singer has to put up with her "high-society" sister-in-law Hannah (Fay Bainter). I enjoy this movie very much because we get to see Joan in both a glamour-puss role and an ordinary-everyday one. It not only displayed her authentic abilities but it also showed her real side; that multi/extra-dimension to her that has remained fascinating for all these years.
Some basic stats about "The Shining Hour"
Released: (November 13, 1938) (Studio: MGM)
Runtime Listing: 76 mins.
Color/BW: Black and White
(Joan played: Olivia Riley)
This film was made/released between Joan's movies: Mannequin (1938) and The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
Brief Synopsis:
A nightclub dancer marries into society and has to contend with her jealous sister-in-law
Joan's brief comments on this film: ...failed, but sort of nobly.
My favorite part(s) of the movie was the banter between Hannah and Olivia. Joan is vulnerable and sensitive as she allows Hannah the right of passage as the queen of the palace. Unlike Hannah, Olivia isn't bitter or spiteful and instead wishes that she would be accepted. Olivia also shows a very compassionate side of herself when she rescues Judy (Margaret Sullivan), her other sister-in-law, after Hanna's little scene that could have caused a lot of damage and sorrow. Joan's face during theses scenes was especially telling; only a dramatic actress could convey a million words with her eyes without saying a peep. What I most understood though was that Olivia was able to relate to Judy and in the same breath no longer considered herself inferior to heard-hearted Hannah.
"The Shining Hours" was put out on DVD earlier this year by Warner Home Video (in addition to a VHS several years ago). This is a no-frills DVD that does not include any bonuses, featurettes or special features. But if you're like me you don't give a flying fig about any of that because you know that what matters most is Joan's legacy, her films.
Unfortunately like a gaggle of Joan's late `30s movies "The Shining Hour" failed to shine at the box office. And, like Joan always did, she based her opinions of her movies and her roles on what her fans thought. The consummate perfectionist who gave all of herself was never happy unless all of her fans were happy. In Conversations with Joan Crawford, Joan commented: The Shining Hour failed, but sort of nobly. On Broadway it had been a smash hit. Margaret Sullivan, Robert Young, Melvyn Douglas and I were all wasted, and I think this was about the time my loyal public began dwindling. You can't keep `em coming back to bad films.
I do not consider this a bad film in the least, though and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Joan Crawford or classic pictures of the Golden Era. The movie is important to me because it shows that love conquers all. Olivia wasn't sure she fit into Henry's (her new husband, played by Melvyn Douglas) life (probably because of the shameless games that Hannah played). But she was able to find an unconventional happiness, that elusive and everlasting love, that acceptance and overpowering feeling of security and safeness that anyone with a beating heart wants.
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