Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 21 November 1936 by Samuel Goldwyn. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Rivoli, 11 November 1936. 11 reels. 99 minutes. 1960 re-issue title: ROARING TIMBER.SYNOPSIS: Timber baron rejects saloon girl, but twenty years later makes a play for her daughter.NOTES: Academy Award, Walter Brennan, Supporting Actor (defeating Mischa Auer in My Man Godfrey, Stuart Erwin in Pigskin Parade, Basil Rathbone in Romeo and Juliet and Akim Tamiroff in The General Died at Dawn). Also nominated for Film Editing (won by Ralph Dawson for Anthony Adverse).Goldwyn fired Hawks before the film was completed. Wyler reluctantly took over. Estimates of Wyler's contribution vary from as low as the last 9 minutes to as high as the last 30. It should be easy enough to work out. Toland worked with Hawks, Maté with Wyler. (I don't know who worked with Rosson, but his contribution is not in dispute.)The most exciting scenes are undoubtedly those in the Hawks half — the logging footage directed by Richard Rosson, and the fight at the saloon. Performances are persuasive throughout, but Frances Farmer is outstandingly forceful in her Hawks scenes. Technical credits are likewise marvelously impressive, particularly the sets, costumes, music scoring, and film editing.It is unfortunate that Walter Brennan received an Academy Award, as his hammy, stage-Swedish-accented performance is the only unsatisfactory item in this otherwise wholly engrossing and engagingly poignant domestic drama.William Wyler took over from Howard Hawks to direct the last ten minutes, starting with the employees' ball. The change in both directorial and photographic style is very apparent. Wyler favors a moving camera, and tight reverse angles with inter-cut close-ups and reaction shots. Hawks, on the other hand, employs a much more static style. Along with less camera movement and looser frame compositions, he tends to hold camera set-ups for a much longer time span. The photographic texture in the Wyler sequences is also different, with lower key lighting harnessing more velvety black textures and more romantically lit faces. Acting also changes in perfect harmony with the story. It's suddenly looser and less controlled, which makes a perfect cap for the picture.Edward Arnold is perfectly cast. He's given lots to laugh about (his specialty) and even cry. For once, he has a really meaty star role in a really lavish production. He plays his Barney with virility, conviction and above all, style. I love the rakish way he addresses many of the minor players by their real names.The legendary Frances Farmer gives the performance of her career. Making the most of Furthman's clever, pointed dialogue, she delineates both her roles with a superbly contrasting sincerity, deftly pitching her voice higher for the daughter.Joel McCrea's timing is also spot on. I must also commend Mary Nash's realism as the embittered housekeeper, and Cecil Cunningham's adroit sarcasm as the secretary.Although the picture neatly falls into two sections, 1884 and 1907, the scriptwriters have skilfully ensured there's no loss of continuity or suspense.The music score is also nothing short of superlative. I particularly enjoyed Arnold, Brennan, Farmer and Christians' rendering of the song, "Nelly's Hat."

tomsview "Come and Get It" has an unusual story and seems ahead of its time in taking a stance about the environment. It is also a chance to see Francis Farmer at her best in the only one of her movies she actually liked. Proving that blondes don't always have more fun, Francis Farmer had more drama off-screen than any character she ever played on-screen. But as "Come and Get It" reveals, she projected a strong presence and possessed beauty that would have attracted attention in any decade of cinema. Star of the film was Edward Arnold who plays entrepreneurial lumberman, Barney Glasgow, over a period of twenty years, from age thirty to fifty. Unfortunately Arnold had the sex appeal that one would expect from a balding, thick-waisted and double-chinned man of 46 – his real age. For him to convincingly play a virile thirty-year old was quite a stretch.Set in Wisconsin in 1884, Barney takes a shipment of lumber to the sawmill in Iron Ridge with the help of his friend Swan Bostrom. Walter Brennan plays Swan. Unlike Edward Arnold who always looked middle-aged, Walter Brennan always looked old. Here he looks positively ancient, despite the fact that he was only 42 at the time. The boys meet Lotta Morgan, played by Francis Farmer, the resident chanteuse at a nearby saloon. Her portrayal of Lotta, especially in her early scenes is bizarre. Chewing gum and talking out of the side of her mouth, she sings two versions of the same song. Francis Farmer had a surprisingly deep voice and the song is so slow and dirge-like that she sounds like an old Gramophone record playing at the wrong speed. Fortunately her performance becomes less affected as the film progresses.Barney and Swan fall for Lotta but she falls for Barney – thick waist and multiple chins notwithstanding. However, Barney is already engaged to the daughter of a powerful timber tycoon, Emma Louise Hewitt played by Mary Nash. Barney leaves to marry Emma, an act that will cement a financial partnership with her father, leaving Swan to break the news to Lotta. She is hurt but now also unemployed. Swan offers to marry her. Lotta accepts although Swan looks old enough to be her grandfather.Twenty years later, Barney now owns a huge paper mill, and has a son Richard, played by a youthful Joel McCrea. Barney accepts an invitation from Swan to visit him in Iron Ridge. We learn that although Lotta died some time before, Swan has a daughter who is the spitting image of her mother, also named Lotta. Francis Farmer plays both roles, bearing out an enduring Hollywood maxim that the grown-up child of a parent who dies earlier in the film should be played by the same actor. Barney falls for Lotta Bostrom, and tries to recapture the feelings he had for the mother through the daughter. Barney is ardent in his pursuit of her while Swan seems amazingly accepting of Barney's inappropriate advances towards his daughter. After Barney convinces Swan and Lotta to accompany him back to the city, she falls in love with Richard Glasgow, Barney's son. Events come to a head when Barney catches Richard with Lotta. Eventually Barney receives the long-delayed reality check he needs to bring him to his senses.Although "Come and Get It" doesn't quite fit into the mainstream of Hollywood films of the 30's, it holds up much better than most of them, and offers a rare glimpse of an intriguing and ill-fated star.

MartinHafer COME AND GET IT has a very strange cast. Having the reliable and talented supporting actor, Edward Arnold, in the lead is strange--especially since this rotund and rather doughy guy is cast as, believe it or not, a lumberjack when the film begins! Seeing him supposedly fight and beat up tough guys seemed pretty funny--especially since Arnold looked as if he'd have had a hard time beating up Frances Farmer--let alone burly lumbermen!! Additionally, having him play a very flawed hero who has a penchant for a very young lady (Frances Farmer) make it an unusual film.The film begins with Arnold being made the foreman of a logging company. However, his ambition is huge and he immediately has his sights set on running the entire company. So, to do so he agrees to marry the boss' daughter even though he could care less about her. Additionally, he'd just fallen in love with a spunky saloon singer (Frances Farmer--in a dual role). Regardless, his ambition is primary and he dumps farmer on his pal, played by Walter Brennan (who received an Oscar for his performance as a nice Swedish guy).Years pass. You see that Arnold's wife is a bit of a cold fish, though they did have some kids and they now own the company. Arnold just happens to visit his old pal Brennan and finds that through the magic of Hollywood clichés, Brennan's daughter (played by Farmer again) is the spitting image of her deceased mother. Arnold is an old lecher and takes her under his wing--with the intention of recreating the relationship he'd had with her mother. When his oldest son (Joel McCrea) finds out, he goes to confront the lady but falls for her instead. Naturally, this sets the son and hard-driven father against each other.Considering that this is based on an Edna Ferber novel, it isn't surprising that the film is about a man building an empire as well as infidelity--recurring themes I've noticed in several of her other films that were filmed during the era (such as CIMARRON, GIANT, SHOWBOAT and SO BIG). As a result, the film has a big and rather sweeping quality about it but is also a study of a hard-driven man who is deeply flawed.Overall, the movie is exactly what you'd expect from such a film--good acting, big scope and a lot of romantic tension. Nothing extraordinary here, but it's enjoyable and competently made. I can't, however, understand how Brennan got an Oscar, as this was far from one of his best performances. Perhaps it was a slow year.

drednm Old fashioned to be sure, but this film version of the Edna Ferber novel boasts some great film acting by Edward Arnold and Frances Farmer (in a dual role).Story has the ruthless Arnold working his way up in the Wisconsin lumber business, grabbing at everything in sight, including saloon gal Farmer. He seems to care about nothing but getting ahead. When he gets the chance to marry the boss' daughter (Mary Nash), he dumps Farmer and moves on.Twenty year later, he has it all plus two children: Joel McCrea and Andrea Leeds. By chance he runs into old pal (Walter Brennan in his first Oscar win) who married Farmer. She's dead but her daughter (Farmer again) lives with him along with a niece (Mady Christians). The daughter is a dead ringer for the mother, and Arnold decides to move in on her (in a last gasp at youth).But when the daughter meets McCrea, it's all over for Arnold. The father and son have a confrontation and the old man sees the light.This film offers some of the best acting of any 30s film. Edward Arnold is superb, and his final scene is just plain chilling. Farmer is glorious in her dual role, her best chance at film stardom (that never happened). Also solid are McCrea, Brennan, Leeds, and Nash. Supporting cast offers Cecil Cunningham as the wise-cracking and wise secretary.The film may set a Hollywood record in listing THREE directors. Both Howard Hawks and William Wyler are listed as co-directors while Richard Rosson is credited with the timber scenes (which are great).Worth a look for Frances Farmer and Edward Arnold!