Runtime: Only 65 minutes
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Warner Oland, Lyle Talbot, Reginald Owen
From: Warner Bros.
About time I viewed something recorded off the DVR this past January, right? Truth be told, there are recordings from last year still waiting to be tackled... one day. TCM played this as part of a marathon of Kay Francis on her birthday; Mandalay was selected as it had an exotic-sounding plot set in what was then known as Burma, now known as Myanmar. I've enjoyed Francis in the few flicks I'd seen her in before; the same hold true here.
Besides looking ravishing in a number of Orry-Kelly gowns, her performance was a highlight. Tanya-a former resident of Russia-is hooked up w/ Ricardo Cortez, a shady dude doing shady things across the world. They are in the city formerly known as Rangoon but he's such a slime bucket, Kay is abandoned and left with an even bigger slime bucket in Warner Oland, running a nightclub. It's heavily implied that she is forced to do more than just sing... no wonder she escapes on a riverboat to the title city, meeting with alcoholic doctor Lyle Talbot, a fellow broken spirited individual.
Yes, this is a melodrama, yes there's a love triangle, and yes the woman in the relationship is forced to do something bold due to the circumstances; this happened more in 30's movies than I first realized. Familiarity aside, Mandalay was still a pretty good time. The colonial implications notwithstanding, the exotic allure of various individuals (at least some skirting the law, if not outright breaking it) congregating in an intoxicating location far-flung from the West can be delightful, as it was here.
There were various other names that I knew from previous movies or at least recognized... Etienne Girardot, Reginald Owen, Lucien Littlefield. To reiterate, Kay Francis was the star & she shone bright as she had to express various emotions throughout & did it superbly. Director Michael Curtiz was another key asset; if not for them, Mandalay would have been a random B movie that had a few amusing side characters but otherwise it'd have been long-forgotten by most. Instead, this was fine entertainment that is only a 65 minute time commit for the viewer.
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