kitchent Finally caught this one on TCM as part of my unhealthy quest to see every Fay Wray film possible. Not a bad little story, but nothing spectacular. Very cool to see Neil Hamilton in his early days, and Gary Cooper and Frances Fuller were equally interesting. Fay is not really on screen much which was disappointing, but then she steals the show at the end by channeling Mae West. What a treat this was! The direction was fine with some really cool moving camera work in the opening scene. This seemed to be a trend in the early 1930's to have a really cool moving camera shot to open the film, but then fade into standard static setups thereafter.Overall worth a look for the performances of Cooper and Fay Wray or if you just want to see what Batman's Commissioner Gordon looked like in his younger days. Otherwise, it's pretty routine.

blanche-2 I wasn't as crazy about this movie as others on this board. Gary Cooper stars as Biff, a dentist in small town America during the depression. His mortal enemy, Hugo, back in town with the wife Biff wanted. The funniest part of the film for me was right in the beginning. Biff receives a call from the hotel, asking him to see Hugo. He agrees. Hugo enters, sees Biff, and becomes nervous. Biff puts him in the chair. "I want gas," Hugo says. Biff replies. "You'll get gas." I can only say that it was the most underplayed but somehow threatening line -- it made me laugh out loud.While Hugo is under, Biff recounts to his friend the story of his friendship with Hugo, and its downfall. Basically they both were interested in the same girl, Virginia (Fay Wray), and Hugo married her. The woman he met at the same time, Amy (Frances Fuller) is crazy about Biff, and though he still has Virginia on his mind, Biff marries her. Later on, because of Hugo, Biff has to go to jail for two years. Biff and Virginia finally leave town, and Hugo makes it big. Now they're back for a visit.The story is based on a popular play on Broadway at the time, and frankly, the characters aren't very pleasant, including the Cooper character. They undoubtedly seem more unpleasant today than they did back then. Biff thinks women should be told after they get married to mind their business. However, it has a nice moral and one always worth remembering: Be grateful for what you have, and don't envy others. You only think you know what's going on in their lives based on what they present to the world.Hugo is played by Neil Hamilton, who became the Commissioner on TV's Batman. Fay Wray, as we know, had a date with a gorilla atop the Empire State Building.

MartinHafer The film begins in a dental office, as the dentist, Biff (Gary Cooper), talks to a friend (Roscoe Karns) about this relationship with Hugo (Neil Hamilton) back in the Gay 90s when they had been friends. This is instigated when Hugo comes to the office and sees Biff for the first time in decades. Hugo needs a tooth pulled and while he is sedated with gas, Biff recalls their past when they were both ardently pursuing a pretty young lady (Fay Wray)--while pretty much ignoring her more plain but much sweeter friend (Frances Fuller). Through the course of the film, Hugo stabs his supposed friend in the back again and again.This movie is the original--with remakes in 1941 (THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE) and 1948 (ONE Sunday AFTERNOON). While I rarely prefer remakes, I must say that the 1941 version is much more watchable and fun. Part of this is because the 1933 version is so very, very quiet--with very little music to help set the mood. Also, the whole mood of the 1933 film is more somber and the story a bit more direct and "bare bones" in style. Also, while I like Gary Cooper films, for a comedy like this one, Cagney was better and the supporting actors he had were also superior and gave THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE so much more energy. This film is still well worth seeing, but the 1941 film has a more polished plot, better characters and the full Warner Brothers package (wonderful and first-rate production values) that this Paramount film lacks.

Kalaman "One Sunday Afternoon" is a charming and little-known piece of Americana, the first filmization of James Hagan's play about a dentist named Biff Grimes (Gary Cooper) who has long tried to revenge on his old friend Hugo Barnstead (Neil Hamilton) for marrying Grimes' girl Virginia (Fay Wray) and leaving him with the charming and devoted Amy (Frances Fuller). The film opens with Grimes and his pal Snappy Downer (Rascoe Karns) singing and drinking. Barnstead shows up Grimes' home to get this tooth pulled. Grimes puts him on nitrous oxide gas, and then the film dissolves into a flashback as Grimes remembers their past, providing him with a motive for revenge."One Sunday Afternoon" was remade in 1941 by Warner Bros. and Raoul Walsh into a timeless and unforgettable classic, "The Strawberry Blonde", starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, and Rita Hayworth. Walsh's version is infinitely superior, but "One Sunday Afternoon" is worthwhile for Gary Cooper's superb performance.