Girls of the Road (1940)

Very best movie i ever watch

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

In the city where this movie was made, where Columbia Pictures studio stood, where across the years probably millions of people have sought their dreams, in this year of A.D. 2018, anywhere from 40- to 60,000 people, men and women and children, are homeless.Because it is Los Angeles, one of the most corrupt and incompetently run cities in these United States, the homeless are both coddled and harassed by various government bodies.But genuine long-lasting help? Not in Los Angeles! One not so famous singer, with his own hands started building "tiny houses," giving them to homeless people of his acquaintance, and of course the city moved in garbage trucks and armed agents and stole at least three of them!Eventually they were returned, but with the solar cells missing!Private individuals and companies have donated land on which to erect the tiny homes and, again of course, have run into all kinds of bureaucratic obstacles. It is, to repeat, Los Angeles."Girls of the Road" was produced in one of the worst years of the Depression. After several years of the "New Deal," millions more people were out of work, tens of thousands more businesses had collapsed, and the Roosevelt administration, which had sought for answers in Italy, Germany, and Soviet Russia, had concluded only a war could save the situation. And, in the next year, got one.In this excellent movie, beautifully written, and superbly acted, desperate people exhibit the best and worst traits one would expect from people who have experienced the worst from other people.They have lost all dignity, and have had to beg for hand-outs since, being "road girls," no one will hire them for real jobs.One outsider sees a way, and, in this film, is well-enough connected to bring about a partial, and maybe temporary, solution.In modern life, governments have destroyed jobs and erected impossible obstacles for the creation of new jobs.Supposedly free human beings are required to carry government-issued cards embossed with government-issued numbers, without which those supposedly free human beings cannot even apply for jobs.And in many situations cannot even apply for hand-outs from allegedly Christian agencies.Helen Mack has long been one of my favorite actresses. Her performance in "The Milky Way" made me think she was perfect in comedy parts, but her performance in "Girls of the Road" showed me she is perfect in any role she wanted to play. She is powerful, mesmerizing, as "Mickey."Ann Dvorak is, as usual, also perfect. She was an elegant-looking lady, although she's also been perfect as much rougher characters, and she had a nearly musical voice, very noticeable in this role.Having some experience and knowledge of the current problems of homelessness, I was moved to tears by this movie, by the script as well as by the performances.Solutions to our problems are not be found in government -- please be sure to listen to what "the governor" says in the opening scenes. It accurately sums up why governments are not to be looked to for answers.Voluntary co-operation between and among individual human beings, caring human beings, perhaps working with voluntary organizations, including such loving and generous agencies as the Salvation Army, can, though, immensely lessen these kinds of human problems, sometimes known as "societal problems." But they are not "societal." They are human.Please do watch "Girls of the Road." Remember the context, the worst years of the Great Depression, and try not to let the too-dark print at YouTube prevent your seeing what great drama and, at the same time, what a great message of hope is presented.

While it's true this movie is badly dated, I still think is worthwhile as a snapshot in time.Made in 1940, it chronicles the experiences of a group of wandering hobo woman caught in the economic grinder of the depression. I think it's valuable, because most of us - even us ancianos - have little conception of how desperate and depressing things were back in those days.The movie stars Ann Dvorak, Helen Mack, and Lola Lane, with a very competent supporting cast including Ann Doran and Mary Field. Ann Dvorak's performance especially stands out and reminds me of what an underrated actress she really was. While many of the others overact - I guess we can blame the director for a lot of that - her performance is understated and perfectly believable. But even though the production is theatrical and a little overdone, there are still nuggets of real emotion if you look for them. An expression, a tear in the eye, a quivering voice. Not what I would have expected in a melodrama like this.This movie makes a sincere attempt to deal with, what was a real contemporary problem back when it was made, and although we have our own problems to deal with today, looking back in history is always a good way to keep from repeating it. Take a look.

In many ways, this film reminds me of the 1933 film "Wild Boys of the Road"--which is about homeless teens who wander about the country (often in vain) looking for work and a square meal. This film is about homeless ladies who are in similar circumstances. How serious this problem was is uncertain (it's not like they kept statistics on this), but the movie seems earnest--and amazingly naive.The film begins with a commission reporting to the Governor about the plight of wandering homeless ladies. The Governor is moved and wants to do something but is uncertain if anything can be done about the problem. However, his secretary (Ann Dvorak--who also happens to be his daughter in the film) decides to investigate herself by hitting the road and posing as a homeless woman. This is an insanely naive and rather offensive notion--especially when she could be raped or otherwise exploited and the idea of a rich girl "slumming it" is a tad silly. In fact, in one of the first scenes, this nearly happens (in a sanitized 1940 manner) as a man isn't about to take 'no' for an answer after he picks up Ann.Ultimately, after spending time getting arrested for vagrancy, being hassled by cops, jumping trains, getting robbed and the rest in this 'dog eat dog world', Ann returns home to report to Daddy about the life of girl hobos. My quote in the summary, while not exactly what she said isn't that far from it! And, naturally, it all had a happy ending.To me, this film seemed rather fake. All the ladies looked really ragged...like they'd forgotten to put on the morning makeup and had gone a whole week without going to the beauty parlor! The most egregious of these was Dvorak--who looked like she was dressed for publicity photos of "her life when she has a day off". The ladies' "down and out" looks just seemed like Hollywood's sanitized version of the life of a homeless woman--the type that wouldn't feel particularly threatening to most in the audience. Compare this sort of film with a REAL film about social ills of the 1930s (such as "I Was A Fugitive From A Chain Gang") and this one comes up wanting. Perhaps well-intentioned and the acting wasn't bad, but it was fake from start to finish.

...the major studio you work for does not want you anymore. Just like today back in the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' the shelf life of female Stars was noticeably shorter then their male counterparts. Three (3) of the Stars of GIRLS OF THE ROAD (1940) are more noted for their roles at their home studios. ANN DVORAK and LOLA LANE at Warner Brothers (WB) and HELEN MACK, RKO. When a studio was done with you it was fade away or find work somewhere else. That somewhere this time was at COLUMBIA.GIRLS OF THE ROAD is a social commentary picture typical of the time and usually done most successfully at the WB. This effort from COLUMBIA though dated is still entertaining portraying the plight of vagrant women. A Governors Daughter played by DVORAK wishes first hand to find out how to solve the plight of these girls. The bulk of her odyssey is a learning experience and building a friendship with MACK. Concluding with the moral redemption of all including tough girl LANE.There were five (5) major studios. M.G.M., PARAMOUNT, RKO, 20TH CENTURY FOX and WARNER BROTHERS. Plus some heavy-weight independents like GOLDWYN or SELZNICK. Now you could move horizontally between these studios and still be on top. The next level would be COLUMBIA, HAL ROACH, REPUBLIC, UNIVERSAL and UNITED ARTISTS. This was still respectable the only problem with working at COLUMBIA was putting up with HARRY COHN who fancied himself Don Juan. It could get worse though you might end up at MONOGRAM, PRC or any of the dozens of poverty row studios that came and went. Some not even lasting a year, fading away just like some their careers.