Today We Live (1933)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This film was hopelessly miscast. Why have Americans playing Brits especially when none can master the accent? But, that is one of the reasons to watch especially as Miss Crawford often forgets, or doesn't even try to attempt to be English, in places... sometimes in mid sentence. You can also laugh at the stilted attempts at English Dialogue - "Sister, Mine". "Officer now. Navy. Now I can ask her.". "Feelings Anne. Can't change love.". There's also some clumsy scenes but this was made in 1933 so we were only just out of the silent age so some over dramatic, over egged, over acted scene's are to be expected.Yet, and despite this being a pot-boiler of a love triangle with war and Anglos-American relations as it's background, it is enjoyable for some still superb acting, the way the three main characters a loved by the camera and are give back warmth and honesty in return. Never been a big fan of Joan Crawford but she looks good and (if we forget she is supposed to be British) gives a good performance.The sort of film you watch to look at both the good and the bad of cinema at the time and it gives you plenty to talk about later. And remember Crawford and Franchot Tone met for the first time when making this film. he became her second husband two years later.

Odd WWI drama directed by Howard Hawks, based on a story by William Faulkner (who co-wrote the screenplay). First the casting. Joan Crawford, Robert Young, and Franchot Tone all play Brits. None tries an accent (thankfully) but one has to wonder what MGM was thinking by this casting. Couldn't they find any British actors? The story is about American Gary Cooper buying the estate of Joan's family. Her father just died in the war. Joan is allowed to stay on at the guest house. Joan's friends Tone and Young go off to war and leave Joan with Cooper, who she of course falls in love with. But then he also goes off to war and is falsely reported as killed in action. So a sad Joan agrees to go through with marrying Young, who has always been in love with her. When Coop shows back up, she's conflicted as to who to be with. Joan seemed to be torn between men in nearly all of her MGM films from the '30s. These plots must have been successful at the box office back then but they sure are difficult to care about today. Maybe I just don't care for romantic triangle stories that much. Anyway, there are some out of place (but nicely done) action sequences inserted into things. Whether this was because Hawks was bored with the soap opera elements or what, I don't know. It's an interesting film to rate. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it all that much either. I doubt I would watch it again. Despite the star power behind the camera and in front, it just doesn't click for me. I will recommend it solely because any movie with these stars, as well as Hawks and Faulkner attached, is worth checking out for curiosity's sake alone.

Couldn't believe it! Clipped sentences? Good grief! Know what? All true! Real people ever talk like this? Don't think so. Good girl! Stout fellow! Stiffen upper lip! Only reason given movie 2 instead of 0 Gary Cooper such a dish. Movie as a whole ridiculous unless you like watching endless biplane dogfights. Seemed endless, anyway. Think all Franchot Tone's dialogue dubbed. When Crawford and Young make a special effort to sound British they come over as Irish. Handy tip - we Brits clip words, not sentences. And somehow we manage to draaaaaaaawl at the same time. But that's only if we've been to a really good public (that's private to you) school.

This love story set during WW I, is a pretty boring affair despite of the casting of a young Gary Cooper and a Beautiful Joan Crawford.There seems to be no Chemistry between the two leads.Robert Young as the third part of the triangle is perhaps a bit old for his role,but pulls it off quite well.The only real chemistry with Crawford has the actor playing her brother,Franchot Tone, he gives perhaps the best performance in the movie together with Cooper's sidekick Roscoe Karns. Crawford and Tone fell in love during the shooting of this movie and it shows quite clearly in their scenes together.The aviation scenes are what really saves this movie.They're excellently made considering the vintage of this film.Too bad the rest of the story is so boring.