waking into a dream journal 12.05.07

this morning's breeze...
the smart set
director: jack conway // 1928
cinema 4 rating for 1st 1/2: 6

have told myself over and over again since i moved here to check into seeing a polo match -- must be mickey's polo team (with animated marx bros.!) influencing me the most, though i have seen the game played in numerous films and shows over the years -- just want to see one live on the grass; want to see the speed, want to see the glorious horses up close, want to know how it looks without a tight camera shot influencing my eye -- "you can't part in front of a fire-plug, lady." "i didn't know you were expecting a fire today" -- i know those days were that of the "whoopsie!" jokes about gays, but were audiences of that time that blind to william haines' quite apparent homosexuality? they must have been, since he was highly popular, and i can't imagine that the crowds would be the same (in 1928) were his secret out in the open. and yet, every third motion he makes in this film is just too, too, too out there -- tales of ribaldry: "what a beautiful figure!" "yes, a neck like a swan." "i don't know... I never necked a swan!" -- oh, yes... and quite funny most of the time -- this is only the second film of his i have seen, and his appeal is very understandable -- "the english call it "sausage," the french call it "pâté de foie gras," but no matter how you slice it, it's still baloney" -- alice day is adorable in the film; a little too resigned at times, perhaps in keeping with societal expectations, but she shows enough fire when faced with haines' shenanigans to not be a mere wallflower -- lovely legs in the store scene, too -- haines' devotion in trying to win her character over is completely necessary, as she warrants such devotion -- this day and age, though, it's called stalking, molestation and assault...