AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

pronker pronker First of all, this is a filmed play with bewildering time skips. It's the weather that clues us in to "six months later" or "that following spring" as characters don fur coats or dress in short sleeves. I was confused in the beginning and at the end of movie, figured the whole thing occupies about two years.My, it's well acted. After Harding feels clucky when idling her transatlantic voyage away by playing companion to a two year old of a fellow voyager, she decides to take up her live in lover's, Howard's, proposal of marriage. He's proposed numerous times, and she supposes he'll be thrilled that she agrees at last to make it legal. Her giddy expectation that he'll be happy with a/her baby needs and b/her revelation that she's artistically ready to paint made me smile. Surprise! He's found Loy, a sultry young lady ready, after one month, to marry him. He still wants Harding as Dear Friend, waiting in the shadows until he's ready to dribble out some time to her, hooboy, now that's never happened in the history of the world. :SNow comes the tangling of lives and families that make up the Barry play blueprint of Domineering Parent and Befuddled Child. The child, Howard, has integrity up the wazoo but not much ready cash. As a sidenote, all these characters have varying degrees of wealth, living as "Bohemian" in spacious apartments with glorious views or living in well-appointed homes in the country. I guess if you live in a mansion, like Parent, you want your child to do likewise.Eight stars for acting from the cast: Gargan as an unlikely butler, Loy as schemer (to me, she was written as completely unsympathetic), Harding as full of herself while blind to Howard's eventual tiring of her resistance to marriage, and most of all Howard for his end scene with Loy in which the lights come on about which woman acts Nicest and Kindest to him. He portrays superbly the realization that now is the time to act and not waffle with words.

SimonJack The IMDb billing on this film lists it as a comedy and drama, in that order. But for a few witty lines in it, "Animal Kingdom" has no trappings of humor. The sometimes funny relationship between Tom (played by Leslie Howard) and Red (played by William Gargan) could hardly lift this to a comedy level. Surely not above the drama. There is an outside chance that this really is a sophisticated comedy – but then it's over my head (a distinct possibility, I admit). But from the story, script and dialog, I don't see that. Rather, I see the main plot as a drama. Tom is a well-to-do son who has been living a carefree lifestyle with few responsibilities. He has been living and mixing with artists and writers who work at their trades while living a bohemian lifestyle. Tom has a small publishing house that prints artistic and cultural works, but it doesn't earn him much money. This has gone on for some years. Tom's father, Rufus Collier (played by Henry Stephenson) considers his son a wastrel. He is anxious that he settle down and take on the responsibility associated with his wealthy class. Two women are prominent in Tom's life. Daisy, played by Ann Harding, has been Tom's friend and bohemian consort for his many carefree years. Daisy is an artist and aspiring painter. She and Tom have worked on publications together over the years. Tom had proposed to her in the past, but she declined. Cecelia, or "Cee" is played by Myrna Loy, and is Tom's fiancé. Daisy had been away in Europe for a long time, and Tom had just recently met and fallen in love with Cee. Other players have their parts – friends of one or the other main characters. Rufus likes Cee and is glad that she and Tom are getting married. This story plays out with pathos as Tom parts from his friends. Daisy returns to New York, now hoping to marry Tom. Tom tells her he is in love with Cee, but he wants to remain friends with Daisy for life. We don't see the wedding, but after Tom and Cee are married, Cee influences him to a sale/merger of his printing house to produce dime novels that make money instead of the works of quality he had preferred. Daisy decides it's best to break completely with Tom's friendship, and she does so. Tom is left without much desire or hope, and we see him give in to Cee's every wish. Tom has become a most pitiable person.Owen Fiske (played by Neil Hamilton) is an attorney for Rufus. He is attracted to Cee. At one point, he says to Cee, "Hang it all, Cee! Tom doesn't want to sell the Bantam." Cee says, "Tom doesn't know what he wants?" In another scene, Red serves Cee a drink and says, "You're a strange girl, Cee. And a pretty cruel one too." And in another scene, Daisy says to Tom, "I pity you will all my heart."There is more – with Cee showing signs of infidelity. She now seems to disdain her husband, whom she sees as a weak person. She is a woman who wants wealth and power. In the end, Tom signs over a very hefty check his father had made out to him. He leaves it on the fireplace mantle for Cee, and walks out. We are left to imagine that he is going off to find Daisy, lost freedom and true love.Perhaps a scene in which we learn of the title of this play and film will help us better understand it. This is after Daisy returns from Europe and Tom tells her he plans to marry. Daisy says, "Tom! Tom, do you have to marry here?" Tom replies, "I want to marry here." Daisy: "I thought maybe you just wanted her, or wanted her most awfully." Tom: "No, no, no. It's more than that. Much more." Daisy: "I don't see how you can quite tell that. For all our big talking, you know, we do still belong to the animal kingdom."This film has some big name stars of its day. Leslie Howard was an established actor in England and the U.S. He was an RAF pilot and was killed when his plane was shot down during World War II. Harding and Loy had been around a while and would have many more roles and much better performances. Only Howard seemed to put much life into his role in this film. Harding, in particular, seemed wooden and flat. Still, for an interesting story and overall good cast, "Animal Kingdom" is an enjoyable watch.

blanche-2 Leslie Howard, Ann Harding, and Myrna Loy are all members of "The Animal Kingdom" in this 1932 film based on the play by Phillip Barry. Barry in his way was a transitional playwright - he wrote about the upper class, usually negatively, but always gave a nod to the lower class - they were the ones that had more fun. Just a little bit later, plays about the upper class would go by the wayside for plays about the working class - Waiting for Lefty, Awake and Sing - as America moved through the depression.Leslie Howard plays a member of said upper class who has engaged in a Bohemian lifestyle, living with an intelligent artist (Harding). They have a no attachment, open relationship, and he takes her at her word and gets himself engaged to a gorgeous, wealthy young woman (Myrna Loy) just as Harding decides she wants to settle down and have a family. She accepts his decision, but not his offer of continuing friendship.There is a line about the "animal kingdom" in the film, but I prefer to think the title has to do with baser instincts. If Howard passionately desired Ann Harding, he wouldn't have wanted to be friends - and it's her desire of him that makes her reject his "just friends" suggestion. Let's face facts - Loy turns him on and knows it. In fact, she uses sex as a manipulative weapon, and he's putty in her hands. It's more blatant in this film than, say, "Harriet Craig" which was done under the code - but the power of sex is there.Of course, a relationship based on sexual desire and nothing else eventually grows tired, and Howard finds himself going back to talk with Harding and spend time with her. She smartly keeps running. Clearly, Howard is a man who wants to have his cake and eat it, too.Harding was an interesting leading woman - she was attractive but not beautiful and had a very low, distinctive speaking voice. She came from the Broadway stage, and her heyday in films was through the mid-thirties, though she worked consistently in films and television until the mid-60s. As was the case back then, at 31 years of age, her time as a leading lady was drawing to a close, and soon would be turned over to people like the younger Loy. Her performance in "The Animal Kingdom" is a very honest one. Loy is absolutely ravishing and wears beautiful clothes. She essays the part of the glamorous wife beautifully, reminiscent of Gene Tierney later on with the ultra-feminine facade hiding the steel underneath. Howard is handsome and thoughtful in the lead, and one can see it slowly occurring to him that he made a mistake.Very good.

MartinHafer This is one of the "talky-est" movies I've seen in some time and often the dialog is very stilted and even occasionally silly. Yet despite this, the film is actually very shocking and "modern" in its sensibilities and pretty entertaining--if the dialog and pacing don't drive you to turn it off before it's over! And for adults who are VERY patient, it is a film worth seeing (perhaps deserving a score of 7 depending on the audience).Leslie Howard plays a pretty wussy guy who has definitely had lived the "Bohemian lifestyle". However, by the time the movie starts, he's ready to give up his wild and fornicatious (is that a word?) past and marry Myrna Loy. It seems that although he's loved another (in more ways than one), this other woman (played by Ann Harding) wasn't the marrying kind and so he set his sights on Loy. However, once he announced his engagement, Harding suddenly has a change of heart and wants to legitimize her sordid relationship with Howard--but unfortunately, her change of heart comes too late. Howard, quite the idiot, thinks he can maintain a strong friendship with Harding WHILE STILL MARRIED TO LOY! Everyone but Howard realizes this can't happen and so naturally over time they drift apart.A bit of time passes, and slowly but surely you come to see Loy as an incredibly manipulative and controlling woman. but Howard is slow to accept this. And, at the same time, Howard becomes more and more the "whipped dog". This presents an interesting moral dilemma, as although he and Harding had obviously been a lot more than just friends in the past, at least they loved each other. With Loy, there is absolutely no love--just manipulation. Heck, she even uses sex to get her way! She truly played a person you loved to hate! Eventually the slow-witted Howard realizes just how awful and cold his wife is and FINALLY he gets to the point where he realizes he must choose. I actually really liked this aspect of the film--as I found myself yelling at the TV for him to leave Loy--which is saying a lot, because I am a very traditional person and hate the idea of divorce. Well, it turns out that Howard, too, is against divorce and ultimately just runs to Harding to shack up--marriage or not! Considering the movie deals with premarital sex, living together, the Bohemian attitudes of Harding and Howard, adultery, using sex to manipulate your man and the whole "other woman" angle, it's an amazingly sordid and adult movie--even by 21st century standards. In this light, the film is a wonderful example of an "early Code" drama and of great interest to film buffs. In other words, in the early days of the Hays Production Code of ethics and morals, the code was mostly ignored by the studios and Hays' job was mostly symbolic. The office was started in the 1920s as a result of nudity and very adult themes in films--something that might surprise many people today. It wasn't until the mid to late 1930s that the code began to be strongly enforced--well after this movie appeared.