This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Blistering performances.

Years ago, this movie played on American Movie Classics, where I was able to record a VHS copy and put it away for almost 25 years. While going through a box of VHS tapes in my garage recently, this movie surfaced and I watched it again to see what my reaction would be. This review is for the UCLA Restoration Print, which is what AMC played the day I recorded it. The first half-hour or so seems very fuzzy and occasionally out of focus, and the colors are so glaring that I often felt as though I was viewing a black and white movie that had been colorized(the yellows are especially off-putting). After this period of discomfort, the color seemed to stabilize and I was able to actually get into the plot of the film, which truth be told is pretty predictable once you realize that it basically involves a woman who uses whatever means necessary to advance her station in life. Miriam Hopkins is actually very good in a broad, humorous sort of way, and if you look at this as a star vehicle for her the movie succeeds. I also noticed that close-ups were consistently beautiful, so maybe the inconsistent color issues were related to the difficulty in shooting color scenes in long-shot.

The 1935 film "Becky Sharp" remains important chiefly for being the first major movie shot in Technicolor. The story is an abridged version of William Makepeace Thackeray's 19th Century novel "Vanity Fair." Becky Sharp is the main character of the book and is a social-climbing hussy with few redeeming qualities, except for her good-looks. Thackeray didn't judge her too harshly, however. He was more interested in satirizing British society, in general. "Vanity Fair" was indeed his greatest work although he's also known for writing "The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon" which Stanley Kubrick brought to the screen in the mid-1970's. Miriam Hopkins may have been a bit old to be playing the conniving Becky Sharp but she gives it her best shot. Unlike the novel, Hopkins' character is at least somewhat justified in her decision-making process even while retaining the frivolous part of her personality. The key scene in the film is near the end when director Rouben Mamoulian re-enacts the famous Duchess of Richmond's ball at her Brussels estate on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo. It's done with a definite flair for the dramatic along with some well-placed historical references. The ominous sounds of war are heard in the distance as the great ball comes to a premature end; its frightened participants running off into an uncertain future.The cast is filled with some familiar faces from the past. Beautiful Frances Dee livens up the screen as Becky's good pal Amelia. Nigel Bruce, best remembered for playing Doctor Watson alongside Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, does some adequate work as one of Becky's admirers. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is also around as a British aristocrat with a roving eye for the ladies. Recently, Reese Witherspoon tried her luck in the role of Becky Sharp in the 2004 film version of "Vanity Fair" with mixed results. At least she was young enough for the part.

Becky Sharp (Miriam Hopkins) is a lower class girl who, through her upper class friend Amelia Sedley (Francis Dee), does her best to become an upper class woman herself...and do anything to get there.Dull story with thudding dialogue (nobody ever talked like that) but I watched the whole thing. This movie has just two things going for it: Miriam Hopkins fantastic performance is one. She is playing a very unlikable character but she's so beautiful (in some shots she takes your breath away) and full of life that you can't help but root for her. The second thing is the groundbreaking use of color photography. I believe this is the first full-length feature to be filmed entirely in color. Director Rouben Mamoulian uses color creatively to express mood or show what a person is feeling or doing. I saw the restored print which has rich, beautiful colors. Even when the story was boring (which is often) with that lousy dialogue the colors and use of light and shadow kept me watching. With this film and the 1932 version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", Mamoulian created new rules in how to direct sequences and use settings, light and shadow. Sadly, he's forgotten today.So, this is worth seeing only for Hopkins and the color. Don't watch it for the story or you'll be sadly disappointed.

Good news for fans of this historically important film. Turner Classic Movies plans to air the fully restored version of Becky Sharp in December of this year! If you've never seen the film I urge you to give it a look. Director Mamoulian frames his shots like a great painter on a canvas.