Sturges, Preminger directors---

These are the films I watched recently:

Unfaithfully Yours (1948) Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence. One of Preston Sturges' funniest comedies involves a conductor of a symphony orchestra, who imagines his beautiful young wife of being unfaithful to him, which she is not. Harrison imagines how he will trap his wife and her lover and do away with them both. He then tries to carry out his wild thoughts and in a riotous scene tries to get everything prepared and it all goes horribly wrong. Harrison was the great screen lover at this time, and is so funny doing the physical comedy; and lovely Darnell is just breathtaking. The rest of the cast are very good and Sturges the writer and Sturges the director are in top form. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040919/

Saturdays Hero (1951) John Derek, Donna Reed. A look at the recruiting and exploitation of high school football stars into the college game. The mentor of Derek treats him like a paid servant. He has him up to his big house, but doesn't ask him to sit, have a drink as he has one himself, nor have dinner after introducing his daughter. He is just dismissed. The climax is grim. Derek is hurt, but is taped up and sent into play the big game and re injures himself and finally has had enough. All these years later, nothing much has changed in big time college sports. It is just more so. A bit of a downer. Cast is very good, but Reed does have a very stilted delivery of her lines. Presume that is what director Otto Preminger wanted - to show her as a deb and rich girl who is too refined for the Polish lad from the factory town. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043994/

Angel Face (1952) Jean Simmons, Robert Mitchum. Simmons' Diane is her most diabolical role. She is a complete manipulator, obsessed with getting her own way, and possibly crazy and deadly. Mitchums' Frank is a nice guy who can't seem to get out of the web. As an ambulance driver who comes to the home for an emergency - the 'accidental' gassing - of the step-mother, Frank is soon entangled with Diane and is asked to remain as a driver. It doesn't take him long to realize things are getting too involved but Diane keeps causing him to have to continue to help her. The first time I saw this back in 1952, the ending was a real shocker. Didn't expect it at all. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044357/

These Wilder Years (1955) Barbara Stanwyke, James Cagney. Title is strange - the only 'wild' thing in it is a pregnant teenager. But it is one of the first films to take up the issue of adoption agency secrecy and the heart wrenching decisions of unwanted pregnancy. Cagney is a father looking for the son he sired 20 years before and Babs is the agency head who will stand in his way. They are great together. Two tigers of the screen. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049844/

Back with more of my final May films soon.