Claudette Colbert day on TCM---

---I watched these films on her day:

Claudette Colbert Day on TCM

It's A Wonderful World (1939) Colbert, Jimmy Stewart. A great year for movies - but this isn't one of them. Part road film, part screwball, and all falls flat, IMHO. Too bad. MGM featured many of it's best character actors in the supporting roles. But it just didn't gel. A detective is hired to find out who is framing his client for murder. He ends up in prison and the client on the way to the death house. He escapes. While investigating, he happens on loopy poetess, Edwina, and it gets more complicated and is still not funny and barely interesting. At least to me. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031500/combined

Midnight (1939) Claudette, Don Ameche, Mary Astor, John Barrymore. Here is a screwball comedy that is just 'wonderful.' Broke Showgirl Eve meets Parisian cab driver Tibor Tzerny, and he is immediately smitten and she is too. But she wants more and says they are not right for each other so she runs away. She has to hide among the guests going into a wealthy woman's musical party. There she is noticed by Georges Flammarion who is trying to get gigolo Pico away from his wife, Helene. Introducing herself as Baroness Czerny, Georges realizes she is an impostor but enlists her to get Pico away from his wife. The weekend at the country house is where she is to work on him. Of course, Tibor shows up also and there are many funny scenes as the two 'Czerny's' one-up one another with lies and crazy antics. This is my favorites Barrymore performance, and the rest of the cast is terrific. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031647/combined

Boom Town (1940) Claudette, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr. Great MGM film about the early oil boom in this country with Gable and Tracy wildcatters who sometimes are partners and sometimes are rivals. Claudette is the girl Tracy loves from back home, and Gable wins the first night she sets foot off the train in the boom town. The boys had just had their first well come in and he was to file the papers for their company. Bitter Tracy heads to South America to the new oil country and soon enough, our couple lands at his company. They have lost their money and are living hand to mouth. Back and forth go the fortunes of the 3 until they all end up in New York and Tracy has to get the big guy out of the clutches of femme fatale' Hedy Lamarr. Which he does and they all go back to where it all began and start over. Frank Morgan as the guy who has the drilling equipment the guys are always swindling him out of, is fun. All in all, a rousing good time at the movies. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032273/combined

The Palm Beach Story (1942) Claudette, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee. One of Preston Sturges best comedies. Broke couple (Gerry & Tom) split because wife wants more. 'Wienie' King looking at the apartment they are behind in the rent on, gives her money to pay off all their debts and when hubby objects, she runs away on a train to Palm Beach, FL. She has no money left, so hooks up with the Quail & Ale hunting club on the train, who have their own car. They all get drunk and start shooting off their guns, so she runs through the sleeper car and tries to jump up in an empty upper birth to hide. She steps on the face of rich John D. Hackensacker III (Vallee) and breaks his glasses. That's the beginning and funniest half hour to ever start a film. IMO. Astor as Princess Centimillia, Johns sister, is rollicking good fun as a man hunting gal who thinks she has found her next husband in Tom, who has been introduced as Gerry's brother. Don't add or subtract - or try to make sense - just enjoy! 10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035169/combined

Secret Heart (1946) Colbert, June Allyson, Walter Pigeon. Pure soap, but very well done. Colbert is brave, Allyson nuts and bratty, Pigeon stalwart and steady. Usual story of first husband commits suicide and causes extreme problems, but in a nice rich family so no one suffers too much. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038916/combined

Secret Fury (1950) Colbert, Robert Ryan. At Ellen's wedding to David a man appears and claims she is already married. As they investigate, everyone says she was married to another man who she claims she has never heard of or ever seen. Neat little tale of a woman being driven mad for unknown reasons. Her fiance David is true and keeps digging, trying to find out what is going on. Ryan has the best scenes - or perhaps just makes them better by doing them well. Vivian Vance of Lucy fame, has a few choice scenes, one with Ryan and they are both fine. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042935/combined

Have newer films I have watched to do next. Hope to catch up this weekend.