The good, bad, etc---
FIRST WATCHES:
Boy On A Dolphin (1957) Alan Ladd, Sophia Loren. Nice scenery but awful acting and the story is a bore. Ladd seems to be sleep walkng through the film. 4/10
http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0050208/combined
Anna Karenina (2012) Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Gorgeous cinamatography and costumes. Disjointed way to tell the story. A stage play is the set up for the scenes. Taylor-Johnson is a toad. Knightly and Law are fine. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781769/combined
ENCORES:
Satan Met A Lady (1936) Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth, Marie Wilson. Second version of Hammett's story. Fun but not memorable.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028219/combined
The King & The Chorus Girl (1938) Joan Blondell, Fernand Gravet, Edward Everett Horton, Mary Nash. Favorite Blondell film. A major theme of 1930's film - deposed royalty living in Paris and their foibles. He's a drunk that the duchess and count take care of and hire a chorus girl to pretend to be uninterested in their charge. The doctor has said he is suffering from "melancholia" and needs a challenge. Joan is the American girl who teaches the ex-King a lesson. Better than most of its' type. 9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029082/combined
The Mad Miss Manton (1938) Barbara Stanwyke, Henry Fonda. Miss Manton and her crew of ditsy friends solve a murder. I forget what Fonda does. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030396/combined
The Lady Is Willing (1942) Marlene Dietrich Fred MacMurray, Aline McMahone. She is a star on Broadway. He is a doctor. She finds a baby and brings it home and gets the nearby doctor to come see if it is alright. Cute comedy that shows a different side of Marlene. But not a funny as it should be. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034961/combined
August 26, 2013
August 19, 2013
Old & New---
I watched these films this week:
FIRST WATCHES
Firecreek (1968) James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, Dean Jagger. Part time sheriff takes on a gang of vicious outlaws who blow into town. Only for fans of the main stars or die hard western fans. I found it forgettable. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062975/combined
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (2009) Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas. Remake of a 1956 film noir with Dana Andrews. About a writer who is trying to expose corruption and the district attorney. It goes terribly wrong when he is charged and convicted of a murder and is on death row. Not as tension filled as the original. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183251/combined
Edge Of Darkness (2010) Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone. A homicide detectives daughter is killed and he wants to find out why. Was the bullet meant for him? Gibson is looking his age and is very stocky and short. Story moves along at a fairly good pace. Violent and there isn't much mystery or suspense. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226273/combined
ENCORES:
I Met My Love Again (1938) Joan Bennett, Henry Fonda, Dame May Whitty, Dorothy Stickney, Tim Holt. Teen sweethearts plan to marry as soon as he gets out of college, but she gets tired of waiting and marries a dashing author she meets one night. Years later after she has had a child and is living in Paris with her ne'er do well husband, who only wants to party and hasn't written a thing in years, he is killed and she comes back to her home town. Will they meet again? Fair little romance for the shop girls and house wives of 1938. Bennett is luminous. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030256/combined
Spellbound (1945) Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll. Hitchcock directed, and it has the famous scene of the gun turning and shooting directly into the camera. Story of mental institution and the doctors that care for the patients. But the new head of the institution arrives and things go wrong. The instant rapport of the young female doctor and this new guy and what they do when she discovers he is an amnesiac, is the story. The Dali inspired cinematography is interesting but not necessary. Performances are all fine and the score is haunting. 9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038109/combined
Lili (1953) Leslie Caron, Mel Farrar, Jean Pierre Aumont. As a young woman, I was enchanted with this film and the sweet story. A young girl from the country arrives at a town thinking she will be able to work at a family friends store, but finds it shut down and she is stranded with no one to help her. As she starts climbing a ladder at the fair to jump, a puppet starts talking to her and she is so enchanted she talks to him and his other puppet friends. The other fair employees gather and watch and they end up giving her a place to stay and a job doing the same every performance. Caron is perfect and Farrar has never been so romantic in another film. Aumont is a charming rogue. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046000/combined
WALL-E (2008) Pixar animation. The only animation film I have ever watched all the way through and loved. It is charming and the little robot in the future America of waste, who is cleaning things up but gets taken to outer space and the ship where the remaining earthlings live, is just wonderful. His adventures are magical and how he gets back to the one roach that is left of earth - and home - is a sweet story. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/combined
North Country (2005) Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner, Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean. Story of the first successful case won against sexual harassment in 1984. The film shows the way an abused woman, who needs a good job so she can provide for her children, and goes to work in a mine. They have to hire women but the men think it is their right to have those jobs so they mistreat and harass all the women workers. One finally is fed up and hires a lawyer who takes the case to court and asks the judge to declare it a class action suit. Judge says if lawyer can get a total of 3 in the case he will declare a class. It is shown in the courtroom that others do stand up and they do win their case and the company does have to have rules against harassment posted at the mine. Because of this case, around the world the same thing happened at other companies. Theron and all the actors are spot on. Not a fun subject, or film, to watch but an important milestone in human rights. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395972/combined
The Big Year (2011), The Bourne Legacy (2012) and The Bodyguard (1992) - all films I watch over and over and watched this week. Legacy a new favorite and I watch parts of it whenever I get bored. Renner a new favorite actor.
FIRST WATCHES
Firecreek (1968) James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, Dean Jagger. Part time sheriff takes on a gang of vicious outlaws who blow into town. Only for fans of the main stars or die hard western fans. I found it forgettable. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062975/combined
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (2009) Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas. Remake of a 1956 film noir with Dana Andrews. About a writer who is trying to expose corruption and the district attorney. It goes terribly wrong when he is charged and convicted of a murder and is on death row. Not as tension filled as the original. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183251/combined
Edge Of Darkness (2010) Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone. A homicide detectives daughter is killed and he wants to find out why. Was the bullet meant for him? Gibson is looking his age and is very stocky and short. Story moves along at a fairly good pace. Violent and there isn't much mystery or suspense. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226273/combined
ENCORES:
I Met My Love Again (1938) Joan Bennett, Henry Fonda, Dame May Whitty, Dorothy Stickney, Tim Holt. Teen sweethearts plan to marry as soon as he gets out of college, but she gets tired of waiting and marries a dashing author she meets one night. Years later after she has had a child and is living in Paris with her ne'er do well husband, who only wants to party and hasn't written a thing in years, he is killed and she comes back to her home town. Will they meet again? Fair little romance for the shop girls and house wives of 1938. Bennett is luminous. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030256/combined
Spellbound (1945) Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll. Hitchcock directed, and it has the famous scene of the gun turning and shooting directly into the camera. Story of mental institution and the doctors that care for the patients. But the new head of the institution arrives and things go wrong. The instant rapport of the young female doctor and this new guy and what they do when she discovers he is an amnesiac, is the story. The Dali inspired cinematography is interesting but not necessary. Performances are all fine and the score is haunting. 9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038109/combined
Lili (1953) Leslie Caron, Mel Farrar, Jean Pierre Aumont. As a young woman, I was enchanted with this film and the sweet story. A young girl from the country arrives at a town thinking she will be able to work at a family friends store, but finds it shut down and she is stranded with no one to help her. As she starts climbing a ladder at the fair to jump, a puppet starts talking to her and she is so enchanted she talks to him and his other puppet friends. The other fair employees gather and watch and they end up giving her a place to stay and a job doing the same every performance. Caron is perfect and Farrar has never been so romantic in another film. Aumont is a charming rogue. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046000/combined
WALL-E (2008) Pixar animation. The only animation film I have ever watched all the way through and loved. It is charming and the little robot in the future America of waste, who is cleaning things up but gets taken to outer space and the ship where the remaining earthlings live, is just wonderful. His adventures are magical and how he gets back to the one roach that is left of earth - and home - is a sweet story. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/combined
North Country (2005) Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner, Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean. Story of the first successful case won against sexual harassment in 1984. The film shows the way an abused woman, who needs a good job so she can provide for her children, and goes to work in a mine. They have to hire women but the men think it is their right to have those jobs so they mistreat and harass all the women workers. One finally is fed up and hires a lawyer who takes the case to court and asks the judge to declare it a class action suit. Judge says if lawyer can get a total of 3 in the case he will declare a class. It is shown in the courtroom that others do stand up and they do win their case and the company does have to have rules against harassment posted at the mine. Because of this case, around the world the same thing happened at other companies. Theron and all the actors are spot on. Not a fun subject, or film, to watch but an important milestone in human rights. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395972/combined
The Big Year (2011), The Bourne Legacy (2012) and The Bodyguard (1992) - all films I watch over and over and watched this week. Legacy a new favorite and I watch parts of it whenever I get bored. Renner a new favorite actor.
August 11, 2013
Disappointing new films; the classics rule!---
FIRST WATCHES
Persuasion (2007) Sally Hawkins, Rupert Perry-Jones. Jane Austin's novel done by excellent actors. The story is not as engaging as other films of Austin stories. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025164/combined
Chasing Mavericks (2012) Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Elizabeth Shue. Story of surfing legend Jay Moriarity who conquered Mavericks off the California coast near his home in Santa Cruz. He is 15 when he discovers the awesome surf breaks at Mavericks and enlists the local great Frosty Hesson to teach him how to survive the huge waves. Gorgeous cinematography but the story is sort of all over the place without cohesion. But the surf and waves are awesome. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629757/combined
Taken 2 (2012) Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Framke Janssen. Not up to the first film at all. The family is in Istanbul where Brian is working, and the father of the guy who kidnapped daughter Kim, is out to get him and the women he loves, for revenge. Lots of action but not as much story this time out. Disappointing. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397280/combined
ENCORES:
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Rogers & Astaire, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore. First film starring the dancers and with a great cast of supporting players, it is a gem. 9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025164/combined
June Bride (1948) Bette Davis, Robert Montgomery, Faye Bainter, Mary Wickes, Tom Tully. A woman's magazine editor and her staff head to a small town to do a feature on a wedding. Along for the ride is her former lover, a war correspondent being punished by the publisher for misdeeds. A look at mid-century America which I usually watch every summer. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040499/combined
The Woman In White (1948) Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Gig Young, Sydney Greenstreet, Agnes Moorhead, John Emery, John Abbott. Based on Wilkey Collins mystery of 1859 and widely considered to be the first true mystery novel. Leisurely paced, great cinematography, and a marvelous cast, make it a must see for classic movie fans. Abbott as the extremely nervous Frederick Fairlie, master of the house, almost steals the film. The tutor arrives at the old dark mansion after a walk through the foggy woods at night and an encounter with a woman in a white cape. There he meets the mysterious Count Fosco, guest of the master of the house, and the lovely niece of Mr. Fairlie, and her cousin who is to be his student. He is startled by her resemblance to the "woman in white" he has just encountered. One of my favorite films and the novel on which it is based. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040974/combined
Borderline (1950) Claire Trevor, Fred MacMurray, Raymond Burr. Two undercover agents (she with the LAPD and he with the Feds) are after the same drug smuggling gangster in Mexico and don't realize they are both in disguise. Nice taut little film with the leads as good as ever. Burr in a white suit is even larger than usual. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042274/combined
The Bad & The Beautiful (1952) Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Barry Sullivan, Dick Powell, Walter Pigeon, Gloria Graham. Marvelous cast and great story of the rise of a Hollywood producer. He is a cad and treats everyone badly on his way to the top of the heap. One of the best films about the studio system and the people who work in films. Lana as beautiful as she ever was filmed; and Douglas as nasty/charming as he ever was in a film. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044391/combined
The Ugly Truth (2009) Gerard Butler, Kathryn Heigl. She's the producer; he's the new star of the news show; they battle, then he decides to help her get the guy she wants who lives next door. How does that work out? 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/combined
Persuasion (2007) Sally Hawkins, Rupert Perry-Jones. Jane Austin's novel done by excellent actors. The story is not as engaging as other films of Austin stories. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025164/combined
Chasing Mavericks (2012) Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Elizabeth Shue. Story of surfing legend Jay Moriarity who conquered Mavericks off the California coast near his home in Santa Cruz. He is 15 when he discovers the awesome surf breaks at Mavericks and enlists the local great Frosty Hesson to teach him how to survive the huge waves. Gorgeous cinematography but the story is sort of all over the place without cohesion. But the surf and waves are awesome. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629757/combined
Taken 2 (2012) Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Framke Janssen. Not up to the first film at all. The family is in Istanbul where Brian is working, and the father of the guy who kidnapped daughter Kim, is out to get him and the women he loves, for revenge. Lots of action but not as much story this time out. Disappointing. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397280/combined
ENCORES:
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Rogers & Astaire, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore. First film starring the dancers and with a great cast of supporting players, it is a gem. 9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025164/combined
June Bride (1948) Bette Davis, Robert Montgomery, Faye Bainter, Mary Wickes, Tom Tully. A woman's magazine editor and her staff head to a small town to do a feature on a wedding. Along for the ride is her former lover, a war correspondent being punished by the publisher for misdeeds. A look at mid-century America which I usually watch every summer. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040499/combined
The Woman In White (1948) Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Gig Young, Sydney Greenstreet, Agnes Moorhead, John Emery, John Abbott. Based on Wilkey Collins mystery of 1859 and widely considered to be the first true mystery novel. Leisurely paced, great cinematography, and a marvelous cast, make it a must see for classic movie fans. Abbott as the extremely nervous Frederick Fairlie, master of the house, almost steals the film. The tutor arrives at the old dark mansion after a walk through the foggy woods at night and an encounter with a woman in a white cape. There he meets the mysterious Count Fosco, guest of the master of the house, and the lovely niece of Mr. Fairlie, and her cousin who is to be his student. He is startled by her resemblance to the "woman in white" he has just encountered. One of my favorite films and the novel on which it is based. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040974/combined
Borderline (1950) Claire Trevor, Fred MacMurray, Raymond Burr. Two undercover agents (she with the LAPD and he with the Feds) are after the same drug smuggling gangster in Mexico and don't realize they are both in disguise. Nice taut little film with the leads as good as ever. Burr in a white suit is even larger than usual. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042274/combined
The Bad & The Beautiful (1952) Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Barry Sullivan, Dick Powell, Walter Pigeon, Gloria Graham. Marvelous cast and great story of the rise of a Hollywood producer. He is a cad and treats everyone badly on his way to the top of the heap. One of the best films about the studio system and the people who work in films. Lana as beautiful as she ever was filmed; and Douglas as nasty/charming as he ever was in a film. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044391/combined
The Ugly Truth (2009) Gerard Butler, Kathryn Heigl. She's the producer; he's the new star of the news show; they battle, then he decides to help her get the guy she wants who lives next door. How does that work out? 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/combined
August 05, 2013
Annette Benning & Tommie Lee Jones in 2 each;
The rewatches we the best this week.
FIRST WATCHES:
The Young Doctors (1961) Ben Gazzara, Fredrick March, Eddie Albert, Ina Balin. Usual hospital melodrama, with conflict between staid older doctor and the modern new guy on staff. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055632/combined
Volcano (1997) Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Gaby Hoffman, Don Cheadle. Los Angeles is in peril as a volcano erupts and all hell breaks loose. The volcano wins! 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120461/combined
Being Julia (2004) Annette Benning, Shaun Evans, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gabon. About stage people with Benning overacting and being a bitch. And an annoying young guy who becomes her lover. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340012/combined
A Mighty Heart (2007) Angelina Jolie. Based on fact story of a reporter who goes missing and the wife who frantically tries to find out if he is still alive. Mariane Pearl embarks on a search to locate her journalist husband, Daniel, in Pakistan. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829459/combined
Dream House (2011) Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts. A few days after seeing this on HBO, I have already forgotten most of what it is about. An old dark house and murder, I think. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462041/combined
Ruby Sparks (2012) Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Benning, Anthony Bandaras. Oh! dear. He's a novelist with writers block who creates a character that then appears and becomes his annoying girlfriend. Quirky. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839492/combined
Contraband (2012) Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi. Low life and scum drug smugglers and a guy who was trying to have the good life after leaving the life of crime. Plugs along but in the end is just kinda boring. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524137/combined
ENCORES:
Kings Row (1942) Robert Cummings, Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Charles Coburn. Watched many times. Still find it very good. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524137/combined
Kismet (1944) Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Joy Page, James Craig, Edward Arnold. Surprised by how much I enjoyed this Arabian Knights film again after so many years. Dietrich painted all in gold is a sight to behold! 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036984/combined
Great Expectations (1946) John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Martita Hunt, Jean Simmons, Finnley Curie, Alec Guinness. I didn't enjoy it as much this time. But great cast does the story justice. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038574/combined
In The Valley Of Elah (2007) Tommie Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon. The consequesces of the Iraq war of choice on a family. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478134/combined
FIRST WATCHES:
The Young Doctors (1961) Ben Gazzara, Fredrick March, Eddie Albert, Ina Balin. Usual hospital melodrama, with conflict between staid older doctor and the modern new guy on staff. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055632/combined
Volcano (1997) Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Gaby Hoffman, Don Cheadle. Los Angeles is in peril as a volcano erupts and all hell breaks loose. The volcano wins! 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120461/combined
Being Julia (2004) Annette Benning, Shaun Evans, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gabon. About stage people with Benning overacting and being a bitch. And an annoying young guy who becomes her lover. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340012/combined
A Mighty Heart (2007) Angelina Jolie. Based on fact story of a reporter who goes missing and the wife who frantically tries to find out if he is still alive. Mariane Pearl embarks on a search to locate her journalist husband, Daniel, in Pakistan. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829459/combined
Dream House (2011) Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts. A few days after seeing this on HBO, I have already forgotten most of what it is about. An old dark house and murder, I think. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462041/combined
Ruby Sparks (2012) Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Benning, Anthony Bandaras. Oh! dear. He's a novelist with writers block who creates a character that then appears and becomes his annoying girlfriend. Quirky. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839492/combined
Contraband (2012) Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi. Low life and scum drug smugglers and a guy who was trying to have the good life after leaving the life of crime. Plugs along but in the end is just kinda boring. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524137/combined
ENCORES:
Kings Row (1942) Robert Cummings, Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Charles Coburn. Watched many times. Still find it very good. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524137/combined
Kismet (1944) Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Joy Page, James Craig, Edward Arnold. Surprised by how much I enjoyed this Arabian Knights film again after so many years. Dietrich painted all in gold is a sight to behold! 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036984/combined
Great Expectations (1946) John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Martita Hunt, Jean Simmons, Finnley Curie, Alec Guinness. I didn't enjoy it as much this time. But great cast does the story justice. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038574/combined
In The Valley Of Elah (2007) Tommie Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon. The consequesces of the Iraq war of choice on a family. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478134/combined
August 03, 2013
Beery, Blondell, Goddard, Turner, Baxter---
A guy and four dames! All seen the last week of July.
FIRST WATCHES:
The Big House (1930) Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone. Still marvelous film about prison life and the men who are there. Beery is the hardened criminal; Morris the humane and intellectual one; Montgomery the scared newby who by the end is the stoolie; Stone the warden. Plotting breakouts and those who just wait for parole, and the life behind the big wall, with double crosses and snitches. Still as timely as ever, only this is about an all white world, and as bad as it is, probably was worse for any minority. Cast is wonderful. Shown on TCM this week, it was a good print of the film, crisp and the sound was first rate. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020686/combined
Dames (1934) Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Zazu Pitts. Busby Berkeleystaged the musical numbers and the song "I Only Have Eyes For YOu, Dear" is high lighted a number of times. Powell is in great voice; Keeler is Keeler and cutere than usual. Story about show biz and the rich guy who wants to do away with shows altogether is as silly as usual, but there is the music and great cinematography to carry us through. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025028/combined
Pot o' Gold (1941) Paulette Goddard, James Stewart, Horace Heidt, Charles Winninger. Pitiful musical with cast that can't sing doing songs that are forgettable. Fake from beginning to end. Stewart is as bad as I have ever seen him and Paulette too. But at least she is pretty and cute. So bad I finally was fast forwarding through whole musical numbers. I'm generous giving this ---- 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034055/combined
Slightly Dangerous (1943) Lana Turner, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Dame May Whitty. Cute silliness about a small town girl working in a store who wins an award of a few dollars for being on time for 1000 days. She gets mad and decides to fake her death and run away to the big city. There she is conked on the head and fakes losing her memory. Her picture in the paper with clues make a rich man and the nanny for the guys long lost daughter believe she is the one. Meanwhile the guy who was fired from his management position because she was supposedly killed is searching for her and finds her. Lana is cute as can be and Brennan and Whitty are fine, but Young is as bad as I have ever seen him. Not charming or funny at all. Just annoying. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036365/combined
Chase A Crooked Shadow (1958) Anne Baxter, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox. A young woman whose brother has died in a car crash is suddenly confronted with a guy who looks like him who says he is her brother. A cat and mouse tale with the sister trying to convince various people that he is an imposter and the guy trying to prove she is losing her grip. Even the uncle she counts on to back her up, says it is her brother. Detective Lom is confused as a local policeman who doesn't know who to believe. What is going on? Holds the interest until near the end but sort of fizzles out. Cast is good at putting doubt in your mind. I watched this on TCM and they invluced the announcement by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. at the close about the audience keeping mum about the ending so others coud enjoy the suspence. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050246/combined
FIRST WATCHES:
The Big House (1930) Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone. Still marvelous film about prison life and the men who are there. Beery is the hardened criminal; Morris the humane and intellectual one; Montgomery the scared newby who by the end is the stoolie; Stone the warden. Plotting breakouts and those who just wait for parole, and the life behind the big wall, with double crosses and snitches. Still as timely as ever, only this is about an all white world, and as bad as it is, probably was worse for any minority. Cast is wonderful. Shown on TCM this week, it was a good print of the film, crisp and the sound was first rate. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020686/combined
Dames (1934) Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Zazu Pitts. Busby Berkeleystaged the musical numbers and the song "I Only Have Eyes For YOu, Dear" is high lighted a number of times. Powell is in great voice; Keeler is Keeler and cutere than usual. Story about show biz and the rich guy who wants to do away with shows altogether is as silly as usual, but there is the music and great cinematography to carry us through. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025028/combined
Pot o' Gold (1941) Paulette Goddard, James Stewart, Horace Heidt, Charles Winninger. Pitiful musical with cast that can't sing doing songs that are forgettable. Fake from beginning to end. Stewart is as bad as I have ever seen him and Paulette too. But at least she is pretty and cute. So bad I finally was fast forwarding through whole musical numbers. I'm generous giving this ---- 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034055/combined
Slightly Dangerous (1943) Lana Turner, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Dame May Whitty. Cute silliness about a small town girl working in a store who wins an award of a few dollars for being on time for 1000 days. She gets mad and decides to fake her death and run away to the big city. There she is conked on the head and fakes losing her memory. Her picture in the paper with clues make a rich man and the nanny for the guys long lost daughter believe she is the one. Meanwhile the guy who was fired from his management position because she was supposedly killed is searching for her and finds her. Lana is cute as can be and Brennan and Whitty are fine, but Young is as bad as I have ever seen him. Not charming or funny at all. Just annoying. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036365/combined
Chase A Crooked Shadow (1958) Anne Baxter, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox. A young woman whose brother has died in a car crash is suddenly confronted with a guy who looks like him who says he is her brother. A cat and mouse tale with the sister trying to convince various people that he is an imposter and the guy trying to prove she is losing her grip. Even the uncle she counts on to back her up, says it is her brother. Detective Lom is confused as a local policeman who doesn't know who to believe. What is going on? Holds the interest until near the end but sort of fizzles out. Cast is good at putting doubt in your mind. I watched this on TCM and they invluced the announcement by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. at the close about the audience keeping mum about the ending so others coud enjoy the suspence. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050246/combined
Summer doldrums have arrived.
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