Reviews of films I’ve watched for the first time
On New York’s East River sits the convergence of the “haves” and “have nots.” Luxury apartments with picturesque river views stretch several stories high, while just outside of that view sit the tenements. Drina (Sylvia Sidney) is a tenement-dwelling woman, raising her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) and hoping she’ll someday get them out of the tenement. She works hard to provide for Tommy and … Continue reading Dead End (1937)
Susanne (Eva Dahlbeck) owns a modeling agency in Stockholm, and Doris (Harriet Andersson) is one of her most successful models. They’re headed off to Gothenburg for a shoot when Doris gets in a terrible argument with her fiance. Romantic drama and internal strife follow the women to Gothenburg, as Doris is wooed by an older man and Susanne reunited with an ex-lover. Ingmar Bergman writes … Continue reading Dreams (1955)
“This is the story of a confidence-man — that often unsung but seldom unhung aristocrat of the old west.” Conman Candy Johnson (Clark Gable) is getting tired of running from town to town to escape trouble. He hopes the next city he lands in will be his permanent home. Hope grows when he meets Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner) on a train. She’s headed from Boston … Continue reading Honky Tonk (1941)
“Nobody can tell you where your place is.” When Hilary Ames (Reginald Gardiner) has a problem with his sink just as he’s preparing to host a cocktail party, the last person he expects to fix the problem is a young woman. He mistakes visitor Adam Belinski (Charles Boyer) for the plumber before Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) arrives, wrench in hand and ready to get to … Continue reading Cluny Brown (1946)
In the Japanese countryside, three thieves wait outside of a house, plotting to break in. Unfortunately for them, the house is busier than expected. Along with the extended family, there are lodgers, and friends stopping by every other minute. There seems to be no perfect time to carry out their crime! As the criminals watch the house, the family’s own dramas carry on inside, oblivious … Continue reading Danger Stalks Near (1957)
Michael Cassidy (Melvyn Douglas) is celebrating the 75th anniversary of his newspaper when he gets horrifying news from the paper’s owner, Matt Cooper: the paper is to stop publication immediately. When anger brews over the suddenness of the announcement and combines with Michael’s pride for the paper, he hatches a plan to solve a kidnapping case, get the scoop, and prove that the paper’s good … Continue reading Tell No Tales (1939)
“A journey into the absurd, with a delightful companion, and no consequences and no regrets!” Jean (Ginger Rogers) and David (Ronald Coleman) are passing each other on the street one day when he wishes her good luck. Soon after, Jean is given an expensive dress for free and becomes convinced the stranger genuinely brought her good luck. Sure that he’s a lucky man, Jean asks … Continue reading Lucky Partners (1940)
Barbara Worth (Margaret Lockwood) is a beautiful noblewoman, but she doesn’t exactly act the part. Mean-spirited and continuously sharpening her tongue, Barbara escalates to true crime when she decides to masquerade as a highwayman to scare a society rival. On the road, she meets the intimidating Jackson (James Mason), a criminal both feared and admired by the local community. They soon begin to fall in … Continue reading The Wicked Lady (1945)
Gilda (Dorothy Mackaill) is a New Orleans prostitute who has just arrived at a hotel to meet with a client. The client turns out to be none other than Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde), her former boss and the man responsible for ruining her career. The encounter ends in conflict, with Gilda hitting Piet with a bottle and accidentally starting a fire. Sure that she … Continue reading Safe in Hell (1931)
Corky Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Gil Borden (Don DeFore) are looking for jobs in Burbank, California when they’re plucked from obscurity to champion the war effort at the very respectable Lockheed aircraft factory. Though the U.S. is technically still neutral when they’re hired on, it’s preparing for war, producing large numbers of fighter jets and bombers. While awaiting his first paycheck, Corky stays with his … Continue reading Wings for the Eagle (1942)
