One film for each letter of the alphabet, from my local library’s extensive DVD collection
Now that the final review of TMP’s Through the Library, Alphabetically series has been published, here’s a master list of all of the reviews in the series as well as a wrap-up of my favorite discoveries and the like: Anna Christie (1930) Blues in the Night (1941) Caged! (1950) Daisy Kenyon (1947) Executive Suite (1954) Flying Down to Rio (1933) Glass Bottom Boat, The (1966) … Continue reading Through the Library – Wrapping up the alphabet!
Dana Andrews is Ted Stryker, a World War II pilot who is scarred by guilt and grief after the death of six of his men. Though the war has been over for more than ten years, Ted still struggles and hasn’t been able to step on a plane since. Ted’s wife Ellen (Linda Darnell) decides to leave for Vancouver and take their son with her. … Continue reading Zero Hour! (1957)
Joan Graham (Sylvia Sidney) works as a secretary to a big city public defender, Stephen Whitney (Barton MacLane). Joan is in love with a criminal named Eddie (Henry Fonda) who, luckily, is allowed to leave prison on probation with Stephen’s help. Fresh out of the slammer, Eddie is ready for a new life. He wants to give up crime, get a respectable job and marry … Continue reading You Only Live Once (1937)
American Sara Muller (Bette Davis), her European husband Kurt (Paul Lukas) and their three children have decided to return to America, where they plan to say with Sara’s mother (Fanny, portrayed by Lucile Watson) in Washington DC. Sara has been away from home for nearly twenty years and is excited to return. The film begins with the Muller family crossing the border from Mexico into … Continue reading Watch on the Rhine (1943)
Colonel Joseph Ryan (Frank Sinatra) is a US Army Air Force pilot. When his plane gets shot down in Italy in 1943, he’s taken to a prison camp that is populated by mostly British soldiers and run by a harsh man known as Battaglia (Adolfo Celi). Ryan is made senior officer of the prisoners, leading to many face-offs with Royal Army Major Eric Fincham (Trevor … Continue reading Von Ryan’s Express (1965)
Famed Englishman Sir Alfred De Carter (Rex Harrison) is an orchestra conductor in peril. His trouble is that he suspects his American wife Daphne (Linda Darnell) of being unfaithful to him while he is out of the country, on tour. Even worse, he suspects that her lover is his own secretary, Tony. These suspicions are furthered when his brother-in-law August (Rudy Vallee) admits that, while … Continue reading Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Today is a bittersweet day. I took a little trip to the library and picked up five films I’m very excited to watch, but I’m also a bit sad, because TMP’s Through the Library series will be finished once these are watched! You may have noticed that in order to complete the alphabet, there should be six films in this stack. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able … Continue reading Through the Library: The Final Five!
Jane (Lizabeth Scott) and Alan Palmer (Arthur Kennedy) are traveling on a dark and nearly deserted highway when a stranger in a speeding car suddenly throws a bag containing $60,000 cash, obviously meant for someone else, into the back seat of their car. Alan wants to turn the bag in to the police, but Jane isn’t quite on board with that plan. A man named … Continue reading Too Late for Tears (1949)
Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan) is a veteran of the boxing world, with twenty years of experience under his belt. His wife Julie (Audrey Totter) has begged him to give up boxing for good, fearing that he’ll end up taking one punch too many and either become seriously injured or die from it. But he’s a very stubborn man, insisting that he can still win matches … Continue reading The Set-Up (1949)
Karen Stone (Vivien Leigh) is a star of the stage. She’s taken a new role on Broadway but is receiving criticism from the papers and the public, who think that she’s much too old for the role. Her husband, a man 20 years her senior, somehow finds a way to get her out of the play. The two head off to Rome together, using his … Continue reading The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)
