“That’s the kind of man I like — the man with no place.” Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) has traveled to New Mexico in search of Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) — and revenge. Hugo was responsible for the death of Gagin’s friend, Shorty Thompson. Gagin plans to blackmail Hugo to avenge Shorty’s death and line his own pockets. Soon after arriving in town, Lucky meets Pila … Continue reading Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
When a gang of street kids appears in his court, unwilling to tell on one another after injuring a man, Judge Clinton (Charles Trowbridge) decides to send the whole bunch to reform school. The school’s warden (Cy Kendall) rules through violence and fear — and it doesn’t take long for new resident Frankie (Billy Halop) to find himself on the warden’s bad side. When the … Continue reading Crime School (1938)
“Pain and the knife are inseperable.” You would be forgiven for assuming that a film titled Corridors of Blood and starring none other than Boris Karloff would be a classic horror flick about a murderous count and his castle or a tunnel-dwelling vampire. But, brushing off all expectations, Corridors of Blood takes us back to London in the mid-19th century, where Karloff is a well-intentioned … Continue reading Corridors of Blood (1958)
For many classic movie buffs, April is the most wonderful time of the year thanks to the TCM Film Festival. This year, TCMFF is celebrating its tenth anniversary! I’m envious of but very happy for everyone who can attend. Since I’m once again forced to sit out the festival this year, I’ll be continuing the TMP tradition of sharing what I would be watching, if … Continue reading What I’d Be Watching: #TCMFF 2019
Peter Carter (David Niven) is an RAF pilot attempting to fly back to his base in England, but his plane is in awful shape. He has little chance of surviving the flight, but he has no other options; while his crew can bail out of the plane by parachute, his own parachute was destroyed during the mission. As he spends what he thinks are his … Continue reading A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
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)
The favorite film: Foreign Correspondent, a 1940 thriller directed by none other than the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock The synopsis: When John Jones is chosen by his editor Mr. Powers to become a foreign correspondent, his first assignment is to cover an event held by Stephen Fisher to honor a Dutch diplomat, Van Meer. When Van Meer evades the event and is soon shot … Continue reading Favorite things about… Foreign Correspondent (1940)
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)
