[7] Richard Beymer (West Side Story) stars as Ernest Hemingway’s alter-ego, a young man who comes of age by traveling the country and serving in the military during the early 1900s. With beautiful scenery of rural Michigan and Franz Waxman’s wistful score, the film is unabashedly romantic and nostalgic — it transports you to a time and place you’re reluctant to leave. But as Beymer …
[8] Steve McQueen plays a millionaire who robs a bank just for shits and giggles, and Faye Dunaway plays the insurance investigator who will either turn him in… or fall in love with him. Director Norman Jewison embraces the French New Wave to give the film a unique tone that favors style slightly higher than substance, and I’m okay with that. The result is a …
[6] A composer suffers from frequent black-outs and begins to wonder if he’s not responsible for a series of murdered women in the area. Hangover Square is a very good dark drama featuring a great performance by Laird Cregar. Some say this movie is a remake of 1944’s The Lodger (also starring Cregar), which is in turn a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film The …
[5] A London couple begin to suspect their new lodger might be a serial killer who preys on blonde women. And it just so happens their daughter is blonde. And dating one of the detectives on the case. Even though it’s a short film, I had trouble keeping alert throughout The Lodger — maybe I’m just not accustomed to watching many silent films. Still, I …
[7] Two Boston detectives try to solve the mystery of a missing girl in this tight dramatic thriller from director Ben Affleck. Yeah, Ben Affleck. Who knew? Strong performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan. I like how matter-of-fact Affleck’s approach is, and it definitely hooked me for a long while. But I liked it a bit less after the mid-point. The long …
[4] Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara star in this seafaring tale of a plundering buccaneer who considers changing his ways once he becomes smitten with an aristocratic lady. At times a very beautiful film, The Black Swan fails on the most critical aspect of the ‘love relationship’. Tyrone Powers may look dashing, but I didn’t find him very charismatic. And Maureen O’Hara is pretty awful. …
[3] Clark Gable escapes the Devil’s Island penal colony and takes floozie Joan Crawford along for the ride. Along with a handful of other fleeing criminals, they rough it through the jungle and long days at sea to reach the mainland and freedom. Sounds like a great matinee movie, but then enters Ian Hunter, who plays a moralizing goodie-two-shoes escapee named Cambreau. At the height …
[4] This second retelling of The Maltese Falcon (before John Huston proved the the third time was the charm) is a bizarre pseudo-comedy with an ingratiating performance by Warren William in the role Humphrey Bogart would later immortalize. Warren got under my skin — I hated him. Bette Davis was all right, but the real standout performance was Arthur Treacher as the tall Englishman, Travers. …
[5] A mysterious woman enters detective Sam Spade’s office with information about a valuable statue called the Maltese Falcon. Spade is soon swept up into a mystery involving multiple pursuers of the statue in this famous story from Dashielle Hammett. This film directed by Roy Del Ruth is the first of three film iterations of the story. The third version — directed by John Huston …
[7] A claustrophobic mystery featuring a career-launching performance from Humphrey Bogart. Characters like Sam Spade can often be played over the top, but Bogart keeps it grounded and accessible for me. I also like the ensemble of supporting players, including Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor — all greedy characters who can’t be trusted. The final act puts them all in a room together, …
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