Freaks (1932)

A dwarf (Harry Earles) in a traveling carnival sideshow falls under the spell of a glamorous trapeze artist (Olga Baclanova). When she discovers that the dwarf has inherited a huge fortune, she connives to marry him and then poison him to get his money. Loosely based on the short story SPURS by Tod Robbins and directed by Tod Browning (DRACULA). Critically dismissed and a box office flop when first released in 1932, the ensuing years have made FREAKS a much admired classic of horror cinema. The film's ending (an act of revenge) is certainly one of the most disturbing images in horror cinema as is the attack in the rain by the show's "freaks". Over 90 years since the movie's release, it's still an incredibly disturbing film. There's an uncomfortable feeling that its deformed sideshow performers are being exploited that doesn't sit right although many (now) consider it a sympathetic portrait of its "freaks". Some of the acting is terribly crude, notably Henry Victor as Hercules the strongman. Still, a must viewing at least once for anybody interested in horror cinema. The film was originally 90 minutes but MGM edited it down to 72 minutes and alas, the original 90 minute version no longer exists. With Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams and Roscoe Ates.

Saturday Night (2024)

A young TV producer by the name of Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is on pins and needles as his new comedy show SATURDAY NIGHT (the LIVE was added later) is set to debut live on air on October 11, 1975. The film is done in real time and set during the 90 minutes just before the show airs. Directed by Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR). First off, although based on real people and a real situation, I wouldn't take what we see as gospel. Clearly a lot of dramatic license has been taken. That being said, it's a wonderful movie. Reitman's frenetic pacing leaves you breathless (thank goodness for the handful of "quiet" scenes) and the ensemble of not very well known actors is top notch. The actors thankfully don't do imitations of the well known actors they play but give us the essence of them. I thought two of them in particular stood out: Matt Wood as John Belushi and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris. It helps if you were or are a fan of SNL but even if you're not, the movie captures the tension and intensity of doing a live production by the skin of your teeth. With Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons (as Milton Berle), Cory Michael Smith, Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Kim Matula, Nicholas Braun, Emily Fairn, Jon Batiste (who also wrote the excellent underscore), Cooper Hoffman and Matthew Rhys as George Carlin.

Bent (1997)

Set in 1930s Berlin. Although he has a lover (Brian Webber), a promiscuous gay man (Clive Owen) brings a handsome Nazi (Nikolaj Coster Waldau) home for sex. But it is the Night Of The Long Knives, a 48 hour period when Hitler orders a purge of all those he considered a danger to his power and the handsome Nazi was the lover of an important member of the Nazi elite that Hitler wanted eliminated to solidify his power. Although the Nazi is killed, the two other men manage to escape but are eventually caught and sent to a concentration camp. Based on the play by Martin Sherman (who adapted his play for the screen) and directed by Sean Mathias, a theatre director whose only film this is. I found the first half of the film compelling but once the movie arrives at Dachau, it stops dead in its tracks. After that, it's pretty much a dialogue between two characters, Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau as another gay prisoner but the (often repetitive) dialogue comes off as pretentious as if written by an untalented Samuel Beckett. The score is by Philip Glass. With Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Paul Bettany and Rachel Weisz.

Carmen (1918)

Although he has a sweetheart (Grete Diercks) back home, a Dragoon Sergeant (Harry Liedtke) in Sevilla falls madly in love with a beautiful but fickle gypsy (Pola Negri). So desperately in love that he forsakes his sweetheart and his military career and even steals and kills for her. Based on the novella by Prosper Merimee (made famous by the same named opera by Bizet) and directed by Ernst Lubitsch (THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER). This is a straight forward telling of the oft told tale, well done but not especially memorable. I will say that Pola Negri is just about perfect as the gypsy minx. You can believe that a man could fall under her spell and abandon everything. Alas, as the lovestruck soldier, Liedtke is a bit of a blob. Released in the U.S. as GYPSY BLOOD. With Leopold von Ledebur, Magnus Stifter and Margarete Kupfer.

Barocco (1976)

A young woman (Isabelle Adjani) convinces her ex-prizefighter boyfriend (Gerard Depardieu) to accept a bribe to tell a lie that discredits a local politician. When the boyfriend is murdered, she is racked with guilt until she meets the killer (Gerard Depardieu), a dead ringer for the murdered man. Directed by Andre Techine (MY FAVORITE SEASON) in only his third film. A big hit in France, it was nominated for 9 Cesar awards (the French equivalent of the Oscar). I found the film's noir-ish plot unnecessarily convoluted and didn't buy Adjani's attraction to her boyfriend's murderer. Why both the murderer and the murder victim are played by the same actor is never explained though there's an unsubstantiated suggestion that they're brothers. My favorite character and the best performance in the movie comes from Marie France Pisier as a wife and mother who supports her family as a prostitute. Pisier won the Cesar best supporting actress award for her work here. There's also a strong score by Philippe Sarde. With Claude Brasseur, Jean Claude Brialy and Helene Surgere. 

Crossplot (1969)

An advertising executive (Roger Moore) by day is a playboy by night. But when a beautiful model (Claudie Lange) he's recently hired is almost murdered and he's framed for killing an associate (Dudley Sutton), he's on the run. Directed by Alvin Rakoff (SAY HELLO TO YESTERDAY). This attempt at a romantic thriller with humor seems inspired by Hitchcock movies like THE 39 STEPS and NORTH BY NORTHWEST but to say it doesn't come close to those movies is an understatement. The movie is full of plot holes and the action sequences are routine and contrived. A mystery romp like this needs charismatic leads like a Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn but we're saddled with a limp performance by Roger Moore and the lovely Claudie Lange, who seems to be struggling with the English language (she's Belgian). It's quite watchable but that doesn't mean that it's any good but the swinging London vibe of the 1960s that permeates the film gives it a nostalgic glow. With Martha Hyer, Bernard Lee and Alexis Kanner.

The Underworld Story (1950)

After a story he wrote gets someone killed, a reporter (Dan Duryea) is fired and finds himself blacklisted from all the major newspapers in a big city. So he moves to a small town where he becomes a partner in a small newspaper. But when the daughter in law of a prominent newspaper publisher (Herbert Marshall) is murdered and her black maid (Mary Anderson) is arrested, he finds himself involved in the biggest story of his career. Directed by Cy Endfield (ZULU). Dan Duryea's sleazy and unethical reporter who'll exploit anyone for a big story and do anything to ensure he comes out on top is a precursor by a year to Kirk Douglas's character in ACE IN THE HOLE (1951). This B&W B noir-ish crime film is a tight little thriller. Dismissed at the time of its release, it plays better today than it probably did in 1950. Dealing with corruption in the press, small town class systems and racism (but not with a heavy hand), the film has one disturbing flaw. The role of the black maid is played by a white actress, Mary Anderson who is best remembered as the other female in Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT. Thankfully, she doesn't play it in blackface but she's obviously white and if she's supposed to be bi-racial (which might explain her appearance), the movie doesn't address it. With Gale Storm, Michael O'Shea, Howard Da Silva, Frieda Inescort and Melville Cooper.

Little Darlings (1980)

At an all girls summer camp, two very different young teenage girls feel like outsiders. A rich girl (Tatum O'Neal) just wants to be accepted by the other kids but she's ostracized for being rich. The other teen (Kristy McNichol) comes from a low income neighborhood and is raised by a single mother. When a snooty "mean girl" leader (Krista Errickson) finds out the two girls are virgins, she challenges them to a contest. Whoever loses her virginity first will be a winner and win a cash prize. Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell (GETTYSBURG). There's an unsavory aspect to the film as two minors (they appear to be 15 or 16) engage in a contest to see who's the first virgin to get laid. To be fair, the film redeems itself at the very end when it shows the troubling aspect of teen girls having sex before they are emotionally ready for it. Both McNichol and O'Neal acquit themselves very well and manage to not let the dubious material soil their performances. The film was a big hit . With Matt Dillon, Armand Assante, Cynthia Nixon, Margaret Blye and Alexa Kenin. 

Dance Fools Dance (1931)

When the stock market crashes, a society playgirl (Joan Crawford) and her wastrel brother (William Bakewell) find themselves penniless and abandoned by their society friends. She goes to work for a newspaper as a cub reporter and he joins a gang of bootleggers. Directed by Harry Beaumont (MAISIE GOES TO RENO), this pre code melodrama was the first teaming of Joan Crawford with Clark Gable (who plays a bootlegger here) in a supporting role, not yet a star and they would go on to make seven more movies together. I love Crawford during her early period at MGM. She's vital and sexy, quite the scrappy vixen and unrecognizable from the hard shelled lady she became in the mid 1940s. She holds the screen like a true star. As to the film itself, it's an entertaining newspaper crime drama, more Warners in tone than MGM. The picture earned Metro a tidy little profit. With Cliff Edwards, Lester Vail and Natalie Moorhead.

The Invisible Woman (1940)

A ditzy professor (John Barrymore) has invented a serum that renders people invisible. He puts an add in the newspaper for a "guinea pig" to test the serum on. He's surprised when the subject who turns up is a woman (Virginia Bruce) because he was expecting a man. Directed by A. Edward Sutherland (ABIE'S IRISH ROSE), this is the third entry in Universal's Invisible Man six movies franchise. What makes it different from the first two is that it's a comedy (some might even call it a screwball comedy). As the nutty professor, Barrymore seems to be having some fun in the role but overall, it's a rather silly movie. It's a one joke film (much is made of Virginia Bruce being naked when invisible) and it wears out its welcome even in its brief running time. Charles Ruggles provides some humor as a put upon manservant. With John Howard, Oscar Homolka, Margaret Hamilton, Donald MacBride and Maria Montez,