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.