The Mortal Storm (1940)

In 1933 Germany as Hitler begins his rise to power, a family quickly finds itself taking sides: father against son, brother against sister, friend against friend, lover against lover as the dark clouds of the coming holocaust grow. With the sanctimonious voice over at the beginning of the film, I feared the worst. I needn't have. After that's quickly over, what we get is a powerful film about a family being swept up in the chaos of a poisonous political tract that overwhelms even its early followers. The film avoids the zealous excesses of the propaganda of most WWII films as the U.S. hadn't even entered the war when the film was made. Curiously, the film makers hedge about using the word Jew, using the word non-Aryan instead. The acting is quite good though it takes a huge leap to accept James Stewart as a young German farmer yet Robert Young is chillingly convincing as a fervent Nazi supporter. Directed with a firm hand by Frank Borzage all the way to its bleak ending. With the appealing Margaret Sullavan, Robert Stack, Dan Dailey, Maria Ouspenskaya, Bonita Granville, Ward Bond, Frank Morgan as the Jewish patriarch and Irene Rich as his gentile wife.

Un Homme Et Une Femme (aka A Man And A Woman) (1966)

A widow (Anouk Aimee), who works as a script supervisor in films, and a widower (Jean Louis Trintignant), who is a race car driver, meet because their small children attend the same boarding school. A tentative romance begins. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival as well as the best foreign language film Oscar, it's somewhat difficult today to describe what a breath of fresh air cinematically Claude Lelouch's romance was in 1966. Its influence on other films (not to mention television commercials) resonated for decades. Its narrative is paper thin ... a man and a woman meet and fall in love. But it's how Lelouch presents his story that's exceptional. It's done visually with long stretches without dialog, often accompanied by Francis Lai's seductive underscore: a car driving as dawn breaks, an old man and his dog walking on the beach, the protagonists going about their work and daily lives, etc. Lelouch bounces back between color, B&W and sepia though apparently it had more to do with economic reasons rather than artistic choices. Lelouch is blessed with Aimee and Trintignant as his leads, not only because they're attractive but their expressive faces say more than reams of dialogue could. In the end, it's about as much about love of cinema as romantic love. The love story between Aimee and Trintignant is presented realistically yet it's more swoony movie romance than ever. It was the date movie of 1966/67. With Pierre Barouh and Valerie Lagrange.

The Disembodied (1957)

When a man (Robert Christopher) is attacked by a lion while on a photo shoot in the African jungle, his colleagues (Paul Burke, Joel Marston) take him to the nearest doctor (John Wengraf). The doctor is a misanthrope with a sexy Voodoo priestess (Allison Hayes, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN) for a wife. This preposterous slice of horror pulp is catnip to fans of kitschy 1950s "B" horror films. Its slapdash script seems thrown together without much thought. It's supposedly set in Africa but the atmosphere seems more Caribbean, just where do you find a chicken to sacrifice in the heart of Africa anyway? But it's not the kind of movie that holds up if you dwell on its improbabilities. Better to enjoy Hayes' bump and grind voodoo dance or the non reaction of the stone faced Burke to all the silliness swirling around him. He can't even be bothered to raise an eyebrow when a character gets stabbed in front of him. Directed by Walter Grauman (LADY IN A CAGE). With Eugenia Paul and Dean Fredericks.

The Last Days Of Pompeii (1935)

After his wife (Gloria Shea) and child die because of poverty, a blacksmith (Preston Foster) becomes a gladiator and later as a slave dealer which makes him one of the wealthiest men in Pompeii. While a gladiator, he killed the father of a small child (David Holt as a boy, John Wood as a man) and he raises him as his own son. Throughout the story, the presence of Mount Vesuvius hovers ominously over the city. The film takes its title from the 1834 novel by Edward Bulwer Lytton but nothing else, the film's plot has nothing to do with the book. The Ernest B. Schoedsack (MIGHTY JOE YOUNG) film is a rather crude example of the early biblical epic. It's a pretty dull affair until the film's last twenty minutes or so when Vesuvius erupts and the film's superb (for its day) special effects kick in. But up to that point, the film needs not its sincere "good taste" and pious Christianity but a little DeMille vulgarity to liven things up. There's an effective underscore by Roy Webb. With Basil Rathbone as Pontius Pilate, Louis Calhern and Dorothy Wilson.

Bird Of Paradise (1951)

In the late 19th century, a Frenchman (Louis Jourdan) accompanies his Polynesian school friend (Jeff Chandler) to his native island. There, the Frenchman has trouble adapting to their native customs which are alien to him but he falls in love with the chief's daughter (Debra Paget). But there's trouble in paradise when the Kahuna (Maurice Schwartz) prophesies that the white man will bring bad luck to the island. Based on the creaky 1912 play by Richard Walton Tully which King Vidor previously made in 1932, this is a kitschy piece of tropical nonsense that makes for a diverting afternoon of mindless movie watching. The director Delmer Daves' previous film had been the excellent BROKEN ARROW which was one of the first films openly sympathetic to the Native Americans. Perhaps Daves thought he could do something similar with the Polynesian culture. Daves' BROKEN ARROW stars, Chandler and Paget change their Indian buckskins for sarongs here but the film has about as much depth as a wading pool. Though filmed on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai, Winton C. Hoch's cinematography doesn't take full advantage of the islands' magnificent vistas. With Everett Sloane and Jack Elam.

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)

A mild mannered employee of Life magazine (Ben Stiller, who also directed) leads a rather lackluster life but has daydreams of leading an adventurous existence. His timidity prevents him from letting a fellow employee (Kristen Wiig) know that he's interested in her. But soon, he will begin a real adventure that will change his life forever. A remake of a 1947 Danny Kaye film based on a James Thurber short story doesn't exactly get your hopes up. So what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be. As the film began, it was like unwrapping a rather plain package and finding something wonderful inside. It has very little to do with the actual Thurber tale but the 1947 film didn't either. This is a more ambitious (and need I say better?) film but with a generous amount of laughs. Steve Conrad's screenplay touches the dreamer in all of us but still has enough wit to poke fun at the popular superhero Marvel movies that clean up at the box office. Stuart Dryburgh's (THE PIANO) lensing of the Iceland locations are breathtaking and it's nice to see Wiig in a traditional romantic lead, letting us see that she can do more than play the wacky funny ladies. And if anyone needed reminding what a great song David Bowie's Space Oddity is, this is the film to do it. With Sean Penn, Shirley MacLaine, Conan O'Brien, Kathryn Hahn, Patton Oswalt and Adam Scott, suitably slimey (but isn't he always?) as the new transition manager.

The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne (1987)

Set in 1950 Dublin, an aging spinster (Maggie Smith) with a secret drinking problem arrives at a shabby boarding house hoping for a new start. When she meets the landlady's (Marie Kean, BARRY LYNDON) unrefined brother (Bob Hoskins), she fancies he's attracted to her and thinks that she has finally met the man she's been waiting for all her life. But fate has other things in store for her. If asked, most people would probably say THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE is Smith's best performance. It's not. It's THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE. All the actress-y mannerisms that her fans love are absent here. Smith's performance is open and raw and ultimately heartbreaking, a devastating portrait of a desperate woman at the end of her tether, a woman whose illusions and beliefs have been torn from her and who now sees the abyss. Based on the novel by Brian Moore and directed by Jack Clayton. Clayton is a director who understands women and several actresses have done some of their very best work under his direction (Simone Signoret, Anne Bancroft, Deborah Kerr) and under his guidance, Smith gives a blistering performance. The subtle score is by Georges Delerue. George Harrison and Elton John are among the producers. With Wendy Hiller and Ian McNiece.

Wonder Man (1945)

A brash nightclub comic (Danny Kaye) is killed by gangsters because he is about to testify before the District Attorney (Otto Kruger) about witnessing a mobster (Steve Cochran) murdering a woman. So he returns as a ghost and possesses the body of his prim and nerdy brother (Danny Kaye) to get his revenge. One of Kaye's funniest films! Kaye seems to alienate a lot of film lovers but comedy being subjective and all that, I usually find him a laugh riot. Only once is the film marred by Kaye's excesses, when he does one of his "look at me!" show offish tongue twisting Russian numbers which stops the movie cold. The film gets its laughs easily enough. Mainly by the tried and sure method of having Kaye talk to his brother's ghost, who no one else can see, and the frustrated and confused reaction of the person who thinks Kaye is talking to them. That scene stealer S.Z. Sakall comes pretty close to upstaging Kaye in their scenes together, not an easy feat. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone (I WAKE UP SCREAMING) and John Wray did the choreography. With Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Donald Woods, Natalie Schafer, Allen Jenkins and Edward Brophy.

A Nous La Liberte (1931)

Two prisoners (Raymond Cordy, Henri Marchand) in a French jail plot an escape but only Cordy makes it, Marchand is apprehended by the prison guards. Cordy then becomes a wealthy industrialist but when Marchand finally escapes from jail and runs into his old friend while working at his factory, Cordy suspects blackmail. This whimsical bit of social satire is a congenial film though I never quite warmed up to it the way I would have wanted to. Rene Clair's film seems a bridge between silent cinema and the talking film. The film is very much a visual piece (the formidable art direction by Lazare Meerson was Oscar nominated) yet Clair fluidly incorporates music and song into his venture. Indeed, George Auric's excellent score, which seems inspired by Kurt Weill, permeates the film to the extent that it becomes part of the film's texture. It's influence on Charlie Chaplin's MODERN TIMES is quite obvious but Clair stayed out of the lawsuit the film's producers brought against Chaplin. With Rolla France, Paul Ollivier and Germaine Aussey.

Jason And The Argonauts (1963)

Jason (Todd Armstrong) arrives in Thessaly to reclaim the throne which is rightfully his but was usurped by its present ruler (Douglas Wilmer) after he slew Jason's father. But first, he must claim the legendary Golden Fleece on the island of Colchis which is on the other side of the world. To this end, he has a powerful ship built called the Argo and those who sail on it, the Argonauts. One of the two or three best fantasy films ever (perhaps only THE THIEF OF BAGDAD surpasses it), the film is remembered with great affection by those who saw it as adolescents and thankfully, the film holds up impeccably as adults. That wizard of stop motion Ray Harryhausen does some of his very best work here: the bronze giant Talos, the malicious harpies, the nine headed Hydra and the skeletal army. It's not a film where the acting matters much and the two leads, Armstrong as Jason and Nancy Kovack as Medea, are cast for their looks more than anything else. Directed by Don Chaffey (PETE'S DRAGON) with a potent underscore by Bernard Herrmann. A classic adventure for the ages. With Honor Blackman as Hera, Nigel Green as Hercules, Niall MacGinnis as Zeus, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith and Jack Gwillim.

Interiors (1978)

After 30 years of marriage, a lawyer (E.G. Marshall) announces that he wants a separation from his wife (Geraldine Page in an Oscar nominated performance), a fragile perfectionist. While he moves on with his life, she begins unraveling and becomes suicidal. Woody Allen's first dramatic feature film, perhaps his most formal film, is often (and not unfairly) referred to as faux Bergman. If asked what's Allen's best film of the 1970s, most likely people would respond with ANNIE HALL or MANHATTAN, but I would select INTERIORS. It's less perfect than the other two and hardly flawless but Allen manages to infiltrate the Bergmanesque mystique without imitating him. Allen's dialogue can often comes across as self conscious and stilted but the actors, save one, are able to master it. Diane Keaton as the eldest daughter however is defeated. Alone among the cast, her line readings sound artificial but considering the borderline pretentiousness of her character, perhaps it's an acceptable trait. To be fair, the dialogue in Ingmar Bergman's films also read as self conscious but it sounds better spoken in Swedish rather than English. With Maureen Stapleton as Marshall's new wife (one can see why after years with the wound up Page, the "vulgarian" would be a breath of fresh air), Sam Waterston, Richard Jordan, Kristin Griffith and Mary Beth Hurt.

The Miracle Of The Bells (1948)

A press agent (Fred MacMurray) accompanies the body of an actress (Alida Valli) to the small Pennsylvania coal town she was born in and where she requested to be buried. Because she was an unknown, the studio head (Lee J. Cobb) refuses to release her one and only film (a film on Joan Of Arc) because he doesn't think anyone will come to see a film with an unknown deceased actress. But the press agent has a plan that he hopes will force the studio's hand. This faith based fable is quite an oddity. I suppose audiences in the 1940s were more susceptible to this sort of twaddle (though maybe not, the film was a failure) but its far fetched premise is hard to swallow and the gullibility the film imposes on its small town characters as well as its audience is highly improbable. Alida Valli didn't have much luck with her brief Hollywood sojourn and films like this didn't do her any favors. The film does show the greedy side of the funeral industry, however. Directed by Irving Pichel (MOST DANGEROUS GAME) with a nice score by Leigh Harline. With Frank Sinatra as a poor parish priest, Harold Vermilyea, Philip Ahn and Veronica Pataky.