The Case Of The Curious Bride (1935)

When a woman (Margaret Lindsay) married to a wealthy man (Donald Woods) discovers that her first husband (Errol Flynn in his American film debut) is still alive, she turns to famous attorney Perry Mason (Warren William) for help. And none too soon for when the first husband turns up dead, she's arrested for his murder. Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner and directed by Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA). Warners had turned the famous attorney/detective from the Gardner books from a serious and dedicated lawyer into a fast talking, wisecracking screwball comedian. I'm not complaining, it works wonderfully for the series and this second entry of the four Warren William as Perry Mason movies is clever and fast fun. There's not much else I can say about it except if you're into murder mysteries with a comedic touch, this should be right up your alley. With Claire Dodd as Della Street, Allen Jenkins, Wini Shaw, Barton MacLane and Mayo Methot.

Wanted For Murder (1946)

The grandson (Eric Portman) of a notorious hangman follows in the footsteps of his grandfather. He's a serial killer who's strangled some six women and he's not done yet! Meanwhile, a Scotland Yard inspector (Roland Culver)  desperately tries to solve the case before the strangler strikes again! Based on the play by Terence De Marney and Percy Robinson (the screenplay was co-written by Emeric Pressburger) and directed by Lawrence Huntington (CONTRABAND SPAIN). A neat little thriller that deserves to be called Hitchcockian. Portman's serial strangler is a cousin to Robert Walker's Bruno of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. They even have doting mothers who may or may not have contributed to their sons' psychosis. It's not a whodunit since we know from the beginning who the murderer is so the movie's plot is just a matter of how and when he'll be caught. I did have a problem with the film's suggestion that it's "bad blood" inherited from his grandfather that is at the root of his killing spree, a theory since disproven. Other than that, it's a first rate thriller. With Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, Barbara Everest, Stanley Holloway, Kathleen Harrison and Wilfrid Hyde White. 

Total Recall (1990)

Set in the year 2084, a construction worker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has troubling dreams about living on Mars. After visiting a company that implants false memories to simulate dream vacations, he has a psychotic episode that indicates that the life he's living now is a false implant. Shortly after an attempt is made on his life. Loosely based on the short story WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE by Philip K. Dick and directed by Paul Verhoeven (BASIC INSTINCT). This is probably Schwarzenegger's best film (sorry TERMINATOR), a crackerjack non stop piece of action thrills with an intelligent screenplay. Considered too violent upon its initial release (it received an X rating until Verhoeven trimmed the violence), its violent scenes still pack a punch but to Verhoeven's credit, I didn't find them gratuitous. Within the limitations of his acting ability, Schwarzenegger is very good but it's not a movie where the acting matters much. Jerry Goldsmith delivers a knockout score. An imaginative cinematic rollercoaster ride that doesn't insult your intelligence. With Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell and Mel Johnson Jr.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Two centuries old vampires are married but she (Tilda Swinton) lives in North Africa and he (Tom Hiddleston) lives in Detroit, Michigan. They no longer feed off humans (who they call zombies) directly but depend on blood suppliers. The husband has become withdrawn and suicidal and his wife rushes to his side but the appearance of her reckless kid sister (Mia Wasikowska) threatens to expose them. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, the film is unique in that while it is a film about vampires, it's not a horror film but a romance. It's stylish and captivating and full of cultural reference that probably go over the head of most filmgoers. For example, when traveling from the U.S. to Spain, Swinton and Hiddleston's passports use the names of Daisy Buchanan (the heroine of THE GREAT GATSBY) and Stephen Dedalus (Joyce's PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN). The film received excellent reviews and while I liked it quite a bit, too much of it seemed a bit precious though I appreciated the slices of humor which offset the darker aspects of the film. There's no doubt that the film is unique in its telling, there's never been another "vampire" movie like it. The performances are first rate across the board. With John Hurt, Jeffrey Wright and Anton Yelchin.

Weekend (1967)

A bourgeois couple (Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne) take a weekend drive to the country where they hope to secure her inheritance from her dying father. The journey will be memorable. Written and directed by Jean Luc Godard (BREATHLESS), the first hour is an outrageous and audacious surreal trek as the couple sees civilization imploding around them. They are not victims however but contributors to this breakdown. Godard's justifiably famous panning shot of a deadly traffic jam (it may have been an unconscious influence on the opening scene of LA LA LAND) is spectacular and Darc has a memorable monologue about a sexual experience that rivals Bibi Andersson's sexual memory in PERSONA. Alas, the film's second hour contains Godard in a didactic mode as characters and voiceovers lecture us. It isn't art when Stanley Kramer did it and it's not art when Godard does it though of course, Godard is an artist where Kramer was not. I could have done without Godard rubbing the animal slaughter in our faces too. The film is eerily prescient. Watching the erosion of civilization which seemed exaggerated in 1967 seems all too real in 2021. With Jean Pierre Leaud and Paul Gegauff. 

B.F.'s Daughter (1948)

The spoiled daughter (Barbara Stanwyck) of a conservative right wing self made millionaire (Charles Coburn) falls in love with a penniless left wing educator and writer (Van Heflin) and they marry in haste. Can their marriage survive their different financial stations and political views? Based on the novel by John P. Marquand (THE LATE GEORGE APLEY) and directed by Robert Z. Leonard (THE GREAT ZIEGFELD). The book was controversial in its day but the film version eliminates the more contentious aspects of the novel for an antiseptic and conventional movie melodrama. It's a pity because it dances around some serious issues without taking any stand and what we get is an ending neatly tied up in a ribbon so the audience can go home happy. The acting is good, however and Stanwyck fans should be pleased. The movie's title was changed in Great Britain because B.F. has a vulgar connotation there. With Keenan Wynn, Margaret Lindsay, Marshall Thompson, Richard Hart, Spring Byington and Barbara Laage.

Marie Chantal Contre Le Docteur Kha (aka Blue Panther) (1965)

On a train bound for Switzerland, a secret agent (Roger Hanin) entrusts a young woman (Marie Laforet) with a jewel of a blue panther with ruby eyes. Unbeknownst to her, the jewel contains a deadly virus powerful enough to destroy all mankind. Based on a character created by Jacques Chazot in a series of novels and written and directed by Claude Chabrol (LES BICHES). Chabrol is in a playful mood here in this spy satire which has more than a touch of Fritz Lang's DR. MABUSE films. The plot is overly complicated but in this case, I suspect part of Chabrol's intent. It's not to be taken seriously, just relax and enjoy the silliness. Full of vivid characters and colorful locations (Switzerland, Morocco), the movie's ambiguous ending screams "Sequel!" but it never happened. Charles Denner plays an American but I can't decide if his American accent is terrible or he's doing an American with a terrible French accent (in which case, it's excellent). With Akim Tamiroff as the movie's master villain, Stephane Audran, Francisco Rabal, Serge Reggiani, Pierre Francois Moro and Gilles Chusseau, who comes as close to stealing the movie as anyone.

Story Of A Woman (1970)

A young girl (Bibi Andersson) is studying music in Rome when she falls in love with an Italian medical student (James Farentino). After finding out he's married to an older woman (Annie Girardot), she flees to Sweden where she meets and marries an American diplomat (Robert Stack). She thinks she's over the affair but when the Italian re-enters her life, she's not so sure. Written and directed by Leonardo Bercovici. Bercovici was an American screenwriter (PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE BISHOP'S WIFE, KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS) who was blacklisted in the 1950s and went to Europe to work. Although filmed in Italy and Sweden and with European actresses (Andersson, Girardot) in leading roles, the film is pure Hollywood soap opera, not much different than the stuff Joan Crawford and Lana Turner were cranking out in the 1950s. Alas, not even Douglas Sirk could save this hill of cliches. Andersson and Girardot are always a welcome presence on the screen and Stack is very good but who can buy Andersson pining away for James Farentino (who doesn't even attempt an Italian accent)? James Farentino?!?! Edith Head did the costumes and John Williams provided the score. With Didi Perego and Mario Nascimbene (yes, the composer).

13 Washington Square (1928)

When a prominent but snobbish Manhattan society doyenne (Alice Joyce) finds out her son (George J. Lewis) is about to elope with a grocer's daughter (Helen Foster), she cancels her trip to Europe to stop the marriage. To avoid reporters on her doorstep, she sneaks into the mansion with her maid (Zasu Pitts). Her son and his fiancee also sneak into the house as does a thief (Jean Hersholt) intent on stealing the priceless paintings in the mansion. Hilarity ensues! Based on the play by Leroy Scott and directed by Melville W. Brown (BEHIND OFFICE DOORS). This amusing silent farce involving mistaken identities and running around in confusion may not be Feydeau but but it's still good fun. Its running time is brief (one hour and six minutes) so it doesn't allow for any digression and director Brown keeps up the brisk pace and wraps it up quickly and neatly. I'm not familiar with the work of actress Alice Joyce (who retired at age 40), who was quite prolific in the silent era but I found her quite appealing and hope to see more of her work. With Helen Jerome Eddy and Jack McDonald.

Into The Woods (1990)

The story of five fairy tale characters that go beyond the happy ending we've been told about: Cinderella (Kim Crosby), Little Red Riding Hood (Danielle Ferland), Jack (Ben Wright) who climbed the beanstalk and a baker (Chip Zien) and his wife (Joanna Gleason). A televised adaptation of the original Broadway show (which was made into a film in 2014) with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and directed by James Lapine. The film version directed by Rob Marshall is excellent but it's great to have this archival production of the original Broadway production. The play contains characters (like the narrator and Cinderella's father) that were eliminated from the film version as well as some songs (like No More and Ever After) that were cut. The musical explores the complicated relationship (or the absence of it) between parents and children. Despite her actions, the play's witch (Bernadette Peters) isn't evil but a pragmatic who sees life realistically. Sondheim's songs are sublime! With Robert Westenberg, Tom Aldredge, Barbara Bryne and Chuck Wagner.

The People Against O'Hara (1951)

A recovering alcoholic (Spencer Tracy) has abandoned his career in criminal defense to concentrate on civil cases. But when a poor young Irishman (James Arness) is arrested for murder, he decides to take the case. Based on the novel by Eleazar Lipsky and directed by John Sturges (THE GREAT ESCAPE). This is a good little programmer that should have been so much more than it is. The film's attempt to balance the story of a brilliant attorney so exhausted from his concern for his clients that he turns to alcohol with the whodunit aspects of a murder trial is uneven. Perhaps it would have been better to concentrate on just one aspect of the story. One can appreciate the ambition but the execution is awkward. Four years later, Tracy and Sturges would hit it out of the ballpark with BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. Still, for what it is, the film makers have nothing to be ashamed of. Tracy is very good returning to drama after three comedies in a row (ADAM'S RIB, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND) and receives solid support from Diana Lynn as his caring daughter. With John Hodiak, Pat O'Brien, Eduardo Ciannelli, Richard Anderson, Jay C. Flippen, William Campbell (wonderfully oily) and Yvette Duguay.  

The Sisters (1938)

Bookended by the 1904 and 1908 presidential elections, the story of three sisters: Louise (Bette Davis) marries a ne'er do well (Errol Flynn) who eventually deserts her, Helen (Anita Louise) who marries a rich man (Alan Hale) she doesn't love for the security it will give her and Grace (Jane Bryan) who must deal with her husband's (Dick Foran) infidelity. Based on the best selling novel by Myron Brinig and directed by Anatole Litvak (ANASTASIA). I've not read the source novel but I suspect the script was altered to favor the Davis and Flynn storyline (after all, they were the biggest stars in the cast) while the two other sisters are relegated to secondary status. It's a rather creaky soap opera with a tearjerker ending which was reshot after an unsatisfactory preview. The highlight of the film is a recreation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which while not as spectacular as SAN FRANCISCO (1936) is still imposing. As a Bette Davis fan, I enjoyed it but it's not really one of her better movies. The supporting cast is crammed with familiar character actors including Beulah Bondi, Donald Crisp, Patric Knowles, Lee Patrick, Henry Travers, Harry Davenport, Laura Hope Crews and Ian Hunter.