Golden Earrings (1947)

Shortly before war breaks out in Europe, two Englishmen (Ray Milland, Bruce Lester) held prisoner in Germany escape. They separate but have a designated meeting place. The film concentrates on Milland's character, who joins a gypsy woman (Marlene Dietrich) as a cover. Based on the novel by Jolan Foldes and directed by Mitchell Leisen (HOLD BACK HE DAWN). The film combines a romance between people from two different worlds and a typical WWII espionage flick. I preferred the espionage half to the romance. I'm not a big fan of Milland but he's quite charming here. I wish I could say the same for Dietrich who's really bad. Granted, I don't like her much as an actress anyway but she's a Hollywood idea of a gypsy. In fact, the gypsies in the film are so broadly played that it veers dangerously close to parody. Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy the film on some level, I just wish another actress had been cast in the lead. Anyway, it's not essential cinema but there are far worse movies to spend 90 minutes on. The Victor Young score is lovely. With Murvyn Vye and Ivan Triesault.  

Phaedra (1962)

A wealthy Greek shipping tycoon (Raf Vallone) asks his second wife (Melina Mercouri) to contact his estranged son (Anthony Perkins) in London and return home to Greece to see his father. Instead, what is set in motion is a doomed love affair between the wife and son that can only bring tragedy. Very loosely based on Euripides' HIPPOLYTUS and updated to modern Greece and directed by the American expatriate Jules Dassin (BRUTE FORCE). An ill conceived effort by all concerned. The film aspires to Greek tragedy but only ends up being kitsch at best. When Mercouri and Perkins make love for the first time, the camera goes all soft focus as rain beats on the window panes and we see various body parts while Mikis Theodorakis's score crashes away! Mercouri and Perkins have no chemistry and without that passion, it all seems so over baked. Still, one can't help wonder what Mercouri sees in Perkins when she has Raf Vallone in her bed! The film could have benefited from color which would have enhanced the Paris and Greece locales instead of the stark B&W lensing of Jacques Natteau. With Elizabeth Ercy and Olympia Papadouka.

The Secret Of Dr. Kildare (1939)

A young doctor (Lew Ayres) is in overdrive as he attempts to help his mentor (Lionel Barrymore), who's seriously ill, discover a cure for pneumonia while at the same time attempting to discover why a patient (Helen Gilbert) has undergone a severe personality change. Directed by Harold S. Bucquet, this was the third in the MGM Dr. Kildare series with Ayres. This one really loads up the drama for a less than 90 minute movie. In addition, Kildare's father (Samuel S. Hinds) has a potentially fatal heart condition and Kildare is romancing a nurse (Laraine Day). Some of the medical information disseminated seems dubious by 21st century medical knowledge and we even have Barrymore's doctor smoking cigarettes! All that aside, it's an okay effort for fans of the franchise but I doubt anyone else would have much tolerance for it. One thing that hasn't changed in the movie's over 78 years: if you have money, you get the best medical attention quicker than anybody else. With Lionel Atwill, Alma Kruger, Nat Pendleton, Martha O'Driscoll and Sara Haden.

The Long Dark Hall (1951)

When his mistress (Patricia Cutts) is murdered, a married man (Rex Harrison) becomes the chief suspect in her killing as circumstantial evidence all points to him. His wife (Lilli Palmer) stands by his side through it all. Based on the novel A CASE TO ANSWER by Edgar Lustgarten and directed by Reginald Beck and Anthony Bushell. Despite the presence of Harrison and Palmer in the leads, this is a disappointment. Since we know who the real killer is from the very beginning, there's no mystery. It's all will he or will he not be convicted for a crime he didn't commit. What irritated me the most about the film are unexplained inconsistencies. Example: after finding her body, Harrison holds the body while sobbing and then goes home, he doesn't call the police! Why? It's never explained. When the police question him, he denies knowing the girl although he had an argument with the girl's landlady (Brenda De Banzie) moments before finding her body. Didn't he think the landlady would identify him? I won't even go in Palmer's unquestioned loyalty toward him after he admits the affair, not even a moment of anger at being betrayed. The most interesting character is the murderer (Anthony Dawson, DR. NO) who sees himself as some sort of moral avenger. In the end, the film seems an anti-capital punishment plea. With Dennis O'Dea and Jill Bennett.

The Grass Harp (1995)

In 1935 Alabama, after his parents die, a young boy (Grayson Fricke who morphs into Edward Furlong) moves in with his two spinster cousins (Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie) and their black housekeeper (Nell Carter). Based on the celebrated Truman Capote novel and directed by Charles Matthau (Walter's son). By the time this film was released, Capote's novel had already been adapted for a stage play, a Broadway musical and twice for TV. Although it was critically well received, the film was a failure at the box office which is a real pity because it's a lovely rendition of the Capote novella. Matthau manages to provide an almost ethereal climate in which the memory piece plays out. Yet although delicate, it's never fragile. Indeed, it's made of a firm cinematic fabric. The ensemble cast is impeccable. Both Spacek as the domineering insensitive sister and Laurie as the gentle shy sister are cast against type. Normally, they would have been cast in opposite parts but they both prove what versatile actresses can do when they break away from type casting. A truly lovely little film. With Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall, Charles Durning, Scott Wilson, Joe Don Baker, Doris Roberts, Sean Patrick Flanery and Mia Kirshner.   

Enter Madame! (1935)

While in Europe, a man (Cary Grant) falls in love with an Italian opera singer (Elissa Landi). However, after they marry, he finds it difficult to adjust to coming second to her international career. Based on the 1920 Broadway play which had previously been filmed in 1922 and directed by Elliott Nugent (UP IN ARMS). It's a screwball comedy that never gets off the ground despite a promising beginning. Landi is delightful and she tries but Grant isn't quite Cary Grant yet and this is one of his most charmless performances. This being 1935, it's one of those films where a failing marriage is once again blamed on the woman's career ambitions and it's the woman who must compromise herself for the happy ending, not the man. Everyone tries hard, too hard and there's no lightness or playfulness but rather a determined push which is hardly what is needed for a farce like this. With Lynne Overman, Sharon Lynn, Frank Albertson and Cecilia Parker (Mickey Rooney's sister in the Andy Hardy movies).

Baywatch (2017)

The head (Dwayne Johnson) of an elite lifeguard unit in an exclusive section of the beach in Florida finds himself saddled with a washed up ex-Olympic swimming champion (Zac Efron) assigned to do community service. Things get worse when he discovers drug smuggling is going on at the beach and it points to a wealthy businesswoman (Priyanka Chopra). Big, loud and mindless! That's not necessarily a condemnation, I mean that's why people go to see this kind of movie, isn't it? However, it's also cheesy and takes mindlessness to the point of losing brain cells. The film wavers between a raunchy dumb comedy and an action flick but it's so incompetent that even the serious moments comes across as parody. Dwayne Johnson is such a likable screen presence that he usually is able to overcome weak material but he's defeated here. I felt embarrassed for both he and Efron. The only cast member who doesn't embarrass herself is Chopra's villainess who seems to have walked in from a better movie. David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson of the original BAYWATCH show make cameo appearances. With Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera, Rob Huebel and Jon Bass, who's just awful! 

Snow Angels (2008)

In a small town in the winter, several broken lives interconnect with each other. Separated from her mentally unstable husband (Sam Rockwell), a woman (Kate Beckinsale) betrays her best friend (Amy Sedaris) by sleeping with her husband (Nicky Katt). A young boy (Michael Angarano) finds his first love (Olivia Thirlby) while his parents (Jeanetta Arnette, Griffin Dunne) struggle in an unhappy marriage. Based on the novel by Stewart O'Nan and adapted for the screen and directed by David Gordon Green. Green has a fine visual sense and is able to elicit some first rate performances from his cast. But it doesn't take long to figure out where this is going and how it's going to end up so it's the journey rather than the destination where the interest lies. Still, when it's over, it ultimately just seems so pointless. If we're going to be led down a depressing path, we should at least find some kind of understanding when we reach the end of the road. I don't want to sound negative about the film, it's really very good. It's just not good enough. 

Woman Times Seven (1967)

Seven short stories with Shirley MacLaine playing seven different women: Funeral Procession - at her husband's funeral, a widow (MacLaine) is propositioned by her late husband's best friend (Peter Sellers). Amateur Night - after catching her husband (Rossano Brazzi) in bed with another woman, a wife (MacLaine) turns to prostitution. Two Against One - two men (Vittorio Gassman, Clinton Greyn) vie for the affections of a woman (MacLaine) trying to stay faithful to her absent lover. Super Simone - a wife (MacLaine) is envious of the women her writer husband (Lex Barker) writes about. At The Opera - a shallow socialite (MacLaine) is furious when she discovers her nemesis (Adrienne Corri) is going to wear the same couture dress to the opening of the opera. The Suicides - a married woman (MacLaine) and her married lover (Alan Arkin) share a suicide pact. Snow - a married woman (MacLaine) is stalked by a handsome stranger (Michael Caine). Written by Cesare Zavattini (BICYCLE THIEVES) and directed by Vittorio De Sica. Like all anthology films, it's a mixed bag and only three are decent. The opera sequence is genuinely amusing, the suicide segment benefits from Arkin's comic timing and best of all, the lovely and poignant snow sequence. MacLaine gets to show her versatility (as if we needed proof) but considering the talent involved, it should be way better. With Anita Ekberg, Robert Morley, Philippe Noiret, Elsa Martinelli and Patrick Wymark.

The Mummy's Curse (1944)

Despite the objections of an engineer (Addison Richards) in charge of draining the swamps, two representatives (Dennis Moore, Peter Coe) from a museum arrive in Louisiana bayou country with the intention of locating some mummies that are allegedly buried in that area. Directed by Leslie Goodwins, this was the last entry in the Universal Mummy franchise until Abbott and Costello would meet him 11 years later. At about an hour long, it's practically over before it has a chance to start! Fortunately, little time is spent on the uncharismatic nominal romantic leads (Moore and Kay Harding). The Louisiana swamp lands seems an odd place for an Egyptian mummy so the movie always seems a bit off kilter. The high point of the film is the emergence of Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine) from the mud as the sun breathes life into her. There's something magical about that sequence but it occurs early in the film and it's business as usual after that. There's a lot of unexplained questions but it's not the kind of film where much attention is paid to logic. With Lon Chaney Jr. as the mummy, Martin Kosleck and Hollywood's resident Frenchwoman, Ann Codee.   

Loophole (1981)

After a successful American architect (Martin Sheen) living in England sees his company go bankrupt, he is approached by a businessman (Albert Finney) about a construction job. But it isn't long before he begins to get suspicious that all is not right with this new "job". Based on the novel by Robert Pollock and directed by John Quested. This is a straightforward heist movie and while not particularly fresh, it's decent enough to hold your interest right through to the end. Actually, the end is the biggest problem I had with the movie. The movie jumps from a crucial point in the narrative to about 24 hours later without  ever filling us in on what transpired. Being left out of a crucial part of the storytelling feels like a cheat! Other than that, it's well acted and moves along nicely generating just enough suspense that our attention doesn't drift. If you're partial to the genre, it's a pleasant 1 3/4 hours. Surprisingly, Lalo Schifrin (BULLITT) would seem the ideal composer for a project like this but his underscore is blah. With Susannah York in the dreaded "wife" role, Robert Morley, Jonathan Pryce, Colin Blakely and Alfred Lynch.

Women and Men (1990)

Three short stories by celebrated authors presented in anthology form. Frederic Raphael (TWO FOR THE ROAD) directs Mary McCarthy's MAN IN THE BROOKS BROTHERS SHIRT: a young Bohemian leftist (Elizabeth McGovern) encounters a married salesman (Beau Bridges) on a train and against her better judgment allows herself to be seduced by him. Ken Russell (WOMEN IN LOVE) directs Dorothy Parker's DUSK BEFORE FIREWORKS: a 1920s flapper (Molly Ringwald) finds her date with a playboy (Peter Weller) constantly interrupted by phone calls from his other women. Tony Richardson (TOM JONES) directs Ernest Hemingway's HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS: a writer (James Woods) and his mistress (Melanie Griffith) traveling through Spain come to an impasse in their relationship. As with almost all portmanteau films, it's a mixed batch. The Raphael film benefits from an excellent Elizabeth McGovern performance but the material leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. The Russell offering comes off as a one joke premise that wears out its welcome quickly. The most successful of the three is the final Richardson film of Hemingway's short story. It's a lovely if sad mood piece with fine work by Woods and especially Griffith. The underscore is by Marvin Hamlisch.