The Great Divide (1929)

Set in a small mining town bordering Mexico, a mine owner (Ian Keith) falls in love with an arrogant flapper (Dorothy Mackaill) whose only concern is having a good time. At first, he is unaware that she is the daughter of his deceased partner. But when finds out, he kidnaps her so he can stop her promiscuous ways and "teach" her to be a good girl. Based on the 1906 Broadway play by William Vaughn Moody and directed by Reginald Barker (THE MOONSTONE). Filmed simultaneously as both a silent film and a sound film. I watched the sound version. The camera work is more fluid than most sound films of its vintage, notably in the fiesta sequence. But boy, are its ideas not only outdated but downright offensive. The heroine is forcibly kidnapped and humiliated in order to make her palatable to the sexist hero's moral views. Then there's the thinly veiled racism toward its Mexican characters. Myrna Loy, still in the exotic phase of her career, is a spiteful Mexican vixen and her character is one of those stereotypical "I keel you if you take my man" (yes, she actually says that) types. Worse, when Mackaill finds out Ian Keith may possibly be involved with her, she contemptuously calls him "a squaw man". Lovely! With Creighton Hale and Claude Gillingwater.    

El Dorado (1966)

A gun for hire (John Wayne) returns to the town of El Dorado only to find that the town sheriff (Robert Mitchum), who is also his friend, has become a laughed at drunk because of a woman. When a rich landowner (Edward Asner) tries to force a rancher (R.G. Armstrong) to sell him his water rights, it's only a matter of time for gunplay to breakout in the town. Based on the novel THE STARS IN THEIR COURSES by Harry Brown and directed by Howard Hawks (RED RIVER). After the failure of the racing car drama RED LINE 7000 (1965), Hawks returned to the tried and true, a John Wayne western. It was a smart move because the film was a commercial and critical hit. Personally, I found it a rather pedestrian western with the strong star power of Wayne and Mitchum kicking it up a notch. By calling it pedestrian, I don't mean it's a bad movie, I mean it's a rather routine western. Still, the Hawks auteurs and fanboys have attempted to elevate it into one of Hawks' masterpieces and I'm not buying it. The screenwriter Leigh Brackett considered EL DORADO one of her best screenplays and became upset when Hawks began fiddling with it and refashioning it until it resembled RIO BRAVO. With James Caan, Charlene Holt, Christopher George, Arthur Hunnicutt and Michele Carey as a tomboy, who looks out of place in the old West with blonde streaks in her brown hair and false eyelashes.

A Dangerous Profession (1949)

An ex-cop (George Raft) now works as a partner in a bail bonds firm. His latest client (Bill Williams) is the husband of a woman (Ella Raines) he was once (and still is) in love with. When the couple are unable to come up with the full $25,000 bond required, a mysterious benefactor comes up with the difference and therein lies the mystery of murder and betrayal. Directed by Ted Tetzlaff (THE WINDOW), the film was originally intended for Humphrey Bogart and later Fred MacMurray but it ended up starring Raft which is unfortunate. It's not a great film by a long shot but the movie could have used a better actor than Raft (quite a lazy actor coasting on the charisma he used to have) in the lead. Starting with this film, Raft's career began a long slow descent into box office failures until he was no longer leading man material (by 1954, he was getting third or fourth billing). This tidy little piece of film noir deserved a better fate. Good enough to be just a bit above average. With Pat O'Brien, Jim Backus and Robert Gist. 

Dawn At Socorro (1954)

A notorious gunfighter and gambler (Rory Calhoun) is in ill health, bad enough that it may prove fatal. He decides to go to Colorado Springs where the mountain air should prove beneficial to his health. But on the stagecoach, he meets a young woman (Piper Laurie) that temporarily alters his plans. Directed by George Sherman (AGAINST ALL FLAGS), this was one of the many western programmers that Universal churned out in the 1950s. There's not much one can say about it, it resembles a score of other westerns of the era (and the decades that preceded it). If you're a fan of oaters as I am, the movie should prove watchable but unless you are a westerns fan, there's not much reason to watch. Calhoun's lung diseased coughing gambler seems to be based on Doc Holliday. With David Brian, Lee Van Cleef, Alex Nicol, Edgar Buchanan, Mara Corday, Kathleen Hughes, Skip Homeier and Richard Garland.

Titanic: The Musical (2023)

On April 10th 1912, the RMS Titanic sails on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. It never arrived as it sank when it struck an iceberg and at a cost of 1,496 lives. Based on the 1997 Tony award winning musical (not related to James Cameron's film version which came out the same year) and directed by Austin Shaw and Thom Southerland. When I first heard that a Broadway musical about the Titanic was opening on Broadway, I rolled my eyes. Singing and dancing amid a horrible historic tragedy sounded grotesque. But after the show opened to good reviews and then won 5 Tony awards including best musical, best original score by Maury Yeston (NINE) and best book by Peter Stone (CHARADE), I was intrigued. I snagged some tickets on a trip to New York and well, I was stunned. It's a terrific musical. Very much class conscious as we see passengers from first, second and third class and their own dreams on the ship of dreams. This is a film of a British 2023 stage production and there are some small but significant changes from the original production. The three tier set has been reduced to two, one of the original show's characters (Charlotte Drake Cardoza) has been reduced to a walk on, the orchestra has been scaled down losing some of the impact of Jonathan Tunick's gorgeous Tony award winning orchestrations and a Caucasian social climber in the original is here played by a black actress (Bree Smith) who's very good but realistically, it's 1912 and racism would have reared its ugly head by the other passengers. Anyway, it's still highly recommended as one of the best musicals of the 1990s. With Martin Allanson, Graham Bickley, Adam Filipe, Niamh Long and Valda Aviks.

Skyscraper Souls (1932)

In a 100 story skyscraper in Manhattan, various characters from the rich and powerful to the poor working class live out their lives. Romance, seduction, betrayal, suicide, murder, greed all play a part. Based on the novel SKYSCRAPER by Faith Baldwin and directed by Edgar Selwyn (THE SIN OF MADELON CLAUDET). This juicy pre code melodrama has (to steal from ALL ABOUT EVE) everything but the bloodhounds snapping at its characters' heels. At the heart of the film's narrative is Warren William as the ruthless, power hungry owner of the skyscraper who'll stop at nothing to retain power and control, even if it means backstabbing his friends and business associates, even his loyal mistress (Verree Teasdale). The romance between two young people (Maureen O'Sullivan, Norman Foster) is somewhat annoying rather than sweet. Their meeting is supposed to be "cute" but Foster's constant pursuit of O'Sullivan would be looked on as sexual harassment today. A nice slice of pre code pulp. With Gregory Ratoff, Anita Page, Wallace Ford, Jean Hersholt and Hedda Hopper.    

Challengers (2024)

Two teenagers (Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist) win a boys junior tennis double at the U.S. Open. But they both become infatuated with a rising tennis star (Zendaya). The film follows the complex relationship between the three of them for the next 13 years. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME). A challenging examination of three complicated individuals who love each other and at times hate each other. Set against the background of professional tennis, you don't have to be a sports or tennis enthusiast to get pulled into its circle. I'm not a sports person though fortunately tennis is about the only sport that interests me. While the two male characters are not gay, there's a definite homoerotic vibe between the two of them that's touched on but not explored. The three leads are just wonderful, capturing every nuance of their entangled interrelationship and Guadagnino squeezes every bit of energy and sensuality he can get out of his players onto the screen. With Darnell Appling and Nada Despotovich.

The Greene Murder Case (1930)

A wealthy and contentious family have a deep dislike for each other. But due to the will of the deceased patriarch, they must all live in the same house or be disinherited. When one family member (Lowell Drew) is shot to death and another (Jean Arthur) is also shot but survives, the famous detective Philo Vance (William Powell) is brought in to investigate. Based on the novel by S.S. Dine and directed by Frank Tuttle (THIS GUN FOR HIRE). The second Philo Vance film starring William Powell (he would do one more before moving on to MGM) is a clever and entertaining whodunit. It's a little more fluid than the previous entry THE CANARY MURDER CASE and its cast of quirky suspects helps to hold your attention. Even if you're not particularly a murder mystery fan, there should be enough here to engage you. With Florence Eldridge, Eugene Pallette, Ullrich Haupt Sr., Gertrude Norman and Morgan Farley.

I Miss You, Hugs And Kisses (1978)

A businessman (Donald Pilon) stuck in an unhappy marriage has fallen in love with another woman (Cindy Girling). When his ex-model wife (Elke Sommer) is found bludgeoned to death in their garage, he is arrested for her murder. Directed by Murray Markowitz, this Canadian exploitation film takes a real life murder case (the murder trial of Peter Demeter holds the record as the longest trial in Canadian history) and changes names and circumstances but it's still close enough to be recognizable as the Demeter case. It's unsavory and excessively and unnecessarily gory which is what identifies it as a sleazy exploitation movie. This fictionalized version casts doubt on Demeter's (called Kruschen in the film) guilt and creates fictionalized other possible suspects. It's sad to see Elke Sommer, one of the international beauties of 1960s cinema, reduced to squalor like this. The film is notable for being the first film score by the Oscar winning Howard Shore (LORD OF THE RINGS). With Cec Linder and Chuck Shamata.

Spinout (1966)

A part time racer and the lead singer of a rock band (Elvis Presley) enjoys the freedom of bachelorhood but three determined women are doing their best to push him into marriage: a millionaire's daughter (Shelley Fabares), a best selling author (Diane McBain) and the drummer (Deborah Walley) in his band. Directed by Norman Taurog (WORDS AND MUSIC). After 1962's KID GALAHAD which was a drama, Elvis Presley pretty much stuck to a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" formula when it came to his movies. Lightweight with lots of songs, girls dancing the Frug or doing the Monkey around him, some lame comedy and minor romantic complications neatly wrapped up by the end of the movie. Unless you were a dyed in the wool Elvis fan, they weren't very good (VIVA LAS VEGAS being an exception but that had more to do with the electrifying Elvis/Ann-Margret chemistry) but they were the money makers so Elvis and Colonel Parker ground them out like sausages until even the public had had enough. This one is inoffensive and it passes the time but that's a poor excuse for a movie, isn't it? With Carl Betz, Cecil Kellaway, Una Merkel, Dodie Marshall, Warren Berlinger, Jack Mullaney and Will Hutchins.

Broken Arrow (1950)

An ex-U.S. Army scout (James Stewart) familiar with the Apache language and their ways negotiates to have the mail service travel through Apache land without harm. His success with this encourages an Army General (Basil Ruysdael) to have the scout negotiate a peace treaty with the Apache chief Cochise (Jeff Chandler) on behalf of the U.S. government. Based on the novel BLOOD BROTHER by Elliott Arnold and directed by Delmer Daves (A SUMMER PLACE). This is a marvelous western which is unabashedly sympathetic toward Native Americans in its narrative. Delmer Daves directed some of the best westerns of the 1950s (3:10 TO YUMA, JUBAL, THE LAST WAGON) and this ranks with his very best. The Native Americans are portrayed with dignity and Daves eliminates the broken English usually spoken by "Indian" characters in westerns by having the narrator tell us that when characters are speaking Apache in the film, it would be English we hear. Even the make up is subdued. Unlike other westerns, Debra Paget's Apache maiden wears no eye shadow or lipstick for a natural look. A bold movie for its era, it holds up beautifully. The stunning Oscar nominated Technicolor cinematography (it was filmed in Arizona) is by Ernest Palmer (BLOOD AND SAND). With Will Geer, Arthur Hunnicutt, Jay Silverheels and Joyce MacKenzie.

The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)

An amateur sleuth (Tom Conway) is approached by a mysterious woman (Rita Corday) to help her find her missing brother. When he accompanies her to a cocktail bar known to be a hangout of her brother, he is knocked unconscious and the mysterious sister has disappeared. This is only the beginning to a mystery that will end in a couple of murders before it is solved. Directed by Edward Dmytryk (THE CAINE MUTINY), the fifth film in The Falcon franchise is one of the better ones. It balances humor with an intriguing murder mystery that includes a puppet show. There are a variety of suspects to keep you guessing and director Dmytryk keeps pushing ahead at a galloping pace (the running time is an hour and 6 minutes). The able supporting cast includes Harriet Hilliard (who would become a TV staple in the 1950s with OZZIE AND HARRIET), Jane Randolph, Richard Loo, Frank Faylen, Edgar Kennedy, Jean Brooks and Wynne Gibson.