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445,759 | 1,048,771 | 373,397 | 6 | Lake District of Northern England gets the " TravelTalk " treatment . . . | Picturesque " TravelTalk " from James A . FitzPatrick is another mildly interesting look at an England that still embodies much of the past in its ancient landmarks . We glimpse a vine covered grammar school which Wordsworth is said to have attended ; quaint towns looking much as they did in earlier centuries ; old chu... |
447,055 | 1,048,771 | 722,045 | 6 | Bette is surprised by Ralph Edwards . . . | Enjoyable entry in the THIS IS YOUR LIFE series has Bette being surprised by Ralph Edwards and then settling down to greet the various guests who arrive to reminisce with her . WILLIAM WYLER , of course , was present to talk about that famous scene in THE LETTER where they debated over whether Bette should say a certai... |
446,602 | 1,048,771 | 43,335 | 6 | Enjoyable B-western given Grade A trimmings and a good cast . . . | Whatever merit BEST OF THE BADMEN has as a movie can be traced to its cast of film veterans headed by ROBERT RYAN , ROBERT PRESTON , CLAIRE TREVOR , WALTER BRENNAN , BRUCE CABOT , JACK BEUTEL and LAWRENCE TIERNEY , all of whom look right at home in this post-Civil War western about Quantrill's Raiders who are still act... |
445,299 | 1,048,771 | 39,441 | 6 | Standard Randolph Scott film should have kept Zane Grey's original title . . . | GUNFIGHTERS is the unoriginal title for Zane Grey's " Twin Sombreros " , which , considering the story is about two sisters who are almost twin-like in appearance , would have been a more apt title for this film . The story is routine as depicted here , with bad guy BRUCE CABOT as the man responsible for a few killings... |
447,720 | 1,048,771 | 25,601 | 6 | Grace Moore's Oscar-nominated role in very dated musical . . . | Unlike MGM's favorite soprano , JEANETTE MacDONALD , other singers from the Met tried screen careers at various times in the ' 30s , but none emerged winning enough as screen personalities to rival Jeanette . Columbia tried hard with GRACE MOORE and this is undoubtedly one of her better efforts at attaining screen star... |
447,490 | 1,048,771 | 60,802 | 6 | Darkly amusing coming of age , Czech style . . . | I'd heard about this film for years and knew it won the Academy Award in the U . S . A . in 1967 as Best Foreign Film of that year , but only recently did I catch up with it . I won't say it's great - - it's a good comedy of the absurd , done in grand style with a wonderful cast of actors doing justice to the sly comed... |
445,179 | 1,048,771 | 25,617 | 6 | China on the back lot of MGM . . . but still a good Garbo film . . . | GRETA GARBO marries a man she doesn't really love ( afraid of being an old maid when her sister marries ) , so HERBERT MARSHALL once again must face the fate he had in most of his films - - he's saddled with a wife who doesn't really love him , at least in the first reel . But in THE PAINTED VEIL , Garbo comes to reali... |
445,667 | 1,048,771 | 29,984 | 6 | Sidney Toler takes over the role for the first time . . . | Upon Warner Roland's death , it was SIDNEY TOLER's turn to play the Chinese detective with the huge family . This time his son is played by Victor Sen Yung , who would go on to play the role of Jimmy Chan in many future Chan films . This time the plot involves $300 , 000 of stolen money and a slew of passengers aboard ... |
446,250 | 1,048,771 | 39,477 | 6 | Clash of titans - - Gable and Greenstreet . . . | THE HUCKSTERS is never quite the film you want it to be . Based on a popular best-selling novel about integrity in the radio commercials industry , it pits CLARK GABLE , man who still has some good old American values after returning from WWII , against ruthless soap tycoon SYDNEY GREENSTREET , who enjoys instilling fe... |
445,480 | 1,048,771 | 29,971 | 6 | Ginger proves her comic timing was among the best . . . | I don't know why so many of the reviewers here have taken such a strong dislike to CAREFREE simply because they take the characters too seriously . Sure , FRED ASTAIRE doesn't show the most ethical side of a therapist but , hey , we know this is a Fred and Ginger movie , and isn't it a nice change of pace to have him p... |
446,142 | 1,048,771 | 60,862 | 6 | Cynical western with an ironic ending . . . nothing is what it seems . . . | Poor RALPH BELLAMY . During the Golden Age in Hollywood movies of the ' 30s , he was always the man who loses the girl in the final reel . Here he is in his seventies , still at the losing end of his " unlucky in love " predicament , sending a bunch of mercenaries on a mission to rescue his " kidnapped " wife ( CLAUDIA... |
447,816 | 1,048,771 | 70,047 | 6 | A landmark among horror films ? ? ? . . . I don't think so . . . | THE EXORCIST was a novel I read years ago and never saw the film , disliking the novel too much . Not even all the hype about the movie could make me interested in going to see it and stories I heard about people getting sick from the shocking reality of the fright scenes . Now I've seen it on AMC ( with all those anno... |
445,860 | 1,048,771 | 57,058 | 6 | A man searching for " raison d'etre " . . . | The last days in the life of a disillusioned man are examined with subtle restraint in this Louis Malle film , THE FIRE WITHIN ( U . S . title ) . MAURICE RONET is the man , one of the great French stars of the ' 60s . It's a very stark drama from a French novel and it will capture your interest from the beginning . Ro... |
445,906 | 1,048,771 | 213,002 | 6 | Sumptuous look at wealth and poverty of India . . . | India on Parade is a James A . FitzPatrick Travelog giving glimpses of the wealth and abject poverty of India , its tribal customs and its pageantry . A beautiful glimpse of the Taj Mahal and the story of its construction as a reflection of the love of a man for his wife when she died , is especially poignant and imp... |
446,986 | 1,048,771 | 435,653 | 6 | Some scary highlights in a basically silly story . . . | The scare factor is pretty good in THE GRAVEDANCERS . It's a shame the script which relies heavily on special effects for most of the scares , isn't more intelligent . Toward the last fifteen minutes the scares are so over-the-top that they become laughable . It doesn't help that the principal male performance by Domin... |
446,017 | 1,048,771 | 187,021 | 6 | Nan Wynn is featured singer with Freddie Rich Orchestra . . . | I love these big band short subjects from the ' 30s and ' 40s . This one features FREDDIE RICH AND HIS ORCHESTRA . I can't say the songs themselves are anything memorable , but Rich gives various members of his band time to shine with their individual instruments . He also gives a trio of girl singers plenty of time to... |
445,188 | 1,048,771 | 47,162 | 6 | Downbeat drama from F . Scott Fitzgerald novel has MGM gloss . . . | I never read the F . Scott Fitzgerald novel on which this is based , but can only report that ELIZABETH TAYLOR , VAN JOHNSON , DONNA REED and WALTER PIDGEON do nicely in the leads and the film is given a graceful script by screenwriter Julius J . Epstein , author of so many successful film scripts . It's basically a we... |
447,126 | 1,048,771 | 810,823 | 6 | Deja vu is deadly in this " Groundhog Day " of repeats . . . | Not a bad little thriller with an interesting concept that doesn't always work , but still manages to hold the interest throughout . MIKE VOGEL is , for some strange reason , caught in a time warp of the kind seen before in " Groundhog Day . " But his time warp has him murdered - - over and over again - - in some very ... |
446,617 | 1,048,771 | 39,504 | 6 | Atmospheric but flawed Victorian melodrama . . . | ' Ivy ' was originally intended to star Olivia de Havilland in the title role until the actress rejected it at the last moment over a contract dispute . Costumes were all ready and Joan Fontaine stepped in for her sister with rather moderate results . Under Sam Wood's direction , Fontaine never makes Ivy seem capable o... |
445,510 | 1,048,771 | 382,077 | 6 | POSSIBLE SPOILERS . . . Some scary moments , but too much is borrowed from other thrillers . . . | Midway through , HIDE AND SEEK starts to lose whatever credibility it may have had . By the time we understand just what's going on , we have to struggle with the fact that it just doesn't make sense . And we do struggle because up until then , it's a pretty scary film , chock full of good , eerie performances from all... |
445,306 | 1,048,771 | 477,347 | 6 | Things get pretty manic after sundown . . . | BEN STILLER is an actor I know mainly from his performance in SOMETHING ABOUT MARY , but I suspect that ADAM SANDLER might have been a more perfect choice to play Larry , the failed inventor who has to prove to his son ( JAKE CHERRY ) that he can hold down a job that won't force them to move once again to ( gasp ! ) Qu... |
445,761 | 1,048,771 | 477,348 | 6 | POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEADGripping tale of a psychopathic killer has no ending . . . | I have to give NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN a very mixed review . For the most part , I agree that NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a well executed crime drama , patterned somewhat after the much better written FARGO , in which the central character was a female officer . Here , it's a male sheriff ( TOMMY LEE JONES ) given to some... |
447,346 | 1,048,771 | 30,063 | 6 | Slight comedy of manners badly needs color restoration . . . | This DIVORCE OF LADY X is the sort of film about misunderstandings among the upper crust of society that American audiences usually associate with someone like Norman Krasna , who wrote so many romantic comedies where someone assumed a different identity to keep the mistaken identity theme afloat for the duration of th... |
446,455 | 1,048,771 | 39,501 | 6 | One of the more agreeable MGM musicals in B & W with Sinatra and Lawford . . . | FRANK SINATRA's voice was in a warm and mellow tone when he did IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN and this little musical uses him musically in a nice way . He gets to warble an invigorating ditty as a serviceman joyous to be back in Brooklyn , so he belts out " Brooklyn Bridge " with baritone finesse . It almost sounds like a n... |
446,372 | 1,048,771 | 22,286 | 6 | Cagney is pugnacious gangster in his breakthrough role . . . but the film is a relic . . . | Warner Bros . had the market on gangster films in the ' 30s and none is more famous than William Wellman's PUBLIC ENEMY with JAMES CAGNEY in his breakthrough role as the brash street kid from the other side of the tracks circa 1909 . The film has a primitive , early sound kind of look - - with dialog to match . " What'... |
447,408 | 1,048,771 | 60,880 | 6 | Disappointing spy story . . . George Segal seems miscast in main role . . . | While it's a ' 60s spy film in the same vein as THE IPCRESS FILE ( the same sort of ingredients ) , it in no way matches the wit or intelligence of that particular espionage film . It moves a little too sluggishly under the direction of Michael Anderson , though it does have a wind-up that proves satisfying at the conc... |
447,867 | 1,048,771 | 35,703 | 6 | Spirited all black musical from the ' 40s era is still good entertainment . . . | Vincente Minnelli's first film for MGM was CABIN IN THE SKY , from the Broadway musical - - a film that no other studio at the time would take a chance on producing . A splendid cast does justice to it and it's a rollicking good time to watch ETHEL WATERS , EDDIE ' ROCHESTER ' ANDERSON , REX INGRAM , KENNETH SPENCER , ... |
447,645 | 1,048,771 | 43,286 | 6 | Have to use the word " cute " to describe this one . . . | And that's even though I hate using that adjective to describe any movie , but this one fits the bill perfectly . PAUL DOUGLAS is a temperamental baseball player who makes a deal with a heavenly angel to curb his temper and maybe win a few games with help from above . JANET LEIGH is a girl reporter who eventually falls... |
447,960 | 1,048,771 | 17,925 | 6 | Buster and a runaway train during Civil War days . . . | THE GENERAL spends so much time depicting BUSTER KEATON on the rails that it should have been called " The Runaway Train " . Filmed in Oregon , with all of the outdoor scenes photographed attractively in sepia-tone , it's regarded as one of Keaton's best works . His dexterity with physical comedy is never better parade... |
446,543 | 1,048,771 | 276,816 | 6 | WWII submarine story is mixture of supernatural and suspense . . . | Better than average entertainment for a suspense thriller with overtones of supernatural mystery ( the " mirror " scene is especially effective and creepy ) , this is extremely well acted by a competent cast of players . BRUCE GREENWOOD is Capt . Brice , who is forced to take over command of the ship , and who knows mo... |
445,284 | 1,048,771 | 57,007 | 6 | Notable only for all the local Hawaian scenery . . . a disappointment otherwise . . . | Perhaps the kind of role JOHN WAYNE should have taken a bit earlier in his career . The age difference between him and ELIZABETH ALLEN is really noticeably distracting here , but their constant squabbling and ribbing each other is pleasing enough to make the slight story entertaining - - at least for John Ford's staunc... |
446,777 | 1,048,771 | 43,326 | 6 | Another in a long string of " bee " films from Disney . . . | Donald Duck suffers the usual indignities of having to be on guard from bee attack in BEE ON GUARD , an amusing entry in the Donald Duck cartoons of the ' 40s and ' 50s . The bees are on a mission led by a King Bee and decide to land in Donald Duck's garden while he's there doing his gardening chores . Donald knows whe... |
447,251 | 1,048,771 | 43,325 | 6 | Amusing monkey business is better than one might think . . . | RONALD REAGAN had his fair share of comedies during his stay at Warner Bros . as a contract player - - but it wasn't until he went to Universal for BEDTIME FOR BONZO that he took so much kidding for appearing in what is actually an amusing comedy co-starring him with a chimp , especially after he became president . How... |
447,868 | 1,048,771 | 190,877 | 6 | Ava Gardner's first film appearance in an MGM short . . . | Interesting to spot AVA GARDNER before her build-up at MGM as a major star , getting to appear fleetingly in a studio short subject subjecting the audience to a quiz in this trifle called FANCY ANSWERS . She's on camera for a couple of brief occasions looking very pretty but it's strictly a bit part with no dialog . Th... |
447,298 | 1,048,771 | 47,603 | 6 | Dysfunctional family saga could have been a stronger film . . . | A disturbingly dysfunctional family is at the heart of TRACK OF THE CAT , which tries to impose symbolic significance on the threat of the creature that is being stalked by the two oldest brothers . But the tale , filmed in monotonous B & W style with only highlights of real color allowed , is somber , tedious and talk... |
445,270 | 1,048,771 | 39,826 | 6 | Tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler dulled by too much talk . . . | When I was a kid I saw this and thought it was great fun . I especially loved the gorgeous technicolor and Walter Slezak's hammy but enjoyable performance as the villain . Seeing it again recently on TCM , I was not quite as enchanted with the whole thing . It's really much too talky , especially in the early scenes wh... |
446,977 | 1,048,771 | 1,293,993 | 6 | A plot full of twists keeps you guessing until the end . . . | But don't ask me to explain the story . I came in on this one just shortly after it started and had a hard time following the heavy-handed plot as it unfolded . All I know is the suspense was terrific , the acting by SIMON BAKER and cast was excellent , and it had me glued to the end to see who the killer would turn ou... |
447,859 | 1,048,771 | 35,489 | 6 | B horror material given " A " execution . . . | THE UNDYING MONSTER is a John Brahm film given " A " execution while using " B " material to get its atmospheric effects across . And they are atmospheric , from the opening scene until the last , beautifully photographed in crisp B & W photography by Lucien Ballard . None of the actors rose to the " A " level , but Br... |
445,900 | 1,048,771 | 22,236 | 6 | Racy pre-code melodrama drenched in rain and railroads . . . | Director William Wellman certainly had a thing for rain and railroads . Here he has a chance to pit both elements against each other , serving as good background fodder for some romantic nonsense about a trio of pals who wind up in tragic circumstances because one man falls in love with the other man's wife . REGIS TOO... |
446,578 | 1,048,771 | 57,191 | 6 | Formula Presley film with interesting fair backgrounds . . . | ELVIS PRESLEY gets to sing several non-memorable songs , the best of which is " One Broken Heart for Sale " , but IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR is strictly standard Presley stuff wherein the guy has his eye on a pretty gal ( JOAN O'BRIEN ) and makes a pitch , the sort that turns her off at first . Predictably , after... |
447,631 | 1,048,771 | 256,611 | 6 | A look at the variety of settings offered by California . . . | A typical James A . FitzPatrick " TravelTalk " illustrates how much variety there is in California , which is why it can be used for so many settings by Hollywood's filmmakers . We glimpse sand dunes stretching across the desert and now traversed by a modern highway ; vineyards as a result of irrigation that produces a... |
445,341 | 1,048,771 | 39,850 | 6 | A musical feast for the ears . . . semi-successful as biography . . . | SONG OF LOVE is a tastefully romanticized biography of the Schumanns ( Clara and Robert ) , as portrayed by KATHARINE HEPBURN and PAUL HENRIED , in a glossy tribute to their classical music . Their life changes when they take in a boarder / student by the name of Brahms , ROBERT WALKER , who immediately falls in love w... |
447,709 | 1,048,771 | 521,108 | 6 | Olivia does a charming turn as hostess for Festival of Spring . . . | This is one episode that I recall watching back in 1965 and it was a very worthwhile " Bell Telephone Hour : Festival of Spring " featuring OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND as the charming hostess for a program of music and dance . This was shortly after de Havilland's two films of that period were released : LADY IN A CAGE and HUS... |
447,979 | 1,048,771 | 47,574 | 6 | Brash show biz musical . . . the good , the bad and the ugly . . . | If it weren't for the fact that Irving Berlin wrote some of the best pop songs of the 20th Century and that ETHEL MERMAN and her co-stars know how to belt them , this would be a dismal mess . The backstage story is one we've seen hundreds of times before , but never on such a grand scale . Furthermore , MARILYN MONROE ... |
446,963 | 1,048,771 | 47,580 | 6 | Pleasant locales but it's still little more than a travelogue . . . | Time hasn't been kind to certain films and THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN is one of them . The story at its center is trite and only exists in order to show the splendors of Rome in color and CinemaScope to lure patrons away from their television sets when the film was made , in the mid-'50s . The only performers emerging... |
447,472 | 1,048,771 | 26,029 | 6 | The " innocent man on the run " theme gets quite a workout from Hitchcock . . . | While I'm not as enthusiastic about this Hitchcock film as some of the others here , I do appreciate the chemistry between ROBERT DONAT ( as the man on the run ) and his reluctant , but charming , partner who shares the handcuffs with rightful indignation , MADELEINE CARROLL . Both were still in their prime and make an... |
447,038 | 1,048,771 | 22,268 | 6 | Newspaper reporter vs . socialite in Frank Capra style . . . | Probably the main reason PLATINUM BLONDE stands head and shoulders above most screwball comedies of the ' 30s is the fact that ROBERT ANDERSON gives an eccentric performance as the male lead that is both charming and irritating - - but ultimately , very entertaining . He's the main reason to stay tuned . And that's rea... |
447,999 | 1,048,771 | 194,830 | 6 | Promotional film to create interest in the feature film . . . | Warner Bros . spent such a lavish budget on their production of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM that they went all out to market it to audiences not accustomed to viewing anything quite so literary , especially from the studio that featured mostly crime melodramas with stars like Cagney and Edward G . Robinson ... |
446,879 | 1,048,771 | 57,090 | 6 | Mechanical service yarn with occasional flashes of interest . . . | ROCK HUDSON is a Strategic Air Command colonel who pushes his men to the limits and neglects his British wife ( MARY PEACH ) while alienating his colleague ( ROD TAYLOR ) whom he thinks is getting too chummy with the men under his command . There's nothing about this service yarn to distinguish it from other such effor... |
447,516 | 1,048,771 | 29,923 | 6 | Laurel & Hardy in an amusing series of mishaps . . . | The first half of BLOCK-HEADS contains the most amusing skits in the feature that runs just a little short of one hour and seems like a series of farcical sketches that become a little too hectic toward the last twenty minutes . But fans of LAUREL & HARDY probably won't really mind since it's good slapstick fun . The m... |
446,197 | 1,048,771 | 43,153 | 6 | Fascinating as a drama and a musical . . . | KIRK DOUGLAS , LAUREN BACALL and DORIS DAY are an interesting trio to watch in this film directed by Michael Curtiz , with some jazz trumpet work by Harry James filling the soundtrack . Musicians seem to have hard luck lives that cry to be told on the screen ( or in novels , as this one was ) . Douglas is a trumpet pla... |
446,795 | 1,048,771 | 35,575 | 6 | Flag waving during more innocent times . . . great Cagney performance . . . | Times have certainly changed since the jingoism of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY with its up front flag waving and fireworks celebration of the American way of life . Of course , this is just the tonic war weary audiences needed back in 1942 and Warner Bros . , never a studio to miss filming a bio of famous personalities ( howev... |
446,662 | 1,048,771 | 65,856 | 6 | The fangs are out and there's plenty of gore . . . | Not bad at all , after a very slow start in which suspense seemed to be just around the corner as various players went stalking around a creepy old mansion . I thought that this would turn out to be the teaser kind of suspense where you wait for something terrifying to happen and it never does . But then the movie gets... |
447,724 | 1,048,771 | 104,952 | 6 | Colorful courtroom comedy is a bit overlong but still manages to please . . . | MY COUSIN VINNY is the kind of comedy that makes its point pretty early on when it's apparently going to be a battle of wits between a fast talking New York lawyer ( JOE PESCI , who only passed his bar exam after six tries ) who finds himself embroiled in the Alabama court system and a stern and uncompromising Judge Wa... |
447,409 | 1,048,771 | 47,537 | 6 | A student prince falls in love with a lowly barmaid . . . | THE STUDENT PRINCE should have been a lot better . After all , it's based on a famous operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg , features the golden voice of Mario Lanza at his singing peak , is cast with competent enough MGM players , and is filmed in glorious Technicolor . But something happened - - the uninspired Rich... |
446,593 | 1,048,771 | 35,552 | 6 | One of the more amusing entries in the series . . . | Although the slapstick is pretty heavy at times , especially toward the wild climactic scene that winds up the whole story , WHISTLING IN DIXIE has all the ingredients that made the Bob Hope films successful in the ' 40s , with Hope as the cowardly male lead being intimidated by gangster-type bullies . Here it's RED SK... |
446,364 | 1,048,771 | 39,892 | 6 | Oddly interesting for offbeat teaming of Temple and Reagan . . . | TV showings of ' That Hagen Girl ' became more and more rare as the years went on - - but lately it surfaced on TCM when they saluted Shirley's birthday with showings of four of her films . Basically it's a story of the effect gossip has on a small-town girl ( Temple as Mary Hagen ) and lawyer ( Ronald Reagan ) . Good ... |
445,689 | 1,048,771 | 29,949 | 6 | Fast moving farce gets a lift from Eddie Albert . . . | EDDIE ALBERT plays a hapless Virginia Military Institute cadet who gets into all kinds of scrapes because of his brash friend , WAYNE MORRIS , an actor Warner Bros . was grooming for stardom . Albert is so professional that he's a pleasure to watch as he goes from one zany situation after another accompanied by Morris ... |
446,038 | 1,048,771 | 109,190 | 6 | Nimble variation on the " Home Alone " theme . . . | When all is said and done ( and all the laughs have been had ) , it's easy to come to the conclusion that BABY'S DAY OUT should have been a Walt Disney cartoon . Cartoon-like is the only way to explain the various blows the villains take ( or dodge ) during their attempts to get their kidnapping scheme to work . Their ... |
447,822 | 1,048,771 | 1,404,441 | 6 | Dave O'Brien shines as Mr . Hardnose . . . | I love these Pete Smith Specialties , mainly because you can always depend on DAVE O'BRIEN to give 100 % to his performance , whether it be shaving in the morning before he's completely awake or taking one of his numerous pratfalls . This time it's the wife ( DOROTHY SHORT ) who gets the spotlight as the lady of the ho... |
445,601 | 1,048,771 | 47,501 | 6 | Sluggish account of the Little Big Horn disaster . . . | SITTING BULL is a sluggish western about a cavalry major ( DALE ROBERTSON ) who is compassionate toward the Indians and must face insubordination for some of his actions against harsh superior officers . There's a traditional romance thrown into the mix , between a General's daughter ( MARY MURPHY ) and Robertson , wit... |
447,095 | 1,048,771 | 18,311 | 6 | Delightfully restored on TCM , one of Marion Davies ' best comedies . . . | The good news is that even the title cards have a wit and humor that is carried over beautifully onto film under Fatty Arbuckle's direction for THE RED MILL , based loosely on a Victor Herbert operetta . Quaint is a good word to describe the costumes and settings of the Dutch tale , which opens with a charming ice skat... |
446,311 | 1,048,771 | 39,926 | 6 | Cliché-ridden Gothic suspense gets atmospheric workout . . . | The wind rages , bells chime , lightning flashes , shadows flit everywhere , and Franz Waxman's background score gives a shot in the arm to the gloomy melodramatic proceedings . Unfortunately , the script never gives HUMPHREY BOGART and BARBARA STANWYCK enough strong material to work with , although they both do profes... |
445,731 | 1,048,771 | 35,530 | 6 | Morale boosting war film is solid entertainment much needed during WWII . . . | Whatever its flaws - - stereotypes among soldiers , wartime propaganda using the Wake Island battle as symbolic of America's fight for freedom , weak comic relief - - WAKE ISLAND is the kind of story Americans needed to hear during the height of WWII . It begins just before the Pearl Harbor attack when the men were los... |
447,624 | 1,048,771 | 35,535 | 6 | More stars than there are in heaven . . . | This is strictly a promotional musical piece for MGM's cluster of stars under contract to the studio during the studio contract system in the ' 40s . It starts off with Judy Garland singing , " We Must Have Music , " from one of her many musicals at MGM , then goes on to show very brief clips from similar films produce... |
447,345 | 1,048,771 | 25,878 | 6 | Formula Thin Man stuff is still witty and sophisticated . . . | Although I was never a big fan of the Thin Man films the way so many were , I have to admit that Loy and Powell carry the film with abundant charm , whether sober or drunk ( or just feeling high as they line up the drinks ) , but apparently its pat formula was so successful that it was repeated in film after film , so ... |
446,297 | 1,048,771 | 156,030 | 6 | John Payne before stardom in a Warner Technicolor short . . . | Left-over sets from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX are used extensively for this lavish Technicolor short in sumptuous color . Obviously , Warner Bros . had spent so much on all the costumes and sets for those films that they put them to use in this short subject featuring JOH... |
446,590 | 1,048,771 | 35,369 | 6 | Good western with big brawl for the climax . . . | Formula stuff , but entertaining story of bad man RANDOLPH SCOTT and good guy JOHN WAYNE brawling in lusty western style over Yukon saloon queen MARLENE DIETRICH in the 1800s , with Dietrich looking like a glamorized queen of the 1940s era . It's a tidy western directed by Ray Enright in good Warner Bros . style . MARG... |
446,144 | 1,048,771 | 22,100 | 6 | Slowly paced social drama and early film noir from Lang . . . | What hurts " M " most of all is the pace . It's almost as though the new transition from silent to sound film had not yet given filmmakers enough time to polish their work . Fritz Lang directs some scenes in " M " with the full force of the sound technique - - namely , the scenes where the criminals and police are both... |
445,540 | 1,048,771 | 65,938 | 6 | Light-hearted WWII romp is entertaining action film . . . | What films like DESPERATE JOURNEY did for WWII audiences at the time of release , KELLY'S HEROES did for audiences in 1970 in showing the humor and banter of men in trying wartime circumstances determined to carry out a certain mission . Here the mission is the heist of gold behind enemy lines - - something Kelly inadv... |
445,658 | 1,048,771 | 22,103 | 6 | Interesting variation on the " Svengali " theme . . . good John Barrymore performance . . . | In this interesting variation on the " Svengali " theme , JOHN BARRYMORE plays a crippled puppeteer with a club foot , who lives vicariously his dream of becoming a great dancer when he assumes responsibility for a runaway boy ( FRANKIE DARRO ) escaping the clutches of his cruel father ( BORIS KARLOFF ) , well disguise... |
445,975 | 1,048,771 | 252,299 | 6 | When boredom in the U . S . Army careens out of control . . . | JOAQUIN PHOENIX stars in this independent feature that was denied distribution in the U . S . shortly after happened since it's a rather anti-military look at shenanigans among enlisted men at a U . S . Army camp in the peacetime Germany of 1989 . Phoenix is an army corporal involved in a lot heavier black market stuff... |
446,913 | 1,048,771 | 35,360 | 6 | Impressive romantic drama with sadistic overtones . . . | The dark side of GEORGE SANDERS is sure to bring out the cad in him whenever he plays a movie villain . And he's at his darkest in the early scenes of SON OF FURY , where poor RODDY McDOWALL must do work as a stable boy for his cruel and mean spirited uncle . Later , when McDowall grows up to be TYRONE POWER ( now that... |
447,484 | 1,048,771 | 29,747 | 6 | Laurel and Hardy and some pleasant musical interludes . . . | The basic premise of WAY OUT WEST is having the two boys ( Ollie and Stan ) attempt to deliver the deed to a goldmine to the rightful owner whose guardians are scheming to get it for themselves . Getting it into the hands of the proper person turns out to be the raison d'etre for the whole hilarious saga with the sort ... |
445,276 | 1,048,771 | 39,725 | 6 | POSSESSED is a chilling noir melodrama . . . | Before I begin , I have to take exception to a few of the comments here comparing this to THE SNAKE PIT . No way . THE SNAKE PIT was Hollywood's first realistic treatment of mental illness and was a ground-breaking landmark film in that genre , a serious treatment of schizophrenia and of one woman's experiences in a st... |
445,307 | 1,048,771 | 25,907 | 6 | Satisfying version in ' 30s style directed by Victor Fleming . . . | TREASURE ISLAND is the sort of film that cries out for Technicolor since it deals with pirates , treasure maps , ships at sea and a fort under attack - - the sort of thing done in scores of other movies ( and other versions of the story ) , but usually in color . Here the B & W photography is handsome enough , the sets... |
446,852 | 1,048,771 | 60,588 | 6 | Larger than life historical drama is more timely than ever today . . . | What makes KHARTOUM so relevant to today's world , is the characterization of The Mahdi ( LAURENCE OLIVIER ) as a religious zealot , a Muslim fanatic who wants to wage a Holy War against the infidels and keeps proclaiming himself with the words : " I am the Expected One . " Although this depiction of a true story is ba... |
445,967 | 1,048,771 | 12,499 | 6 | Will have you weak with laughter . . . and fright . . . | HAROLD LLOYD goes through a whole series of funny happenings that could only happen to an actor as talented as he was ( and Buster Keaton and other silent greats ) . And yet they all come about because he mistakenly believes his girl is going to marry someone else . Desolate , he decides to think of quick ways to commi... |
445,868 | 1,048,771 | 364,961 | 6 | Death of a salesman . . . slow descent into madness . . . | I have respect for SEAN PENN as an actor , but have often been offended by his liberal politics , his rants about a corrupt president and his anti-war stance and bias toward many things in general . But I have to admit that in THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON he gives an exceptionally fine performance as a man slowly... |
447,941 | 1,048,771 | 39,757 | 6 | Edward G . Robinson in another psychotic role . . . Rozsa's music helps . . . | There's a very creepy atmosphere in THE RED HOUSE and although the film is rather slow in getting its story started , beginning as it does in rustic daylight scenes , the mood soon changes - - as does Miklos Rozsa's evocative background music - - and we know we're in for a psychological suspense tale grounded in the us... |
445,400 | 1,048,771 | 447,284 | 6 | Interesting behind-the-scenes look at an American classic . . . | This is an interesting glimpse at the ingredients that went into making the very special MGM musical , MEET ME IN ST . LOUIS , with tidbits about the filming from cast members like LUCILLE BREMER ( who played the oldest sister ) and MARGARET O'BRIEN ( who played the youngest ) . LIZA MINNELLI can be heard talking warml... |
447,377 | 1,048,771 | 35,440 | 6 | Intriguing psychological fantasy with lighthouse setting . . . | The 1940s was certainly the decade where Hollywood was producing many films with psychological overtones ( everything from SPELLBOUND to POSSESSED to THE SNAKE PIT ) , so it comes as no surprise that Britain was also delving into stories where such elements were found in some of the prominent British films of that deca... |
446,200 | 1,048,771 | 35,446 | 6 | Amusing comedy has the Lubitsch touch . . . | JACK BENNY and CAROLE LOMBARD are ideally cast as a ham actor and his zany actress wife in TO BE OR NOT TO BE , a story of Poland facing the Nazi invasion and how a theater troupe gets to do some real acting by fooling the Nazi authorities . The real comedy highlight of the film is SIG RUMAN as Col . Ehrhardt , foolish... |
446,083 | 1,048,771 | 39,748 | 6 | Unknown film noir is definitely worth catching . . . | After watching RAILROADED , I'm convinced JOHN IRELAND could have taken his place alongside men like ROBERT MITCHUM doing grim little film noirs during the ' 40s . He's excellent as a tight-lipped gangster with a scowling expression as he methodically kills anyone double-crossing him or standing in his way . He knocks ... |
446,042 | 1,048,771 | 47,416 | 6 | More fun than " The Greatest Show on Earth " . . . | While RING OF FEAR may not qualify for Best Film of the Year ( as DeMille's circus epic did ) , it is a colorful and fast moving story of life under the big circus tent , whereby an ex-employee returns to his old job seeking vengeance on none other than CLYDE BEATTY and intent on evening the score for an ex-girlfriend ... |
445,303 | 1,048,771 | 35,432 | 6 | The film that started the Ladd / Lake combo in the ' 40s . . . | THIS GUN FOR HIRE is a fascinating , grim look at a hired killer ( ALAN LADD ) , a corrupt boss ( LAIRD CREGAR ) , a gutsy femme fatale blonde ( VERONICA LAKE ) , and the detective ( ROBERT PRESTON ) who has a hard time getting his hands on the much wanted criminals and their cunning ways . Paramount wisely cast ALAN L... |
446,218 | 1,048,771 | 47,408 | 6 | Liz won't play second fiddle to anyone . . . especially a violinist ! | RHAPSODY is a typically lush romantic opus from MGM , conceived as a stunning tribute to the 22 year-old ELIZABETH TAYLOR and surrounding her with some melodious classic music from the two men in her life - - JOHN ERICSON and VITTORIO GASSMAN . All women should have such romantic woes - - torn as she is , between two h... |
446,400 | 1,048,771 | 113,409 | 6 | Unusual Carpenter tale is like an episode of The Twilight Zone . . . | Watching IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is similar to watching an episode of Rod Serling's " Twilight Zone " - - it's that kind of tale . Obviously , the character of Sutter Cane is based on the eminently popular writer of horror stories , Stephen King , who also sets most of his novels in Maine - - usually in a quaint New En... |
447,005 | 1,048,771 | 35,431 | 6 | Radiant Fontaine and handsome Power caught in wartime romance . . . | THIS ABOVE ALL succeeds as a romantic drama largely because of the two leading performances of TYRONE POWER and JOAN FONTAINE , both at their physical peak . Fontaine makes a radiant , spirited Prudence and Power has that sincere quality that makes Clive a real character . On the debit side , it has the faults typical ... |
446,157 | 1,048,771 | 39,801 | 6 | Pepe Le Pew is always good for a few laughs . . . | Although the laughs are usually based on a single joke , with Pepe relentlessly seeking a mate and finding that he is quite irresistible , these Pepe Le Pew cartoons were stylish fun from the Chuck Jones factory of cartoons . There's not much to be said for the plot which had been used in countless other Pepe films , b... |
445,917 | 1,048,771 | 47,377 | 6 | Noteworthy for the film debut of Kim Novak . . . tight suspense . . . | PUSHOVER is an underrated , little known crime melodrama from the mid-'50s that introduced the blonde beauty of KIM NOVAK to audiences and gave FRED MacMURRAY another chance to play an authority figure seduced by the charms of a femme fatale . When the story begins , it turns out his accidental meeting with Novak was r... |
446,375 | 1,048,771 | 43,041 | 6 | Needs an extra dose of realism . . . Claudette too well-groomed . . . | For someone who has to endure harsh punishment over a five-year period in a Japanese prison camp , CLAUDETTE COLBERT looks remarkably well-groomed and coiffed with her trademark hairdo looking as though she had barely missed an appointment at the local beauty parlor . True , she throws a little mud on her face for the ... |
448,060 | 1,048,771 | 126,677 | 6 | Strange historical event during Civil War re " The Tennessee Plan " . . . | Seems that authorship of " The Tennessee Plan , " a strategy for cutting the Confederacy in half during the American Civil War , was conceived by a woman , Anna Ella Carroll , who claims that she delivered the plan to President Abraham Lincoln in confidence . Since Lincoln never credited anyone with the plan , it's unk... |
446,374 | 1,048,771 | 43,045 | 6 | Three stars shine in low-key melodrama directed by Robert Wise . . . | Whatever suspense THREE SECRETS has is derived from the audience not knowing ( until the end ) which woman's boy has survived a plane crash . Each woman ( ELEANOR PARKER , RUTH ROMAN and PATRICIA NEAL ) thinks it's her own abandoned five year-old son . As they wait patiently for more news on the identity of the boy , e... |
447,070 | 1,048,771 | 29,661 | 6 | One of the better B-film mysteries exploring device of a seance . . . | The description of the plot given by TCM on its cable showing of this little MGM movie from 1937 made me want to watch it - - something about a woman holding a seance to prove that her daughter is not the murderer and with a setting in Colonial India . Then I saw the cast names : DAME MAY Witty , LEWIS STONE , MADGE EV... |
445,950 | 1,048,771 | 29,659 | 6 | The skating queen meets The Prince . . . | SONJA HENIE was always lucky that Zanuck ( at Fox ) had the good sense to surround her with capable talent so that the film wouldn't depend on her ability to skate , smile dazzlingly ( like a dimpled darling ) , and say as little as possible so her Norwegian accent wouldn't be too hard for Americans to take . Here , he... |
445,984 | 1,048,771 | 64,072 | 6 | Epic WWII dramatization of Britain's fight against Nazi Germany . . . | Strangely detached WWII saga that becomes a distracting " name that face " sort of game when so many distinguished British players are given assorted roles ranging from significant to insignificant in film that attempts to be an epic account of early British involvement in WWII . Photographed in widescreen and color , ... |
448,058 | 1,048,771 | 40,160 | 6 | Good film noir with a cluttered plot that takes time to build suspense . . . | John Farrow directed RAY MILLAND , MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN and CHARLES LAUGHTON in this taut thriller that doesn't really crackle with suspense until the murder of RITA JOHNSON pushes the film into film noir territory . Before that , the opening scenes involve so much exposition and character development that it takes time ... |
445,249 | 1,048,771 | 40,155 | 6 | Post-World War II drama of Nazi intrigue aboard a train . . . | BERLIN EXPRESS loses a lot of steam with a start full of exposition and dry , fact-filled narrative to explain the existing situation in post-war Germany . The narrator aptly describes it as " a world of rubble under strict military control . " The footage of a devastated Frankfurt and Berlin give an authentic feel to ... |
447,003 | 1,048,771 | 64,116 | 6 | Sergio's slow-moving western has some unforgettable moments . . . | I have to give ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST a decidedly mixed review . Before I begin , let me point to the major flaws involved : the dialog is not as sharp as in the Clint Eastwood westerns Sergio directed ; the score is not quite as electrifying as those memorable background scores featured in the Eastwood flicks ; ... |
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