I'll give a million 1938

Starring: Warner Baxter

A millionaire becomes a tramp and disappears, letting it be known that he will give a fortune for genuine acts of kindness. Tramps are then royally entertained all over town.

The idea of a millionaire desperately wanting someone to love him for who he is, is really rather sad. This light-hearted movie is quite good fun though, the only down point being Peter Lore who has to be the most annoying ctor in the hitory of the movies.      6/10

Ratboy 1986

Starring: Sondra Locke

A half-rodent alien gets the anticipated rough treatment when he visits Earth.

Sondra Locke who sadly died earlier this month was the director and star of this movie. A one trick piece, once you've seen the rat boy, the rest of the movie just doesn't live up to this visual reveal. Just rather dull I'm afraid.               3/10

Days of Heaven 1978

Starring: Richard Gere

In the early 20th century, three young immigrants leave Chicago for the wheatfields.

There is no denying that this movie is visually stunning. I just found it really dull and couldn't get into it at all. I don't think the quietly spoken backing narrative helped. A disappointment.      3/10

The Medusa Touch 1978

Starring: Richard Burton

A novelist is haunted by the belief that he can cause disaster.

I was expecting to enjoy this, I am not a  fan of Richard Burton. Although, yet again I found him too intense, he wasn't on screen for that much of the movie which was instead driven by the excellent Lino Ventura. This is an excellent thriller, absolutely gripping and builds really well towards its conclusion. I loved it.      9/10

Boy Did I Get A Wrong Number 1966

Starring: Bob Hope

Trying to phone his wife, an estate agent gets involved with a runaway actress.

Great fun with some amusing one-liners throughout the movie. Most of the budget must have been spent on foamy bubbles. Hope's comic timing was spot on and I particularly enjoyed the performance of his maid, played by Phyllis Diller.       7/10

Tales From The Crypt 1972

Starring: Ralph Richardson

Five people get lost in catacombs and are shown the future by a sinister monk who turns out to be Satan.

A bit like Tales Of The Unxepected with five different stories. The last one at the blind home was my favourite although a constantly barking dog for several minutes is just plain annoying. I saw Joan Collins put on a turn of speed up a flight of stairs that I never knew she had in her locker and this episode included a delightful version of 'Silent Night'. All in all, came across as a bit of a cheap option and was a little unfulfilling.                         5/10

Zandy's Bride 1974

Starring: Gene Hackman

Life for a frontier family.

A little unusual and at times slow. Watchable though, the scenery is stunning and I loved the backing score. Some of the wildlife scenes, a horse falling down a steep hill and a bear attack were breathtaking. Certainly glad that I watched it.       6/10

The Camp On Blood Island 1958

Starring: Andre Morell

The sadistic commandant of a Japanese POW camp swears to kill all the inmates. Japan surrenders, and a great effort is made to prevent the news from reaching him.

A Hammer movie but no Lee, Cushing, Price camp horror. This is brutal! Every Japanese person I have ever met has been charming, that possible makes movies like this all the more shocking. Difficult to watch and yet well made.       8/10

The Enemy General 1960

Starring: Van Johnson

An American officer takes revenge on the German general who executed his fiancee.

Pretty good war drama with lots of tension and action. As is often the way, the archive clips shown occasionally taken during the war, somehow were the most poignant.       7/10

Navy Wife 1956

Starring: Joan Bennett

A commander's wife visits her husband in Japan and learns about Japanese attitudes.

A very gentle, light-hearted movie but dear God, is it patronizing towards the Japanese. Shows you how much smaller the World has come in 60 years and how modernised both attitudes and way of life has become. Interesting but certainly not funny.     6/10 
 

Garden Of Evil 1954

Starring: Susan Heyward

En route to the Californian goldfields an ex-sheriff and a gambler help a woman to rescue her husband from a mine, but are trapped by Indians.

A sort of Western, road movie. Dragged a little at times but also had some good action scenes. One fist fight where a guy landed on the fire not once, not twice, but three times and one of the funniest death scenes by a guy with arrows in him that I've seen for a while.     6/10

The Alligator People 1959

Starring: George MacReady

A doctor uses a revolutionary serum which unfortunately turns patients into the alligators from which it was derived.

One of those so bad that it was good movies. The effects of when a patient had fully turned into a gator is hilarious. A don't want to knock it, it's no masterpiece, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it just made me smile.         6/10

The Shout 1978

Starring: Alan Bates

A man who may be mad claims that, like the old aborigine magicians, he can kill be shouting.

Not sure I've ever scored a 1 before. What a lot of twaddle, uninteresting, unfunny and has absolutely nothing of interest. Never mind, on to next week.....    1/10

I Walk The Line 1970

Starring: Gregory Peck

A Tennessee sheriff protects moonshiners for the favours of their daughter; when an investigstor arrives, bloodshed results.

I couldn't take my eyes of this. As natural as I've ever seen Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld was a delight. Stunning locations, drama that slowly built, all set against a brilliant Johnny Cash backing score.     8/10

The Weaker Sex 1948

Starring: Ursula Jeans

Day-to-day problems of a well-to-do war widow.

Can you imagine a film in this day and age, centered around women, given this title? Very down to earth with every day problems that weren't overly dramatised, interspersed with war time clips and music, this was quite moving. Seems in today's World, like we're watching a different planet, hard to believe that it was only eighty years ago.      6/10

South Of St Louis 1948

Starring: Joel McCrea

Before the civil war starts, southern farmers are plagued by Union guerillas.

Standard civil war movie but with some good fights and action scenes. All fairly hum-drum.  6/10

Beautiful Creatures 2000

Starring: Rachel Weisz

Two girls thrown together by their boyfriends’ violence accidentally kill one of them.

I'm not a huge fan of back comedy. But this onee is not bad and did make me laugh out loud on a couple of occasions. Rachel Weisz looking gorgeous throughout did not harm at all.      6/10

Uncertain Glory 1944

Starring: Errol Flynn

During World War 11, a French playboy sacrifices himself for his country.

I love Errol Flynn, but this is not his greatest work. Very downbeat with strings of long narrative. It's just not very interesting. It sounded like he was called Jean Picard, the Star Ship Enterprise would have livened things up a little.     4/10

career 1959

Starring: Anthony Franciosa

An actor from the midwest finally gets his chance in New York.

A very downbeat type of movie. I'm a fan of Dean Martin and yet he seemed rather subdued. I greatly admire Shirley Maclaine and yet she was way too over the top. Not their finest hours.      5/10

 

The Fighting Seabees 1944

Starring: John Wayne

During World War 11 in the Pacific, construction workers atatck the Japanese.

Considering how prolific he was, I don't see a lot of John Wayne movies. All a little propaganda driven, Wayne is just a little one dimensional, his jitterbug scene was particularly uncomfortable to watch. Some good action scenes at the end.      5/10