The Bravados 1958

Starring: Gregory Peck

A widower chases four killers who, he believes, raped and murdered his wife.

Peck is a man of few words in this movie but is actually quite effective. Joan Collins was a great actress when she was young but had little to do here. This is a downbeat western with a lengthy manhunt and a twist which I certainly never saw coming. The town has a huge church which looked like the inside of Westminster Abbey & was a bit out of keeping with the rest of the town. A slow moving but compelling western. 8/10

Boys night out 1962

Starring: Kim Novak

Three married men and their bachelor friend share a flat and a 'mistress'

This looked and sounded like a slightly racier episode of the TV series 'Bewitched'. Totally studio based and in this modern age, not raunchy whatsoever. James Garner was always at his best in quirky comedies such as this, in fact all the cast showed great comic timing. A couple of hours of harmless, frothy fun. 7/10

Boy on a dolphin 1957

Starring: Alan Ladd

A Greek girl diver discovers a sunken artifact of great value and the news spreads to an American archaeologist and an unscrupulous collector.

The nice thing about seeing lots of films is the different views of the World that you see. This movie had great views of several Greek islands. This was a matinee type story which was harmless enough but took forever to reach its conclusion. It could have comfortably lost 20 minutes. Sophia Loren Sizzled, danced and sang. If only you could understand what she was saying half the time. 6/10

The Snows of Kilimanjaro 1952

Starring: Gregory Peck

A hunter lies wounded in Africa and while waiting for help loooks back over his lifes and loves.

I'm afraid that I hate movies with flashbacks, they so rarely work for me. This film started off like a nature film, I kept expecting David Attenborough to walk out. This is an incredibly wordy film with moody lighting, morbid reminicising and large quantiteis of drinks being 'fixed'. I'm afraid I found the whole thing deadly dull. 2/10

The Flame of New Orleans 1941

Starring: Marlene Dietrich

A European adventuress settles in America.

Dietrich plays a smouldering, sultry love-torn Countess in the sort of role that made her famous. This film is at its best when Dietrich was sparring with sailor Carbot who made a great foil for her. The comedy scenes were a bit thin and dated and the plot was a little thin, however, it was interesting to see this star in full bloom. 5/10

Lord of the flies 1963

After a plane crash, a party of English schoolboys are stranded on an uncharted tropical island and gradually turn savage.

Thiis was one of the few books I studied at school and enjoyed. This adaptation just seemed really dated. the fact that it was in black & white didn't help and the TV series 'Lost' has taken desert island stories to a new level. I'd love to see this story done really well, but although the kids acting improved as the movie went on, it was all abit staged and disjointed. This story has a message to us all which is more relevant now than ever. But like Jack, so many people are not listening. 4/10

Ladies of the chorus 1949

Starring: Marilyn Monroe

A Broadway burlesque queen falls for a socialite

Interesting, as this was Marilyn Monroe's first principal role. This was a movie with some scenes I really liked & others which were plain tiresome. Marilyn Monroe was excellent with a lovely understated performance, the actress playing her future Mother-in-law was also good. The decorator and his kid side-kick were possibly the most annoying characters I've ever seen in any film. However, at 60 minutes long, this movie showed that you can still tell a story without having to book a day off work. 5/10

They rode West 1954

Starring: Robert Francis

A Cavalry doctor at a frontier fort gets into trouble trying to help the Indians

This was a bit like watching a wild West episode of Casualty. As usual with most Westerns, it was spot on with its locations and costumes. I'm not sure I quite bought the whole white girl/Squa thing. But the doctor, Captain and supporting cast were all great.
Predictible but great fun. 8/10

The Good die young 1954

Starring: Laurence Harvey

Four crooks, all with private problems, set out to rob a mail van.

I have to say, I wouldn't have kept in the first scene which shows the four men on their way to the robbery. It removed any element of surprise & I found myself waiting for this scene to happen which somewhat distracted from the plot. This was actually quite well acted although it was amusing to hear the rather dated 'clipped' tones of the actors. An enjoyable film with an exciting finale..

Three coins in the fountain 1954

Starring: Clifton Webb

Three American girls find Romance in Rome

A gentle romance set in Rome. It's a bit dated now but easy on the eye. A slow moving movie which does however give some gorgeous views of the Italian capital. 5/10

Sky west and crooked 1965

Starring: Hayley Mills

A Mentally retarded girl falls in love with a gypsy.

I don't think I've ever seen a movie, so much of which is set in a graveyard. Haymey Mills is terrific, but the real star is the west country setting & scenery. The parson, although rather stereotypical, is played beautifully and sets the whole think off. This movie was both funny and tragic as well as thought provoking. Who was really at fault for the young lads death & were the grudges just hiding the guilt? 9/10

City beneath the sea 1953

Starring: Robert Ryan

Deep sea divers fall out over a sunken treasure

Robert Ryan and Anthony Quinn combine well in a good mixture of comedy & action. I must say, I expected to actually see a living city beneath the sea and felt slightly short-changed. Some of the underwater clips were over long, the best moments were when the stars were together on land, I absolutely loved the bar fight scene with the band frantically accompanying the fracas. 5/10

Raw deal 1986

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger

An ex-FBI man is recruited to infiltrate Chicago's biggest mob.

Unashamed star vehicle for Arnie. Completely unrealistic, no cop would behave like him. Poor acting & not a great script with everything just oh so obvious. Some reasonable one-liners were lost with desperate timing & delivery. A watchable enough movie but instantly forgetable. 5/10

The Man in grey 1943

Starring: Margaret Lockwood

In Regency times, an aristocratic girl's love for her less fortunate friend is repaid by jealousy, treachery & murder.

A gripping melodrama that positively oozed Hollywood quality. Any dodgy lighting or poor small part performances were forgiven by 4 sterling leading performances. Lockwood was so charismatic, you couldn't take your eyes off her. Mason gave an intense, loyal performance. Phyllis Calvert pitched it just right as the jealous, scheming seductress & Grainger made a dashing lover & all round good guy. Slightly dated, but a joy. 8/10

The Reckless moment 1949

Starring: James Mason

A woman accidently kills her daughter's would-be-seducer, and is then trailed by a blackmailer.

A well paced thriller with Joan Bennett pitching it exactly right. I often feel films are overlong, if anything, this was too short. I never really found myself noticing Mason softening towards Bennett, it just suddenly happened. Having said that, this movie was slightly dated but is still a gripping watch. Oh, and as a footnote, everyone could do with 'Help' like Sybil. 8/10

Permission to kill 1970

Starring: Dirk Bogarde

British agents try to stop a communist returning home from the West.

A very good cast unfortunately were off colour and actually looked thoroughly bored with the exception of Timothy Dalton who was actually a delight. Attractive setting lightened the mood somewhat, but the plot was too complicated, single paced and I frankly never cared about the characters. Although it all ties up at the end, this movie was instantly forgetable. 4/10

Puppet on a chain 1970

Starring: Sven Bertil Taube

An American Interpol agent hunts down drug smugglers in Amsterdam.

You know that you're always going to get a tight thriller with Alistair Maclean. Although this is one of his lesser known novels, it came across as a well paced, sometimes brutal movie with all the classic ingredients. Twists, red herrings, murder and a superb boat chase that James Bond would do ell to match. The little known actors actually did a very fair job in an engrossing film. 8/10

Cohen and Tate 1988

Starring: Roy Scheider

Two hit men kidnap a boy who witnessed a gangland murder.

This is a road movie with all the usual cliches pulled out. There's interesting use of light and camera angles and the young boy acts well. Other than that, I found this to be a poor script, an implausable plot with several gaffs and plot holes. The business with Scheiders hearing aid is touched on for a minute or two and then completely ignored again failing to develop his character. The pity is that there's no chemistry between Cohen & Tate, this was essential for this movie to work. 4/10

Metropolis 1926

In the year 2000, the workers in a modernistic city live underground and unrest is quelled by the persuassion of a saintly girl, Maria; but a mad inventor creates an evil Maria to incite them to revolt.

A silent film that is particularly long for its genre. It's actually very dated and hard work to watch. It is however, hugely impressive for its time. I think I'll put it down as an interesting piece of history and leave it at that.

Journey to the center of the Earth 1959

Starring: Pat Boone

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's centre.

This is not my favourite of Verne's work. It's a slightly odd version with comic undertones and the occasional musical number. It could be considered as a bit of a forerunner to Indianna Jones with disasters at every turn, canabalistic dinosaurs and big rolling stones. It lacked a bit of pace but is a harmless enough yarn.

The Day the Earth stood still 1951

A flying saucer arrives in Washington and its alien occupant, aided by a robot, demonstrates his intellectual and physical power, warns the World what will happen if wars continue and departs.

Slightly dated but fast paced thriller which gets to the action right from the first frame. Hollywood belief that any UFO will land in the US capital aside, this was an intriguing concept with interesting observations of Human behaviour. This was actually way ahead of its time. If only humanity would listen to alien 'Mr Carpenters' closing message. 9/10

The Hustler 1961

Starring: Paul Newman


A pool room con man comes to grief when he falls in love.

A classic movie, although to my mind, a little disappointing. Newman is excellent and utterly believable and the pool scenes are brilliantly done. This gives the movie a strong beginning and end. All the love affair stuff in the middle is single paced, too wordy and basically, a little boring. Has memorable scenes, but all in all, a little disappointing. 4/10

Kind hearts and coronets 1949

Starring: Dennis Price

An impecunious heir eliminates eight D'Ascoynes who stand between him and the family fortune.

This movie is famous for Alec Guinness playing eight different roles. I expected to be sick of the sight of him, but in actual fact, he's not on screen for all that amount of time. Three of his characters, Lady Agatha, Admiral & General are glossed over and hardly seen at all. Dennis Price is the lead and true star and is not given enough credit for a good performance. I'm not a huge fan of black comedy, but this is a well penned script with a most satisfactory conclusion. A classic British film, well worth a look. 7/10

The Agony and the ecstasy 1965

Starring: Charlton Heston

Pope Julius 11 persuades Michelangelo to leave his sculptures and paint the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

Charlton Heston's quest to play all the World's most famous people continues with this movie. The film captured well the huge personal sacrifices made by Michelangelo and the drama and longevity of his work was well portrayed. I thought Heston put in a good performance, but I never really bought Rex Harrison as the pope, his voice just seemed all wrong. Intersting subject though. 6/10

The Long Riders 1980

Starring: David Carradine

The story of Western outlaw brothers named Younger, Miller and James.

I've seen what seems like dozens of different movies about the James brothers, all with different interpretations and I still don't have a clue what they were really like. Walter Hill directed this version, so I expected graphic violence in slow motion which was effective if somewhat predictable. The film was beautifully shot with extremely authentic locations. This was a watchable movie, but I felt like I was visiting well-troden ground. 6/10

The Anderson tapes 1971

Starring: Sean Connery

An ex-con forms a gang to rob a building, not knowing that police and others, for various purposes are making recordings of his conversations.

Sean Connery was at his peak at this time, I remember that he seemed to be in nearly every film released. He made a lot of duds, is he overrated or was his selection of scripts slightly suspect? The first half of this movie is confusing, clumsy editing spoiling any flow as we flicked from scene to scene. The last half was entertaining enough with Pop, an excellent charcter similar to the librarian in Shawshank redemption. But there was never sufficient explanation of 'The Anderson tapes' recordings and they all seemed a bit irrelevant as a kid with a ham radio was ultimately, the critical character. OK, but could have been so much better. 4/10

How to get ahead in advertising 1989

Starring: Richard E Grant

An advertising man, in revolt against salesmanship, grows a boil that turns into an alternative head.

In my view, a film should entertain, either by making you laugh, cry, thrilling you, scaring or amazing. I found this movie just plain irritating from the first frame to the last. Grant played the most hateful character, I hoped he'd become more likeable when the boil came to life, but alas no. Rachel Ward added a touch of glamour and was at least watchable. The only good point is that I'll never need to watch this again. 1/10

Brighton rock 1947

Starring: Richard Attenborough

The teenage leader of a racetrack gang uses a waitress as alibi to cover a murder and marries her. He later decides to be rid of her, but fate takes a hand in his murder plot.

I'm a big fan of Richard Attenborough as both director and actor, I don't consider this to be his finest moment. A lot of his menace he portrays by using his eyes and I never really bought him as a hard man. Carol Marsh was terrific as the poor, misguided waitress and played her role to perfection. Brighton must be a very small town as when you're trying to avoid someone, you seem to constantly bump into them around every corner. Now, in the early 1970s, I used one of those booths where you record your voice onto a vinyl record and let me tell you, they were rubbish. The ending came as no surprise and brought back memories I hadn't thought of for years. The movie itself was built to a good climax which helped me to forgive some of its earlier tedium. 6/10

Guadalcanal diary 1943

Starring: Preston Foster

Marines fight for a vital Pacific base.

A documentary style movie of 5 months on an island fighting the Japanese. This was probably made as a moral booster in the second World war and therefore had its place, now it seems very dated. It makes you appreciate how senseless war is and it certainly makes no attempt to glamorise. Touches oh humour such as the guy who never knows where his helmet is are welcomed and some of the battle scenes are quite effective. Interesting but past its sell by date. 4/10

The Wicker man 1973

Starring: Edward Woodward

A policeman flies to a remote Scottish isle to investigate the death of a child, and finds himself in the hands of diabolists.

This movie is certainly original. It's actually deeply disturbing despite the fact that Edward Woodward's accent often disappeared off the island whilst he was still there. It seems so far fetched that you don't worry about the subject matter too much. That is, until the end. I never saw the twist coming and forget slasher films, this had a terrifying ending. Some strange scenes in this movie, but lots to admire, particularly if you want to see Britt Ekland doing a bizarre naked dance. 7/10

Ivanhoe 1952

Staring: Robert Taylor

Derring-do amonk the knights of medieval England.

Oscar nominated in its day, this was certainly a lavish, colourful production. The Saxons/Norman plot was a little confusing and the text over emphasised with every sentence sounding as if it was an Earth changing statement. Some of the special effects were dated and rather obvious but there were some good scenes. The jousting and siege of the fort was all good 'Boys own' stuff. Dated but harmless. 5/10

Fantastic voyage 1966

When a top scientist is shot and suffers brain damage, a team of doctors and a boat are miniturized and injected into his blood stream......but one is a traitor.

Sometimes when watching sci-fi, you look at the plot and think the whole thing unlikely, but maybe one day in the future. This you don't! Preposterous plot which you can get away with if the performances are ok. To start with, this movie was poor. Very pedestrian with wooden acting. The whole thing picks up once the boat enters the body and you even get a bit of a biology lesson along the way. The identity of the traitor is never really in doubt. Many flaws, but harmless enough, however, not to be taken seriously. 5/10

Saturday night and Sunday morning 1960

Starring: Albert Finney

A Nottingham factory worker is dissatisfied with his lot, gets into trouble through an affair with a married woman, but finally settles for convention.

Gritty realistic drama. An angry young man searching for a way out of his hum-drum existence. To be honest, I never warmed to the character and felt desperately sorry For the people he was constantly taking advantage of. The whole setting is superbly observed, stunningly realistic streets, houses and pubs makes no attempt to glamorise. Apparenlt ground breaking when released, it's dated now but is still fascinating viewing. 7/10

Loving you 1957

Staring: Elvis Presley

A press agent signs a young hillbilly singer to give zest to her husbands band.

You know what you're going to get with an Elvis film. Gentle humour, pretty girls and songs. Well this movie certainly didn't break the formula. I actually think this was one of his better efforts. At times, it was like watching an epsiode of Happy days, but ultimately had quite a strong storyline. The music was good with classics like 'Teddy bear' although Mean woman blues was my favourite. The fight in the diner that set off the jukebox was a well worked out scene.
I can't take too many Elvis movies, about one a year is fine & this was a good one. 6/10

Time lock 1957

Starring: Robert Beatty

A small boy is trapped in a bank vault just as it is being locked for the weekend.

Considering nearly the entire movie is on 1 set, the pace is very well maintained in a race against time to open a bank vault, for once with robbery not the motive. Forget the opening schoolboy error that results in the child being locked in the vault, the rest of the plot is well thought out and has you on the edge of your seat. Some of the acting isn't the best and the parents seemed a bit wet, but it's worth a view and you get an interesting science lesson on what happens to your body if you're trapped in a sealed room and the oxygen runs out. 9/10

Lady in white 1988

Starring: Lukas Haas

After seeing the ghost of a murdered girl, a young boy discovers the identity of her killer.

This is a slightly unusual movie. It starts off as a harmless childrens ghost story with touches of gentle humour and then from time to time, turns into a taut thriller with racist undertones that results in real tragedy. The story is a bit laboured at times, but is well enough made and it's interesting to see the 12 year old and slightly squeaky Lukas Haas.
No classic, but certainly unusual and worth seeing for that reason alone. 5/10

His girl Friday 1940

Starring: Cary Grant

A remake of 'The Front page' with Hildy Johnson turned into a woman

There's various actors whose films you always eagerly anticipate. James Stewart is one and Cary Grant another. I have to say this is the most disappointing Cary Grant movie I've ever seen. The pace is frenetic and doesn't relent for the entire 90 minutes. There's people talking at 100 miles an hour, talking over each other, 3 or 4 telephone conversations taking place at once, it's just impossible to take in a quarter of the conversations being hurled at you. I know cue-bite is crucial, but this was ridiculous. Timing in both visual and audio comedy is crucial, so many gags would have been missed because there was so much going on. I laughed once or twice but always at visual things, when there was a sudden lull in the chatter. The character Earl Williams had the most effective scenes, mainly because half a dozen other characters weren't about to butt in. Very disappointing and utterly exhausting to watch. 3/10

Closely observed trains 1966

During World War 2, an apprentice railway guard at a country station falls in love and becomes a saboteur.

The good thing about Saturday newspapers is that they now frequently give away DVD's. This movie came from The Independant. I'm not a great fan of foreign language movies but have recently seen a few charming ones also free from newspapers. This film is set at a tiny quiet station in occupied Czechoslovakia. Quite how they justified the amount of staff there baffled me. This is actually a lovely film, the innocent naievity of the apprentice, the fear and loneliness of all the characters from whatever class and the sexual frustrations again of every character. this is actually quite a racy movie, the scene where the telegraphist is rubber stamped on her legs and bum is very erotic, more so than the pottery scene in Ghost. Ultimately, de-motivation and frustration led to this triviality which ultimately led to a tragic but moving ending. 9/10

Cinderella Liberty 1974

Starring: James Caan

A sailor on shore leave picks up a prostitute and falls in love with her.

I've never been a huge fan of James Caan, I find him a bit single paced and predictible. At the start of this movie, I had no reason to revise my opinion, but his performance as a sailor on extended shore leave due to a boil on the bum, followed by the Navy losing his records grew on my enormously. He picks up a pool-hustling bar hoare and decides to change her life for the better. At first, he is just annoying as it is clear the lady and her 11 year old son with bad teeth don't want him to stick around. But gradually, their barriers are removed and we are left with a touching love story. The performances are all extremely credible with special mention for the lad playing the 11 year old with terrific maturity. The settings are well observed, with the squalor of the flat leaving little to the imagination. Early on, I wasn't sure where this film was going, but a quality script left us with a movie about the fear of change, the fear of loving and the fear of being hurt. Could these fears be conquered? Well, I'll leave you to decide for yourself, but be sure there are tears and laughter along the way with a nicely thought out ending. 7/10

Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942

Starring: James Cagney

Biopics aren't my favourite type of movie. The biggest compliment I can pay is that I went straight to the encyclopedia at the end of the movie to find out more about George M Cohan. I obviously knew some of the songs and was amazed at the sheer volume of material that he'd been involved in. Cagney was terrific, convincing as the arrogant, brash youngster but also showing a subtle side to his acting when he potrayed his character's maturity, appreciating his family's priceless involvement in his success. The film is littered with musical numbers, none of which grated on my nerves. This was flag waving, patriotic stuff, but understandable as made during the war years. My one complaint is that Cagney never looked convincing as a young man, looking middle aged when he was supposed to be 17, easier to look older than younger a guess. A worthy Oscar winner.
7/10