Reach for the sky 1956

Starring: Kenneth More

Douglas Bader loses both legs in a 1931 air crash, learns to walk on artificial limbs and flies again in World War 11.

Utterly inspirational movie, Bader's courage and determination made me feel utterly inadequate. A light hearted, bouncy feel drives the movie along & at over 2 hours, I wanted it to keep going, very unusual for me. More is charming and bordering on the charismatic, all the other characters are rounded and utterly believable. Only the flying sequences were slightly unrealistic.     9/10

The Great Rupert 1950

Starring: Jimmy Durante

A family of impoverished acrobats are assisted by a pet squirrel which proves lucky in more ways than one.

Now, I've seen a lot of movies & thought that I'd pretty much seen it all, but a dancing squirrel? Let's just say that I was worried after 5 minutes as to just what I'd be watching. But this settles down to be a charming movie. Sure, the plot line is as implausible as you can get, but it's great fun. Jimmy Durante is a natural entertainer and there are some cracking one-liners and catchy little musical numbers. The whole thing comes together nicely at the end, I loved it!      9/10

The Life and times of Colonel Blimp 1943

Starring: Roger Livesey

A British soldier survives three wars and falls in love with three women

A tour de force for Livesey, he portrays his character brilliantly with Anton Walbrook proving to be a perfect foil for his blustering Englishness. Deborah Kerr is a delight throughout in this lavish, light hearted epic. So much to enjoy, but why did it have to be so interminably long?      5/10

Flying tigers 1942

Starring: John Wayne

American airmen fight the Japs over World war 11 China

Not the most interesting of films. It never seems to be going anywhere until the last 10 minutes. Wayne goes through the motions as usual but brings no personality to his character, All a bit unbelievable really.        4/10