Of Human bondage 1946

Starring: Paul Henreid

Good-looking but thoroughly dull remake

Henreid is the medial student with an odd accent who falls for a lower class waitress and becomes infatuated & obsessive towards her. To be honest, it was him who came over as creepy and slightly deranged and I couldn't quite see why his adopted family became so fond of him. Over-long but still watchable.    6/10

Tunes of glory 1960

Starring: Alec Guinness

The new disciplinarian CO of a highland regiment crosses swords with his lax, hard drinking predecessor.

For the second week running I've found myself watching a Scottish themed movie. Set almost entirely in a barracks, this is the story of to men clashing over the running of a regiment. Both men are clearly traumatised by their wartime experiences although this is only briefly referred to. Guinness is superb as the overbearing, outgoing commander with his Scottish accent as authentic as they come, what an actor! John Mills is the perfect foil, another brilliant, angst ridden performance. Superb back up by all the other actors, this is a little gem.    8/10

The Kidnappers 1953

Starring: Duncan Macrae

In a Nova Scotian village at the turn of the century a stern old man denies his young grandchildren a pet, so they borrow a baby and hide it in the woods.

Set in a Scottish community in Nova Scotia. This starts as a dispute over who owns the land on a hill and ends with one of the young children in court over kidnapping a baby. Not a good example as a movie, inbred prejudice passed on to innocent children and petty squabbles where nobody will compromise. A little dour, but watch-able with a score that always lets you know what's about to happen.        5/10

Before winter comes 1968

Starring: David Niven

Austria 1945; A British major in charge of displaced persons is helped and hindered by a cheerful Yugoslav refugee who turns out to be a Russian deserter.

Filmed in beautiful Austrian scenery, Niven is fine as a stuffy major whilst Topal verges on charismatic as the interpreter. The problem is that this movie is a little single paced. It takes ages to see where this film is going & although the ending is moving, the groundwork has not pulled enough strings to make the ending dramatic enough. Probably would be better as a book.      4/10