The story of GI Joe 1945

Starring: Burgess Meredeth

Journalist Ernie Pyle follows fighting men into the Italian campaign.

Standard guns and bomb war film that touches on the human element. Probably held a lot stronger weight when it was made. It's very dated now and hasn't stood up too well in time. A few interesting scenes, otherwise, seen it all before.      3/10

Serious charge 1959

Starring: Anthony Quayle

A small-town troublemaker, accused by his priest of being responsible for the death of a young girl, amuses himself by accusing the priest of making homosexual advances.

Cliff Richard's first movie although he wasn't in in too much. Anthony Quayle is absolutely excellent as the almost too good to be true boxing, 1st division footballing, youth-club running priest. Although the movie is dated, the subject matter is almost more relevant today than it was at the time.     7/10

Five branded women 1960

Starring: Silvana Mangano

Five Yugoslav girls have their heads shaved for associating with German soldiers, and after various adventures joing the partisans.

What could have been sentimental, romantic slush is actually a gritty, compelling drama full of tension. The bleakness and hoplessness of these lives are brilliantly portrayed. An unexpected gem.   8/10

The Primrose path 1940

Starring: Ginger Rogers

The youngest of a family of shanty-town prostitutes falls in love with an honest hamburger stand proprietor.

Gingers Rogers and Joel McCrea have a good chemistry and Rogers family are suitably disfunctional. The picture gets a little cluttered at times both with the characters and dialogue but generally is an easy-view where you end up rooting for the family to fall upon better times despite one of the most precocious young girls I've seen on film for a very long time.            6/10