Cancel My Reservation 1972

Starring: Bob Hope

A TV talk show host retreats to his ranch and finds himself mixed up with murder.

Mixing comedy and mystery never really works, but Bob Hope has enough about him to raise a few laughs and despite being stupid, I quite enjoyed this.   6/10
 

The Girl Who Had Everything 1953

 

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor

The daughter of a wealthy criminal lawyer falls in love with one of her father's crooked clients.

Short movie. William Powell is comfortable and believable in his role, Liz Taylor is not bad, Fernando Lamas though had no chemistry with Taylor at all. All builds to a decent climax in last 15 minutes.   6/10

Bartleby 1970

 Staring: Paul Scofield

A young clerk gradually refuses to take part in life.

In a time before depression and autism is recognised and understood, this is a strangely moving piece. The boss displays a confused, frustrated character who clearly has a soft heart. Bartleby himself is brilliantly portrayed. We've still got a lot to do but have come a long way.    6/10

The Small Voice 1948

 Starring: James Donald

Escaped convicts hold up a playwright and his wife in their country cottage.

Too dark for too long, all a bit manufactured and Howard Keel seems completely miscast. Throw a couple of kids into the mix and there is a degree of tension. Some lines that were so bizarre, they made me laugh, James Donald played it all on one level, it did have its moments though.    6/10

Ladies should Listen 1934

 

Starring: Cary Grant

A knowledgeable switchboard operator helps a financier with his problems.

Incredible to think that this is not far off 100 years old. Cary Grant plays the philanderer whose apartment renovation bill must have been enormous.

I believe this originated from a play and would certainly have worked in the theatre. Not Grant's most memorable work, but he gives a huge amount of energy, is engaging and his comic timing, as ever, was up to scratch. The Two main female leads, bespectacled susie and the lovely Anna, were both excellent and delivered their slapstick flawlessly. The rest of the supporting cast were very good too, this was a tight production that came in at about the hour mark.

So many modern comedies don't even make me smile, this had me laughing out loud on a few occasions and was great fun. 7/10

Appointment With Crime 1945

Starring: William Hartnell

Ex-convict revenges himself on the former friends who shopped him.

William Hartnell is best known in the UK for playing the first ever Dr Who in the popular, long-running TV series. Here, he plays an unpleasant, small time crook who having been in prisoned, following a botched robbery, sets out to 'get his own back' on those who he considered, let him down, and gets involved in further crime and murder.

At first, I felt Hartnell was a little over the top, but his performance was consistent and became more believable as the movie progressed.

But for me, the supporting cast added an enjoyable and believable extra level. I'm not sure a Canadian detective, working out of Scotland Yard to improve his skills, was entirely necessary, but Robert Beatty played the part well. All actors were good, but Joyce Howard as the lady friend and Alan Wheatley as the art-dealer's bag carrier were my personal favourites, Wheatley particularly had some lovely touches.

Overall, this was a well plotted script, it all made sense, the London locations added atmosphere and the ending actually wrapped things up nicely. 9/10 

Miss Tatlock's Millions 1948

 

Starring: John Lund

A stunt man impersonates the idiot heir to a fortune.

Great fun in the first half of the movie, Lund must have had a ball playing the son throwing water and people and being a general annoyance. Movie morphs into a romance halfway through and loses momentum. Interesting watch for first half alone.    6/10

No Ordinary Baby 2001

 

A reporter gets the scoop on the first-ever human cloning, but the furor surrounding the event jeopardizes the baby's birth and the career of the doctor responsible for creating the clone.

TV movie and a decent one. Nice to see the lovely Bridget Fonda before she gave up acting. The doctor showed a caring side and an arrogance and was brilliant. Thought-provoking and discussion worthy.   8/10

The Riddle Of The Stinson 1988

 

Starring: Norman Kaye

In 1937, a farmer goes to the rescue of survivors of a plane crash in inaccessible country.

Slow moving, a little bit dour and left lets of unanswered questions. Quite interesting though.   6/10

You Must Be Joking 1965

 Assorted army personnel vie in an extended initiative test.

Stellar comedy cast but I just found it all a little silly, I must be getting old.  4/10

The Road To Denver 1955

 

Starring: John Payne

An honest ranch hand gets into trouble when he tries to help his lawless brother.

Standard good brother, bd brother movie. Well done though, the older brother a particularly interesting character with a back story, the tip of which only is touched. Decent ending too.    7/10

Heartburn 1986

 

Starring: Meryl Streep

Romantic problems of a busy professional couple.

Spending 105 minutes watching a couple have marital problems is not great entertainment, regardless of how strong the acting is. Some good scenes but movie looks more dated than those made 30 years previously.   5/10

The Young Land. 1957

 

Starring: Dan O'Herlihy

A young sheriff arrests a gunman and after the trial has to save him from lynching.

Fairly standard Western, the young sheriff who rules in an unconventional way made a nice change and gave the movie its USP.   5/10

Candy Mountain 1987

 

Starring: Kevin J O'Connor

An enterprising musician goes in search of a reclusive guitar-maker.

Slow moving road movie, mainly dysfunctional characters and yet somehow, I stayed with it. I'm sure this has a cult fanbase.....  5/10

The Holiday 1930

 

Starring: Ann Harding

A bright-minded rich girl steal her sister's fiancé, a struggling young lawyer.

Considering the age, this is a remarkable looking movie with a stunning house set. Unfortunately, the movie is just dull. Listening to people talk for 90 minutes with nothing else happen would test anyone.   3/10

The Shakedown 1959

Starring: Robert Morgan

A Soho vice boss photographs prominent people in compromising situations and blackmails them.

Morgan is really unlikeable but excellent in a film that grew on me. Great to see Donald Pleasance, Bill Owen & Harry H Corbett who were all terrific. Very satisfying ending too. Good movie.  8/10
 

Kansas City Bomber 1972

 

Starring: Raquel Welch

A roller skating star finds time between affairs to beat her rival in a big match.

Awful! Unbelievable, you couldn't hear half of what was being said as the PA announcer was droning on in the background. Welch is impossibly good looking and still emerges without a scratch on her. Very poor!   2/10

Ride A Crooked Mile 1938

Starring: Akim Tamiroff

An ex-Cossack cattle hijacker is disappointed when jailed to find that his son will not help him escape.  

Why have the father as a Cossack? Difficult to understand, Mike was a really unlikeable character. Son Johnny was a good contrast but I never bought him as a son of the father. Poor print of the movie that seems to be hanging on by a thread. Interesting watch though.  6/10 

Go West Young Man 1936

 

Starring: Mae West

A movie star has a car breakdown in Pennsylvania and falls for a local lad.

Movie only gets going once the scenario unfolds andRandolph Scott appears. Mae West is ridiculously over the top, maybe that was the point? Maybe just me, but the maids were a lot more attractive. A young Randolph Scott was very good, one of the best roles I've seen him in. a nice supporting cast too. Surprisingly enjoyable.     6/10

The War Lover 1962

 Starring: Steve McQueen

In 1943, a Flying Fortress commander based in East Anglia has the wrong idea about women and war.

Steve McQueen is charismatic in the role of the over confident, gung-ho captain, Robert Wagner the perfect, level-headed partner. The movie loses intensity during the middle romance scenes but it is vital to understand McQueen's character. Excellent characterisation in an interesting movie.  8/10

The Vicious Circle 1948

 

Starring: Conrad Nagel

Five Jewish farmers in Hungary are framed for murder.

Short courtroom drama. Overacted and difficult to connect with as the whole thing had no context. Very short and surely one of the cheapest ever movies to make.   4/10

Outlawed 2018

 

Starring: Adam Collins

An action packed story of corruption and murder. Outnumbered, outgunned and against all odds, a Commando fights his way through a siege to save his girl.

Simply dreadful. Poor and lazy script, the acting was shocking, the whole thing had an echo sound. I simply can't think why anyone would think making this would be a good idea. Occasional good action.   2/10

Mr Dynamite 1935

 Starring: Edmund Lowe

An unconventional private detective outsmarts the police.

Very old, actors shout at each other and talk at 100mph, attempted wisecracks every 30 seconds fall flat. I lost interest very quickly, thankfully short.    2/10

Valentino 1951

 

Starring: Anthony Dexter

An Italian immigrant to the US becomes a World-famous romantic film star but dies young.

In Wikipedia, Charlie Chaplin described Valentino as the shy, introverted friend. Valentino is not depicted like this in this movie, rather as a cad and womaniser that makes him difficult to like. More of a love story, a kind of half-biopic, interesting none the less.  5/10

Man Of Flowers 1983

 

Starring:  Norman Kaye

A model's relationship with her lover, a blackmailing, cocaine-snorting artist, and her admirer, a wealthy, repressed, middle-aged aesthete, leads to violence.

There's a line in a Monty Python sketch that goes "I may not know much about art, but I know what I like". It seemed like this movie was made to shock, nudity a plenty, a lesbian scene, all accompanied by an operatic score. I found it to be pretentious and boring.    2/10

Bombers Moon 1943

 

An American pilot crash-lands into Germany and makes for the coast.

Editing is a little clumsy, woman being mistaken as a boy is laughable but there are some decent scenes throughout with well built tension.   6/10

Saludos Amigos 1943

 

Donald Duck has various South American adventures with a parrot namedJoe Carioca

Slightly misleading, I think Donald was only in two scenes. Semi-documentary, most interesting to see clips of people going about their lives in years gone by. Did make me laugh a couple of times, just a bit of an odd movie and very short.    5/10

Those Were The Days 1940

 

Starring: William Holden

During their 40th anniversary celebrations, a married couple look back to their courtship days at college.

Set around the fraternity scene at Knox College, everything that the students got up to seems so tame, not a patch on the outrageous 'Animal House' but had occasional moments.   4/10

Internes Can't Take Money 1937

 

Starring: Joel McCrea

A hospital doctor persuades a gangster friend to help a woman find her missing child.

The screen debut of Dr Kildare and he comes into the company of Barbara Stanwyck. Kildare is a bit like Macgyver and uses everything around him to aid in operations. Movie can't quite make up its mind whether it's a medical drama or a crime drama but the ending is beautifully done.    6/10

Alive And Kicking 1958

 

Staring: Sybil Thorndike

Three old ladies escape from a home to an Irish island.

Utterly bonkers and yet charming. It's full on and quite exhausting to watch, once you set yourself at piece with the goings on, it is good fun and made me laugh out loud a few times. 7/10

Kill Me Tomorrow 1957

 

Starring Pat O'Brien

A down-and-out reporter confuses to murder in order to obtain cash for his son's operation.

Although slightly flawed, I just never bought Pat O'Brien as the son's father, this is a decent thriller that zipped along nicely, the plot was well constructed and there were interesting characters. Good locations of London and great to see an upcoming Tommy Steele singing a couple of times in a bar.    7/10