Some People 1962

Starring: Kenneth Moore

Troublesome teenage factory workers are helped by a church organist and become model citizens.

Loved it. How times have changed in just over 50 years. A great nod to The Duke Of Edinburgh award scheme and some great songs throughout, some with a definite Shadows sound. Never heard of Annika Wells before, she was stunning and a really good actress too. Nostalgic and well worth seeing.                       9/10

They Met In The Dark 1943

Starring: Tom Wells

A Blackpool theatrical agent is really a master spy.

Crime Noir thriller which was a little muddled and confusing. James Mason gets everywhere, he often looks different, but as s oon as he speaks you know exactly who it is.           4/10

The Crooked Road 1964

Starring: Robert Ryan

Am American journalist plans to expose as a crook the dictator of a small Balkan state, but finds himself framed for murder.

Melodrama which wasn't particularly interesting until the last 3o mins. Enjoyable to watch Ryan and Stewart Granger doing their stuff. I'm more of a Ryan fan than a Granger fan, but Granger won this one being particulary suave and believable.            5/10

Sapphire 1959

Starring: Nigel Patrick

Scotland Yard solves the murder of a coloured music student.

More like a TV drama than a feature movie. Amaing that this is only 60 years ago and yet the room went quiet when a black person entered, they were constantly being referred to as coloured and the whole film centered around racial prejudice. Fascinating viewing.      7/10

Apache War Smoke 1952

Starring:  Gilbert Roland

An Indian killer is among those sheltering in a desert outpost before an Apache raid.

Standard Western with a light-hearted hand in places. The action scene were pleasing to the little boy inside me. Not bad.      5/10

That Feminine Touch 1941

Starring: Rosalind Russell

A professor gets into woman trouble when he writes a book about jealousy.

Selected this due to International Women's Day the other day. Wish I hadn't. Dull beyond belief with a lot of talking followed by shouting. Attempts at slapstick occasionally lifted the monotony.    2/10

Against A Crooked Sky 1975

Starring: Richard Boone

Two Westerners set out to find the sister of one of them, who has been kidnapped by Indians.

Seemed about 20 year older than it actually is. There was something about this that made it seem quite believable. A simple story and yet I found myself totally engrossed. Not overcomplicated and for me, worked.               6/10

Conquest Of Cochise 1953

Starring: Robert Stack

An army major is sent to make peace with Cochise, the Apache.

Traditional cowboy's and Injuns with a Mexican twist. War, peace and a little romance. Classic ingredients but a little tame.            5/10

The Gene Krupa Story 1959

Starring: Sal Mineo

A successful jazz drummer is convicted on a drugs charge and falls from grace.

A wasn't aware of this fella and as biopics go, this is not bad. Lots of upbeat jazz music to get the foot tapping and the whole thing looked great.         6/10

Make Me an Offer 1954

Starring: Peter Finch

An antique dealer has an ambition to own a famous vase.

A gentle British movie set in the antique World. Novel because of its subject matter and Finch played the lead role nicely. Not a lot happens to be honest and yet ot holds a certain charm throughout.

A loved the line early on "We teach children how to cross the road, why don't we teach them not to go into the antique trade?"           7/10

Okinawa 1952

Starring: Pat O'Brien

Adventures of the gun crew of a Pacific destroyer.

Too much talking and not enough action. Waiting for the Japanese Kamikaze to attack. A few good plane scenes but instantly forgettable.     4/10

Where The Sidewalk Ends 1950

Starring: Dana Andrews

A tough policeman accidentally kills a suspect and tries to implicate a gang leader.

The old rogue cop plot. Not bad with Karl Malden effectively auditioning for The streets Of San Francisco. Dull in places with some good phases in others.    5/10

The Masque Of The Red Death 1964

Starring: Vincent Price

A medieval Italian prince practices devil worship while the plague rages outside, but when he holds a ball, death is an uninvited guest.     

Usual Price material with him being mean moody and sending lots of people to death. Flashbacks, lots of dancing, a little girl with a woman's voice and the red death. All a little weird really.   5/10

Forty Little Mothers 1940

Starring: Eddie Cantor

A teacher in a girls' school finds himself in charge of a baby.

What an absolute delight. Cantor is so endearing that you totally believe him. All the school girls looked about 35, but who cares. Find it on Youtube and watch it if you can.         9//10

Conversations With Other Women 2005

Starring: Helena Bonham Carter

When a man and woman flirt with each other at a wedding reception, the sexual tension seems spontaneous. As they break from the party to a hotel room, the flirtation turns into a night filled with passion and remorse. 

Such a simple idea and yet utterly compelling. Two people talking at the end of a wedding reception and briefly rekindling a love affair. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, this movie had flash glimpses which were superbly placed and really added to the movie. Clever movie.        8/10

I'll give a million 1938

Starring: Warner Baxter

A millionaire becomes a tramp and disappears, letting it be known that he will give a fortune for genuine acts of kindness. Tramps are then royally entertained all over town.

The idea of a millionaire desperately wanting someone to love him for who he is, is really rather sad. This light-hearted movie is quite good fun though, the only down point being Peter Lore who has to be the most annoying ctor in the hitory of the movies.      6/10

Ratboy 1986

Starring: Sondra Locke

A half-rodent alien gets the anticipated rough treatment when he visits Earth.

Sondra Locke who sadly died earlier this month was the director and star of this movie. A one trick piece, once you've seen the rat boy, the rest of the movie just doesn't live up to this visual reveal. Just rather dull I'm afraid.               3/10

Days of Heaven 1978

Starring: Richard Gere

In the early 20th century, three young immigrants leave Chicago for the wheatfields.

There is no denying that this movie is visually stunning. I just found it really dull and couldn't get into it at all. I don't think the quietly spoken backing narrative helped. A disappointment.      3/10

The Medusa Touch 1978

Starring: Richard Burton

A novelist is haunted by the belief that he can cause disaster.

I was expecting to enjoy this, I am not a  fan of Richard Burton. Although, yet again I found him too intense, he wasn't on screen for that much of the movie which was instead driven by the excellent Lino Ventura. This is an excellent thriller, absolutely gripping and builds really well towards its conclusion. I loved it.      9/10

Boy Did I Get A Wrong Number 1966

Starring: Bob Hope

Trying to phone his wife, an estate agent gets involved with a runaway actress.

Great fun with some amusing one-liners throughout the movie. Most of the budget must have been spent on foamy bubbles. Hope's comic timing was spot on and I particularly enjoyed the performance of his maid, played by Phyllis Diller.       7/10

Tales From The Crypt 1972

Starring: Ralph Richardson

Five people get lost in catacombs and are shown the future by a sinister monk who turns out to be Satan.

A bit like Tales Of The Unxepected with five different stories. The last one at the blind home was my favourite although a constantly barking dog for several minutes is just plain annoying. I saw Joan Collins put on a turn of speed up a flight of stairs that I never knew she had in her locker and this episode included a delightful version of 'Silent Night'. All in all, came across as a bit of a cheap option and was a little unfulfilling.                         5/10

Zandy's Bride 1974

Starring: Gene Hackman

Life for a frontier family.

A little unusual and at times slow. Watchable though, the scenery is stunning and I loved the backing score. Some of the wildlife scenes, a horse falling down a steep hill and a bear attack were breathtaking. Certainly glad that I watched it.       6/10

The Camp On Blood Island 1958

Starring: Andre Morell

The sadistic commandant of a Japanese POW camp swears to kill all the inmates. Japan surrenders, and a great effort is made to prevent the news from reaching him.

A Hammer movie but no Lee, Cushing, Price camp horror. This is brutal! Every Japanese person I have ever met has been charming, that possible makes movies like this all the more shocking. Difficult to watch and yet well made.       8/10

The Enemy General 1960

Starring: Van Johnson

An American officer takes revenge on the German general who executed his fiancee.

Pretty good war drama with lots of tension and action. As is often the way, the archive clips shown occasionally taken during the war, somehow were the most poignant.       7/10

Navy Wife 1956

Starring: Joan Bennett

A commander's wife visits her husband in Japan and learns about Japanese attitudes.

A very gentle, light-hearted movie but dear God, is it patronizing towards the Japanese. Shows you how much smaller the World has come in 60 years and how modernised both attitudes and way of life has become. Interesting but certainly not funny.     6/10 
 

Garden Of Evil 1954

Starring: Susan Heyward

En route to the Californian goldfields an ex-sheriff and a gambler help a woman to rescue her husband from a mine, but are trapped by Indians.

A sort of Western, road movie. Dragged a little at times but also had some good action scenes. One fist fight where a guy landed on the fire not once, not twice, but three times and one of the funniest death scenes by a guy with arrows in him that I've seen for a while.     6/10

The Alligator People 1959

Starring: George MacReady

A doctor uses a revolutionary serum which unfortunately turns patients into the alligators from which it was derived.

One of those so bad that it was good movies. The effects of when a patient had fully turned into a gator is hilarious. A don't want to knock it, it's no masterpiece, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it just made me smile.         6/10

The Shout 1978

Starring: Alan Bates

A man who may be mad claims that, like the old aborigine magicians, he can kill be shouting.

Not sure I've ever scored a 1 before. What a lot of twaddle, uninteresting, unfunny and has absolutely nothing of interest. Never mind, on to next week.....    1/10

I Walk The Line 1970

Starring: Gregory Peck

A Tennessee sheriff protects moonshiners for the favours of their daughter; when an investigstor arrives, bloodshed results.

I couldn't take my eyes of this. As natural as I've ever seen Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld was a delight. Stunning locations, drama that slowly built, all set against a brilliant Johnny Cash backing score.     8/10

The Weaker Sex 1948

Starring: Ursula Jeans

Day-to-day problems of a well-to-do war widow.

Can you imagine a film in this day and age, centered around women, given this title? Very down to earth with every day problems that weren't overly dramatised, interspersed with war time clips and music, this was quite moving. Seems in today's World, like we're watching a different planet, hard to believe that it was only eighty years ago.      6/10

South Of St Louis 1948

Starring: Joel McCrea

Before the civil war starts, southern farmers are plagued by Union guerillas.

Standard civil war movie but with some good fights and action scenes. All fairly hum-drum.  6/10

Beautiful Creatures 2000

Starring: Rachel Weisz

Two girls thrown together by their boyfriends’ violence accidentally kill one of them.

I'm not a huge fan of back comedy. But this onee is not bad and did make me laugh out loud on a couple of occasions. Rachel Weisz looking gorgeous throughout did not harm at all.      6/10

Uncertain Glory 1944

Starring: Errol Flynn

During World War 11, a French playboy sacrifices himself for his country.

I love Errol Flynn, but this is not his greatest work. Very downbeat with strings of long narrative. It's just not very interesting. It sounded like he was called Jean Picard, the Star Ship Enterprise would have livened things up a little.     4/10

career 1959

Starring: Anthony Franciosa

An actor from the midwest finally gets his chance in New York.

A very downbeat type of movie. I'm a fan of Dean Martin and yet he seemed rather subdued. I greatly admire Shirley Maclaine and yet she was way too over the top. Not their finest hours.      5/10

 

The Fighting Seabees 1944

Starring: John Wayne

During World War 11 in the Pacific, construction workers atatck the Japanese.

Considering how prolific he was, I don't see a lot of John Wayne movies. All a little propaganda driven, Wayne is just a little one dimensional, his jitterbug scene was particularly uncomfortable to watch. Some good action scenes at the end.      5/10 

Heart Of Midnight 1988

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh

An emotionally disturbed woman uncovers the dark secrets of a nightclub left to her by her uncle.

I loved the first ten minutes of this movie, it seemed to have real potential and Jennifer Jason Leigh seemed interestingly quirky. Sadly, in no time at all, it descended into macabre, disjointed, silly nonsense that was not very well executed and was just plain unpleasant. Such a shame, score was good though.      4/10

City Girl 1930

Starring: Charles Farrell

A city girl finds rural life has its own dramas

In all my years of doing this, I can't remember ever having a silent movie before. I actully really enjoyed it. Nicely filmed, a cracking backing score that really helped move the movie along and plenty of drama. Old fashioned in so many ways and probably all the better for it.         6/10

The Dark Man 1950

Starring: Maxwell Reed

A mysterious murderer haunts a seaside resort.

Came across as a B-Movie, probably more suited to showing on TV. Typical policeman falls in lov with a lady involved in the case and this is followed by a manhunt. Not bad but never really came across as watching a motion picture.        6/10

Highpoint 1984

Starring: Richard Harris

An industrialist is on the run from both the Mafia and the CIA.

What on Earth? Not sure what Richard Harris and Christopher Plummer were thinking of. Terrible script full of pointless car chases, bad gags and misplaced humour. We even hd a speeded up scene straight out of a Benny Hill. Not good!           5/10


 

Doctor Blood's Coffin 1960

Starring:  Kieron Moore

A disbarred doctor sets up in a Cornish tin mine and begins to emulate Dr Frankenstein.

Nothing original about the plot, but this had a couple of things going for it. The characters in the main, were so natural that you believed in them and the Cornish scenery was simply stunning.    6/10

The Commandos strike at Dawn 1942

Starring: Paul Muni

Norwegian commandos outwit the Nazis with the help of the British navy.

Unusual to see a war film set in Norway and I actually thought this was rather good, don't know how historically accurate it was. Just made me shake my head once again at how utterly pointless war and fighting is.        7/10

I Married A Witch 1942

Starring: Frederic March

A Salem witch and her sorcerer father come back to haunt the descendant of the Puritan who had them burned.

Basically, like watching Bewitched. Loads of special effects, doors shutting by themselves, flying brooms etc. Quirky comedy too. Forget the plot, just good fun to watch.       6/10

Double Harness 1933

Starring: Ann Harding

A girl sets out to trick a rich man into marriage.

I'm having a bad run! Unintersting and unfunny. Thankfully, it was not too long.       2/10

The Woman On Pier 13 1949

Starring: Laraine Day

A shipping executive is blackmailed by communists, who know of a youthful crime, into helping them spy.

Melodrama, just not very interesting. Lots of dramatic music but the plot never gets anywhere close to a crescendo.   4/10

Whiplash 1948

Starring:  Dane Clark

A painter becomes a prizefighter

Reasonable melodrama. Nothing more sinister than a villain in a wheelchair. There are too many boxing movies out there and it just thought that this cried out for a little more originality. Nice performances though.        4/10

Eight Iron Men 1952

Starring:  Bonar Colleano

In the ruins of an Italian village, eight American infantrymen wait for relief.

Bleak, with an excellent set. Not a fan of flashbacks and daydreaming, but the frustration, despair and dire conditions were nicely portrayed.      5/10

The Divorce of Lady X 1938

Starring: Laurence Olivier

A nobleman's daughter wins a barrister by posing as a divorce client

Screwball comedy, dated but fun in places. Is this the first screening of "To me, to you, to me, to you..."?  Fun in places         5/10

Palookaville 1995

Starring: Adam Trese

Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetence as criminals, a fateful event (and an old black-and-white film) convinces them that they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While they are busy plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control all around them.

Definitely quirky, but there was something likeable about this movie. The whole idea of trying to tunnel into a jewellery shop but actually reaching a bakery next door, amused me from the start and the characters had an easy charm.      6/10

The Honkers 1971

Starring: James Coburn

An ageing rodeo rider has trouble with his wife.

I like rodeo riding, who doesn't? But there's only so much you cn watch, the rest of the movie has to be interesting. For me , this just didn't cut it. Too much talk and not enough interest. Shame as it had potential.       4/10

Born Losers 1967

Starring: Tom Laughlin

California teeny-boppers claim to have been gang-raped by wandering motorcyclists.

Difficult to watch at times with a truly repulsive motor cycle clan. The fashions in this movie are jaw-dropping, the young female lead when first seen on her bike is a sight enough to make you walk headfirst into a lamppost.    6/10