Ride The Man Down 1952

Starring: Brian Donlevy

The death of a rancher sets off a bitter fight for his lands.

A bit of a political Western with lots of dialogue about land ownership and herd branding. Plot needed to be tighter but there was a fair amount of furious horse riding and shooting to keep the traditionalists happy. Strong female lead. Not bad.        5/10

The Night My Number Came Up 1954

Starring: Michael Redgrave

A man dreams that his plane will crash, and the dream begins to come true.

The story was almost strong enough to stand without the dream element. Excellent special effects for the time and good tension. Enjoyed this.         8/10

Hope Springs 2012

Starring: Meryl Streep

After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense, week-long counseling session to work on their relationship. 

What an absolute delight. Meryl Streep is so normal, she could sit in a room and you'd never notice her. Tommy Lee Jones is gruff, uncomfortable and very funny. This movie could resonate with any couple in their middle age.  Strong, strong acting and both amusing and thought-provoking.   9/10

Ambush 1949

Starring: Robert Taylor

An army scout leads a posse to capture an Indian chief who is holding a white womanhostage.

 
Print seems a little dark now, too much emphasis on the romance and not enough action. Inevitable final shoot-out was good enough if a shade predictable.    4/10

Elopement 1951

Starring: Clifton Webb

A girl student eloping with her professor is chased by her father.

They don't make them like this any more. So refreshing to see this sort of movie without sordid sex, swearing etc. Just a nice old fashioned comedy that puts a smile on your face.    7/10

Winter Of Our Dreams 1981

Starring: Judy Davis

A bookseller investigates the suicide of an old girl friend, and becomes involved with an unhappy prostitute.

Very low key. The old 'Tart with a heart' theme. Quite nicely done if lacking any real pace changes, Judy Davis and Bryan Brown are both very watchable.      6/10

City On Fire 1979

Starring: Barry Newman

A slum fire threatens an entire city.

This era was golden for disaster movies. Some good special effects and stunts at times, sadly the script didn't really live up to it. Henry Fonda who cruised through this a little was different class.    6/10

Dear Murderer 1947

Starring: Eric Portman

Plot and counterplot among an adulterous triangle.

More like an episode of Dixon Of Dock Green than a movie. Reasonable enough although the melodramatic moments were a little overplayed.      5/10 

A Room With A View 1985

Starring: Maggie Smith

An innocent Edwardian girl travelling in Italy has her eyes opened to real life and romance.

Anybody who was anybody in the World of British acting is in this movie.Considering they were travelling in Italy, I didn't see or hear a single Italian. Lovely to look at, superbly acting, jsut lacks a little something for me.    5/10

The Goose Steps Out 1942

Starring: Will Hay

To steal a secret weapon, an incompetent teacher is sent into Germany in place of his Nazi double.

Will Hay can either be really annoying, as he was at the beginning of this movie, or really funny, as he often was in the classroom scenes. Nice to see Charles Hawtrey who was always my favurite in the Carry On movies. Definitely had some amusing moments.             6/10

Lambada 1990

Starring: J. Eddie Peck

A teacher spends his nights as a lambada dancer so that he can give lessons to a gang of dropouts.

Lots of fast cars and dancing. Nice to see a movie of this genre without constant swearing. A strong moralistic message which is reinforced by the end credits.       5/10

 

The Hired Hand 1971

Starring: Peter Fonda

Two Western drifters avenge the killing of their friend and settle down to work on a farm; but violence follows them.

Very downbeat movie. In this modern age, where so much is talked about mental health, you could read this very subject into this movie. Loneliness, the desire to find yourself. Interesting if low key movie.       6/10

After The Ball 1957

Starring:  Pat Kirkwood

The life and loves of music-hall singer Vesta Tilley, who married into the nobility.

I didn't know of Vesta Tilley, but Pat Kirkwood, doing a fine Julie Andrews impersonation, was very engaging and the songs were foot tapping.       5/10

Keeping Company 1940

Starring: Frank Morgan

A young man announces his engagement but has trouble when his ex-girlfriend returns to town.

Light hearted rom-com, although old-fashioned, still made me smile on several occasions. All wrapped up neatly at the end, this was not bad.        6/10

Crime Doctor 1943

Starring: Warner Baxter

An amnesiac becomes a successful psychiatrist, then discovers that he was once a wanted gangster.

The old amnesiac angle, amazing how often this comes up in movies. To be honest, this didn't bring anything new to the table although it led on to seven sequels.        3/10

Paris Blues 1961

Starring: Paul Newman

Two jazz musicians have romantic problems in Paris.

Set against a moody setting and backing soundtrack, the always reliable Sidney Poitier joins Newman where the subjects of love, race and drugs are lightly tackled amongst others. Only occasionally became uplifting, but always interesting.      6/10

Give me a sailor 1938

Starring: Martha Raye

An ugly girl envies her sister her beaux, but ends up winning a competition for beautiful legs.

Bob Hope has the most brilliant comic timing, a lot of modern comedians could do a lot worse than study his techniques. A dated movie of course, but made me smile on several occasions and had one great dance number.   6/10

I Cover The Waterfront 1933

Starring: Claudette Colbert

A reporter user a girl's friendship to expose her father's smuggling activities.

A smuggling melodrama. A couple of nice scenes with Claudette Colbert, but nothing else to shout about.     3/10

Waterloo Bridge 1931

Starring: Mae Clarke

An army officer marries a ballerina; when she is reported missing his family ignore her and she sinks into prostitution.

Very old movie full of melodrama and bluster. Does have a dramatic ending though.         2/10

The Fourth War 1990

Starring: Roy Scheider

A violent feud develops between an American and a Soviet colonel, each in charge of a border post between Czechoslavakia and East Germany.

Slightly odd thriller, whatever was eating at Scheider's character right from the off, was never really explained. A few decent action sequences. Scheider is not the greatest of actors and yet I always seem to quite enjoy his movies.        6/10