life in movies

The Tender Trap (1955) dir. Charles Walters

John Garfield and Joan Crawford in Humoresque (1946)

31 days of halloween (2/31)

Island of Lost Souls (1932) dir. Erle C. Kenton

what is the law?

31 days of halloween (1/31)

Tales of Terror (1962) dir. Roger Corman

it is the death and dying that we concern ourselves

Priscilla Lane and Robert Cummings in Saboteur (1942) dir. Alfred Hitchcock

This June’s post is so long overdue it’s not even funny, but I wasn’t particularly passionate about the movies I watched in June, hence the long delay. There were two absolute gems, but everything else is passable at best and complete nightmare at worst.

1. Favourite movies: Top Gun: Maverick (2022); Pride (2014). 2. Decent movies I liked / appreciated but not loved: Bureau of Missing Persons (1933). It's a cute little 30s investigative journalism flick and it was really nice to see. Such a pleasant blast! 3. Best scenes: mum's hospital visit / 'Where are my lesbians?' (Pride, 2014); Great Balls of Fire / aerial scenes (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022); coming clean (Bureau of Missing Persons, 1933); ‘Room for one more?’ (Terror by Night, 1946). 4. Favourite genres: adventure, noir. 5. Favourite directors: Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022). There's absolutely no competition this time! I also really enjoyed Matthew Warchus's Pride (2014). 6. Favourite actors: Richard Conte (Hollywood Story, 1951); Jeanne Crain (Dangerous Crossing, 1953); Tom Cruise, Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022); Imelda Staunton, Ben Schnetzer, Andrew Scott (Pride, 2014). 7. Least favourite performances: No one was particularly bad, but Steven Geray in So Dark the Night (1946) was painfully bland, and literally anyone in The Bad Seed (1956) was overacting like there was no tomorrow. 8. The most wasted cast: Whle the film is okay, I do feel very disappointed when it comes to If I Had a Million (1932). Some of my favourite directord were responsible for segments of this film. H. Bruce Humberstone (segment "The Forger"), Ernst Lubitsch (segment "The Clerk"), Norman Z. McLeod (segments "China Shop", "Road Hogs"), William A. Seiter (segment "The Three Marines"). Joseph L. Mankiewicz wrote the majority of the segments. Not even to mention the actors! Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, George Raft, Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Roscoe Karns. This could've been so much better had they at the very least committed to a tone. 9. The best wasted premise: If I Had a Million (1932). Make it a straight drama (just don't forget to market it as such) or a laugh-out-loud comedy. Connect the stories so it feels united. What you don't make is a disjointed film that jumps wildly between slapstick humour and depressing end-of-life drama. It's like the film has bipolar. 10. Best premise: Pride (2014). Fish-out-of-water has never been done exactly like this. 11. Favourite cast: literally anyone and everyone in both 2014's Pride and 2022's Top Gun: Maverick. 12. Favourite on-screen duos: Ben Schnetzer with literally anyone in Pride (2014); Tom Cruise x Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022); Roscoe Karns x Gary Cooper (If I Had a Million, 1932); Bette Davis x Pat O'Brien (Bureau of Missing Persons, 1933); Richard Conte x Julie Adams (Hollywood Story, 1951); James Cagney x Pat O'Brien (Boy Meets Girl, 1938). The last duo is pure gold even when the film is subpar at best. Almost makes me want to rewatch Angels With Dirty Faces (1938). 13. Favourite on-screen relationships: Butch Saunders + Norma Roberts (Bureau of Missing Persons, 1933); Larry O'Brien + Sally Rousseau (Hollywood Story, 1951); CAPT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell + Penny Benjamin (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022). 14. Favourite characters: everyone in Pride (2014), even the moronic characters; Butch Saunders (Bureau of Missing Persons, 1933); Larry O'Brien (Hollywood Story, 1951); CAPT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, LT Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022). 15. Favourite quote: Why don't you break out with hives and scratch yourself to death? (Bureau of Missing Persons, 1933). I wanted to choose the 'Where are my lesbians?' from Pride (2014) but I doubt it constitutes as a quote. 16. Favourite fact discovered in 2022: real-life near-military preparations for Top Gun: Maverick (2022). It gave me faith in movies again. 17. The most overrated film: The Bad Seed (1956). It was really tedious. It did have its moments but mostly was extremelly underwhelming, especially with that ending. 18. The most disappointing film: So Dark the Night (1946). It went off a cliff in the end. Completely and utterly. Also, Impact (1949). Only after reading thr synopsis did I realise that I’ve actually seen the film. It’s so utterly forgettable! 19. The biggest surprise: Pride (2014)! 20. Best cinematography: Top Gun: Maverick (2022). There's no choice, not really. 21. Best set design: Dead of Night (1945). 22. Best costume design: Renié for Dangerous Crossing (1953). If there was anything to love about this film it's how stunning Jeanne Crain looked. 23. Best music: Top Gun: Maverick (2022). Great Balls of Fire is unbeatable, mate! 24. Best prooduction choice: shooting with limited CGI (Top Gun: Maverick, 2022). It made the film timeless. 25. Worst production choice: so many to choose from! The inconsistent tone in If I Had a Million (1932); changing the ending in The Bad Seed (1956); the terrible audition scene 99 River Street (1953); making Where Danger Lives (1950) kind of an Out of the Past (1947) knock-off; the plot twist in So Dark the Night (1946), passive direction in Highway Dragnet (1954). 26. Film of the month: Top Gun: Maverick (2022) with Pride (2014) only slightly behind.

John Payne in 99 River Street (1953) dir. Phil Karlson

Ellen Drew in Christmas in July (1940) dir. Preston Sturges

every 1930s movie watched (32 - ∞)

If I Had a Million (1932)

dir. James Cruze, H. Bruce Humberstone, Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Z. McLeod, Lothar Mendes, Stephen Roberts, William A. Seiter, Norman Taurog

I'm dying and I don't know of one man in all the thousands that I employ that's fit to leave in charge of a peanut stand.

every 1930s movie watched (30 - ∞)

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

dir. Robert Florey

My life is consecrated to great experiment.

It took me four months to write this post even though i used to do it monthly. The last post was for January, this one includes films watched between February and May 2022. Eighteen films in total. I used to watch twice as many films per month. The war took its toll, I guess... 1. Favourite movies: Smilin' Through (1932), The Batman (2022), Scandal Sheet (1952), The Big Combo (1955), Rebecca (1940) 2. Decent movies I liked / appreciated but not loved: Woman in Hiding (1950), Lost Horizon (1937), The Thrill of it All (1963), The Blob (1988), Sleepy Hallow (1999) 3. Best scenes: the flashbacks (Smilin' Through, 1932); the car chase / Bruce and Alfred at the hospital / goodbye between Batman and Catwoman (The Batman, 2022); the final shootout / at the opera (The Big Combo, 1955); the final boss battle (Uncharted, 2022); explaining what happened to the builders in The Thrill of It All (1963); confronting Maxim (Rebecca, 1940). 4. Favourite genres: romance, drama, fantasy, noir. 5. Favourite directors: Matt Reeves (The Batman, 2022); Joseph H. Lewis (The Big Combo, 1955); Tim Burton (Sleepy Hallow, 1999); Alfred Hitchcock (Rebecca, 1940). 6. Favourite actors: Johnny Depp, Chritina Ricci (Sleepy Hallow, 1999); Doris Day, James Garner (Move Over, Darling, 1963; The Thrill of It All, 1963); Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard (Smilin' Through, 1932); John Derek, Broderick Crawford (Scandal Sheet, 1952); Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Zoe Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Paul Dano (The Batman, 2022); Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace (The Big Combo, 1955); Tom Holland (Uncharted, 2022); Ida Lupino (Woman in Hiding, 1950); Ronald Colman (Lost Horizon, 1937); Lawrence Olivier, Joan Fontaine (Rebecca, 1940). 7. Least favourite performances: Armie Hammer (Death on the Nile, 2022). Not only was it incredibly uncomfortable to watch him due to his off-screen behaviour but the performance was so over-the-top I couldn't take it seriously at all. It was really hard, close to impossible. 8. The most wasted cast: everyone was okay at least. If I had to choose, I'd say Death on the Nile (2022) but it's not a bad film in itself. Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branaugh, Russel Brand (random...), Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Ali Fazal, Rosie Dwyer. 9. The best wasted premise: Repeat Performance (1947). It's one of the films with the most wasted potential, and all due to an endless series of stupid decisions. Had the protagonist been smarter and less melodramatic, the film would have been a gem. 10. Best premise: The Big Combo (1955); The Batman (2022); Rebecca (1940); Sleepy Hallow (1999). 11. Favourite cast: The Batman (2022). Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard. On a smaller scale, it's Smilin' Through (1932) with Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard and Fredric March (a small three-man gem of a film) and The Big Combo (1955) with Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte and Jean Wallace. I'm just finding out how amazing Richard Conte was as an actor and it's glorious! 12. Favourite on-screen duos: Norma Shearer x Leslie Howard / Norma Shearer x Fredric March (Smilin' Through, 1932); Robert Pattinson x Andy Serkis / Robert Pattinson x Zoe Kravitz (The Batman, 2022); Doris Day x James Garner (Move Over, Darling, 1963; The Thrill of It All, 1963); Cornel Wilde x Richard Conte x Jean Wallace (in any combination) (The Big Combo, 1955); Joan Fontaine x Laurence Olivier (Rebecca, 1940). 13. Favourite on-screen relationships: Batman + Catwoman (The Batman, 2022). They do them so much justice in this film that there's barely any competition. Lt. Leonard Diamond + Susan Lowell / Mr. Brown + Susan Lowell (The Big Combo, 1955). Both relationships are more than a little dysfunctional but so fascinating to watch! Steve McCleary + Julie Allison (Scandal Sheet, 1952). It's fun and easy to follow, and a bit cheeky. Moonyeen + Sir John Carteret (Smilin' Through, 1932). I liked Fredric March in the film, too, but it's obviously about the undying love between these two that makes the film as touching as it is). Maxim de Winter + Mrs. de Winter (Rebecca, 1940). 14. Favourite characters: Batman, Catwoman, Alfred, The Riddler (The Batman, 2022); Lt. Leonard Diamond, Susan Lowell, Mr. Brown (The Big Combo, 1955); Steve McCleary, Julie Allison, Mark Chapman (Scandal Sheet, 1952); Deborah Chandler Clark (Woman in Hiding, 1950); Maxim de Winter, Mrs. de Winter (Rebecca, 1940). 15. Favourite quote: Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. (Rebecca, 1940). 16. Favourite fact discovered in 2022: Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace were married when making The Big Combo (1955) and Ida Lupino was married to Howard Duff when he played her abusive conniving husband in Woman in Hiding (1950). I've also just found out the director of photography for Rebecca (1940), George Barnes, was married to Joan Blondell between 1933 and 1936. That's random... 17. The most overrated film: I think every film is pretty deserving of the reputation it has really. 18. The most disappointing film: Repeat Performance (1947). Just because had they made some smarter decisions it would've been a classic, and a really unique classic at that. 19. The biggest surprise: The Big Combo (1955). It's very tense, seductive, maniacal and powerful film. I miss those. 20. Best cinematography: John Alton (The Big Combo, 1955). It's absolutely marvelous! Greig Fraser (The Batman, 2022); George Barnes (Rebecca, 1940); Emmanuel Lubezki (Sleepy Hallow, 1999). 21. Best set design: Rebecca (1940), The Batman (2022). 22. Best costume design: Irene (Rebecca, 1940); Don Loper (The Big Combo, 1955). 23. Best music: Rebecca (1940). 24. Best prooduction choice: casting Robert Pattinson in The Batman (2022) and Richard Conte in The Big Combo (1955); practical effects in The Blob (1988). 25. Worst production choice: the script in Repeat Performance (1947) and the uncomfortably revealing Death on the Nile (2022). 26. Film of the month: The Big Combo (1955) and Rebecca (1940).

highlights of January

I finally got around to writing the second half. The re-watches. I absolutely loved doing these!

1. Favourite movies: Ministry of Fear (1944), You Were Never Lovelier (1942).

2. Decent films I liked / appreciated but not loved: Blonde Crazy (1931), Double Wedding (1937), Meet John Doe (1941), Night at the Opera (1935), Reckless (1935), The Woman Accused (1933).

3. Best scenes: breaking a bottle over the abuser’s head (Baby Face, 1933); a half-wit conversation (Double Wedding, 1937); the ‘suicide’ scene / confronting the stuffed shirts (Meet John Doe, 1941); the bomb shelter heart-to-heart / the Blitz (Ministry of Fear, 1944); the bed gag (Night at the Opera, 1935); Mona confronting Bob’s father / Ned watching Mona’s final performance (Reckless, 1935); ‘– Head? – Heart.’ / ‘There was darkness for a long long time…’ (Tales of Manhattan, 1942); The Shorty George / I’m Old-Fashioned + dance afterwards (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942); ‘If your hand is going my way’ / the picnic (I Love You Again, 1940).

4. Best fashion moment: Jimmy Stewart in the ridiculous glasses (It’s a Wonderful World, 1939); William Powell’s hobo painter outfit (Double Wedding, 1937); Rita Hayworth’s outfits for The Shorty George and I’m Old-Fashioned routines (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

5. Best running gags: slapping Jimmy Cagney (Blonde Crazy, 1931).

6. Favourite genres: romance, comedy, noir, musical.

7. Favourite directors: Fritz Lang (Ministry of Fear, 1944); William A. Seiter (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

8. Favourite actors: Barbara Stanwyck (Baby Face, 1933; Meet John Doe, 1941); Jimmy Cagney / Joan Blondell (Blonde Crazy, 1931); Myrna Loy (Double Wedding, 1937; I Love You Again, 1940; Wings in the Dark, 1935); Gary Cooper (Meet John Doe, 1941); Ray Milland / Marjorie Reynolds (Ministry of Fear, 1944); William Powell (Double Wedding, 1937; I Love You Again, 1940; Reckless, 1935); Jean Harlow (Reckless, 1935); Charles Boyer / Henry Fonda / Ginger Rogers (Tales of Manhattan, 1942); Cary Grant / Nancy Carroll / Norma Mitchell (The Woman Accused, 1933); Roscoe Karns (Wings in the Dark, 1935); Rita Hayworth / Fred Astaire / Adolphe Menjou (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

 9. Least favourite performances: Claudette Colbert in It's a Wonderful World (1939). I hated her in this film the first time I watched it. I don’t hate her nearly as much this time, but she’s still really irritating. Jimmy Stewart is actually okay, though. Another pair I unfortunately disliked was Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942). I hate having to say this because they are two of my favourite actors ever and their off-screen relationship fascinates me. (They also made a much better Monkey Business in 1952, and that film proved there’s chemistry there. Not here, though. It’s so uneven, it doesn’t know what it wants to be and therefore I have no idea how to perceive it and the performances suffer greatly.

10. The most wasted cast: Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers (Once Upon a Honeymoon, 1942). A terrific pair let down by a maddening script.

11. The best premise: Ministry of Fear (1944). I love me some conspiracy theories.

12. The best wasted premise: Tales of Manhattan (1942). The idea of an anthology based around an object being passed on from character to character is genius, but the creators forgot that the stories themselves have to be interesting for the premise to work. The film rests entirely on the actors’ rapport and is saved solely by it.

13. Favourite cast: You Were Never Lovelier, 1942 (Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Isobel Elsom, Leslie Brooks, Adele Mara, Gus Schilling, Barbara Brown, Douglas Leavitt.

 14. Favourite on-screen duos: Jimmy Cagney x Joan Blondell (Blonde Crazy, 1931), William Powell x Myrna Loy (Double Wedding, 1937; I Love You Again, 1940); Gary Cooper x Barbara Stanwyck (Meet John Doe, 1941); Ray Milland x Marjorie Reynolds (Ministry of Fear, 1944); William Powell x Jean Harlow (Reckless, 1935); Charles Boyer x Rita Hayworth / Henry Fonda x Ginger Rogers (Tales of Manhattan, 1942); Cary Grant x Nancy Carroll (The Woman Accused, 1933); Cary Grant x Myrna Loy / Murna Loy x Roscoe Karns (Wings in the Dark (1935); Fred Astaire x Rita Hayworth / Fred Astaire x Adolphe Menjou (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

 15. Favourite on-screen relationships: Bert Harris + Anne Roberts (Blonde Crazy, 1931); Stephen Neale + Carla Hilfe (Ministry of Fear, 1944); Ned Riley + Mona Leslie (Reckless, 1935); George + Diane (Tales of Manhattan, 1942); Glenda O'Brien + Jeffrey Baxter (The Woman Accused, 1933), Bob Davis + Maria Acuña (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

 16. Favourite characters: Bert Harris, Anne Roberts (Blonde Crazy, 1931); Stephen Neale, Carla Hilfe (Ministry of Fear, 1944); Ned Riley, Mona Leslie (Reckless, 1935); George, Diane, Paul Orman (Tales of Manhattan, 1942); Glenda O'Brien, Jeffrey Baxter, Martha (The Woman Accused, 1933), all the Acuña’s, Bob Davis (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942); Nick Williams (Wings in the Dark, 1935); Long John Willoughby (Meet John Doe, 1941); Charlie Lodge (Double Wedding, 1937); Lily Powers (Baby Face, 1933).

 17. Favourite quote: I’ve never had the advantages that other little boys and girls had. I never had a house like yours. I never had anybody tell me what to eat and when to eat it, what to think and how to think it, what to wear, whom to marry. I never had anybody tell me how to live my life for me, but I’ve had a wonderful time. If that’s being a halfwit, I think ll try to get rid of the other half. (Double Wedding, 1937).

18. The meta connection of the month: William Powell and Jean Harlow making a film together where he’s hopelessly in love with her two years before she passes away… Watching him watch her perform with tears in his eyes is the most heartbreaking thing. They were so in love… And after she passed away he always kept fresh flowers on her grave until the very moment he himself died decades later. Oh man…

19. The most overrated film: I understand the appeal of Night at the Opera (1935) but still, I don’t get such a huge imdb score.

20. The most disappointing film: It's a Wonderful World (1939), Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)

21. The most underrated/overlooked film: Ministry of Fear (1944)! It deserves so much more recognition! I understand that Fritz Lang crafter some of the most influential movies of all time but this is a real jewel. I also consider You Were Never Lovelier (1942) among the world’s funniest comedies. It lifted my spirits at a time it was practically impossible.

22. The biggest surprise: how many movies are actually better on second viewing. Double Wedding (1937) is great and very insightful; Night at the Opera (1935) was way funnier the second time around; I remember thinking The Woman Accused was one of the worst films I’d watched in 2019 (bottom tier definitely). This time I quite enjoyed it. It’s overacted and simple and full of contrivances but I love the charm of it all.

23. Best cinematography: Henry Sharp (Ministry of Fear); Ted Tetzlaff (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

24. Best set design: I couldn’t find the one person responsible for it, so I’m going to credit the whole film, You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

25. Best costume design: Irene (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

26. Best music: You Were Never Lovelier (1942).

27. Best production choice: the choreography (You Were Never Lovelier, 1942).

28. Worst production choice: casting Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Stewart as the leads in It’s a Wonderful World (1939). I can see it working with Clark Gable and Claudette or with Jimmy and Ginger Rogers. Or hell, with Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell. So many pairs could have been fun to watch in this scenario, but not this pair. They seem to be doing a passable job in their respective roles but since they have negative chemistry, the whole film falls apart.

29. The film of the month: Ministry of Fear (1944).

30. Redemption of the month: Meet John Doe (1941), Night at the Opera (1935), The Woman Accused (1933).

Rita Hayworth in You Were Never Lovelier (1942)