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Zachary Scott, in Danger Signal, is rather handsome when he’s serious. It’s only when he smiles, with those large teeth, that he looks so villainous it borders on comical. There wasn’t much character development to Mona Freeman’s character Anne as the younger sister who returns home sweet and wholesome, only to turn into a Jezebel. Anne is more sexually sophisticated than her naive sister Hilda. Eddie Muller made his feelings about the ending clear: he hated it. Okay, Zachary Scott’s demise wasn’t drawn out. But when he trips, and his body hits the rocky ledge, and then bounces into the sea,

I knew Eddie Muller’s effusive praise of Janis Carter’s performance in Night Editor was not hyperbole. I had seen Carter in Framed (1947), and was impressed by her femme fatale bona fides. Carter acts with her eyes, always in control, and several moves ahead of everyone else. Now, for that much-discussed scene Muller went to great lengths to highlight. Cochrane knew she was sexually aroused by violence. Being a cop, he must have seen her react that way before, liked it, and hated himself for liking it. The scene did not last long, but Carter, with her breathless excitement, sold it as well

The Wind (2018) Well-executed story about a woman haunted by demons. Or is her imagination, fertilized by cabin fever, running the show? The Wind has a classic setting: the nineteenth century, in an isolated prairie town, the events unfolding in the backdrop of the ominous, wide-open West. What’s a horror movie without a preacher? Well, The Wind has one, and it makes for one of the best scenes. I liked the minimalist production, and the use of space. The two women at the center give good performances, and some fun is had at the male chauvinistic view of female hysteria and pregnancy. The m

I think it had do with the script. So smitten was he with Norma’s character that he acted like a nervous, clumsy schoolboy, even though he played a songwriter, implying he’s had experience with women. The smooth determination coupled with compassion was missing. Had a few clunky scenes been taken out, Her Cardboard Lover would have had more of the Cukor touch. This was a remake of the 1932 comedy The Passionate Plumber, with Irene Purcell, Buster Keaton. and Jimmy Durante, which I liked, and was impressed by Irene Purcell’s comedic chops. I haven’t seen Escape (1940). I guess genetics have mu

Open Water (2003)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Alden Ehrenreich as as a young, pre-Luke Skywalker Han Solo captures Harrison Ford’s speech rhythms, and the character’s anti-authority persona. We learn how friendships with Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian (an excellent Donald Glover) were formed, and how Solo came into acquiring his prize possession, the Millennium Falcon. What I’ve always liked is how the character straddles the line between good and evil, while keeping his moral compass intact. Solo is no saint, but his false equivalency has limits. Emilia Clarke as his love interest is a woman of mystery, a

I will miss seeing what the future held for Chadwick Boseman and his movies. In a short time, he left us with beautiful memories.

Her Cardboard Lover (1942) This rom-com, directed by George Cukor, has an interesting plot: Norma Shearer hires a lovestruck Robert Taylor (sporting a Bela Lugosi Dracula haircut with a point down the middle) to protect her from herself. Norma plays a Palm Beach vacationer hopelessly in love with a womanizer, played by, who else, George Sanders. Shearer hates that she can’t control her desires for Sanders. Since Taylor owes her a gambling debt, he can pay it off by being Norma’s secretary. His job doesn’t involve typing. He’s there to keep her away from Sanders, a job he performs too well,

George Washington Slept Here (1942) Next: a nice middle-class home

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Devil (2010)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr - Urbane

Uchida, Asao

Susy, played by Sandra Milo, in Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

The Getaway (1972) Steve McQueen plays an ex con released from prison and recruited to take part in a bank robbery, masterminded by a corrupt businessman (Ben Johnson), who was influential in securing McQueen’s freedom. Of course, that’s only part of the reason for McQueen’s release. Ali MacGraw plays his wife, who also assists in the crime. This was directed by Sam Peckinpah, with his trademark extreme violence, and stylized editing. The plot is intricate, with plenty of double-crosses, and the performances are all solid. The movie takes some strange detours that slow it down a little. B