The Hard Way, 1943, Warner Bros. Starring Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson. Directed by Vincent Sherman. B&W, 109 minutes. In the industrial city of Green Hills, Katie Blaine (Joan Leslie) dreams of wearing an eight-dollar white dress to her high school graduation. Her sister — and guardian …
Category: Classic Dramas
Strangers on a Train
Strangers on a Train, 1951, Warner Bros. Starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. B&W, 101 minutes. Tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is on his way home when he meets a stranger on his train, Bruno Antony (Robert Walker). Bruno is eerily charming, and Guy …
Angel Face (1953)
Angel Face, 1953, RKO Radio Pictures. Starring Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons. Directed by Otto Preminger. B&W, 91 minutes. An emergency call late one night brings ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) to the Treymaine mansion, where the worst seems to be over for the lady of the home. On his …
Old Acquaintance
Old Acquaintance, 1943, Warner Bros. Starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins. Directed by Vincent Sherman. B&W, 110 minutes. Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis), a critically successful author, has returned to her hometown to see her closest childhood friend, Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins). Millie has big news: she and her husband Preston (John …
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce, 1945, Warner Bros. Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth. Directed by Michael Curtiz. B&W, 111 minutes. A sharp psychological drama that has had feminists debating the nature of its leading lady’s motivations and decisions from the day it was released, Mildred Pierce is as provocative …
People Will Talk (1951)
People Will Talk, 1951, 20th Century Fox. Starring Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. B&W, 110 minutes. A movie best enjoyed when you understand the politics of the time, People Will Talk is a meandering film with a fine cast. There are multiple story lines competing …
The Lost Weekend
The Lost Weekend, 1945, Paramount Pictures. Starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman. Directed by Billy Wilder. B&W, 99 minutes. Writer Don Birnam is fighting failure with a bottle of cheap whiskey, and losing. Don (Ray Milland) and his brother Wick (Philip Terry) have plans to leave town for the weekend, plans …
