Sullivan’s Travels, 1941, Paramount Pictures. Starring Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake. Directed by Preston Sturges. B&W, 90 minutes. John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is an immensely successful director of lightweight comedies who longs to make films with a social conscience (including …
Tag: Classic Film Review
Dinner at Eight
Dinner at Eight, 1933, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Billie Burke. Directed by George Cukor. B&W, 113 minutes. This pre-code dramedy of a group set to gather together for a dinner honoring a …
All About Eve
All About Eve, 1950, 20th Century Fox, Starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. B&W, 138 minutes. Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is a brilliant, yet aging, Broadway …
Twentieth Century
Twentieth Century, 1934, Columbia Pictures. Starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard. Directed by Howard Hawks. B&W, 91 minutes. Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore), renowned Broadway producer, has made a new discovery, a young woman barely passable as an actress, one Mildred Plotnik …
The Palm Beach Story
Tom and Gerry Jeffers have hit a stalemate in their marriage. He hasn't given up, but she has, and one day she leaves for Palm Beach to get a divorce and find a wealthy man who not only can support …
Going My Way
Going My Way, 1944, Paramount Pictures. Starring Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Risë Stevens. Directed by Leo McCarey. B&W, 126 minutes. Father Fitzgibbons (Barry Fitzgerald), the aging priest of St. Dominic’s parish, is facing hard times. The church is five months …
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
While busily shopping with her daughters Jane and Elizabeth, ever-vigilant Mrs. Bennett notices the arrival of three strangers. With some sharp questioning, she soon learns they are Mr. Bingley, his sister Caroline and Mr. Darcy. What's more, the handsome gentlemen …
Shall We Dance (1937)
Shall We Dance, 1937, RKO Radio Pictures. Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin. B&W, 109 minutes. Ballet dancer Petrov (Fred Astaire), aka Peter P. Peters, is …
Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit, 1945, Two Cities Films. Starring Rex Harrison, Kay Hammond, Constance Cummings. Directed by David Lean. Technicolor, 96 minutes. Novelist Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) and his wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) hold a seance one evening as part of his …
The Hard Way (1943)
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 …
Classic for a Reason 