Swing Time, 1936, RKO Radio Pictures, Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore. Music by Jerome Kern & Dorothy Fields. Directed by George Stevens. B&W, 102 minutes. Quite possibly the best musical from the Depression era, including all other Astaire/Rogers …
Tag: Classic Film Review
Design for Living
Design for Living, 1933, Paramount Pictures. Starring Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, Fredric March. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. B&W, 91 minutes. Longtime friends fall for the same lady, who perhaps is less of a lady than one would expect. She can’t …
The Lost Weekend
Writer Don Birnam is fighting failure with a bottle of cheap whiskey, and losing.
Key Largo
Key Largo, 1948, Warner Bros. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall. Co-starring Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor. Directed by John Huston. B&W, 101 minutes. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart), a Major in World War II, drops in on the widow …
The Thin Man
Nick Charles, a retired detective with a droll wit, is a man who's happy now to live on his wife's fortune and, well, drink a lot. He and his classy, sassy wife Nora live a life of leisure, until a …
The Devil and Miss Jones
He's the richest man in the world for a reason. Despite having seemingly countless business interests, he keeps watch on even the lowliest of them. Especially when one of his employees leads a belligerent crowd of unhappy workers in hanging …
Since You Went Away
Since You Went Away, 1944, United Artists. Starring Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple. Directed by John Cromwell. B&W, 177 minutes. Everyday wife and mother Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) has just seen her husband Tim leave for battle, …
Libeled Lady
When a reporter's mistake leads to a calamitous lawsuit, the newspaper's editor has no qualms about marrying off his jilted bride to an unscrupulous ladies' man so he, in turn, can entrap a snooty heiress.
Midnight (1939)
Every Cinderella has her midnight, and for Eve Peabody, the clock is about to chime. She's been part of a fairy tale makeover by Georges Flammarion and has captured the attention of single and wealthy Jacques Picot. But her heart …
Meet John Doe
Before reporter Ann Mitchell is fired from her job, she gives her editor what he wants -- an article with some "sizzle." She tells the tale of "John Doe," a man disillusioned by the world he lives in, who threatens …
Classic for a Reason 