Feature films watched this past month-with a few scattered comments-
King of the Zombies (1941)-I have a mini Mantan Moreland fest going. Mantan steals the show in this one (as he generally does in most films where he's given a chance to)., Man of the West (1958), Eddie Murphy-Delirious (1983), Having a Wild Weekend (1965)- Following the success of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night (1964) the Dave Clark Five were given a chance to do a feature of their own. This one's very different in tone than the Beatles light romp and perhaps that's why it wasn't particularly successful. Still worth checking out. , The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)- Good adaptation of the James M. Cain novel (except for the sappy Hollywood wrap up. Very atypical of what MGM was doing at the time. , The Grand Duchess and the Waiter (1926), Go, Johnny, Go! (1959)- Almost no plot but a great chance to enjoy performances by early Rock and Rollers like Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Richie Valens and more. The latest DVD release looks great too. , Repeat Performance (1947), I'll Name the Murderer (1936), The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest (1997), Tale of the Zatoichi (1962) I picked up a nice set of the complete run of this classic Samurai series. Plan is to watch one a month until finished. , Black Mass (2015)- Johhny Depp turns in a great performance as gangster Whitey Boulger but the movie as a whole is only middling. , Sahara (1943)- Fine WWII movie with a good cast headed by Humphrey Bogart. Parts of southern Arizona substitute for the Sahara. , Basic (2003), Irish Luck (1939)- Mantan Moreland again. When he works with Frankie Darro things click. , East is East (1916)- This has some similarities to Shaw's Pygmallion which was still a fairly new stage play of the era when this film was shot., Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), My Best Girl (1927), My Pal, the King (1932)- I finished working ny way through Buck Jones' Universal westerns last year and then switched to the series Tom Mix did for the same studio. So far these are some of the best "B" westerns of the era with bigger budgets and fine photography. Looking forward to viewing the rest. , Texas Chainsaw (2013)- Weak entry in this horror series. , In a Lonely Place (1950)- Really good noir film. I hadn't seen it in 30+ plus years and found it much better than I remembered. One of Humphrey Bogart's most nuanced performances. , Two Monks (1934)- Atmospheric precursor to Kurosawa's Rashoman (1950), Port of Lost Dreams (1934)- William Boyd stars in this low-budget programmer made shortly before the Hopalong Cassiday series would take over his life. Has one of the stupidest endings I've seen in quite some time. , Warcraft (2016), The Rogue's Tavern (1936), Penny and the Pownall Case (1948)- Features early performances by Christopher Lee and Dina Dors but it's Peggy Evans who delights throughout in this brisk little Brit programmer . Valley of Wanted Men (1935), The Condemned (2007), Kate Plus Ten (1938)- Jack Hulbert brings a light touch to this adaptation of an Edgar Wallace story. , The Jungle Book (2016)- Two thumbs up from the little Missus and myself. , Jubal (1956)- A very good western that I must confess I had never heard of until catching it recently. Some beautiful widescreen color location photography adds much to the pleasure of watching it. , Pal O' Mine (1924), The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015), Train to Busan (2016)- This Korean flick is one of the best Zombie flicks I've seen in a while. , A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)- William Gargan takes over the title role from Ralph Bellamy and, IMHO, the series slips a notch. Fortunately Margaret Lindsay is still on hand as Ellery's girlfriend, Nikki Porter., Up in the Air (1940)- Moreland and Darro again. Nuff said. , Star Trek: Beyond (2016), The Asphalt Jungle (1950)- Classic noir! , Captain Fantastic (2016)- Great performance by Viggo Mortensen. Check it out. , Beyond the Border (1925).
