Houdini

People on imdb.com said this wasn't really factual but I liked it.  Tony Curtis plays the magician who does such things as get himself out of a strait jacket and get himself out of a safe.  Janet Leigh plays his wife.  This was a pretty fun movie.

Damn Yankees

I watched the documentary Tab Hunter Confidential and knew I had to watch some of his movies.  The Burning Hills was bad.  However this was good and probably his best.   Tab Hunter has a deal with the devil to become a baseball player.  However he still is lingering around his wife.   The devil puts Gwen Verdon in his way hoping he'll stop this attitude.  She sings Whatever Lola Wants and is very charismatic.  Great musical.  

A Woman's Vengeance

This is cool.  Jessica Tandy was in a few movies in the 40's and in this one she plays a villain.  She's pretty good in it too.  Charles Boyers' invalid wife dies.  So he goes on and marries his young mistress Ann Blyth. Before long people think he did it.  His doctor though won't let Charles Boyer die without the real killer getting caught.  Aldous Huxley of Brave New World wrote this.  It's ok.  

After the Dance

A guy accidentally escapes out of jail.  He gets a job singing and dancing with Nancy Carroll.  (She's cute in this.)  Only his past catches up with him.  It's 60 minutes and the ending was abrupt and quick. The movie could have used an additional 10 or 15 minutes.  I wasn't that impressed with the dancing.  It wasn't Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  This movie was so so.

A Lady's Morals

This was Grace Moore's film debut.  If you really want to watch her get A Night of Love.  This is just passable.  It's a biography of the singer Jenny Lind whose recordings didn't survive.  She falls in love with a man who goes blind.  Apparently this was made up for the movie.  Jenny wed her accompanist.  Still if you like Grace Moore it's worth watching.  She sings well in this.  By the way I love the whole genre of operatic singers in the movies in the 30's and 40's.  It was a fad that featured such stars as Lily Pons, Deanna Durbin, and Jane Powell.  I think it was cool while it lasted.

Death of a Scoundrel

This is a movie about a jerk who rises to the top but quickly falls down.  Yvonne DeCarlo is in love with him.  He gives financial advice to Zsa Zsa Gabor.  He helps a struggling actress out Nancy Gates.  Yet when she denies his advances he tries to destroy her career.  George Sanders is really good as a scoundrel.  He uses these women and many others.  One can't be too sympathetic about his ruin.  I've always found Nancy Gates to be an underrated actress and she shines here as a sweet naive girl.

Stars in my Crown

Joel McCrea plays a parson.  The doctor in town and him have conflicts with each other.  There is also another plot in here about racism.  A group of KKK people destroy an African American's farm.  The scene where they are all gathered together towards the end is classic.  They're after the man's property but soon see the errors of their ways.   Dean Stockwell is a boy in this.  I always think of him in Quantum Leap but he was an actor with a long resume.  This is a pretty good movie.

The Underworld Story

Dan Duryea plays a bad/good journalist.  He buys a small paper run by Gale Storm and investigates a crime.  It's a different role for Gale Storm.  She usually was in perky movies.  (She was in one of my favorite movies "It happened on 5th avenue.")  It's nice to see Duryea in the lead for a change.

Kiss in the Dark

David Niven plays a pianist who buys an apartment building.  He becomes interested in a model living there Jane Wyman.  Unfortunately the building isn't up to code.  This was an ok comedy.  I've seen Jane Wyman in mostly dramatic roles so this was different.

Brazil

This is the first time I've seen Virginia Bruce in a lead role.  I've usually seen her in supporting roles.  She's good in this musical.  She plays an author that wrote a book called "Why marry a Latin?" This doesn't make her popular on her vacation in Brazil.  A singer Tito Guizar decides to plan a game with her.  He pretends he's twins and one doesn't know English.  The plan backfires though as he falls in love with her.  This is fluff but it's watchable and cute.