Ten Cents a Dance & Three Wise Girls

I saw two movies in this collection Ten Cents a Dance and Three Wise Girls.  In Ten Cents a Dance Barbara Stanwyck has a rich man interested in her, Ricardo Cortez, who was a regular in pre-code movies.  She chooses the wrong guy who turns out to be a gambler who steals from Cortez.  She pleads with Cortez for help.  Sadly Ruth Etting doesn't sing the lead number, which was one of her big hits.
Three Wise Girls is an early Jean Harlow movie and she already has "it."  Mae Clarke, her friend, is having an affair with an older man.  Jean Harlow also falls for a married man as well but has Mae's warning.  Jean's roommate Marie Prevost is cute in this.  I watched a silent  A Blonde for a Night with Marie and she was fabulous. She was a leading star in the silent era.  With the sound era, she was reduced to best friend roles.  Then her increasing weight would end her career and eventually, she killed herself.  It's sad because I think she had charisma.  

Another Language

The one thing I didn't like about this movie was that Robert Montgomery wasn't in it as much as I would have liked.  He was a supporting actor in this.  In this movie, Helen Hayes marries Robert Montgomery.  Only his family doesn't like her which leads her into another man's arms.  This was Margaret Hamilton's first role.  I love her.  She was such a wonderful character actress.  

Laawaris

This is just an acceptable movie.  (I'm starting to watch Indian cinema again and focusing on the 70's since I don't know much about that time period.)  It started out well but lacked energy by the third hour.  I like the actor Amitabh Bachchan.  I'm more familiar with him in his roles, later on, like in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.  He seems like a pretty respected actor.  In this movie, a powerful man meets his illegitimate child when he is an adult, played by Bachchan.  There are love/hate feelings between the two men and then the truth comes out.  Bachchan is good as the angry young man.  I watched another one of Bachchan's 70's movies recently Silsila and I liked it much more.  (The reason why I didn't review it is I forgot to. I don't have a good short-term memory when it comes to movies.  That's why I created this blog so I could remember the movies I watch.)  

A Kiss before Dying

Robert Wagoner plays a student who just got a girl pregnant (Joanne Woodward).  He gets rid of her.  Only he finds himself liking her sister.  Wagoner is good as the villain.  Only this is no where as good as the book.  Ira Levin wrote Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives too.  Coming up with imaginative plots was no problem for Ira. However A Kiss before Dying is my favorite book of his.  It just wasn't as juicy as the book.

One Girl's Confession and Night Editor

In One's Girl Confession Cleo Moore stars as a criminal who steals $25,000 and serves her time without revealing where the money is.  She gets a job as a waitress and tries to find good financing plans for her money.  Her boss is a gambler and she lends him some dough.  Or did he just double cross her?  This was a fun movie.  Night Editor isn't as good.  It's about a couple who are cheating on their spouses and who have just seen a murder.  Janis Carter, my recent new discovery, is awesome as the cold hearted dame.  That's the only recommendation I can give.  This movie was slow at times.

The Woman on Pier 13

This was a short movie at 73 minutes.  Yet it introduced me to Janis Carter and I was very impressed with her.  Robert Ryan has a past as a communist.  His past catches up with him and the communists won't let him move on with his life.  Janis Carter plays a bad girl, an old flame that tries to get him back in the game. Unfortunately, it only leads to tragedy for her.  Laraine Day plays Robert Ryan's wife and does an ok job. 

Big Business Girl

With Loretta Young's hubby gone, she gets a job as a secretary.  Only the boss Ricardo Cortez has eyes for her.   Her husband gets back in town and he's not happy with this new relationship.  Loretta Young's early career was full of precodes and some of the best ones that came out at that time.  Ricardo starred in a number of precodes as well and he was a good addition to the genre. Joan Blondell co-stars. 

Jab Tak Hai Jaan

When I was 22 I watched Indian movies on a regular basis.  Somewhere along the line, I stopped watching them.  However, I've decided that I'm going to start watching at least one a month especially the 70's ones.  I don't know anything about Indian cinema in that decade.  This was January's movie. Shahrukh Khan is the man.  He is so cool.  There's a reason why he's so popular.  In this movie, he plays a man in the army who defuses bombs.  He was in love with a girl only she went off with an arranged marriage.  A young Indian reporter is excited to hear about the story.  He is torn between the two women, especially since the previous girl has come back into his life.  This was an ok movie.  It didn't blow me away but it entertained me. 

The Exterminating Angel

This is a Luis Bunuel movie that one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was clearly inspired by.  Guests discover after dinner that they can't leave the house.  There's some hold on them and soon enough they are destroying the pipes just to get some water.  People on the outside of the house can't get in either. Silvia Pinal from "Viridiana" has a minor part.  I wish she had more.  This is one of Bunuel's better efforts.