Gran Casino

This is easily the worst Luis Bunuel movie I've seen.  It stars singer Libertad Lamarque which may interest some viewers.  His usual obsessions with religion and sex aren't here.  The movie starts out in an intriguing way with the characters in jail but then they go to a casino and the plot got tedious.  It had the feel of one of those undistinctive musicals that were made back in Hollywood in the day.  If this wasn't a Bunuel movie it would be forgotten.  I don't understand why his movie Los Olividados (The Young and the Damned) is not on DVD but this is.  I watched Los Olividados when I was a teenager and I remember really liking it.  When will that movie get restored?  

Double Harness

This was an ok William Powell movie where Ann Harding tricks Dick Powell into marriage.  Will the two stay together?  I really liked Ann Harding in It happened on fifth avenue.  Her performance here is all right.  Frankly, I got it for William Powell.  I saw a movie of his last month and felt like watching more of the comic actor.  This was considered a lost movie.  It's not an incredible find though.  Both actors have been in better movies.  

Death on the Diamond

This was a pretty boring baseball mystery.  That may sound interesting but it was just generic.  The only reason I recommend it is because Madge Evans is in it.  She had a nice girl next door charm and she was quite a beauty.  I've been watching her movies lately.

I met my Love again

This was an ok movie starring Henry Fonda and a blonde Joan Bennett.  Henry Fonda and Joan are engaged.  However, it's been a while and Joan marries a writer on impulse breaking Fonda's heart.  After her husband's death, Joan returns to the town only one of Fonda's students is in love with him. The thought of Fonda and Joan rekindling their marriage doesn't please everyone.   I thought that this was an interesting movie about bad decisions and their effect later on life.  

The Phantom Carriage

A drunk dies and he sees that he has to become grim reaper for a year.  Of course, he is horrified by this.  We look back at his life and see that he was a rotten person and treated his wife abominably.  However, there is a chance for redemption. Victor Sjostrom was a legendary silent director.  I'm glad this got the usual beautiful treatment that the Criterion Collection usually gives but it's about time that happens to The Wind. 

Dov'e La Liberta

I thought this movie was funny.  It's about a man who gets released from prison but discovers that the people on the outside are just as rotten as the people on the inside.  He sneaks back to prison.  The trial was pretty humorous.  I never heard of this Robert Rosselini movie but I thought it was a winner. 

Is Money Everything? (1923)

This was a dull short silent movie I watched on youtube.  It's about a man who eventually becomes rich and then ends up having an affair.  Although he gets redeemed in the end I didn't much care for it or the movie.  I found him to be too unlikable and I liked the wife and didn't think she deserved that drama.  Pass.  

What happened to Rosa?

I liked this silent movie starring the great comedienne Mabel Normand.  She plays a girl who gets a little crazy after a fortune teller tells her that she is actually a Spanish girl and she starts acting out.  Her friends are embarrassed by her but Mabel gets the attention of a man she's been longing for a time.  I need to watch more of Mabel Normand.  She's talented and funny.

High Pressure

This was just an ok William Powell movie.  It's about a guy who backs up an invention that turns sewage into rubber.  Only the invention doesn't exactly pan out.  I liked Evelyn Brent, the girl for some reason sticks with him.  She definitely had a low key performance.  I enjoyed it though.  It was different.

Huddle

Madge Evans is my new discovery. She's fabulous as the beautiful girl next door. I watched Beauty for Sale recently and had to watch more.  It's too much this movie wasn't that great.  I'm a fan of Ramon Novarro as well so it was sad that this was just fair.  It's about a football player going to an Ivy League school and his problems.  I wanted more.  

Saturday's Children

This was a generic John Garfield movie about a dreamer getting married to Anne Shirley and their financial woes.  There wasn't much of a plot.  It's a different role from the usual Garfield roles but that's about it.  I'm a fan of Anne Shirley though so it was worth the watch.

These Three

It seems like I'm the only one who liked The Children's Hour with Audrey Hepburn.  Every critic says watch These Three instead.  The only real difference is that The Children's Hour still kept the lesbianism that was in Lillian Hellman's play.  However, since the script of These Three is written by Lillian Hellman it doesn't matter. The plot is about two women who run a boarding school.  The brat Bonita Granville creates horrible vicious rumors about them that bring down their business and their names.  Bonita was nominated for this and rightfully.  I wonder why she didn't become a huge star in her adult years as well.  It may have a different subject matter but it is still a powerful piece about gossip.  

Girl in the Case

I usually like Columbia Classics' rereleases. However, this movie about a lawyer who is also a locksmith bored me.  It was only around an hour but it seemed like forever.  There were no huge star names in this movie but if it was better this wouldn't have mattered.