Ben-Hur

 

The remake was much better. This silent version was ok and because of the religious plot it suited the Christmas day I watched it. I like Ramon Novarro but the first half was more interesting. After the chariot race I just lost interest and the movie dragged. The plot concerns the rivalry between a Jewish man (Novarro) and a Roman man named Messala. The two end up racing against each other. This movie was over two hours so I suggest watching it when you have the time. 

Downhill

 This Hitchcock silent is visually stunning but pretty mediocre. Hitchcock was just finding his voice. I guess this movie could show his potential. The problem with this movie is that the character isn't completely likable. I wasn't rooting for him. First he is expelled from school and then later on in the movie his wife goes off with another man and spends his inheritance. This movie also goes by the title When Boys Leave Home. 

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

 

This was just an ok Bette Davis movie. Leonard Maltin gave it 3.5 stars. I think that was too generous. Bette Davis plays Queen Elizabeth and has a thing for the dashing Earl of Essex played by Errol Flynn. (I never realized how handsome he was till this movie.) They have a complicated relationship which is tested when she finds that he has other motivations. This isn't one of Bette Davis' best films. She was a good job though.

The Swimmer

 

I actually like the movie more than the John Cheever short story it's based on. This was my introduction to John Cheever a writer I'm just starting to read. Burt Lancaster plays a man in a mid life crisis. He has this "great" idea that he should swim in all of the houses around his area until he gets home. It's just you discover that his neighbors really don't like him. Some of them seem petty but the woman he had an affair with seems justified. Some of the reviews on imdb.com complained about the movie being boring but I thought it was all right. Burt Lancaster does a pretty good job as a man having a breakdown.