Fiesta

 

This wasn't a good movie but I don't think it's as bad as Leonard Maltin made it out to be.  Esther's brother has been trained to be a bullfighter his whole life but he actually prefers music.  His father is not happy with this choice and runs off.  In order to lure him back home, Esther takes his place as the bullfighter.  There's one scene where Esther Williams swims and it made me think of what I would rather be watching.  That really was Esther's thing.  It's watchable but not great.

The Strawberry Blonde

 

This was a good movie where James Cagney reflects back on his life and wishes he was able to get married to Rita Hayworth and not Olivia de Havilland.  Rita Hayworth was a golddigger though and married his friend Jack Carson, a rich man who used James Cagney.  However, the reflection and the present makes him realize that things really did work out for the best for him.  Not only that he sees that Olivia de Havilland is an outstanding wife.  The actress Olivia de Havilland was not a plain woman at all.  However, she was no match against Rita Hayworth.  Jack Carson is really good as the backstabbing friend.  This movie was cute.

Bay of Angels

 

This was an ok Jacques Demy movie. He wrote and directed it. I loved his musical movies especially The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.  He had an interesting whimsical vision.  Still, I need to give more of a chance to his other films like this.  I did like this movie although I wish the ending was more developed.  At the beginning of the movie a banker swears he will never gamble.  Soon though he finds himself addicted and falling for a blonde Jeanne Moreau, a woman who is even more addicted than he is.  They can be rather cruel to each other as well.  Jeanne Moreau does a good job as this woman who can either hate or love.  It's not one of the movies that she is most remembered for but it's worth watching to see her range as an actress.  

Last Year at Marienbad

This movie is pretentious yet it works.  I've found myself stopping halfway through foreign movies of the sort but this movie is interesting anyway.  I watched this movie all the time as a kid.  I was a weird kid.  The whole movie deals with a man trying to persuade a woman that he met her at the same hotel last year.  He can get quite persuasive.  The sets particularly the garden are cool.  The screenplay was written by a real French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet and it was even nominated for an Oscar.  It's a stunning looking film.  There's not much substance.  It's all style.  

Nauker

 A man's servant and his master switch roles in order to find a sincere woman who will also be a great mother.  The man though falls for the help Geeta which was not his original intention at all.  She is played by the great Indian actress Jaya Bachchan.  (She later resurrected her career in such movies as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham).  I watched this on youtube and I thought it was good enough to get a DVD release.  

The Story of Temple Drake

 I was thrilled about this movie getting released but it was kind of a letdown.  I loved William Faulkner's Sanctuary. This wasn't as involving.  This was controversial in its day but there were better precode movies.  To be honest I prefer the comic precodes so this has something to do with my opinion.  The plot has to do with a judge's daughter.  When there's a car accident she is left vulnerable to the help she gets.  Unfortunately, that company includes criminals and leads her to a destructive path.  Miriam Hopkins' acting was pretty good and the movie's strongest point.  

Karin Ingmarsdotter

The Swedish director Victor Sjostrom is one of silent's most famous directors.  Yet his movies aren't being treated properly.  Even his most famous movie The Wind is not available.  The few movies that are available of him on youtube are not subtitled.  I'm frustrated but at least this was.  This movie deals with a woman who rejects her fiance when he gets drunk once.  Yet her second husband takes to drink and becomes a scoundrel. Karin starts to see what a mistake she made when later on the old fiance enters her life once more.  I thought this movie was sincere.  At least The Outlaw and his Wife is on dvd.     

The Spiral Staircase

 

This was a pretty cool movie from noir director Robert Siodmak.  There's a murderer about killing women with disabilities which rightfully distresses the mute Dorothy McGuire.  Every male becomes a suspect almost in this movie.  I expected a straightforward predictable horror movie but there was something I didn't see coming and it wasn't a cheap twist ending.  Dorothy McGuire does a good job with this.  I wonder why this didn't make The Criterion Collection as Siodmak is a noted director.

Framed

 

It's interesting.  I saw Girl in the Case awhile back which was an unremarkable movie.  After seeing this though I am convinced that Janis Carter should have had more of a career. She's quite pretty too looking a bit like Peggy Lee. She really sinks her teeth into this pretty generic noir.  It's the usual story of a femme fatale conning a man and trying to string him along, blaming the murder on Glenn Ford and is just fine with Glenn's business partner Edgar Buchanan rotting in jail.  SPOILER:  My favorite moment of the movie was something small.  It was the reaction that Edgar had when Glenn asked him how he was doing in jail.  It was a reaction I hadn't seen before in movies and television.  My sister and I just loved the scene.  

Walk Softly, Stranger

 

This has a fantastic cast but then the leads from The Third Man (a movie I need to watch again) are in it.  Joseph Cotten plays a crook and the beautiful Alida plays a woman in a wheelchair.  His past catches up to him.  This was just an ok movie.  It's mostly to watch for the leads.  SPOILER:  He says an awesome pickup line to her that I fell for. 

Fifth Avenue Girl

 

This is a less enthusiastic My Man Godfrey.  It's directed by the same guy so it makes sense - Gregory La Cava.  Part of the fault lies in Ginger Roger's monotone performance but then the movie is dull.  I don't like to put Ginger Rogers down since she's usually a very excellent charming actress.  This is one of those movies that focus on the rich/poor social status and favors the poor.  A wealthy man brings home the poor girl Ginger to his household.  Then you also see that his daughter loves the chauffeur.  I'm not against the pro poor plot.  There are several movies that do it well.  This wasn't a bad movie.  It just wasn't exciting either. 

Awaara

 

This was a pretty good old Indian movie.  A judge leaves behind his pregnant wife because he says the baby is from another man.  The truth is he's a coward who can't take the gossip surrounding him in his town.  His philosophy is that if the boy came from a bandit he will be a bandit.  The boy starts out good but soon his surroundings affect him.  The boy meets his childhood friend Rita again and soon they find themselves in love.  However, his life of crime catches up with him and soon he is on trial with his father as the judge.  This movie is an interesting tale about the effects that the environment can have on a person.  The ending wasn't what I expected.  

The Magician

 

This is one of Bergman's lesser works but it is still worth watching.  I think Criterion did well by adding the movie in its collection.  It's about a magician played by Max Von Sydow who comes across as a phony at times and wondrous at others.  Bibi Andersson plays a woman who may be under the influence of a love potion.  Bibi Andersson and Ingrid Thulin (who also stars) were regulars of Bergman at this time.  I was such a strange little girl that at 12 Bibi Andersson was one of my favorite actresses. This is worth viewing. 

Thirst

 This early Bergman movie is just all right.  Frankly, I think he showed potential but his genius didn't show through until the 1950's when he would make masterpieces like The Virgin Spring and The Seventh Seal.  There are two plots to this movie.  One is about a struggling marriage and a woman who regrets a past affair and abortion.  The other is about a confused lesbian.  I even liked Port of Call more.  I recommend this only for people who are already fans of Bergman.  

The Love Expert

I love the silent comedienne Constance Talmadge but this was a hit and miss.  This reminds me of Jane Austen's Emma.  It deals with a matchmaker who is trying to score romance herself.  However, some of the things she does are questionable, especially how she plays with her father's love life.  Constance Talmadge is a delight still.  I'm happy with Kino's release of two of her movies and hope that more are released.  

Victim

This was a good movie from Basil Dearden about a gay man who is being blackmailed and his lover who has just been killed.  He worries about the effect the news will have on his career and his family life.  At the time of this movie, homosexuality was against the law in England and more taboo than it is now.  Dick Bogarde does a good job as the blackmailed man.  SPOILERS: I like the ending when he tells his wife that he will need her.  She says needing is more important than love.  I don't know if that is necessarily true but it did make me ponder.

Au Hasard Balthazar

It's interesting how different Netflix is than imdb.com.  If you look at imdb.com most of the ratings talk about how this movie is a masterpiece.  If you look at Netflix half of the reviews discuss how they didn't like the abuse of the donkey and the girl.  Somehow this abuse is supposed to be talking about spirituality.  I'm more with the negative half of Netflix.  The torment that the girl's childhood donkey and her receive is unsettling.  I was annoyed with the girl's character.  There was a guy in the movie who treated her right but she had to go for the bad boy.  Of course, this is the story of millions of girls.  It probably got The Criterion Collection because it was made by Robert Bresson who did make excellent movies like Pickpocket.  I thought the actress though in the movie was interesting Anne Wiazemsky.  She was Jean Luc-Godard's wife for a time.