Father of a soldier

 

When a father discovers that his son has been sent to the front he goes on a search for him. I ended up watching this Russian movie dubbed. I wish that the menu options were more understandable for this movie. It didn't change my world but it was ok.

Park Row

 Samuel Fuller was a great director. You can tell that from his movie Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss but this movie which he wrote was pretty mediocre. It's about two rival newspapers. Not surprisingly the owners are in love with each other. You don't need to watch this to educate yourself about Samuel Fuller. Pass. 

Too Late for Tears

 This frankly was a generic noir movie about a bag of money and what happens between a good husband and his not so good greedy wife. It's worth watching though for Lizabeth Scott's performance. She owns this movie. I've always liked Lizabeth Scott. Hollywood treated her like a second rate Lauren Bacall. She rarely got the time to shine. You can tell she likes playing something different for a change a villain.  

The Phantom of the Monasery

 I watched this pretty cool Mexican horror movie on The Criterion Channel. I never heard of it before but it rocked. It's a 30's black and white movie about three people locked in a monastery and some monks from the past come to life. There's also a love triangle between the wife and her husband's friend and they encounter a similar situation that happened to people from the past. I wish that Mexico would release and subtitle more of their horror films from the past. The Witch's Mirror and this were pretty amazing.   

Eerie Tales

 This Conrad Veidt silent is pretty good. Three figures a prostitute, the devil, and death come out of some paintings in a bookstore to tell horror stories. This movie was probably one of the first horror anthologies so it was one of a kind. The most well known story here is Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat but my favorite was the suicide club one.

Shoes

 This short Lois Weber movie is painful to watch, not because the movie isn't good but because you know the character is going to resort to desperate means. The movie is about a poor working girl. Her shoes are in poor condition and her life could be better if her father would just contribute to the household. The director takes plenty of shots of the shoes and it is obvious to the viewer that they can't last much longer. When the character resorts to desperate means to get a new pair it isn't easy to watch. This movie isn't really about the shoes. It's about poverty and it's a sad statement on what people resort to just to get by.

I knew her well

 

 

The lovely Stefania Sandrelli gives a great performance in what is essentially a female La Dolce Vita. The girl tries to break into the business by attending parties and she's with several men during the picture. She may be shallow herself but she hides her anguish until what eventually she cracks. This movie wasn't as memorable as La Dolce Vita but it does have good atmosphere and a pretty good soundtrack featuring the likes of Mina and Ornella Vanoni. I need to see more movies starring this actress. 

Decision at Sundown

 

This was a pretty good Budd Boetticher western. At a wedding Randolph Scott tries to shoot the groom. The groom had an affair with his wife who later committed suicide. However, Scott learns that maybe his wife isn't worth all that trouble and may be even more flawed than he knew. I liked this psychological westerns. The 50's and 60's made tons of good psychological westerns. There is more to discover in the genre than High Noon.