For the Defense

 This was a short precode running around 63 minutes. It concerns William Powell playing an attorney protecting his girlfriend from manslaughter. He ends up becoming a criminal himself when he tampers with the jury. This was all right. Kay Francis steals the few scenes she's in. 

City of Fear

 This was an ok noir. It's about a convict who grabs something radioactive instead of heroin and the police try to rush to save him and the city's life in time. It kept my interest throughout. I don't know why Leonard Maltin gave it a 1.5. I mean it wasn't Double Indemnity, but it had ideas I hadn't seen explored in a noir movie before. It's worth a watch.

I hate Luv Storys

 

This got a lot of hate on imdb. It doesn't really contribute anything new to Indian cinema, but I thought it was cute. It's about two crew members who work on a Bollywood set. The woman believes that she has the perfect relationships while the guy doesn't really believe in love. Eventually the woman realizes she has feelings for the guy and that her perfect relationship isn't so great. I thought the two leads were great. Sonam Kapoor definitely has a presence.  

Bathing Beauty

 

This was an ok Esther Williams movie. Esther is getting married to Red Skelton in the beginning of the movie when a woman wrongly accuses Skelton of already being her husband and the father of her children. Esther goes back to being a college swim teacher, but Skelton is determined to get her back. He becomes the only male student at the college. I wanted more from this movie. Someone really should have made a great movie with Esther Williams. Most of her movies are just passable. I just wish that someone would have put the same effort that was put into some of Judy Garland classic MGM musicals. If that happened Esther Williams may be better known today. 

Gun Fury

This was a standard western starring Rock Hudson. It would be completely forgettable except for the fact that the person who kidnaps Donna Reed is a total creep. He is played by Phil Carey and man he does a good job. Rock Hudson of course saves the day.

The Tall Men

 

This was a pretty boring western. I got it because I felt in the mood for a Clark Gable movie but even he wasn't of much interest here. The movie is about two brothers who join a cattle drive. Along the way they fight Indians and each other over Jane Russell. The only good thing about this movie is Jane Russell as she tries to bring life into this dull movie. She even sings a couple of tunes. 

Birdman of Alcatraz

 

This was a pretty good prison movie about a convict who takes a special interest in birds and becomes an expert on them. I read a bit about the guy, and it looks like the movie made him more of a saint than he was. Karl Malden does a good job as his enemy, the prison warden. The movie is kind of long. It was two hours and a half, but it was worth the watch.