THE BIG CLOCK seemed pretty remote from the Kevin Costner film NO WAY OUT, supposedly based on it. An enjoyable film. However, though Charles Laughton, well cast as the publisher, always has screen presence, to me his performance was way, way, way over the top. His line reading of "Steve, I jus...

If we can still dish about Jane Wyman's looks--and it's the holidays, so let's--in HERE COMES THE GROOM her face looks about half the size of Alexis Smith's face. It's not just that Alexis is much taller, but that Jane's face looks like a China doll's face by comparison. Perhaps the bangs make her f...

To me, an important difference between Daves and Sirk is that Daves seems committed to his material, no matter how silly, whereas Sirk seems to detach himself slightly from it. That's not necessarily a point in Sirk's favor, though apparently some academic types will allow themselves to watch fun, t...

Moira, to me Jean Hagen's voice in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE is so grating that Sterling Hayden almost becomes a saint for not popping her one. Actually, the character irritates me: she hooks up with a hood and then constantly nags at him for being one. Those are the only scenes in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE I don...

Maven, count me as another fan of CAST A DARK SHADOW. I didn't realize that Dirk Bogarde was so accomplished an actor a decade before THE SERVANT and DARLING. Loved Mona Washbourne as the first wife--had only seen her later in her career. Margaret Lockwood was deliciously vulgar as Frieda, the secon...

To bring up the Delmer Daves thread again: THE BADLANDERS was recently shown on TCM. The first half of this western is especially good, with excellent shot selection and editing. Though it was billed on TCM as a western remake of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, it doesn't feel that way at all. THE BADLANDERS ha...

DARK PASSAGE, though awfully stagy at times, isn't quite like any other noir I've seen. Quick plastic surgery for $200--of course, Bogey ended up looking older, but then he also looked like Bogey. Loved Houseley Stevenson as the doctor. I wish we'd seen a bit more of Agnes as seductress--a welcome c...

Ken, a lot of film noir fans like Lizabeth Scott. THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS is an odd but successful combination of film noir and woman's melodrama.

Ken, the Lana Turner film you mentioned was A LIFE OF HER OWN, directed by George Cukor. Ann Dvorak made a big impact in a relatively small role.

Klondike, I posted under the Gilbert Roland thread, where some had mentioned BARBAROSA, that with his grin and his prominent teeth, Gary Busey reminded me of Goofy. Younger viewers might find it hard to believe that in the aftermath of THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, Gary Busey was briefly a star. He was goo...

OK, did anyone else see BARBAROSA? The cinematography is first-rate, by the way. I taped it and watched the first half. Didn't hate it, but I had one of those existential moments. Do I 1) watch every film I can in the vain attempt to achieve an encyclopedic knowledge of films or 2) look for another ...

To confuse matters thoroughly, THE NAKED SPUR is my favorite of the James Stewart/Anthony Mann westerns. I like the "chamber western" aspect--like chamber music, with only five characters, not counting the anonymous Indians. A great script in which no one's interests completely coincide wi...

Noir can fit into either a traditionally liberal/leftist worldview ("Something is wrong with the system and the people in charge") or a traditionally conservative view ("Evil exists in the world and no amount of change to the system can eliminate it"). The orthodox Christian beli...

How about any of the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films? Great for short attention spans and fitting movie-watching around chores. And I can always give thanks for SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS.

Mongo, I love the candid Tyrone Power shots. He and Annabella don't look particularly happy in that photo, do they? She has her knees primly together, slightly turned away from him, and he's sprawled looking away from her. In a movie you'd use that shot to suggest the beginnings of trouble in a rela...