I got an email from my bootlegger today telling me that my movies are going in the mail tomorrow morning. Yippee! [Update: the USPS tracker says the bundle is in town and I should get it tomorrow] One of the titles in the parcel will be this Columbia film, Cry of the Werewolf . Of course, I'm not ex...

All those you mention are pretty outrageous. I would also add Baby Face because it's so darn frank. But still, the story (and many of the others) follows a predictable (and therefore satisfying) arc The one that's really off the hook in my mind is Skyscaper Souls. In that one, the last reel has a gu...

RedRiver wrote:I passed on BATMAN. Only one thing to say. "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"

Good one.

You certainly hit the high points of ToaM. Isn't it 'disturbing-to-the-point-of-being-hilarious' that the Edward Arnold character is introduced plucking hairs from his nose in a magnifying mirror? That little "bit of business" is emblematic of just how visceral and wrenching the film was c...

I've never read LaSalle's book about the fellas, but his Complicated Women was a revelation to me. I worked the filmography in the back of the book as a strict checklist for building up my collection. Certainly William must be a central pillar to whatever his thesis happens to be.

I second that, Knitty. I've been following CCF's reviews too. Three on a Match is a very pre-codey pre-code, but William plays the long-suffering, virtuous husband of fallen woman Ann Dvorack. It's pretty much of a supporting role, but he makes out well in the end, getting Joan Blondell for a wife a...

I hadn't noticed the legs.

Cleopatra 34 is gold! And casting William as Caesar is an inspired choice. I watched the first half last night just to make sure, and you're right CCF, William plays the role completely "modern." There's virtually no daylight between his Caesar and the tycoon persona of his contemporary p...

I'm a big Anna May Wong fan, CCF, and Limehouse Blues is one I've been wanting to see for a long time. Being a Paramount pre-code, it was hard to get a copy of the last time I checked. Thanks for taking the time to share your impressions. In the silent film Picadilly (made in England), it's pretty c...

I think it's the working of the muses. We seem to collectively take turns getting the proverbial "wild hair" about an actor, a director, a film, a genre, etc. and then go to town once in a while. I love being a part of a community of such stalwart appreciators.

March really "brings it" in that role. I don't think I've ever seen him work harder. My admiration of that version never waivers.

At the same time, every time I watch the Spencer Tracy version, it grows on me a little more.

Aldous Huxley wrote a book near the end of his life called "Island," in which a Westerner is shipwrecked on an island that is governed according to Buddhist principles. In that respect, it's a lot like Lost Horizon. There is a great ongoing dialogue between the Westerner and the headman ab...

I saw Batman '66 when it came out and I was six. It was a pretty thrilling event. It almost started to dawn on me that they weren't being completely serious, but I remained earnest.

CineMaven wrote:What do you think of George Sanders?

I like Sanders a lot, but I don't think I've seen him in a quintessentially caddish role. What films would you recommend?

I've probably written about this before, but I love William as the middle-aged D'Artagnanin in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 . Here, he plays the complete opposite of his pre-code persona; he's noble, selfless, and loyal. It's a fairly physical role and he pays it with great gusto. Perhaps a person...