I have just seen a superbt Precoder: " The Man in Possession " (1931), a MGM film directed by Sam Wood. it's a charming, frothy, risqué comedy and love story, full of nuances and with excellent performances. Robert Montgomery and Irene Purcell make a great team together: they sparkle, hav...

I saw recently But The Flesh is Weak (1932, J. Conway) with Robert Montgomery, C. Aubrey Smith and Nora Gregor. I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed tremendously the witty dialogue written by Ivor Novello himself (from his own play). I felt the film had a tremendous pacing and was positively sparkling. ...

Today I watched "The Big Trail" (1931) directed by Raoul Walsh. I can see why this film didn't catch on in 1931. I hope you watched the 'Grandeur' version of the film. This widescreen version offers a very different perspective on the film compared with the banal 4:3 version (which has al...

Today I watched a contemporary French film: " Ne Touchez pas La Hache " (2007) (The Duchess of Langeais), an impressive oeuvre about a doomed love and hate relationship, a struggle between two souls who want to dominate one another in a hypocritical society; a tour de force for both leadi...

Last WE I saw The Hospital (1971, Arthur Hiller) with George C. Scott and Diana Rigg. I am a great fan of Hiller's superb feature The Americanization of Emily (1964) written by the great Paddy Shayefsky. So I was curious to see that other Shayefsky written feature. The story is rather like a dark-hu...

Till We Meet Again (1944) Thanks to dear Moira, who shared with me this film a couple of years ago, I have discovered yet another masterpiece by the most skilled director –Frank Borzage- at depicting in his pictures the supreme human feeling: love, in all its aspects, without falling into sentiment...

Today I saw for the first time I film that I had been searching for many years " The Fountain " (1934), which was directed by John Cromwell and released the same year than his famous "Of Human Bondage" with Bette Davis. Unjustly forgotten, this delicate, subtle, honest story of ...

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/RedDance1.jpg Last WE, French TV broadcast a rare silent: The Red Dance (1928, R. Walsh) with Dolores Del Rio and Charles Farrell. This vehicle for the gorgeous Dolores had a fairly silly script taking place during the Russian Revolution...

I just watched the 1914 version of The Spoilers , starring William Farnum, Thomas Santschi, Kathlyn Williams, Bessie Eyton, Frank Clark, Jack McDonald, Wheeler Oakman, Norval MacGregor and William Ryno. Our own Ann Harding has a review of the film at her website, though it's in french. http://annha...

I saw Underground not so long ago in Paris (last January). It's a brilliant piece of film-making. Alas, the score was terrible (we didn't get the Neil Brand one). here is what I wrote about it: here . I don't know what the BFI plans are regarding a DVD. But I hope they will do one. The film deserves...

Arte broadcast last week -for the first time- a brilliant Feyder comedy. http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/NxM5.jpg (Gaby Morlay and Albert Préjean near a famous tower) Les Nouveaux Messieurs (1928, Jacques Feyder) with Gaby Morlay, Albert Préjean and Henry Roussell This ...

Fie, I had the same problem with Sragow's book on Victor Fleming. As you said, full of facts and information but his writing style is underwhelming at best. I was very disappointed by the time I had finished the book. Like Fernando & Lzcutter I am reading Michael Sragow's bio of Fleming. I am h...

I rewatched The Gorgeous Hussy (1936, C. Brown) at the WE. This costumer has a high-class cast: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Taylor, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Beulah Bondi and more... But, unfortunately, it seems as if Clarence Brown is filming the proceedings without must flair. The...

No the titles are in German with French subs. The film was broadcast on Arte TV.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/Woman2.jpg Recently I saw Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt (The Woman One Longs for, 1929), a Curtis Bernhardt silent with a young Marlene Dietrich before her Sternbergian period. The cinematography by the great Kurt Courant is gorgeous...