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Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Peter Godfrey This movie is an odd duck. It’s a good, quick paced Christmas movie of the old Hollywood variety, as in circa the 1940s (which is when it was made). Christmas in Connecticut has all the appearance … Read more →

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Bang for the movie buck – Auntie Mame

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Bill Wren

Don’t ever accuse the entertainment business of not cleaning up its plate. There is no place like the world of entertainment for squeezing every last drop of blood out of a “property” (as the money guys refer to it). For … Read more →

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Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Albert Lewin (This review is from 2001.) I wanted so much for this to be a good movie. Unfortunately, it’s not. But in an abstract way, it’s kind of interesting to watch in order to understand why it … Read more →

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The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Once you start watching this movie you quickly see that it is a melodrama. Sometimes that is what you want to see, assuming you can see a good one, like 1952’s The Bad and the … Read more →

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Mildred Pierce (1945)

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Michael Curtiz Apparently film legend Joan Crawford’s star didn’t always sparkle. At one point, her career was in something of a funk, presumably the result of having made a series of films that didn’t register with the public. … Read more →

Shock isn’t scary; suspense is – The Sixth Sense

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Bill Wren

As October wraps up, it seems appropriate to talk about a movie from 1999 that was a genuinely good, suspense-filled ghost story. It’s one that caught most people off guard, especially with its ending. And it was so quiet! The … Read more →

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The Sixth Sense (1999)

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by M. Night Shaymalan It’s undoubtedly due to the time of year that I find I’ve been recently watching films of a supernatural nature. Not long ago I wrote about The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and last week … Read more →