Errol Flynn loses a step, gains some gravity

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Bill Wren

No snide comment is implied by “Errol Flynn … gains some gravity,” though by the time this movie was made the older Flynn had put on a few pounds. Rather, his performance has a bit of weight that wasn’t there … Read more →

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Christmas in Connecticut almost great

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Bill Wren

Some movies leave you scratching your head, like Christmas in Connecticut. You like it yet it bugs you. Why is that? This is another one of those movies I saw years ago as a kid watching TV in the basement. … Read more →

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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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True Grit (1969)

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Henry Hathaway Distances to cross; troubles to overcome; wrongs to be made right: that’s a western. Good guys, bad guys, horses, boots and guns firing. They all go into the mix because the best westerns are morality tales … Read more →

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To Have and Have Not (1944)

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Bill Wren

Directed by Howard Hawks As the packaging on the DVD I have says, To Have and Have Not has little to do with the Ernest Hemmingway novel but it does have a lot to do with the earlier movie Casablanca. … Read more →

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The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Bill Wren

Directed by Billy Wilder I’ve tried watching and enjoying The Seven Year Itch a number of times over the years and always come up with the same feeling: I just don’t like it all that much. In fact, I find … Read more →

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The combustible Ava Gardner

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Bill Wren

Ava Gardner: ‘Love is Nothing’ (2006) by Lee Server I recently finished reading Ava Gardner: ‘Love is Nothing’ by Lee Server and it’s nothing if not entertaining. Somewhere, he makes mention of her living life “like a rocket.” It’s an … Read more →

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