Movies, classic movies, books and other blather
Posts tagged as:
After having it on my computer for about two months in a half-finished state, I’ve finally posted my take on A Lady Takes a Chance (1943). It stars Jean Arthur and John Wayne and, yes, it’s a romantic comedy. It’s not, however, the best romantic comedy. It’s pretty mediocre. However, both Arthur and Wayne are [...]
{ 0 comments }
The few references and reviews you’ll find online about A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) tend to make the same observation: a pretty good romantic comedy that few people today have seen. The movie did pretty well in 1943 – I believe it was the third highest grosser that year. It’s also seldom referred to, [...]
{ 1 comment }
Directed by Henry Koster “Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be’ – she always called me Elwood – ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote [...]
{ 0 comments }
Directed by Steven Spielberg I hate flying mainly because I hate airports. I hate airports because I hate waiting. So the idea of a movie about waiting in an airport didn’t immediately appeal to me. As it turns out, The Terminal is one of my favourite movies of the year. I think director Steven Spielberg [...]
{ 1 comment }
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen The Rare Breed is one of those many older movies that has become a series of contradictions: it’s good and it’s bad, it’s timeless and it’s dated, it’s memorable and it’s forgettable. I suppose that last, forgettable, is one of its ruling characteristics given the number of people I’ve encountered [...]
{ 0 comments }
Directed by Frank Capra I had forgotten how much in love with Jean Arthur I was. I remembered as I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Originally intended as a follow up to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (and titled Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington), Gary Cooper, who was in the first film, couldn’t get [...]
{ 1 comment }
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke There’s a heck of a lot of drinking in this movie. But there’s also a heck of a lot of fun. In fact, The Thin Man is a delight from start to finish. It begins as a standard, noir-like mystery-thriller of the period (1934). We meet some characters, most not [...]
{ 1 comment }
Directed by Jack Conway I’ve always liked William Powell and Myrna Loy (whom I like almost as much as the team of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne), and I’m particularly thinking of The Thin Man. With that in mind, I re-watched Libeled Lady (which also stars Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow). You know, I love [...]
{ 1 comment }
Directed by Billy Wilder This movie really surprised me. Though it’s a little long and it definitely has a late 60′s, early 70′s pacing, Avanti! is a delightful and amusing romantic comedy about pretty average people who – can you believe it? – actually look average and not like the botox-ed stars of today. The [...]
{ 0 comments }
Directed by Billy Wilder While Billy Wilder movies are often spoken of in terms of romantic comedies (which many of them are – kind of), the thing that most strikes me about them is the melancholy that informs them. More often than not his lead characters are lonely and sad. The stories that unfold are [...]
{ 0 comments }
I'm Bill Wren, a writer-editor, social media and movie enthusiast in Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada). My other blog is Writelife.
