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Fast Paced Thriller
The Glass Key is a murder mystery thriller starring two staples of the film noir genre. Alan Ladd stars as a man looking for the truth and using his wits to twists information in his favor. Veronica Lake plays the beautiful daughter of a potential Senator, the sister of a man who has been murdered. The victim's girlfriend is played by the beautiful Bonita Granville.
Glossy Ladd-Lake Movie
"Why are you Paul's friend?" - Veronica Lake
A decent noir film.
This film stars the electric combination of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, two of the most charismatic stars of the film noir genre.This film came out in 1942 when Ladd was 29 and was just becoming famous as the star of "This Gun for Hire".
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Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Mystery / Suspense    3. Mystery / Suspense / Thriller   

Editorial Review

The great John Ford directed this rousing 1937 adventure with such invigorating physicality that the movie is never compromised by its cornball plot. It's an island adventure from the old school of tall tales, and the title says it all--the tropical romance between native girl Dorothy Lamour and suntanned hunk Jon Hall is established simply so it can be tested by a meddlesome island governor (Raymond Massey) and a tropical storm that provides one of the most physically impressive climaxes ever filmed. The storm remains as awesome as ever simply because it triumphantly captures the power of nature in the throes of a raging tempest. Massive waves, driving wind, and expert use of miniatures make Read more

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Early Exploration into Disaster Films
I have always been a fan of John Ford's movies.He has a unique style of movies that are wholesome without being irrelevant.He always seems to have a major social community event such as a wedding or a funeral that helps identify the unity of the society.He often has an individual that is or becomes an outsider to that same society and, through that antagonist, we gradually discover both the positive and negative traits of each.There is always a romantic aspect and a religious aspect to the movie as well.By the time the movie has ended, we have usually discovered how the individual has succeeded or failed as well as how the society has been affected by the events in the movie.Life goes on although often a bit sadder but wiser.We, in turn, are often a bit sadder but wiser as well.Happy endings occur in Ford's movies but usually at a price.
The Hurricane starring Jon Hall 1937
(...)
Your jaw will drop
Wow.Incredible special effects close out the last half hour of this film, in which a small Pacific island near Tahiti is obliterated by a collossal hurricane.The action scenes are amazing, as buildings, boats, people and trees are swept away by unstoppable nature.The plot revolves around the noble seafaring Terangi, a native who runs afoul of an unbending legal system, and has to go to great lengths to return to his family, and to prove his valor and nobility.Played by athlete-turned-actor John Hall, Terangi has a major "me Tarzan" quality to him, but is compelling nonetheless.Dorothy Lamour, in her trademark sarong, also plays a Polynesian.If you can get past the silliness of these white folks playing "ethnic" roles, this is a superior, and quite stunning film.As ever, a tightly crafted movie by director John Ford. ... Read more

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Silly And So-So Cooper Western
Dallas was made after Gary Cooper had appeared in The Plainsman and the Westerner, but before High Noon and his later Westerns, where Cooper was an older, serious, and sober sort.
OUTDATED LOOKING EVEN IN ITs DAY
Warner's idea of continuing to produce large budget town taming Westerns was something of a myth by the time this film was released in 1950. The idea was old and the film even looks older than it is because of it save for the John Twist's script and Stuat Heisler's direction. The film's opening shootout was a clever piece of scripting and the idea of Gary Cooper and Leif Erickson switching identities is well executed. These are good techniques that enhance the characters but not the plot. The basic premise of cleaning up a Western town is still filmed with very little innovation in standard pre-1950 Hollywood style.

Yagggh!
Completely stupid and boring so-called western. A real let-down. To be avoided by all costs! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Westerns   

Editorial Review

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"There's Nothin' I Like Better Than Bein' Saved From Gettin' Shot"
Why this always amusing and often very funny western spoof is not more widely touted has always been somewhat of a mystery to me. Gary Cooper produced this little gem himself through International Pictures and has a great time poking fun at his own screen image. Nunnally Johnson wrote the screenplay from a novel by Alan LeMay and Stuart Heisler directed with a humorous eye, evident in some of the background filler, moving more than a small sailboat fighting choppy seas.
Cooper tour-de-force
Whatever ALONG CAME JONES lacks in comic pacing is more than compensated by Gary Cooper's delicious romp of a performance as Melody Jones, a cowboy who can't shoot or fight. Cooper produced this himself -- he was the firststar to form his own company -- and clearly knew what he had in the role ofMelody Jones. This is also a film far ahead of its time in the rolereversal plot, in which Loretta Young can outshoot Cooper. It is LorettaYoung, not Coop, who faces down villain Dan Duryea in the climacticgunfight. Highly recommended for Cooper's tour-de-force performance. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Movie    3. Westerns   

Editorial Review

"Come on, Oscar--let's you and me get drunk." This caustic Bette Davis line is not aimed at a co-star but at the Academy Award itself, which down-on-her-luck actress Margaret Elliot cradles bitterly at the beginning of an inebriated evening. As you can guess, Davis is at full-throttle in his ripe melodrama, which came a couple of years after Read more

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"Going.....going.....gone."
Bette Davis plays Hollywood forgotten legend, Margaret Elliot. She is bankrupt and no longer remembered. She thinks that one more great movie role can put him back where she was.
Fame and fortune are not the most important things in life..
I think the reason this film is disliked by so many people is the message which, although true, is not something you can really tell to someone obsessed with the American Dream without expecting some kind of resentment!
If you're a star...you're always going to be a star!
Watching this thoroughly engrossing 90 minute melodrama is a little like eating a jumbo sized bucket of buttered popcorn.It tastes delicious going down, but leaves you just a little queazy 'cause you know it's really bad!
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Motion Picture Video    4. Movie   

Editorial Review

It's a flimsy excuse to romp through more than two dozen Irving Berlin songs, but Read more

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A great and classic film!
This is a beatifully done film.Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby are reunited in it.The costumes are beautiful.The acting isn't the best, but the songs are very good.It's entertaining and colorful, like every good musical shoud be.

"Puttin On The Ritz" is amazing... but...
Bing sings and Fred treads in this sketchily-plotted musical, which pits Astaire and Crosby against one another, rivals for the hand of the blonde, domestically-minded Joan Caulfield.This frothy postwar frolic has a wild Techncolor exuberance, with crazy explosions all over the pastel-lined spectrum (and an odd tilt towards purple).The sad thing, though, is that this isn't a very good movie -- the plot is razor thin, barely a hint of an excuse to stage a bunch of great (and lesser) Irving Berlin tunes.Some numbers fall flat (and Billy DeWolfe's interminable, painfully unfunny drag routine brings the movie to a screeching halt)... Still, Astaire's killer performance on "Puttin' On The Ritz" is the stuff that legends are made of: as he's angelically hoofing his heart out, a curtain parts behind him, revealing a phalanx of distant, miniature Astaires, keeping time with the big guy.A technical and aesthetic triumph!This flick might be worth it for that routine alone, although Bing gets in some choice vocal performances as well.A dud scriptwise, but it still has two of the greatest performers of the 20th Century, both still at their peak.

Worth watching for one dance number...
Fred's Putting On The Ritz absolutely makes the movie.Without it, the movie would be forgettable but that dance routine is my favorite of all Astaire's efforts.Amazing! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Musicals    4. TV Shows   

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A Very Interesting Universal.
I ordered the movie a couple weeks ago, and I am very happy with the condition of the product. I am a collecter of the Universal Studios monsters collection. I thought the movie itself was done fairly well. It was sort of a twist to the Monster set. nothing spectacular, but if you are a collecter of the set, it is a great thing to own.
Sinister Little Horror Story Enlivened By Good Performances
At first glance this minor 1941 Paramount feature looks like it really can't make up its mind if it is a Courtroom drama or a horror feature. The film has two distinct parts to it with an abrupt change in direction a little under half way through, however that doesn't stop it from being a quite enjoyable 70 minutes of viewing. Looking like a Universal feature from the time when that studio was still the leader in the horror field, it is instead a Paramount feature which perhaps explains the attempt at some deeper characterisations and a more polished look to some of the special effects, in particular in the "Monster' of the title which here is a murderous Gorilla that has a wrongly convicted man's brain transplanted into it. The first part of the film contains a well acted murder trial while the second half goes off totally into the realm of horror fantasy as the Gorilla thinking like the convicted man, goes on a murderous rampage against those who falsely framed him for murder. Bizarre, interesting B horror film
2 1/2 stars. Film starts as melodrama with a girl getting involved with a white slavery ring then veers into horror when her avenging brother has his brain transplanted into a gorilla who then goes after the villains. Wildstuff with an interesting cast: Paul Lukas, George Zucco, Joseph Calleia,Rod Cameron, et al. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Horror    2. Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy    3. Movie   

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It'll do!
Not-so-bad western with the teen-age idols of the time Tab Hunter and pretty Nathalie Wood. Not better or worse than many of the other B-westerns of the 50�s. Tab Hunter is no John Wayne and director Stuart Heisler is certainly no John Ford or Howard Hawks - but on its own terms, it works OK. ... Read more

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Actually three and a half stars
This review refers to the Alpha Video (Gotham) DVD. Conservation first
One will say one more film about oil in Oklahoma. But this film is different. It brings together several questions that are extremely important. First the alliance between the white entrepreneurs and the Indians. The Indians are divided on the question of the conservation of their land as grazing land, as cattle-raising land due to the easy money oil brings in. We will note that justice does not hear conservationist arguments. Second the position of women in this adventure and women are shown as entrepreneurial just like men, equal to men, though they can use their charms to convince people of the value of their decisions, not force but soft conviction. Third the problem of conservation : how can the land not be ruined and wasted by oil exploitation ? The answer is to do it in a non-intensive way because this intensive method gets a lot of oil in a short period of time, but it also ruins the land through pollution. The answer is in an exploitation that leaves the land clean and usable all the time for cattle or other activities. Then the money brought in is less massive in a short period of time but regular for a long period of time. Such a way is defended by scientists and engineers but opposed by entrepreneurs. It is an accident that will determine the state and various congressional representations to regulate oil exploitation in such a way that nature is not spoiled. Fourth oil culture is not just the exploitation of crude oil, but it creates a whole network of services and roads for the cars that use that oil to run and refill when necessary. It is a structurizing activity whose social consequences are extremely far-reaching. A very well done film on very modern issues. Conservation must be a major objective of man on earth : think of the long-run future instead of the short-term profit. firewater
Director Stuart Heisler must have liked Susan Hayward because he cast her in 3 films - Among the Living, Smash up - The Story of a Woman, and this one, so in a way he is responsible for elevating her to A level productions. This one hovers in between a B and an A, independently produced, and using a lot of rear projection. The material is interesting in it's view of the American Indian, here presented as land owners and cattle ranchers, with Heisler beginning with a montage of the different kinds of Indians, and Hayward being 3/4 Cherokee. Presumably this is want accounts for her "wildcat" quality.Read more

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Pretty good flick
Great camera work always featuring subtle shots of the snow capped mountains that play a part in this good ole flick with Jack Palance.It's definetly worth poppin some popcorn and watching.

A good 1950's gangster movie
Jack Palance plays one of his typecast movie roles as the quiet loner. The only difference here is that instead of being a cowboy he plays a gangsterwho despite being a stone cold killer has a soft spot for a naive disabledgirl. Shelly Winters plays a trampy gangster chick who falls for Jack anddespite his rejections manages to change his heart and feelings for her. Agreat movie for the gangster movie buff with all the old style clothes andcars this movie is one of my favorites. A modern ganster movie with asimilar theme is Harvey Kietel's role in Industry City. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama    2. Movie    3. Mystery / Suspense / Thriller   

Editorial Review

It's hard to imagine nowadays that someone so innately bitter and cynicalas Humphrey Bogart could be a major movie star--but he was, and the movieswere richer for it. In Read more

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Another Great Bogart
There is a reason the AFI ranked Bogart as the #1 actor in the history of film, The Enforcer was a great movie and one that I own.

Intrigue and romance in post WW2 Japan for Bogie
Life in post war Japan is a theme not often explored in Hollywood film making and that alone gives "Tokyo Joe" an extra element of interest. Often referred to as second-string Bogie effort, the film I feel has much to commend it and it weaves an arresting story of intrigue, corruption and lost love against the background of a Japan just coming back to life after the conclusion of the war. A nest of snakes
Humphrey Bogart is equal to himself in this tightly devised plot. First a clear situation : Japan after the war under occupation by the Americans who are trying to chase the remnants of a militaristic and fanatical recent past. The Americans come back to Japan too to start some joint ventures with some Japanese. Then a personal situation : Joe had a joint business before the war and he tries to recuperate it and finds out it is impossible though he goes along with his ex-partner in another business that is a lot more shady than it should be. Then a sentimental situation : his ex-girlfriend and wife is married to a big shot in the American embassy or something. She has a daughter and this daughter is Joe's though she had her adopted by her second husband. This daughter was the backmailing tool of the Japanese during the war to force this woman to broadcast propaganda aimed at American forces in the Pacific during the war. But Joe and his new business is used to bring some old militaristic fanatics back to Japan to stir some trouble for the Americans. Joe, as an ex-colonel, has to go along with the allied forces, but his � business associates � kidnap his daughter to force him to do what they want. Then the rest is resistance and heroism, courage and back-fighting. Humphrey Bogart cuts the character quite convincingly and gives us an interesting thriller.Read more

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Actually three and a half stars
This review refers to the Alpha Video (Gotham) DVD. Conservation first
One will say one more film about oil in Oklahoma. But this film is different. It brings together several questions that are extremely important. First the alliance between the white entrepreneurs and the Indians. The Indians are divided on the question of the conservation of their land as grazing land, as cattle-raising land due to the easy money oil brings in. We will note that justice does not hear conservationist arguments. Second the position of women in this adventure and women are shown as entrepreneurial just like men, equal to men, though they can use their charms to convince people of the value of their decisions, not force but soft conviction. Third the problem of conservation : how can the land not be ruined and wasted by oil exploitation ? The answer is to do it in a non-intensive way because this intensive method gets a lot of oil in a short period of time, but it also ruins the land through pollution. The answer is in an exploitation that leaves the land clean and usable all the time for cattle or other activities. Then the money brought in is less massive in a short period of time but regular for a long period of time. Such a way is defended by scientists and engineers but opposed by entrepreneurs. It is an accident that will determine the state and various congressional representations to regulate oil exploitation in such a way that nature is not spoiled. Fourth oil culture is not just the exploitation of crude oil, but it creates a whole network of services and roads for the cars that use that oil to run and refill when necessary. It is a structurizing activity whose social consequences are extremely far-reaching. A very well done film on very modern issues. Conservation must be a major objective of man on earth : think of the long-run future instead of the short-term profit. firewater
Director Stuart Heisler must have liked Susan Hayward because he cast her in 3 films - Among the Living, Smash up - The Story of a Woman, and this one, so in a way he is responsible for elevating her to A level productions. This one hovers in between a B and an A, independently produced, and using a lot of rear projection. The material is interesting in it's view of the American Indian, here presented as land owners and cattle ranchers, with Heisler beginning with a montage of the different kinds of Indians, and Hayward being 3/4 Cherokee. Presumably this is want accounts for her "wildcat" quality.Read more

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A fascinating, historically significant documentary
Produced by the War Department in 1944, The Negro Soldier is a very interesting documentary honoring African-American soldiers.World War II was ongoing at the time, and the film may well have served to some degree as a recruitment vehicle for young black men, but it stands most clearly today as an historical piece and an inspiring, patriotic celebration of the American spirit and the critical importance of African-Americans in establishing and preserving the American way of life.I was expecting to see some kind of visual record of African-American soldiers involved in fighting World War II, but the video actually serves as a primer of sorts for African-American soldiering throughout the entire history of the United States.Using official War Department films, newsreels, and captured enemy material in conjunction with footage from historical movies and recreations of actual incidents and events, The Negro Soldier is an impressive albeit rose-colored presentation of an oftentimes neglected subject. Well Researched Look at a Neglected Part of American History
The late African American filmmaker and educator Carlton Moss wrote the script and plays one of the roles in this film used to promote nationalism among new soldiers. It provides a rare glimpse of the middle class African American experience of the time.Read more

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Academy Award performance from Miss Hayward.
I don't care if the critics considered this a bad movie or not, Susan Hayward's performance is outstanding and so is Marsh Hunts'.Wait till you see the fight scene between the two of them, it looked like these broads forgot it was acting!Miss Hayward insisted on playing the bedroom fire scene without a double and the subtleness with which she plays a drunk is every bit as good as Kim Stanley did in The Goddess!If you like melodrama and love Susan Hayward, this is a film you can't miss.

Start of a great career
Susan Hayward gives a bravura performance in her first starring role.It was clear from this film that she would someday be an Academy Award-winning best actress.

Smash Up: The Story of A Comeback
This is probably the most important movie of Susan Hayward's career. Susan was only considered as a supporting actress to Paramount's leading ladies before she broke away from the studio and made "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman" with Walter Wagner's guidance. In the 1940's, when an actress approached 30 was considered an end of a career, Susan Hayward made a comeback. Susan Hayward was always the advisory to Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and others. Susan Hayward's best parts before Smash-Up were "Adam Had Four Sons," and "Among The Living." Susan will keep you entertained throughout the whole movie. True, Lee Bowman's and Eddie Albert's performances were wooden but Susan makes up for the movie with her strong performance. Susan earned her first Oscar nomanitation with this movie. Susan Hayward never gave a bad performance. However, if you want to know what are the best Susan Hayward movies, here are my favorites: Adam Had Four Sons, Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, With a Song In My Heart, I'll Cry Tomorrow, I Want To Live, Back Street* my favorite, Say Goodbye to Maggie Cole. P.S. Valley of the Dolls was great with Susan's performance but her part was smaller compared to the rest. See my review for Valley of the Dolls. Write to amazon.com and demand more Susan Hayward movies on dvd. Enjoy. ... Read more

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A fascinating, historically significant documentary
Produced by the War Department in 1944, The Negro Soldier is a very interesting documentary honoring African-American soldiers.World War II was ongoing at the time, and the film may well have served to some degree as a recruitment vehicle for young black men, but it stands most clearly today as an historical piece and an inspiring, patriotic celebration of the American spirit and the critical importance of African-Americans in establishing and preserving the American way of life.I was expecting to see some kind of visual record of African-American soldiers involved in fighting World War II, but the video actually serves as a primer of sorts for African-American soldiering throughout the entire history of the United States.Using official War Department films, newsreels, and captured enemy material in conjunction with footage from historical movies and recreations of actual incidents and events, The Negro Soldier is an impressive albeit rose-colored presentation of an oftentimes neglected subject. Well Researched Look at a Neglected Part of American History
The late African American filmmaker and educator Carlton Moss wrote the script and plays one of the roles in this film used to promote nationalism among new soldiers. It provides a rare glimpse of the middle class African American experience of the time.Read more

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Actually three and a half stars
This review refers to the Alpha Video (Gotham) DVD. Conservation first
One will say one more film about oil in Oklahoma. But this film is different. It brings together several questions that are extremely important. First the alliance between the white entrepreneurs and the Indians. The Indians are divided on the question of the conservation of their land as grazing land, as cattle-raising land due to the easy money oil brings in. We will note that justice does not hear conservationist arguments. Second the position of women in this adventure and women are shown as entrepreneurial just like men, equal to men, though they can use their charms to convince people of the value of their decisions, not force but soft conviction. Third the problem of conservation : how can the land not be ruined and wasted by oil exploitation ? The answer is to do it in a non-intensive way because this intensive method gets a lot of oil in a short period of time, but it also ruins the land through pollution. The answer is in an exploitation that leaves the land clean and usable all the time for cattle or other activities. Then the money brought in is less massive in a short period of time but regular for a long period of time. Such a way is defended by scientists and engineers but opposed by entrepreneurs. It is an accident that will determine the state and various congressional representations to regulate oil exploitation in such a way that nature is not spoiled. Fourth oil culture is not just the exploitation of crude oil, but it creates a whole network of services and roads for the cars that use that oil to run and refill when necessary. It is a structurizing activity whose social consequences are extremely far-reaching. A very well done film on very modern issues. Conservation must be a major objective of man on earth : think of the long-run future instead of the short-term profit. firewater
Director Stuart Heisler must have liked Susan Hayward because he cast her in 3 films - Among the Living, Smash up - The Story of a Woman, and this one, so in a way he is responsible for elevating her to A level productions. This one hovers in between a B and an A, independently produced, and using a lot of rear projection. The material is interesting in it's view of the American Indian, here presented as land owners and cattle ranchers, with Heisler beginning with a montage of the different kinds of Indians, and Hayward being 3/4 Cherokee. Presumably this is want accounts for her "wildcat" quality.