MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on March 1, 2011

Foreign Affair (1948) I find it difficult to resist films featuring Marlene Dietrich or Jean Arthur but for entirely separate reasons. Whereas Dietrich is fascinatingly powerful and seductive in her typical roles, Arthur is adorable, innocent and hilarious. For the two of them to appear in a film t   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 25, 2011

Sylvia Scarlett (1936)      There can be no denying that Katharine Hepburn has a unique face and rather tom-boyish mannerisms, but I would not necessarily have guessed she could play a boy so well. Kate Hepburn was three years into her film career when she made Sylvia Scarlett her eighth film....   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 18, 2011

Murder by Death (1976)      Murder by Death has all the makings of a great comedy spoof on murder mysteries, but unfortunately it felt only so-so to me. For those who are more familiar with the 1985 film Clue, one can easily see where the later film found its inspiration,...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 17, 2011

Go West (1940)      Still working my way through a stockpile of Marx Brothers movie recordings, Go West was my most recent endeavor. Coming off Horse Feathers, however, I was a bit let down by this one. Unlike the earlier, college-based comedy, Go West lacked the extensive verbal repartee and...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 11, 2011

Divorce - Italian Style (1962)      I always enjoy a good foreign film, but I, like most people, do have a certain aversion to them. I would say the greatest problem with reading subtitles is that not only can you not leave the room while watching them and still catch the...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 8, 2011

     I previously expressed that I was not totally impressed by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy after seeing a couple of their shorts and was assured that I should persevere and check out their feature-length films. I’m glad I did because I found The Bohemian Girl quite entertaining. The flick i   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 7, 2011

     I find that unfortunately, I am a person who can be easily duped into watching a movie based on an impressive cast. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is loaded full of star leads and cameo appearances, but the comedic potential for the film must have been too...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 4, 2011

It Should Happen to You (1954) Filed under: Comedy, Romance Tagged: | Gasser, George Cukor, Jack Lemmon, Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on February 1, 2011

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)      Although made in 1982, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid could be claimed as 50% classic film. The Steve Martin spoof on old detective dramas uses footage from about a dozen black-and-white movies spliced in with new footage. I first saw this movie in...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 29, 2011

Jewel Robbery (1932)      Besides an entirely uninspired title, Jewel Robbery is a film busy with destroying an otherwise great plot concept. I am always one to jump on an opportunity to watch William Powell, and I enjoyed him paired with Kay Francis in One Way Passage incidentally from the same...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 28, 2011

I'm No Angel (1933)      I have always avoided Mae West because in the snippets I have seen of her films, I have found the sexpot to be highly unattractive and unappealing. I regret to say that in my first experience with a West film, my suspicions were confirmed. I’m No...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 27, 2011

     Another duo of Screen Directors Playhouse episodes have again impressed me, and both offered “twist” endings. Claire conveyed quite the familiar plot as it largely reflects the story Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier that hit the big screen in 1940 under Hitchcock’s direction. Bot   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 25, 2011

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)       I am never one to pass up a Bing Crosby musical, but that is not to say a Bingo flick is a guaranteed smash hit. With A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court I find my stance goes against the grain of...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 21, 2011

The Lost Weekend (1945)      Alcohol was ever-present in old movies as were people going on the occasional bender and the familiar drunk character. Never before, however, have I seen a classic film tackle the subject of alcoholism, let alone use that term. The Lost Weekend depicts the dark existenc   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 20, 2011

     With TCM committing a good portion of each week during January to Hal Roach Studios, I’ve managed to catch a couple of short subjects from the production company, all of which are new to me. Hal Roach, in fact, I had never heard of before this month. Hal Roach...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 17, 2011

The Lady Vanishes (1938)       Many people have an aversion to Alfred Hitchcock‘s British films, which I think have generally been classified as inferior to his American work and are typically relegated to cheap DVD compilations. I, on the other hand, truly enjoy a number of Hitchcock’s   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 17, 2011

     North by Northwest certainly ranks among the higher regarded Hitchcock films but has remained one that I never have a very strong desire to watch, if not for superficial reasons. At 136 minutes the movie certainly requires a time commitment, and I have never been terribly fond of Eva...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 17, 2011

Under Capricorn (1949)      Hitchcock had always been adverse to what he termed “costume” pictures, or period pieces, and Under Capricorn only served to prove his deterrence correct. I went to lengths to acquire a copy of this film years ago after seeing and old poster for it. This, per   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 17, 2011

     Juno and the Paycock is anything but what we have come to expect from Alfred Hitchcock. Straight dramatic or comedic films were fairly common for Hitchcock, however, before he came to America. Despite thrillers such as The Lodger early on, he still would wait a while before making stories...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on January 17, 2011

The Lodger (1926)      Hitchcock got his career in films started as soon as the medium existed in England, it seems. He started as an intertitle designer, did some assisting on pictures and then moved on to directing. The Lodger is if not his best silent film at least the director’s...   read more