Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 7, 2008

I watched this soon after The Petrified Forest, also starring Bette Davis and Leslie Howard – but the two movies couldn’t very well have been more different. About the only similarity is that Davis plays a waitress in both, but the fiery “bad girl”, Mildred, who she portrays in this...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 6, 2008

Lew Ayres I’d heard of All Quiet on the Western Front as one of the greatest war movies, and it completely lived up to my expectations. I haven’t read Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, so can’t make any comparisons. But, apart from being an adaptation, this is an astonishing film   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 5, 2008

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert Since getting into the early talkies, I’ve been thinking I ought to try silent films, but I’ve found it difficult. Voices are just about everything for me, and with most of my favourite actors the voice is hugely important – so I struggle to get...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 4, 2008

James Cagney and Joan Blondell (The part of this review behind the cut includes spoilers) Although I really wanted to see the film for Cagney, LaVerne’s character is also very interesting, as a woman running her own business and determined to keep ahead of her male rivals. She is a...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 3, 2008

I’d been wanting to see a movie starring Richard Barthelmess since reading about his work in Mick LaSalle’s book Dangerous Men. Since this film also stars a young Bette Davis and is directed by Michael Curtiz, it sounded like an unbeatable combination. I wasn’t disappointed. This W   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 2, 2008

Bette Davis I had heard of The Petrified Forest as a gangster film, so was surprised to find that it is really a stage play, largely set in one room (a remote cafe at an Arizona petrol station) – and has a static, talky quality. Although this is known as a...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 2, 2008

Before seeing this film, which stars Henry Fonda and Pat O’Brien, I don’t suppose I’d ever thought about how dangerous life was for early power workers. This gritty Warner movie brings home the risks, beginning with a voiceover tribute to all the linemen who travelled across America in the early...   read more