The Cincinnati Kid, is like many films made in Hollywood. It has a story that isn’t very strong, and weak supporting characters. The driving force behind the film are Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson. They play the Cincinnati Kid and Lancey Howard. McQueen and Robinson use their acting styles to great effect. Steve McQueen […]

Alfred Hitchcock’s Hollywood title, was The Master of Suspense. He directed films in England, before coming to America. The Lodger, is one of his early movies. He doesn’t use suspense as much. It seems he borrows more from German horror cinema. This involves the use of shadows, and closeups of terrified victims. The evening fog

G.I. Blues was filmed shortly after Elvis was discharged from the army. It was filmed on location in Germany. The King plays Tulsa McLean. He is a soldier in the tank corps. His dream is to buy a club, and sing when he leaves the army. He gets sidetracked, when he meets a dancer, Lili,

The Dirty Dozen is a movie that entertains. It’s running time is nearly three hours. Many long movies, end up losing money, and becoming colossal bores. The main reason for the Dirty Dozen’s appeal is Lee Marvin. He was a tough guy, before Bruce Willis and Charles Bronson. His portrayal of Major Reisman, is solid.

Bette Davis acting could make any movie better. That is the case with Now Voyager. She takes a story that isn’t the best, and gives it life. She makes her character, Charlotte Vale, her own. Charlotte is a spinster, repressed by her domineering mother, Mrs Henry Vale, (Gladys Cooper). Charlotte is an unglamorous woman, who

Red River was a defining film. It was a landmark western, with an established director. Howard Hawks was involved in making movies for over twenty years, when he made this picture. The only thing was, he never directed a western. It is a testament to his skills, that he made this landmark film. He gets

There was a time when film noir, was an art form. It was a genre, that lasted for a generation. It was, like the western, character driven. It, like westerns, made actors into stars. This was the case, with Humphrey Bogart. He was a struggling actor, for years. Suddenly, he became famous overnight, with The

The movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, won Alec Guinness an academy award. He was known for various roles, in british films before that. He played in this film, Colonel Nicholson. He is a British officer in a Japanese P.O.W. Camp. The colonel, despite the harsh conditions, never loses his spirit. He is never

Winchester ’73 is the movie, that separates James Stewart, from many actors. He was an exceptional actor, before this. Stewart gives us the gritty, tough cowboy, in Lin McAdam. It is the type of role, that Stewart played in several collaborations with Anthony Mann. This type of hero, was made famous years later, by Clint

Louis B. Mayer, was not a good person. This can be said of many people. It remains, that it was his guiding hand, that made MGM, the greatest studio during Hollywood’s golden age. The Hollywood musical, was Mayer’s grand achievement. Maytime is one of those musicals. It features America’s sweethearts, Nelson Eddie and Jeanette MacDonald.