The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) starring George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Angela Lansbury, Donna Reed, Peter Lawford
The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the great movies. It’s about a young man who, after an off-hand wish, finds himself unaging, with age — and corruption — affecting his portrait. But he himself is apparently untouched. He is guided down the path of corruption and self-indulgence. He leads, directly or indirectly, to multiple deaths and suicides. Can he find salvation?
Read More »The Picture of Dorian GrayThe Black Room (1935)
Synopsis of The Black Room (1935)
Boris Karloff is superb in a dual role as twin brothers (one evil, one good), born to the ruling family in the early 1800’s in Czechoslovakia. The bad twin inherits the castle and becomes infamous for his sadistic behavior and murders the good twin, assuming his identity so that he might continue his heinous acts.
Read More »The Black Room (1935)M – Peter Lorre, Fritz Lang
M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang, starring Peter Lorre
I’ve known for a long time that Fritz Lang was a ground-breaking movie director (Metropolis for example)–but I’ve never truly appreciated that for myself, until I recently saw his black and white movie about a search for a child murderer, titled M. Fritz Lang described M as a documentary, and I would have to agree with that–it looks, and feels, like a documentary.
Read More »M – Peter Lorre, Fritz LangOur Vines Have Tender Grapes
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), starring Edward G. Robinson, Agnes Moorehead, Margaret O’Brien
Synopsis of Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
A Hole in the Head
A Hole in the Head (1959), starring Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eddie Hodges, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Keenan Wynn directed by Frank Capra
Synopsis of A Hole in the Head
The Stranger
The Stranger (1946) starring Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young
Synopsis of The Stranger
In The Stranger, Wilson of the War Crimes Commission is seeking Franz Kindler, mastermind of the Holocaust, who has effectively erased his identity. Wilson releases Kindler’s former comrade Meinike and follows him to Harper, Connecticut, where he is killed before he can identify Kindler. Now Wilson’s only clue is Kindler’s fascination with antique clocks; but though Kindler seems secure in his new identity, he feels his past closing in.
Read More »The Stranger