A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Starring Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Donald Woods, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Blanche Yurka, Basil Rathbone
Synopsis of A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1935) “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” Charles Dickens‘ tale of love and tumult during the French Revolution comes to the screen in a sumptuous film version by the producer famed for nurturing sprawling literary works: David O. Selznick (David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, Gone with the Wind). Ronald Colman (The Prisoner of Zenda) stars as Sydney Carton. He’s sardonic, dissolute, a wastrel… And destined to redeem himself in an act of courageous sacrifice. “It’s a far, far better thing I do than I’ve ever done,” Carton muses at that defining moment.
David Copperfield
David Copperfield (1935) starring Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, W.C. Fields, Basil Rathbone There’s a lot of good things to be said about David Copperfield —… Read More »David Copperfield
Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jean Crain, Vincent Price
reviewed by The Masked Reviewer
Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) elopes with a charming young socialite Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney). Only to find her family surprised by his appearance more than the sudden marriage. All seems to be going well for the happy couple until Richard decides to invite his little brother Danny (Darryl Hickman) to Ellen’s special summer home. Danny’s visit changes into Danny moving in permanently. All Ellen wants is to live a quiet happy life with Richard. Richard doesn’t understand that so he also invites her mother, and cousin to live with them for the summer. Ellen can’t stand this invasion of privacy anymore. You must watch Leave Her to Heaven for yourself. Because it has one of the finest portrayals of madness in film. This is an excellent film.
Mr. Skeffington
Mr. Skeffington (1944), starring Bette Davis, Claude Rains
Product Description of Mr. Skeffington
Bette Davis stars as a beautiful but vain society woman who, to pay her brother’s gambling debts, marries a financier she does not love — Mr. Skeffington. The marriage does not last, and the former Mrs. Skeffington flits from beau to beau casually leaving a trail of broken hearts. But when she contracts a near-fatal case of diphtheria, her beauty is destroyed by the terrible scars left by the disease. Now middle-aged, scarred and unable to win men’s hearts with her beauty, she finally finds love with the now-blind man she had wed years before–Mr. Skeffington
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), starring Dennis Price, Alec Guiness, Miles Malleson, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood
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Lust for Life
Lust for Life (1956) starring Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, directed by Vincente Minelli
In short, Kirk Douglas shines in his performance as Vincent van Gogh. Kirk Douglas gave many great performances in his career, but none better than in Lust for Life. He portrays the Dutch painter, a brilliant artist that was tragically tormented by depression and mental illness.
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West of Shanghai
West of Shanghai (1937) starring Boris Karloff, Gordon Oliver, Beverly Roberts, Ricardo Cortez
West of Shanghai is an excellent movie, dealing with a cast of Western characters who travel to China for a variety of reasons. Once there, they are forced to deal with a warlord named General Fang, played by Boris Karloff. It is Karloff’s performance that makes an otherwise ordinary movie memorable.
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The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) starring Ingrid Bergman, Curt Jurgens, Robert Donat
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is an exceptional movie. Made even more exceptional by the fact that it’s based on a true story. It’s the story of Gladys Aylward (performed by Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca in a great performance). A British woman in the early 20th century who feels called by God to be a missionary in China.
Since she has no education or qualifications, the Missionary Society refuses to send her. Gladys steadfastly believes that God has called her there. So she works as a servant, putting money aside from each paycheck until she can afford a one-way trip to China. Once she’s there, she swiftly finds that her struggle is only beginning …
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Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) starring Van Johnson, Phyllis Thaxter, Spencer Tracy, Robert Walker, Robert Mitchum
The old adage says that you shouldn’t judge a book by its’ cover — and that goes for DVD cases as well. Judging from the DVD case, you would think that Thirty Seconds over Tokyo is starring Spencer Tracy — and you would be wrong. Spencer Tracy does appear, and he does a fine job portraying James Doolittle, the man behind the World War II raid on Tokyo. But the central character in this movie is pilot Ted Lawson. Van Johnson portrays him excellently. The movie breaks into three parts: