A romantic triangle forms against the backdrop of high-tension power lines in Slim (1937). Young farmer Henry Fonda watches linemen erect a steel tower, climb it and string electrical lines. He’s enthralled, and is soon hired as an apprentice to […]
Continue reading »Category: Movies Worth Rediscovering
Passed Away (1992) ☆ ☆ ☆
Comedies about death often impart a great deal of wisdom about life, and Passed Away (1992) is no exception. It’s a rather formulaic tale about the chaos that ensues when family patriarch Jack Warden suffers a fatal heart attack. Warden’s widow […]
Continue reading »A Soldier’s Story (1984) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
The better murder mysteries offer unique settings, character depth and meaning beyond their particular crime cases. That is certainly true of Norman Jewison’s movie A Soldier’s Story (1984), adapted by Charles Fuller from his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Its story […]
Continue reading »Capricorn One (1978) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
The premise of the action-drama Capricorn One (1978) is one I actually find repugnant, since I am a fervent advocate for human space exploration. Yet such is the power of writer-director Peter Hyams’ concept — that a manned mission to […]
Continue reading »Take the Money and Run (1969) ☆ ☆ ☆
For my money, one of the funniest films Woody Allen ever made is the crime parody Take the Money and Run (1969), which combines a sappy love story between bungling career criminal Allen and lovely laundress Janet Margolin, great gags […]
Continue reading »Bells are Ringing (1960) ☆ ☆ ☆
Although it was made and released less than seventy years ago, the MGM musical Bells are Ringing (1960) contains one aspect that makes it feel antiquated. This, of course, is the telephone technology at Susanswerphone, the central telephone exchange where […]
Continue reading »We’re Not Married! (1952) ☆ ☆ ☆
The appearance of Marilyn Monroe in a swimsuit not once but twice in the brisk marital comedy We’re Not Married! (1952) is enough to recommend it, but there are other rewards as well. Justice of the Peace Victor Moore discovers […]
Continue reading »Magic Town (1947) ☆ ☆ ☆
An intriguing premise and sparkling chemistry between James Stewart and Jane Wyman elevate Magic Town (1947) to the level of a Movie Worth Rediscovering. This is Americana in the Capra mold, written and produced by longtime Capra associate Robert Riskin, […]
Continue reading »The Hurricane (1937) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
John Ford has many wonderful characteristics as a director and chief among them is an innate respect for all types and manner of people. Nowhere is this more evident than his lyrical ode to the South Seas, The Hurricane (1937). […]
Continue reading »Addicted to Love (1997) ☆ ☆ ☆
If Alfred Hitchcock were a contemporary filmmaker, he might have made this dark but endearing concoction about the obsessiveness caused by affection. Addicted to Love (1997) is a romantic comedy in which the romantic and sensitive moments are outnumbered by […]
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