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State of the Union (1948, Frank Capra)
Capra tries for another entry in his humanist series (Mr. Deeds, Mr. Smith and John Doe) and fails miserably. Two of the principal ingredients–Robert Riskin and Gary Cooper–are missing, but since State...
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Stanley and Livingstone (1939, Henry King)
There are some beautiful sequences in Stanley and Livingstone, unfortunately, they’re mostly the second unit work from Africa. These sequences–the endless line of men trekking across great...
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Bad Day at Black Rock (1955, John Sturges)
My reaction to Bad Day at Black Rock is a guarded one. It runs eighty-one minutes and is frequently long when it should be short and short when it should be long. The conclusion, for instance, is...
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Whipsaw (1935, Sam Wood)
Whipsaw takes some detours, but eventually reveals itself as an unlikely road picture… albeit one with limited stops. The first few scenes are in London, with a lot of exposition introducing Myrna Loy...
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Father of the Bride (1950, Vincente Minnelli)
Father of the Bride is such a constant delight, it’s practically over before its problems become clear. First off, it’s definitely about the titular Father–a wonderful Spencer Tracy–who not only...
View ArticleInherit the Wind (1960, Stanley Kramer)
A lot of Inherit the Wind is about ideas and not small ones, but big ones. Director Kramer is careful with how big he lets the film get with these ideas, because even though Inherit the Wind is about...
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Captains Courageous (1937, Victor Fleming)
As Captains Courageous enters its third act, Spencer Tracy (as a Portugese fisherman) reminds Freddie Bartholomew (a spoiled blue blood kid Tracy rescues after he falls overboard from an ocean liner)...
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Desk Set (1957, Walter Lang)
Despite being an adaptation of a stage play and having one main set, Desk Set shouldn’t be stagy. The single main location–and its importance–ought to be able to outweigh the staginess. Desk Set does...
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A Guy Named Joe (1943, Victor Fleming)
I’m not sure how to talk about A Guy Named Joe without some spoilers. But I’m going to try. Like a test. A Guy Named Joe is a propaganda picture, but one less about jingoism and more about the American...
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Adam’s Rib (1949, George Cukor)
Adam’s Rib has a great script (by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin), but outside director Cukor not being as energetic as he could be—he might’ve been able to compensate—the script is the biggest problem...
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Libeled Lady (1936, Jack Conway)
Libeled Lady suffers from a few things, but it’s hard to pinpoint what doesn’t work about the film because there are so many things working well. There’s a great William Powell slapstick fishing scene...
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The Last Hurrah (1958, John Ford)
While the title refers to politics, The Last Hurrah also, unfortunately in some cases, provided to be the last hurrah of a number of fine actors as well. It’s a fitting–I can’t remember the word. It...
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Boys Town (1938, Norman Taurog)
I can’t figure out–past being an inspiring melodrama–if the filmmakers were trying for anything with Boys Town. The question of its success as that inspiring melodrama is easily answered… it fails. The...
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