1940's Hall of Fame II

That sounds like an awful experience with Odd Man Out. Hope you get a chance to see it properly since you think you may like it more and glad you liked the visuals.

Reading the others now.

Something i found pretty hilarious was that the music while good didn't seem to fit what was happening on screen at all during a few parts. Dunno if it was just me, this is what i posted:

always love reading your reviews and the lil personal stories that you add to them.

You'll definitely need to watch Odd Man Out WITH sound so you can check out the dialogue along with the "Ripper Weather". I rather like that description, BTW.

And I know what you mean about the Sea Wolf film having a much older feel to it, like a silent film.
And YES, I kept thinking about the singing frog when that woman was singing it the bar, as well lol

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

I thought the exact same thing when I was watching Day of Wrath and I was even going to mention it, but I think I forgot haha.

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Ride the Pink Horse

I really like Robert Montgomery. He is one of my favorites. This is a film of his that I have never seen. And, to be honest, it was disappointing. Not so much the film itself as much as his performance. There was something about it that just didn’t seem like he was an actor who had been acting for awhile by then. It almost didn’t sound natural. He didn’t seem relaxed. That made me kind of not care too much for his character, too. That is a shame because I think this was a pretty decent film otherwise.

Luckily, though, I enjoyed the other actors in the film enough to make this movie an enjoyable one. I think the character I liked the best was Pila. I was interested in her. I couldn’t really understand her. Why was she like that with him from the beginning? He was kind of mean to her. I felt bad for her. At times she almost seemed a little pitiful to me. But since he wasn’t overly nice to her, why did she keep bothering with him? That made her intriguing to me. I think Wanda Hendrix was fine in her performance. I liked her the best out of everyone in the cast.

I can’t say that I was overly fond of the ending. I think I would’ve liked them to have at least said one word more to each other. But then that is another thing that helped make her intriguing. After everything that had happened, and all that they went through together, she just didn’t seem to care about him in any sort of way. Or she, at the very least, made it seem as if she didn't care. Interesting.

I liked the very beginning. Then it seemed to die down, but it picked up again when she rode the carousel. I liked watching her reaction while she rode it. And I liked everything that happened after that while leading up to the ending. So I think this was a pretty solid film, and a very good nomination. I admit that I may not have ever watched it otherwise. So, thanks for nominating it.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

I Remember Mama

I always liked this movie. I have seen it a few times now.

I don’t mind films like this. It is a good story, and we all know that I enjoy those. I am really into films that are supposed to be the nostalgic sort. Whenever something seems like it is going to be that sort of film, it will most likely be one that I will watch. It might be a little longer than it should be (I blame the part where Mama goes to talk to the author – for some reason, I never cared for any of that), but it is still a very good movie.

The one I enjoyed the most is Irene Dunne. I love her, anyway. She would be on my list of all-time favorites. She is always such a pleasure to watch. It doesn’t matter if it is a comedy or drama. She is very good no matter what. I just love her.

I also really like Oskar Homolka’s performance as Uncle Chris. Two of the best scenes involve him:

Although I love the smoking part with the father and son. I think that was Cosmic who pointed that out also. I love how it is just casually happening back there with the other “drama” going on.

I know we’ve talked a lot about this being a very selfless family. And I do believe they exist. Not my own family. Quite frankly, I don’t know of a more selfish, self-centered, arrogant bunch of people. But excluding them, I think there is a family like this in the world somewhere. Maybe not anymore. Everyone seems just TOO wrapped up in themselves nowadays, but I think they definitely existed in the past. And as for sacrifice, I do believe it happened. Although, I think it only would happen with people who have lived without. After all, you have to live without in order to understand people sacrificing for others. I don’t think that is all that unreal, actually. I suppose nowadays it could be unreal. Not because people aren’t apt to be as poor, but they are more apt to be selfish. Nothing wrong with putting yourself first, but there is something wrong when a person finds it hard to put someone else before them. That is how I feel, anyway, and I know I said before that I like seeing a family that actually does care about each other enough to be this way.

But this family wasn’t perfect. Katrin was selfish. Sure. She is a teenager. She will be selfish and want things. And I see nothing wrong with that. But what was the real problem? When her sister told her what Mama had done in order to get that dresser set. Now, that is a pretty big thing in my eyes to show that not everyone was perfect in that family. But I will tell you something. And this is the truth. If my mother had known I really wanted that dresser set, she would’ve made sure to get it for me. And if I would’ve found out later what had happened (selling something like the brooch), I would’ve said something to my mother about getting the brooch back. I would’ve been completely willing to take it from her, but my mother would’ve been adamant about NOT returning it and then it would’ve been done. I would’ve had the dresser set. That is it. So, my life wouldn’t have played out the way it did in the film. You see, I don’t know how to really accept a moment like that in the story. Who knows why, but I was obsessed with the My Little Pony named Surprise when I was a little kid. Then they came out with baby ponies. And I got Baby Surprise for my birthday. That was a big deal thing to get. My grandmother gave it to me. When my brother came home I showed it to him and he was really mad (to this day I don’t know why he was THAT mad) because he bought the same thing for me. And you want to know what I did? I took the Baby Surprise from him and said that they would be twins (F.Y.I. You could tell them apart because one of them had a mark by the eye ). That was the end of it. Why am I telling this story? Because it really did bother me that her sister started that trouble and she ended up getting the brooch in the end. After all, Mama wanted to give her the brooch (although that would’ve been the day my mom would’ve sold something like that to get anybody anything – it would’ve been too precious to her), but she also wanted to give her daughter something that she would’ve really enjoyed more. It was wrong to take it back for the brooch instead. And in that way, THAT was selfish to do to Mama.

Anyway, best line in the movie is when Mama says that she isn’t a visitor in the hospital. She is her Mama. I love that. I really do. I suppose I love it because that is the sort of thing my mother would’ve done. And that is something that my grandmother would’ve done. It is something my great-grandmother would’ve done. My great-great-grandmother was that sort of person, too. So I think it is safe to say that my great-great-great-grandmother and all of the other “greats” to follow back in time would’ve been that way. It is just the sort of mothers that they were and still is. I like that fact, and I like that she was that way in the film.

Another thing is that I don’t believe anyone has yet mentioned Rudy Vallee as the doctor and Edgar Bergen as Mr. Thorkelson. So I'll mention it now.

This is a very good film that I always enjoy watching. Thanks for giving me another excuse to do so.

Double Indemnity

This was the second time that I have seen this since January. At least I think that is when it was, but I really can’t remember when it exactly was anymore, but it was in 2017. That viewing was my first time since, probably, about 13-14 years ago, I think.

When I first saw this, I liked it. I watched it because it always seemed to be one of those that you HAD to watch. And I liked it. I think I liked the way the story played out, and I particularly liked how it ended.

Now go forward to earlier this year. I didn’t care for it all that much. It could’ve been the mood I was in (I had a lot going on at the time), and I just didn’t have as much interest in it, perhaps. I don’t know. I just know it wasn’t as good as I remembered it being.

So, in less than 6 months I was able to give it another try. Would I like it any better this time? Not really. I don’t know what it is exactly that I don’t care for, but there is just something there which makes this film not all that great to me. Like I said, I liked the way the story plays out (and the ending). Those are positive aspects to the film from when I first saw it, but maybe that is also part of the problem. Maybe because I now know what is going to happen, and why, I don’t think it is as good of a movie as I thought it was.

I really like Fred MacMurray, but he just seemed so bland in here. In fact, I think Barbara Stanwyck kind of was, too. Definitely in the beginning. They both sounded so flat with no emotion to what they were saying at all. Was that deliberate? It seemed very monotone, which I thought made it quite dull. I’d like to see Stanwyck be a little more seductive and give me a reason to believe he is going to be so hooked on her from the moment he saw her. I honestly don’t know what there would’ve been for him to be that way with her when they barely spoke a word to one another, and I don’t see what there was about him that made her think he was a good one to take advantage of. He didn’t come across in any way like that sort of person. I don’t know. Maybe everyone else is seeing something that I am just missing. That could be it. Edward G. Robinson was the best in here. And it was because he seemed to be the only one with any sort of “life” in him. He was the only one that wasn’t a cold statue. Maybe it was deliberate. Again, I don’t know. Truthfully, I found it to almost be a little bit comical with the way that some of those lines were delivered.

It took longer than it should’ve for the story to pick up. I don’t think taking so long helped to build up suspense. All it did was drag the film out even longer.

I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion around here, but that is OK. Anyone who really thinks it is a great film is entitled to do so. Just as long as I entitled to not think it is a great film.

Mr. Lucky

I couldn’t tell you the last time that I saw this movie. It was probably when I went through my Cary Grant phase years ago. I didn’t remember much about it except for the fact he was like a con artist.

I’ve kind of always preferred Cary Grant in the not-so-nice roles. So I liked him in here. And Laraine Day was a good counterpart for him. In reality, for what the film is about, the story itself is very light, which is OK. I liked it. And I liked the rest of the cast, too.

I don’t know that I have much more to say about this one. I liked the knitting bit, and that Australian language thing they had going on was confusing at times, but OK. If they understood what they were saying to each other, then what does it matter if I did? I got a little tired of the focus on the war, though. I don’t know why, but I didn’t really care to have that in the movie so much. It took away from the movie a little bit.

As for the ending, I don’t know if I like it or not. I think I did want it to be not what it was. I think it would’ve worked better with the story if it wouldn’t have ended that way.

One thing that I thought was interesting was how the Draft Board let them go because of high blood pressure. This is interesting to me because I know what happened in my family. Between my mother and grandmother, if I heard it once, I heard it a hundred times. My mother’s uncle (grandmother’s brother, of course) was drafted during WWII. He had high blood pressure. My great-grandmother (obviously his mother) was going crazy because he didn’t come home from the Draft Board. Finally, when he did, she was livid because they kept him down there for hours until they got his blood pressure low enough to say that he was healthy enough to be in the army. Seriously. So this was interesting in this movie because I know of a completely different thing that occurred.

Anyway, this is just one of those films that I think is a good one to relax and watch on a Sunday afternoon.

I remember thinking that, too, that the music didn't really fit with what was happening. Some of the scenes should've had softer, more haunting music, I think. Not everything is made for the loud, boisterous stuff. But the music itself wasn't bad at all. I agree with that. It just didn't fit and was too loud.


Thanks. Sometimes when I say that to people, they have no idea what I am talking about while I am describing the way it looks outside. But, to me, it is the best description for it.



I know I said I would finish them today (I still may - the night is semi-young), but I have to rewrite part of the one (I have the two left - not including Gentleman Jim). I didn't realize that I'd deleted part of it when I deleted one of the reviews that I posted last night. Maybe tonight I will finish, but most likely tomorrow.

Yah that's exactly it. Although i think while a flaw it may have been an overall positive for me because the narrative was kinda exhaustingly dramatic and even if unintentional something that i found funny was appreciated and made the film alot more manageable. Especially since i wasn't crazy about most of the acting.

I'm not familiar with Montgomery so i couldn't say what i thought of his performance with confidence, but yeah i felt kinda similar as i'm sure you read.

Don't agree with you on a few things in this review but this part i'm completely on board with. She was basically a composite of like 12 of my relatives. Thought about bringing this up to my mum but i decided against it coz it would probably make her sad for various reasons.

If you think i should watch any of Dunnes 30's stuff Vamp please suggest it in the thread (you may have already but i mean make Irene Dunne a specific reason to watch said film) coz i think it's just me, you and Mark.

This is depressing.

Started saying more but i don't want to debate about this, too bad you didn't like it more.

That's exactly what is but i think Sunday afternoon films mean as much to me as anything else, particularly whenever i was depressed and just wanted a simple distraction.

Your 12th Nomination: Midnight Run is one of my all-time favourite films for instance because it makes me really happy, it's not a masterpiece of whatever it's got so many flaws but who actually cares when it alters your mood in a way few films do.

Thanks for posting those reviews, Vamp. I linked them to the 1st post...I read them all too, very well written Indeed, Pila is a mystery...and we'll never know why she helps him in the 1st place, and then why she acts as she doesn't care at all. It's an enigma, by design, and one of the reasons I really liked the film.

I'm glad someone liked it, it's not proving to be that popular, which is OK as we have a lot of great noms this time around. I liked Irene Dunne too, though I haven't seen her in a lot of films, but what I have seen of hers, she does stand out.

A really strong 1930's film of hers is: Love Affair (1939) which was her favorite among her films and Charles Boyer's (who also stars) favorite among his films. And was remade as An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

Damn Vamp! That's quite the tale about your My Little Pony adventures I've said it before but you write very colorful reviews


I Remember Mama, some have said that no family is like that. But I would point out that the movie is based on a 1944 play and on the original novel called Mama's Bank Account, published in 1943. The movie was never meant to be a dramatic slice of life look at a family. It was written during the height of WWII when the world was facing a very dark period, with millions upon millions dead. The movie is meant to be somewhat escapism as it takes a rosy look back to a gentler time. That was important for audiences of 1944. I think people sometimes fail to view movies from the past, against the times that the movies were made. I Remember Mama was made for a shell shocked world that wanted to escape for a couple hours to a safe dream of family togetherness set in the 1900s.

Remember, I liked I Remember Mama too

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

As I said, if there ever would be some sort of ghost story HoF, this was what I’d considered nominating. As it has been in this one, I wouldn’t nominate it now, but I am still happy that it was in one because I haven’t seen it for so long. It was a re-watch that was horribly overdue.

I have never read the book (I always meant to). Therefore, I have no idea how the story plays out in that. And I have never seen the TV show. I can’t compare it to that either. All I have experienced is this film, and this film is all that I need.

I love it. I really, really do.

The first time that I saw it was probably about 10 years ago or so. Before I say what I really want to mention, I will go on about the basics of it.

I know Gene Tierney seems to be the pick in the film for people, and she is good, but I loved Rex Harrison. He is the one that I liked the best. I just love how cantankerous he is! He is hilarious. Just his overall attitude is so entertaining. But the two of them work so incredibly well together.

I love so many aspects of this movie. I like ghost stories, anyway. This one is a little different because of the relationship that they essentially have with one another. I enjoy how he “tests” her in the beginning (i.e. the lights). I can’t help but love how quickly she even starts to talk like him. And it is obvious that he is attracted to her. I really like it when he says to her “My dear, never let anyone tell you to be ashamed of your figure”. That ghost was sneaking a peek at her. It is kind of a creepy thought to think he can watch her like that, but for some reason, it is cute when it is Rex Harrison doing it. You know, in its own way, it is somewhat sad that he does end up feeling the way that he does. After all, nothing can be done about it. He can't even touch her. But I do love his jealousy. I know others may not feel this way, but I honestly think this is one of the most romantic movies ever. And I think the lack of anything happening between them, but still knowing there are feelings between them, is what helps it to be that way for me.

I think this is one of the most charming movies ever made with some pretty clever and funny lines in it. And the cinematography is fantastic. It is just a lovely film.

I mentioned to @edarsenal the other day that there are some moments that have made me so happy. These are moments that are so incredibly fantastic. So satisfying that I could almost cry over them. They just make me, if very briefly, so very, very happy. I will be so satisfied with it that I may end up feeling like something great happened to me, but what it was was something that happened to some character in a book, TV show or movie. And these moments generally satisfy me because they are not only so unexpected, but they are just so unexpectedly good. And these moments may not generate the same exact feeling that I had when I first experienced them (after all, I know they are going to happen now), but at the same time, they are just as satisfying as the first time I read/saw it happen. Anyway, ed and I had this discussion over the film Now Voyager. A great move, in my opinion. There are many things that I like in that one, but there is a moment towards the end that made me so happy. He knows what it is. And it was something that was so subtle that I actually went back and watched it again because I wasn’t sure it was what I saw. And it was what I saw, and I loved it. I didn’t know if anything could make me smile the way that did. Until I saw The Ghost and Mrs. Muir for the first time, which was around the time of Now Voyager.


So, yeah, I love this movie. I already knew when I saw it nominated how I was going to be with it. And I knew it was going to be my favorite. It is just the way it is. This film has a hold on me emotionally (for a bunch of reasons – that ending is a big part), and it is one of my favorite movies of all-time.




I just want to say one more thing. Just because I have to. I won’t go on about the odd things that have happened in my house. It is a pretty freaky house. It is. Growing up, it was worse than living in it now. But it still has its moments. And of 8 people in the house, 7 people (not including my dad – he never knew what was going on with anything anyway) have had multiple experiences. And a lot of those experiences were experienced with more than one person at the same time. I could give many examples but I will just tell you this one. My brothers were always good for getting into fights. And I am talking about big, physical fights. It was so ridiculous. But after things would calm down, and everybody would just be doing their own thing, sitting downstairs (not a single person upstairs), you’d suddenly hear all kinds of slamming coming from above, with stomping footsteps and loud knocking and banging. It seemed as though those fights would upset this “being”. And what always followed the noises was one of my brothers saying something like “The Captain is upset again” or "The Captain is mad now". Why do I tell you this? Because we named him “The Captain”. Why? Because of Captain Gregg in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. And that is all I will say about that. I just felt like mentioning it.

His Girl Friday

My nomination.

I wanted to nominate another not-so-serious film in a HoF (especially because some of my future choices won't be so "light"), and I haven’t seen it for years. So I needed to watch it again. Especially with the countdown coming up.

This was always one of my favorite comedies from this era. I always felt it was definitely one of the strongest comedies to come out of the 40’s. I love its quick-witted humor. And because there is so much of it, and it seems to be non-stop, that may help to give off the impression that this is a very fast-talking film. I love it. There are some pretty good lines in it. Some of the best are the ad-libbed ones. By the way, @gbgoodies, I do remember the Ralph Bellamy line now. When I saw this again, I remembered it.

Speaking of Ralph Bellamy, I like him in here. He is supposed to be this nice, calm and quiet guy. Someone who is the opposite to Walter Burns. And I think Bellamy plays the part perfectly. If he seems like he is pushed into the back a little, well, that is what is supposed to happen. I actually think because he is supposed to be that sort of character, that makes him stand out even more than Cary Grant. He is so different than the others in the film that it is to his benefit. I think he is pretty good in here.

I have a love-hate thing with Walter Burns. Part of me kind of likes the way he is, but at the same time, he really irritates me (truthfully, as “dull” as Ralph Bellamy may have been, at least when compared to Walter, I would much rather be with him than Cary Grant - Walter would drive me crazy with the way he is). There is one time where I have this incredible desire to slap Cary Grant and that is that scene with the three of them in that restaurant. I don’t know how she can tolerate it (I think she obviously likes it or else she wouldn’t be willing to bother with Walter at all). I would’ve just gotten up and left.

As for Rosalind Russell, this is HER picture. If Ralph Bellamy seems like he is in the background, I think Cary Grant is just as much. This is Rosalind’s film. And rightfully so. Everything essentially revolves around her. And she does an excellent job of leading the way with the story. I really enjoy her, anyway. But this is probably my favorite performance of hers. I honestly can’t imagine another actress that would’ve been as good as she was as Hildy. There are many good ones from that time, of course, but I really do think she was the best choice to play Hildy. The delivery of her lines and the expressions on her face are perfect. It is a crazy world that she lives in and she manages to be able to handle it all perfectly. Sometimes it amazes me that she wasn’t the first choice to play her.

I want to point out the highlight of the film, though. Billy Gilbert as Pettibone. I love the guy in here. I think he is so funny.

Again with background action that isn’t obviously played up (like in I Remember Mama), there is that one guy in the room with the others that is by himself in the back. While he is back there he is watching the women walk up the stairs. And the one time he really turns his body to get a good look. I, of course, found that to be very funny. I don’t know why. I just did.

I know there was a discussion regarding Rosalind’s outfit in here. I’d heard once that it was supposedly pink and black. I don’t know if that is true or not. I just assumed it was black and grey. But maybe pink would look that way in black and white.

Anyway, I really like the movie and I am happy that it at least got a chance to be in one of these HoF’s.

I completely understand what you are saying. For me, a Sunday afternoon film is a favorite a lot of the time. But whether it is a favorite or not, it is always one that I do enjoy just sitting back and watching rather than bothering with anything else that life has to offer. And they are always a good excuse to be lazy and for why I didn't get anything else done in the day that I should've gotten done.



When I first saw her, I thought maybe she liked him. Maybe she thought he was this attractive guy and that is what the draw was. But then he wasn't too nice to her (which, I don't know about anybody else, that would've been a major turn off - no matter how hunky I thought he was ). So then I was thinking it can't be that. Did she for some reason feel bad for him? It was almost like she knew he may need her help and she wanted to be there to help him. Whatever her reasons were, I really did find her fascinating to never find out - or come up with an idea on my own - as to why she was like that.