Ghosty

The Uninvited (1944)
Dir - Lewis Allen

Had this on the DVR since January from TCM and finally decided to give it a go. There are some really amazing moments in this film (like when Rod and Stella are at the piano and the seance) but some of the film went by a bit slowly. Could be because I was pretty tired when I watched it, but it didn't really stop me from enjoying myself. It also feels a lot different than I expected. I figured it would be more gothic in style but when it opens the playfulness in the acting and in the music made me find it more comedic in tone. Odd.

That Damn Double-Cross Party

The Great Dictator (1940)
Dir - Charles Chaplin

What a great film! Chaplin should really be commended for not only making something so ballsy for the time but being able to mix comedy, drama and a strong message so well. Some scenes (notably the pudding scene and Hynkel with the globe) had me laughing, while others I found somewhat frightening and sad. It's said Chaplin didn't know to what extent the Nazis would go and he wouldn't have taken certain things so lightly, but it's hard to forget that now while watching. Still a triumph of a movie.

Miss Pommery 1926

The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Dir - George Cukor
Jimmy Stewart Sunday

After a week off from JSS we come back with a great film full of laughs. Not sure why but I thought this film was a drama. I was pleasantly surprised to figure out by the score in the first few seconds of the film that it is comedy. Very funny with great performances all around. Stewart did his usual bang up job but I agree with him comments concerning winning the Best Actor Oscar for this role. It was nothing more than deferred payment for not getting one for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington a year earlier. Hepburn nails Tracy Lord but she did also portray her on the stage and it's a role based on her life/family.

Boys Will Be Boys

Rope (1948)
Dir - Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart Sunday*

I really love films that seem like plays. This is not only that but accomplishes the feeling of watching a "real time" play with a series of long takes. I love Jimmy Stewart but agree with his feeling that he was miscast here. The lead, Brandon (John Dall), is fantastic, impossible and smarmy.  Hitchcock really knows what he's doing and builds some great tension, but I wish the opening was a little different. If only it left a little more to the imagination.

*Since for the past couple of Sundays Jenny and I have watched a James Stewart film we decided to make it a recurring thing whenever possible. 

Bravo

The Red Shoes (1948)
Dir - Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

Wow! What a great film with moving music to some fantastic dance sequences. The photography and technicolor used here is jaw-dropping - not like it wouldn't be with Jack Cardiff behind the lens. Moira Shearer is absolutely stunning. I'll have sweet dreams of the 15 minute version of the ballet of The Red Shoes we get to see. Bravo!