Lizabeth Scott & Humphrey Bogart team for 1947's film noir, "Dead Reckoning." Humphrey Bogart's Dead Reckoning was released in 1947 by Columbia Pictures, the same year as Bogie’s WB effort, Dark Passage. Both film noirs had a few things in common: Bogart's on the lam, looking for a killer; there's Bogie-style noir narration; and he meets mysterious blondes that instantly fall for him. Humphrey Bogart as war hero "Rip" Murdock, in 1947's "Dead Reckoning."  Bogie's Rip is determined to get the bottom of the death of his war buddy. Dead Reckoning feels like a ..read more

  Bogie & Bacall in WB's 1947 film noir, the stylish but improbable "Dark Passage." Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall in 1947's "Dark Passage," the duo's third film. The 1947 WB film noir Dark Passage is highly entertaining, but the whirlwind story is filled with back to back coincidences and chatty supporting characters. The movie will leave you breathless but unbelieving at what has cartoonishly transpired. Convict Vincent Parry (Bogart) is determined not to rot in San Quentin, and escapes to find the real killer of his wife. From the get go, Parry’s path is fi ..read more

  Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters star in 1949's then controversial race drama, "Pinky." Jeanne Crain as "Pinky," who "passed" up north, but feels the boundaries of race  more overtly back home in this racial drama. I watched 1949’s Pinky for the first time recently and was surprised at how strong the race drama still played, nearly 75 years later. This was 20th Century Fox and Elia Kazan's follow up to the socially conscious Gentleman's Agreement. I avoided this movie for years because the notion of Jeanne Crain passing for white as Pinky seemed absurd. Crain ..read more

Annie gets her due--at last!--with the first Ann Sheridan biography. It's noteworthy that Ann Sheridan, from Hollywood’s golden era, is getting her first biography some 57 years after her death in 1967. How fortunate that Sheridan has admirer Michael D. Rinella as her biographer. His book is a meticulous, empathetic, and honest account of the film actress. Ann Sheridan: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s Oomph Girl by Michael D. Rinella is out now. Ann Sheridan in her Warner Brothers heyday. Other ‘40s film sex symbols have gotten their star bios: Grable, Turner, Hayworth ..read more

Rhonda Fleming & Arlene Dahl as sisters, one good & one bad, and both are "Slightly Scarlet!" Slightly Scarlet, a latter day film noir from ’56, teams starlets Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl as sisters, with John Payne as the mister who makes their heartbeats flutter.  I always got Fleming and Dahl mixed up, more for what they had in common than any real resemblance: red hair and creamy skin; born two years apart with long lives (Fleming, 97 & Dahl, 96); six marriages; successful business careers; and eternal glamour. The stars of 1956's "Slightly Scarlet": Ar ..read more

  Gene Tierney thinks she has troubles as a kleptomaniac in "Whirlpool." Wait till she meets Jose Ferrer's hypnotist! 20th Century Fox upper middle class luxury meets lurid film noir via a charlatan hypnotist, in 1950’s Whirlpool. The con man (Jose Ferrer) takes advantage of a well-to-do housewife (Gene Tierney) who is a kleptomaniac. Once David Korvo has a hypnotic hold on Ann Sutton, he sets her up for murder. Gene Tierney's Ann Sutton is under hypnotic suggestion to carry out crimes in 1950's "Whirlpool." The good news is she sleeps like a baby! Fox studio head Darry ..read more

  Anne Bancroft & Shirley MacLaine, superb as long-time friends facing middle-age  in 1977's "The Turning Point." The Turning Point was not only Shirley MacLaine’s 1977 movie comeback but also an apt description of when actresses showed that they still could carry films, after a long dry spell. Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft made a contrasting cinematic pair: MacLaine is the self-doubting ballet contender who settled for the role of wife and mother; Bancroft is the cool ballet diva whose personal life is practically non-existent. Many of the characters’ specifics we ..read more

  In 1950's "Harriet Craig," that Ming vase moves around more than a planchette on a Ouija board, much to her consternation! Joan Crawford calls it a 'vah-z.' Harriet Craig is a 1950 remake of George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize winning play Craig's Wife. It had been filmed as a 1928 silent with Irene Rich and again in '36 with Rosalind Russell as the house-proud witch of a wife. Columbia borrowed WB director Vincent Sherman and star Joan Crawford for this version. Sherman had just directed Joan Crawford to good effect in 1950’s The Damned Don't Cry. They would also team for Goodbye ..read more

Steve McQueen tries to keep his cool as "The Cincinnati Kid." There were many talented hands involved with the poker playing epic, 1965’s The Cincinnati Kid. However, Steve McQueen is the winner, in the title role. McQueen isn’t just cool, but also effortlessly natural and emotionally understated as the man who has something to prove. Like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen knew the power of his piercing blue eyes. A common criticism of The Cincinnati Kid is that Paul Newman’s The Hustler from 1961 is a much more powerful story. That should go without saying. To me, the similariti ..read more

  Jane Fonda & Michael Caine as a not-so-happy couple in 1967's "Hurry Sundown." Otto Preminger's notorious race drama Hurry Sundown was badly reviewed and a box office underperformer back in 1967, but it has a few redeeming qualities. The classic set up in a small town melodrama is where the poor have something that the rich want, and dramatic fireworks ensue. In Hurry Sundown, it’s land, Katie Scarlett! Sadly, the dynamite explosions overshadow the dramatic variety. Hollywood started to address race issues in the mid-60s. But for every "In the Heat of the Night," the ..read more