An unassuming woman (Joan Fontaine) seeming destined for spinsterhood, and heir to a modest fortune, is swept off her feet by a charming layabout (Cary Grant) who soon arouses her paranoia that she is his target for murder. Light, even unplotted and silly, Hitchcock's Suspicion is made worthwhile by great direction, its stars, and Nigel Bruce in an amusing supporting role.

*** out of ****

Seven stilted researchers compiling an encyclopedia in a New York townhouse find their benefactor growing increasingly more impatient at their laborious, unhurried pace. Meanwhile one of the compilers (Gary Cooper) finds he is hopelessly uninformed on his latest research subject, American slang, and hits the streets to learn firsthand about the topic. When he meets a sassy nightclub dancer (Barbara Stanwyck) on the run from her mobster boyfriend, he takes in the ideal study subject who transforms himself and the rest of the stodgy bachelors. Directed by Howard Hawks, Ball of Fire is a funny, amusing riff on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with the type of quick, witty script that  Billy Wilder and writing partner Charles Brackett would perfect in later years. Stanwyck is irresistible here and the film glows in her presence.

*** out of ****

When San Francisco private eye Sam Spade's services are procured by a young woman, his partner winds up murdered shortly thereafter. He then embarks down a sinuous path, encountering a calvacade of miscreants all hell bent on getting their hands on the mythic, invaluable title statue. John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, the third filmization of Dashiell Hammett's novel and one of the first films classified as film noir, is an impeccable, shadowy detective story with Bogie inimitable in one of his iconic roles. The dialogue is snappy, the underhanded supporting players (including Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet) are incomparable, and Bogart's cold, final speech to Astor is one for the ages.

**** out of ****

A rowdy backwoods yokel (Gary Cooper), notorious for his raucous ways, sees a vision from God, vows a life of pacifism, and seeks to fulfill his dream of marrying a radiant local (Joan Leslie) and farming a small plot of land in Daniel Boone country, Tennessee. Then World War I arrives and after failed attempts to challenge his draft status as a a conscientious objector and subsequent mockery from his fellow servicemen, he goes on to become one of the most decorated soldiers in American history. Howard Hawks' Sergeant York is an awfully sluggish and corny (although the second half is a marked improvement),  purportedly undoctored biopic which earned an Oscar for Cooper and his aww shucks hillbilly approach. My biggest problem with the film is evident in the contradiction of York's historic siege when the great, gentle pacifist, with big, glazed over eyes, seems to be taking great delight ("just like turkeys") in picking off vulnerable enemy combatants. 

A cocky prizefighter on his way to the title crashes his self-piloted plane after his latest bout. Upon arriving in heaven, it is determined that his "messenger" pulled his soul from his body too quickly and, according to schedule, he still had another 50 years on earth. Now, it is owed him a new body and the proper life span, and he is given  that of a millionaire chiseler who has just been murdered by his wife and her lover. Now, while preparing his new self for a title fight, he begins to correct the wrongs by the previous owner and romance a sweet girl who's father he had put the screws to. "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" is a highly entertaining and awfully complex lighthearted tale. Plot contrivances abound, but thanks to the sincerity of its cast, the film never ceases to be engaging. Robert Montgomery is extremely likable in the lead as the street tough Joe Pendleton and is surrounded by a wealth of supporting players. Claude Rains is his usual inimitable self as the title heavenly boss and Edward Everett Horton is funny as his bumbling messenger. Evelyn Keyes plays the love interest well and James Gleason is a particular standout as Montgomery's disbelieving manager. "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" is old fashioned, often unrestrained, but always fun and engaging entertainment.

Lawrence Talbot returns home following the death of his brother to reunite with his father and oversea the family manor. In town, he meets a local shopgirl who tells him the legend of werewolf when he expresses interest in a walking cane adorned with a wolf's image. Dismissing the notions of lycanthropy as childish inanity when he comes across a mysterious band of gypsies and saves the local girl's friend from a wolf attack and is then bitten himself. "The Wolf Man" has a reputation as being one of the best early monster movies, by I found it awfully plodding, especially for a short film. Lon Chaney, Jr.'s performance is too mannered, and doesn't capture the qualities of an everyman which he is supposed to embody. Still, there is much to enjoy here including the great makeup, and the sense of unease cast over the entire film. Claude Rains is excellent also as the disbelieving father and Bela Legosi has a great cameo as the strange and infected gypsy who bites Chaney. "The Wolf Man" does earn its place as a monster movie classic. I'm just not sure I would place it above "Dracula", "Frankenstein", or its sequel.

The crew of a German U-boat is stranded in Hudson Bay and begins to terrorize its way to the still neutral U.S.A. From fur trappers, to a Hutterite commune, to a camping intellectual, to a discouraged AWOL soldier, the Nazis only reinforce Canadian solidarity as the members of their group begin to dwindle. "49th Parallel" was a WWII propaganda film from the inimitable directing and writing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and shows the cruel and brutal actions of the brainwashed Germans against the colorful Canadian inhabitants, played by the likes of greats such as Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook, Leslie Howard, and Raymond Massey. "49th Parallel" serves dual purposes in being both a rousing and formidable entertainment.

The Criterion DVD features another propaganda film made for the war by the directing duo called "The Volunteer and made in 1943 to stir recruitment. It stars Ralph Richardson, currently performing Othello in London and follows his dresser as he becomes a war hero. Also featuring Olivier, this is a slight but not uninteresting relic from a great directing team.

Three members of the crafty and unscrupulous Hubbard family intend to buy a cotton mill in the turn of the century south. With the two brothers having their shares secured, they now rely on their sister Regina to obtain the final $75,000 from her estranged husband. This leads them down a trail of lies, blackmail, theft, and deceit up until the harrowing, depraved climax. Screenwriter Lillian Hellman based her play of a morally corrupt Southern aristocratic family on personal experiences growing up with her own family. Directed by William Wyler, it is a biting and extremely dark portrait of greed and corruption. Although it drags slightly during earlier stretches of the film, the wrap-up is both distressing and grabbing. In a fine cast of veteran actors, Bette Davis stands atop them in an incredible and malevolent performance. "The Little Foxes" is a shockingly caustic tale and highly relevant in today's climate of corporate greed.

After an expedition up the Amazon, a snake expert and heir to an ale fortune boards a cruiser for New York and wards off the advances of several gawking women. Then on the way to his room, he is tripped by a beautiful young conwoman, who takes him back to her room where he falls madly in love with her. Planning to fleece him in a card game, the unexpected happens and she falls in love with him and limits the damage to be done by her father and his criminal partner. However, before the two can wed her identity is soon revealed to him, leaving her alone and dejected, and inspiring her to craft an audacious plan of revenge, not to take his money but to break his heart. "The Lady Eve" is a delightful and extremely sexy film from writer/director Preston Sturges. Barbara Stanwyck stars in a marvelously sultry role as the professional con artist who never foresaw herself falling in love and Henry Fonda uses his sincerity to wonderful comic effect playing the ultimate dope with an trusting nature. William Demarest has a particularly funny role as Fonda's suspecting bodyguard and Charles Coburn and Eugene Pallette are fine as well as Stanwyck and Fonda's fathers, respectively. Sturges' film is extremely sensual, particularly in two scenes that take place early on in Stanwyck's cabin, the first where Fonda is overtaken by her perfume, the second where she strokes an alarmed Fonda's hair after she has been scared by one of his snakes. "The Lady Eve" is a delightful screwball comedy thanks to Sturges' funny and unpredictable script, and two magnificent leading performances.

A cult leader who fleeces his members out of their money upon their deaths is set to inherit 1 million dollars from a recently deceased member when he finds out her only surviving relative is all that stands in the way. Desperate for a way to collect the money, he decides to kidnap The Fox, a radio personality whose crime program involves ingenious crime plots and their eventual unraveling. The leader tells The Fox to devise the perfect murder to bump off the heir, and that he'll be released after the deed is carried out. When he refuses, his girlfriend and the sponsor's daughter are kidnapped as well putting him in a position where he must concoct the murder, prevent it from being carried out, and escape with girls before they are inevitably murdered. "Whistling in the Dark" was the first starring role for Red Skelton and its the first movie that I have seen him in as well. I found his style of comedy to be extremely funny and his wisecracking style and brand of physical comedy can be seen in generations of comics down the line from Mel Brooks to Woody Allen to Steve Martin to Jim Carrey. The movie itself is kind of brilliant as well and the climax (spoilers) where Skelton and the girls try to warn the intended victim who's on an airplane by way of their radio program, which they pretend is an act, is pretty incredible and highly entertaining. Casablanca's Conrad Veidt also makes a very sinister and very amusing villain. "Whistling in the Dark" achieves something extremely difficult in taking a silly, zany plot and crafting an entertaining and very funny film.