An aged and renowned stage actor (Ronald Colman) inevitably adopts the personality traits of the roles he takes on. As he throws himself into the role of Othello, his jealousy towards his ex-wife and costar is inflamed. With a screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, George Cukor's A Double Life is a well directed piece, even if the story is more than a little transparent and the dialogue is stiff as this character study migrates from an elegant New York theater piece to a tragic noir. Colman delivers a memorable, Oscar winning performance.

*** out of ****

On his way home from the opera, pompous linguistics professor Henry Henry (Rex Harrison) happens upon uncultivated, cockneyed, and uncouth flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) and wages his assistant that he can transform her into a passable member of the upper class. From George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, which drew on the Greek myth, George Cukor's My Fair Lady is an entertaining, insightful take on the battle of the sexes/classes with sleek production values, memorable and sophisticated Lerner and Loewe songs, and only a few lulls. Harrison is brilliant in an Oscar winning role and Hepburn is absolutely lovely (or loverly as you would have it) and makes her transformation almost believable.

*** 1/2 out of ****

A self-destructive, alcoholic movie star whose career is in a tailspin discovers a bluesy singer at a dive bar and gets her a screen test at the studio. As the two get married and her fame continues to blossom, his pride becomes wounded and he sinks deeper and deeper into drunkenness and despair. "A Star is Born" is an excellent musical remake by director George Cukor of the 1937 classic film that features one of the career defining performances of Judy Garland, who sings all of her own numbers (including the incredible "The Man Who Got Away") to match her fine performance. As her opposite, James Mason is equally impressive as her coy but loving and ultimately tragic husband. Released in 1954, the film is shot in beautiful Technicolor and has an impeccably modern feel. Following its 3-plus hour release, the was trimmed and many (some crucial) scenes were left on the cutting room floor. New prints of the film feature a original dialogue over still photographs where removed footage remains missing, which leads to a frustrating but still interesting viewing experience. "A Star is Born" is one of the seminal film of the 1950s, not only a memorable musical but also a gorgeous looking film featuring two monumental performances.

A female phys-ed instructor (Katharine Hepburn) and all around athlete sporadically enters a golf tournament which she seems surprisingly poised to win. Bribed by an unethical sports manager (Spencer Tracy) to lose, she refuses but loses anyway thanks to her flustered state due to the presence of her unnerving fiance (William Ching). Soon, she is signed by the manager and embarks on a whirlwind multisport national tour while quickly falling in love with him. "Pat and Mike" is another excellent entry from Tracy and Hepburn, which reunites them with director George Cukor and wedded writing team Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Hepburn's spunk is quite infectious and plays very nicely to Tracy's hard nosed New York City type, especially in a riotous scene where she muscles some imposing thugs (one of whom is played by a young Charles Bronson) trying to collect a debt from her manager. "Pat and Mike" is a light but exceedingly entertaining picture that once more demonstrates the remarkable chemistry between its two stars and their longtime collaborators.

When a woman tries and fails at killing her cheating husband, it provides the perfect opportunity for a defense attorney to push her feminist agenda, until the case also lands on the desk of her district attorney husband. Now, tensions mount in their once happy home as the wife amps the case up to a circus-like atmosphere and is seemingly seduced by the dainty ex-flame who lives across the hall. "Adam's Rib" is an excellent Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicle from iconic director George Cukor and the husband and wife writing team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. While Tracy and Hepburn are in top form, it is supporting players Judy Holliday as the flaky defendant and David Wayne as the obnoxious and effeminate neighbor who steal the show. "Adam's Rib" is a wholly entertaining battle of the sexes farce, peaking in a ludicrous carnival strongwoman courtroom scene, that features the beloved couple in one of their most cherished pairings.

A fading NYC tycoon and his socially conscious wife throw a posh dinner party with the hope of reviving the family shipping business. As the guest list is assembled, we learn the various backgrounds of each individual guest, all intertangled and carrying their own motives and baggage. "Dinner at Eight" is a glowing production from directing great George Cukor from a screenplay by Francis Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz drawn from the beloved stage play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. The film has a tendency to be stagy, but draws strength in characterization and from its excellent cast. In a cast that is uniformly excellent, the ones who stick out the greatest are Marie Dressler as an aging actress, Wallace Beery and Jean Harlow as a brutish titan of industry and his insolent wife, and brothers Lionel and John Barrymore as the host and a suicidal hack actor. "Dinner at Eight" is a excellent example of 1930s New York high society types, replete with a fine cast of characters.

A clique of high society women catches wind of an affair being had by the husband of one of their own (Norma Shearer) and a bitchy perfume counter girl (Joan Crawford), thanks to the mouth of a gabby socialite (Rosalind Russell). As the gossip spreads like wildfire, the good girl's marriage is crushed and while getting a divorce in Reno she decides to get her old man back. George Cukor's "The Women" uniquely features an all-girl cast and is an entertaining blend of soapy melodrama and light farcical comedy. Crawford is wonderful in a tailor fitted role, Russell an absolute hoot as the vain gossip queen, and Shearer does her best with a thankless role. Some of this material is stodgy and sluggish, but it is definitely worth a look, especially for the scenes involving Crawford and Russell.