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This was a nail-biter.

Gerard Butler is a pilot, Brodie Torrance, attempting to get home to his family for New Year's Eve. Due to time differences, he's pretty sure he can make it.

The Trailblazer Airline flight is en route to Tokyo from Singapore. I'll be honest, it's been years since I've been in a plane that was practically empty, but this one had a light load. One of the passengers, Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) is in handcuffs, being transported by the FBI to face murder charges.

The plane is struck by lightning, which kills the power and cuts off the radio. Brodie crash lands, but it's on a dangerous island occupied by violent rebels. Ultimately the passengers are taken hostage.

Brodie needs help, and it comes in the form of the prisoner, who has military expertise and has no intention of escaping into the jungle.

Lots of tense moments, and both Butler and Colter are very good. There isn't a heck of a lot of character development of the passengers or the people at Trailblazer, which includes Tony Goldwyn. He always manages to play someone in charge.

I will say that when Brodie finds a phone and calls the airline, the person on the other end, sick of crank calls about the crash, blows him off. We should have been told later that she was fired. Can you even imagine - you're in the jungle, you finally make contact, nobody knows where you are, and someone screams at you and won't listen. OUT THE DOOR.

Blonde for a Day from 1946 is another Michael Shayne mystery, this one starring Hugh Beaumont. He appears here with his real-life wife, Kathryn Adams as his possessive secretary. This guy made a ton of B movies before becoming Beaver's dad. Directed by Samuel Newfield.

Tim Rourke (Paul Bryar) is infuriating his bosses and the police as he writes about murders the police can't solve. The victims are gamblers with a beautiful blonde as a companion.

Tim is beaten and nearly killed. He calls his friend Shayne to help solve the murders. It's complex - there seems to be more than one .32, and several blondes. Add to that, Shayne and Rafferty, in charge of the case, loathe one another.

Beaumont is delightful as Shayne. He has a light touch but the character can be tough.

I thought the location was San Francisco but it had an LA feeling. Also Shayne travels I believe from Manhattan. That looked like California too.

Entertaining.

When Ladies Meet - this version is from 1933 (remade in 1941) and stars Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, Ann Harding, and Frank Morgan. Directed by Harry Beaumont.

Loy is Mary Howard, an author in love with her married publisher, Rogers Woodruff (Morgan). She is expecting him to ask his wife (Ann Harding) for a divorce any minute. She makes this clear to the man in love with her, Jimmie (Robert Montgomery). Loy's character comes off as a bit arrogant and too sure of herself.

So Mary has Robert Montgomery after her, but she wants to marry Frank Morgan. Allrighty then. In the '41 version it was Robert Taylor and Herbert Marshall. No accounting for taste I guess.

Jimmie brings Clare, Mrs. Woodruff to a party to celebrate the launch of Mary's new book. He tells Clare thot the idea is to make Mary jealous. He calls her Mrs. Clare and warns her not to reveal her true identity.

The two women meet, and they seem to like one another. Mary talks about her married boyfriend; Clare refers to her as a mistress, but Mary protests that this is different.

Clare's husband enters, doesn't see Clare, and starts talking to Mary - leaving no doubt as to their relationship.

This is a precode film about the old double standard. Good girls didn't fool around and bad girls did. And, as today, men make promises they have no intention of keeping.

Even now it is often the case, where money and/or prominence are concerned, that women tolerate mens' affairs so they can keep their social status. I'd like to think that is less true now.

This film also brings up the age issue - Mary is reminded she's not getting any younger, so she had better latch onto someone soon.

Strangely, precode films are often more realistic than the movie world of the code. I found this film relevant for its time. And no one died for having sex out of wedlock.