Yearly Archives: 2013

Topkapi

Posted on April 22, 2013 by John Grant

I always anticipate a wonderful and interesting movie when I watch a film directed by Jules Dassin.  In “Topkapi,” a film released in 1964, Dassin takes on the caper film genre.  Maximilion Schell leads a team of robbers that includes … Continue reading →

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Little Princesses

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John Grant

In 1995, Warner Brothers produced a remake of the 1939 film “The Little Princess” and renamed it “A Little Princess.”  The remake stars Liesel Matthews as Sara Crewe, a young British girl with a close relationship with her father, an … Continue reading →

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Compulsion

Posted on April 16, 2013 by John Grant

“Compulsion,” a 1959 psychological drama about a couple of confident killers, gives us a glimpse of the arrogance of the rich and youthful in mid 1920s Chicago.  Dean Stockwell plays Judd Steiner and Bradford Dillman plays Arthur A. Straus, who study law … Continue reading →

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Bachelor Mother

Posted on April 13, 2013 by John Grant

A very interesting and funny RKO picture, “Bachelor Mother,” came out in 1939 and stars Ginger Rogers as single woman who finds a baby on the doorstep of an orphanage.  She picks it up, rings the doorbell and her life … Continue reading →

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Born to Kill

Posted on April 10, 2013 by John Grant

Everything about the Sam Wild character in Robert Wise’s 1947 “Born to Kill” says “run, right now, as fast as you can.”  Yet, two women in the movie fall in love with him and one even stumbles upon two of … Continue reading →

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Savage Messiah

Posted on April 7, 2013 by John Grant

Before World War 1, an eccentric young French artist named Henri Gaudier-Brzeska left France, moved to London, and became a sensation for his expressive sculptures.  Director Ken Russell filmed Gaudier-Brzeska’s story in a 1972 movie called “Savage Messiah,” which focusses on his … Continue reading →

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The Old Maid

Posted on April 4, 2013 by John Grant

The 1939 movie, “The Old Maid,” from Warner Brothers, stars Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins as two cousins in love with the same man.  As the film begins, everyone in the Lovell household make preparations for Delia Lovell’s wedding to … Continue reading →

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Rossellini’s India

Posted on April 1, 2013 by John Grant

Roberto Rossellini travelled to India to film the 1959 documentary “India:  Matri Bhumi.”  The film features visually stunning scenes of various places in India with a poetic Italian voiceover.  Matri Bhumi means “motherland” or “mother earth” in Hindi. In addition … Continue reading →

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The Happy Thieves

Posted on March 29, 2013 by John Grant

There seems to be two kinds of caper movies, ones with several characters working together such as “Big Deal on Madonna Street” from 1958, or the romantic comedy type such as “How to Steal a Million,” the 1966 film starring … Continue reading →

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Oz the Great and Powerful

Posted on March 26, 2013 by John Grant

I’ll start this review by mentioning that the “Wizard of Oz” is my favorite movie of all time.  I first watched it as a child on an old black and white TV set, so I didn’t even know it contained … Continue reading →

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