Yearly Archives: 2013

The 2013 film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” features my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In the movie, a group of high school students cope with acceptance at a suburban Pittsburgh high school.  Steven Chbosky wrote the novel and the … Continue reading →

Lots of goofy things happen in “The Wrong Box,” a 1966 movie directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson and John Mills. When the parents of a dozen children establish a tontine, a monetary instrument that draws … Continue reading →

Considering all that happened to him, Charlie Chaplin felt compelled to make a film about the McCarthy hearings and the turbulent cold-war political dramas of the 1950s. But rather than make a realistic, documentary-style film, Chaplin made a very amusing … Continue reading →

MGM put the great talents of Greer Garson and Ronald Colman together in a 1942 movie called “Random Harvest.”  Colman plays a soldier just back from World War 1 in France, where an explosion has wiped out his memory.  He … Continue reading →

Clark Gable supposedly didn’t get along with Jeannette MacDonald while the two filmed “San Francisco,” the great MGM film from 1936.  Despite their lack of chemistry off the set, their relationship in the film seems believable and effective.  In San … Continue reading →

Jacques Becker’s “Touchez pas au grisbi,” a french-language film from 1954, can be described as a meandering gangster film, with underworld figures more interested in food and romance than material gain.  It features Jean Gabin in a riveting performance as … Continue reading →

Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn and Carolyn Jones star in a terrific western called “Last Train to Gun Hill.”  The 1959 movie features Douglas as Matt Morgan, a Marshall who learns that a pair of cowhands from Gun Hill have raped … Continue reading →

There is no need to wonder about the motivation of the lead character in “The Story of Qiu Ju,” a 1992 Chinese language film directed by Yimou Zhang.  Li Gong plays the title character, a pregnant peasant woman seeking justice … Continue reading →

Having Myrna Loy and William Powell in a movie works every time, especially when the script provides an interesting story and hilarious situations.  That’s the case with “Love Crazy,” the 1941 movie directed by Jack Conway and also starring Jack … Continue reading →