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The Fugitive (1947, John Ford)
While filming Citizen Kane, Orson Welles screened John Ford’s Stagecoach every night. He said everything one could do in film was done in Stagecoach. Maybe Ford heard about it, because The Fugitive...
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Canyon Passage (1946, Jacques Tourneur)
Canyon Passage starts out strange. Dana Andrews shows up in 1850s Portland (Oregon) and, after some character establishing, fends off someone breaking into his room. It got me thinking later if the...
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They Were Expendable (1945, John Ford)
They Were Expendable has a gradual pace. Not knowing the film’s subject matter–just genre–going in, it all unfolded quite deliberately in front of me. The opening is a PT boat exercise. The film’s...
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Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, John Ford)
Every eight years or so, I watch Drums Along the Mohawk to see if it gets any better. According to my cursory notes from my last viewing, it apparently has gotten a little bit better. As the titles...
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The Long Voyage Home (1940, John Ford)
John Wayne gets first billing in The Long Voyage Home, but the picture really belongs to Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond and Ian Hunter. The film’s a combination slash adaptation of four one-act plays–which...
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Without Orders (1936, Lew Landers)
Without Orders has enough story for a couple movies or at least one twice as long–it runs just over an hour. Instead, everything gets abbreviated. There's flight attendant Sally Eilers who has a sturdy...
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The Searchers (1956, John Ford)
John Ford is never trying to be discreet with The Searchers, he’s just not willing to talk down to the audience. In the first ten minutes of the film, he and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent quickly...
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The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
Even though almost every moment of The Maltese Falcon is spent with Humphrey Bogart’s protagonist, director Huston keeps the audience at arms’ length. Most of the film’s more exciting sounding set...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Searchers (1956, John Ford)
John Ford is never trying to be discreet with The Searchers, he’s just not willing to talk down to the audience. In the first ten minutes of the film, he and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent quickly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
Even though almost every moment of The Maltese Falcon is spent with Humphrey Bogart’s protagonist, director Huston keeps the audience at arms’ length. Most of the film’s more exciting sounding set...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)
It’s a Wonderful Life is going to be a tough one. When I was a kid, during the public domain days, Wonderful Life was omnipresent. It became a joke because of that omnipresence. But also because it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Searchers (1956, John Ford)
John Ford is never trying to be discreet with The Searchers, he’s just not willing to talk down to the audience. In the first ten minutes of the film, he and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent quickly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
Even though almost every moment of The Maltese Falcon is spent with Humphrey Bogart’s protagonist, director Huston keeps the audience at arms’ length. Most of the film’s more exciting sounding set...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)
It’s a Wonderful Life is going to be a tough one. When I was a kid, during the public domain days, Wonderful Life was omnipresent. It became a joke because of that omnipresence. But also because it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Guy Named Joe (1943, Victor Fleming)
I’m not sure how to talk about A Guy Named Joe without some spoilers. But I’m going to try. Like a test. A Guy Named Joe is a propaganda picture, but one less about jingoism and more about the American...
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Dead End (1937, William Wyler)
If you tilt to just the right angle, for a while you can see Dead End as the tale of three people from a poor neighborhood and how life has worked out for them as they got closer to their thirties....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Searchers (1956, John Ford)
John Ford is never trying to be discreet with The Searchers, he’s just not willing to talk down to the audience. In the first ten minutes of the film, he and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent quickly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
Even though almost every moment of The Maltese Falcon is spent with Humphrey Bogart’s protagonist, director Huston keeps the audience at arms’ length. Most of the film’s more exciting sounding set...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)
It’s a Wonderful Life is going to be a tough one. When I was a kid, during the public domain days, Wonderful Life was omnipresent. It became a joke because of that omnipresence. But also because it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Guy Named Joe (1943, Victor Fleming)
I’m not sure how to talk about A Guy Named Joe without some spoilers. But I’m going to try. Like a test. A Guy Named Joe is a propaganda picture, but one less about jingoism and more about the American...
View Article
