The Fallen Idol (1948)

Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene based on his own story The Basement Room.

The plot centers around a diplomat's young son Phillipe (Bobby Henrey) who is looked after by the husband and wife caretakers of the embassy, Mr. & Mrs. Baines. Phillipe's parents don't seem to be around much, so he has developed a very close relationship with Baines (Ralph Richardson). They share lots of secrets, like the pet snake he has hidden behind a brick in the wall.

Phillipe does not get along well with Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel), and as a matter of fact neither does her husband. Phillipe witnesses the Baines fighting at the top of the staircase and suspects that Baines killed his wife after she falls down the stairs and dies. Unfortunately for Baines, Phillip is stupid idiot when the police come to investigate. Someone should shoot that kid.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Ministry Of Fear (1944)

Directed by Fritz Lang and based on a Graham Greene novel, this film stars Ray Milland as Stephen Neale, a recently released patient from an asylum in Britain. On his return to England, he stops by a fete where he wins a cake after visiting the fortune teller. However, the cake is not meant for him and he is suddenly being pursued by Nazi killers. Trying to solve the mystery, he gets mixed up with a bizarre bunch of suspects which include Alan Napier, better known as Batman's TV butler Alfred.

Available: Amazon

Juve Vs. Fantomas (1913)

This is the second of the silent Fantomas films and starts where the last film left off.

Police detective Juve (Edmond Bréon) meets up with the reporter Fandor (Georges Melchior) after the remains of woman is found in a doctor's house. The body of the woman is unidentified, but has Lady Beltham's identification on her. Lady Beltham (Rénee Carl) is the lover of Gurn (Fantomas in disguise), the killer of her husband. Juve and Fandor decide to follow the "doctor" to find out what he is up to.

Alternate Titles: Juve Contre Fantômas, Juve Against Fantomas

Available: Amazon, Netflix

Daisy Kenyon (1947)

What a disappointment! This film stars Joan Crawford as Daisy Kenyon, a independent woman who lives in downtown New York working as a magazine artist. She is dating Dan O'Mara (Dana Andrews) who is a rich married lawyer with two adolescent daughters. Daisy has also just met Peter Lapham (Henry Fonda), a WWII vet who almost instantly asks her to marry him. With such great actors you'd think this movie would be a bit more interesting, but it's just a boring love triangle with nothing really interesting going for it.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

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Guys And Dolls (1955)

Spectacular and colorful musical based on stories by Damon Runyon. Originally a broadway play, it was produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. This was Mankiewicz's first and last musical.

It stars Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit, a well-respected gangster who has been staging the oldest floating crap game in the city. The only problem is that the law is on his tail and no one is willing to risk hosting the game. His only option is to pay $1000 up front for a place, except he doesn't have the money. He decides to make a wager with gambler Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) to get the money. Detroit bets Masterson that he won't be able to convince wholesome mission leader Jean Simmons to go with him to Havana. It is a 1950s musical, so it's easy to figure out what happens...they all do live Happily Ever After.

Available: Amazon, Netflix

Sherlock Holmes (2010)

No, this isn't the major Hollywood Blockbuster version released at the same time. This is the direct-to-video version from The Asylum; the same production company that releases such titles as Paranormal Entity & The Day The Earth Stopped. However for a film that was shot in fourteen days, this has some excellent production value.

Holmes (Ben Syder) and Watson (Gareth David-Lloyd) are investigating some strange incidences that at first don't seem connected. One is a shipwreck that seems to have been caused by a sea monster. And the other is a dinosaur that is killing people. Now that I think about, Holmes doesn't really do that much detecting. One or two clues may give a lead, but it seems that he and Watson seem to stumble onto the answers more than not.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Women Men Marry (1937)

Bill (George Murphy), an ambitious reporter, wants to go undercover into a religious cult headed by a Brother Nameless. He has suspicions that the dead body that turned up in the morgue has connections to the religious leader. At first Bill's boss Wiley (Sidney Blackmer) discourages him. However, Wiley has just started having an affair with Bill's wife (Claire Dodd) and decides to let him take the assignment. Comic relief courtesy Cliff Edwards (aka Ukulele Ike).

Available: Gygan

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Tom Dick And Harry (1941)

Ginger Rogers (as a brunette) is a hopeless romantic who can't decide who she wants to marry: Tom, Dick or Harry. Tom (George Murphy) is a car salesman who has been going with Ginger for a while. He is ambitious and plans on moving up and making lots of money. Harry (Burgess Meredith) is a mechanic who goes on a date with Ginger when she mistakes him for a millionaire. Dick (Alan Marshal) is the millionaire, just like the one that Ginger always dreamed that she marry.

Available: Warner Archive Collection

One Down, Two To Go (1982)

Fred Williamson may be a great action hero and leading man, but he isn't the best director (Sorry, Fred!). He directed and starred in this sequel to Three The Hard Way joined by a trio of other black cinema greats: Richard Roundtree, Jim Kelly and Jim Brown.

The film starts off with a martial arts tournament. Obviously, the outcome is fixed. But for some reason Jim Kelly's team does win. Richard Roundtree as the manager tries to get his winnings from the unscrupulous promoters. This leads to Roundtree and Kelly getting shot at and kidnapped. Luckily Kelly was able to get word out to his buddies (Brown & Williamson) who sweep into town to help put things right.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Delicatessen (1991)

Stylistic, French film that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world, although everything looks and feels like the early 1950s.

Food seems to be at a minimum with grain and corn being used as currency. A butcher who runs a boarding house keeps his tenants fed by continually hiring a hapless handyman and then eventually butchering him. His latest victim, however, has caught the eye of the butcher's daughter and she does what she can to save him. Directed by the team of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet who did City Of Lost Children. 


Available: Netflix, Amazon

Harry Brown (2009)

Similar to Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, former action star Michael Caine plays an old man determined to clean his neighborhood of young, violent hoodlums. The difference between the films though, is that Caine is driven by revenge, going after these hoodies who have killed his buddy in the underpass at the council housing estate where they all live. The result is very violent and very bloody.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

More Than A Secretary (1936)

Jean Arthur runs a secretarial school for young women. A bit of a matronly type, she gets discouraged that many of these women use her school to get a job so that they can snag a rich executive husband. She decides to work as a secretary herself for one of her more demanding customers, a publisher of a health magazine (George Brent). Of course she falls hopelessly in love with him.

Typical thirties romantic comedy, I still enjoyed it. Some nice bit-part characters include a totally dizzy blonde named Maizie (Dorothea Kent) and Lionel Stander (of "Hart To Hart" fame) as the boss' faithful (and more rational) assistant.

Available: DVDsEntertainment, OLX, ScootersMovieShop

Lord Love A Duck (1966)

On the surface this film seems to be a typical 1960s teen-comedy love story. However, do not be deceived. It is a biting satire that is years ahead of its time. After every scene, we were left scratching our heads and wondering "What the Hell was that about?"

The story concerns Alan "Mollymauk" Musgrave (Roddy McDowall) and Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld) who are about to start senior year in High School. New friends, Alan will do anything for her. And the way that he gets things done is what eventually gets him into trouble. Terrific cameos from Harvey Korman as the school principal and Ruth Gordon as the mother-in-law.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Fantomas: In The Shadow Of The Guillotine (1913)

This is the first film based on Fantomas, a master criminal. The character was created by French authors Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, and has appeared in over 30 books since 1911.

In this initial adventure, Fantomas is introduced to us as we witness him stealing from a rich woman at the Royal Palace Hotel. We then are informed of the death of Lord Beltham through Inspector Juve. It seems a man called Gurn (Fantomas in disguise) is suspected of killing the husband of his lover. Gurn is eventually caught and sentenced to death via the guillotine. However, our clever convict is not so easily vanquished and concocts a plan of escape. 

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Inception (2010)

I enjoyed this science-fiction heist movie directed by Christopher Nolan because it did a wonderful job of creating tension and suspense that really had me on the edge of my seat.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, who with his nattily-dressed partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), enter people's dreams to gather information. The assignment that they presently take on involves convincing a young man (Cillian Murphy) whose just inherited his father's company that he should break the corporation up.

Now, while the characters may be fairly one-dimensional and there are some unanswered questions, I enjoyed the ride that this movie took me on. 

Available: Netflix, Amazon