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State Secret (1950)
Body double required
Famous surgeon Douglass Fairbanks Jr (John) is invited to the evil dictatorship of Vosnia by Colonel Jack Hawkins (Galcon) who seems to be running everything in this country but is 2nd banana to Leader General Walter Rilla (Niva). Fairbanks is asked to carry out a surgical procedure and demonstrate his skills but he is fooled as to who the patient really is and the general population must also not know the patient's identity. Fairbanks sees the real patient during the surgery and his card is now marked. If the operation does not go smoothly, Fairbanks will have to be eliminated as he knows too much.
Everything in Vosnia is behind-closed-doors and run in a state-police manner that propels lies to its population and the outside world. So, it's exactly like Russia, North Korea, etc and all the world's despotic tyrannical regimes.
Just so you know, things don't go smoothly for Fairbanks and we follow his attempt to escape the country with the help of showgirl Glynis Johns (Lisa). One of the film highlights is her introduction as she is part of a trio that sings a great song. Score a point. Unfortunately, the film is slightly let down by some stupid language that the cast spends a large part of the film wasting their time with - it's comical. This isn't a comedy, though, so stop it!
The film is ok to watch but it somehow falls short and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's the stupid language thing and the convenient ending. The British should have just sent over a body double surgeon in the first instance and played the Vosnians at their own game.
Rashômon (1950)
What happened in the woods?
Three characters - a woodcutter, a priest and a commoner - take shelter from the rain in the ruins of a gatehouse called Rashomon and pass the time by recounting different versions of how a local murder came to pass. Are any of them true?
The film highlights the human inclination to tell lies and, at the end of the film, it touches on selfishness and redemption from dishonesty. People are different but we all exhibit the same traits of kindness, selfishness and dishonesty at various times and that is just how life is.
My favourite in the cast is the medium as played by Noriko Honma who gives evidence as to what happened as she channels the soul of the murdered man. She brings in a scary, spooky vibe to the proceedings. The murdered man's wife - Machiko Kyô - and Honma are both striking to look at thanks mainly to their eyebrows!! They have Hitler-like moustaches drawn in halfway up their foreheads and their actual eyebrows are shaved off. Overall look = weirdly attractive!!
As for which version of events is true, that is up to the viewer. The film moves on....
Ikari no machi (1950)
College Scammers
Jûkichi Uno (Mori) and Yasumi Hara (Shigetaka) are a couple of conmen who fleece women for money on the pretext of falling in love with them at dancehall locations. Uno writes the scripts for Haro to then put into practice on the dancefloor. The number one rule for Hara is that he must not fall in love and pursue any of the women from the dancehall.
They have a few tricks up their sleeve and the film has a good beginning at one of these dances. It introduces us to our two main characters at work and reveals that they are in cahoots. Hara has a sister - Setsuko Wakayama (Masako) - who suspects all is not right with her brother and friend and seeks to put things right by influencing Mori. Hara, on the other hand, is tempted by greed and aspirations of wealth, and wants to take things to the next level of criminality.
The film has interest whilst you watch but I don't like the ending. It's downbeat and involves someone getting slashed in the face! No thank you - not for me! Lose a couple of marks. The women are difficult to distinguish between one another as they look the same so there can be some character confusion. The best female character and the best character in the film is the knowing gangster Yuriko Hamada (Tagami) who Hara meets at one of these dances and gets out of his depth with. She acts just as you would expect a seasoned criminal to act and she sees through Hara and his game, even turning the tables on him by using him - ha ha. It's good karma for him.
The film is not bad but any kind of slashing in the face is a big "NO" for me. So, I won't be watching it again.
Gun Crazy (1950)
Lust crazy
John Dall (Bart) loves guns and is a sharp shooter. Peggy Cummins (Annie) loves excitement and is also a sharp-shooter. When these two meet, it is just meant to be and you sense that no good is going to come of this union. Correct.
The story plays out as a 'Bonnie & Clyde'-like story and has several memorable sequences, eg, the Cummins hitch-hike, the bank robbery when the cop appears just outside Cummins and her getaway car, the mega bank robbery that they pull off as their last job, and the sequence at the end in the misty mountains. There is much to encourage you to stay watching and egg on these two misfits in their pursuits - ha ha. Cool soundtrack and entertaining dialogue. What a pity about the stupid Hayes Code.
So Long at the Fair (1950)
Avoid Paris!
Seriously, avoid Paris. Parisians have always had a reputation for being unfriendly and things seem to have got worse with the migrant population and left-wing dominance of the residents. A bit like London. Just avoid the place. Unless you are mental and want to see that awful piece of scaffolding-like structure called the Eiffel Tower. It's got to be one of the worst aesthetical sights to see in Europe. Get rid.
The film is set in Paris and follows David Tomlinson (Johnny) and his sister Jean Simmons (Victoria) as they visit Paris in 1889 and plan a visit to the Great Fair taking place there, which also includes the opening of that previously mentioned ghastly structure.
After the initial opening setting the scene, which also includes that great Gainsborough Lady during the credits, the film takes a very unexpected turn! Wow, now I see what this film is about! Should be interesting. And it is. Where is Tomlinson? We know he must be ok somewhere because we know that he hires Mary Poppins 14 years later! Simmons teams up with artist Dirk Bogarde (George) in their search.
Simmons overplays the cry-baby card too much for my liking but we do get a good mystery that needs solving and it takes you somewhere that you won't expect.
No Way Out (1950)
Beaver Canal?!
A couple of racist brothers from Beaver Canal (ha ha, yep) - Richard Widmark (Ray) and Dick Paxton (Johnny) - are brought into hospital after being shot in the leg. They are assigned to surgery with black doctor Sidney Poitier (Brooks). Widmark is outraged by this and things get worse for Poitier when Paxton dies.
The film follows Poitier's attempts and struggle to prove himself as a competent doctor. He has to do this as a consequence of the prejudice he encounters from Widmark and in spite of the recommendation for him to stop persisting in his quest for the truth in case he draws unhealthy attention to the hospital that he works at. Well, I say "No". And Sidney Poitier says "No". And more people in the world should also say "No".
Aside from the racism theme, this film also touches on the idea that the institution must survive over all else and the team, organization, etc is bigger than the individual. However, this should never be at the expense of any individual. You, as an individual, are more important than the team, organization or institution, especially when it comes to the workplace. It's time to put the "I" back into the word "Team" - ha ha - you can find it if you are creative enough (just look it up on Google).
The dialogue is offensive and shocking and the subject matter of racism is well portrayed and dealt with throughout the film. You wouldn't expect this sort of film from 1950. Wow - it's a ground-breaker.
The acting is good by all involved and the film's resolution does leave things open-ended as to the attitude of Widmark. Has he changed or is this just how it is? A memorable film. Cool soundtrack.
Three Came Home (1950)
Crikey, look at all those Sheilas!
Ha ha. Some good old-fashioned red-blooded Aussie male prisoners discover the women's prison camp in Borneo. It doesn't end too well for them, though. Outside of this episode, the film is pretty uneventful. What we get is Claudette Colbert (Agnes) endlessly moaning and weeping and generally suffering alongside her kid who is also with her in a Japanese prison camp. She has a husband - Patric Knowles (Keith) - who is taken off to a male prison camp and so these two family-orientated adults and their kid are separated for the duration of the war and most of this film. Someone gets fever, then there is some crying, then someone else gets sick, some more crying, loads of sentimental claptrap and talk of love. Jesus! When is this pile of crap going to finish!
The best thing about the film is the Japanese Colonel as played by Sessue Hayakawa. I was on his side the whole way through the film. In fact, I was on the side of the Japanese for the duration of the film rather than sit in endless sympathy for our over-sentimental ghastly main family. Guess what - there are three of them. Can you work out from the title what happens? Yes, it is that interesting!
Stage Fright (1950)
That bloody dress!
Richard Todd (Jonathan) is in a car with his friend actress Jane Wyman (Eve) as he recounts how his lover Marlene Dietrich (Inwood) has just murdered her husband. Things are now looking bad for him as it seems he has been framed and he needs Wyman's protection. She agrees to help and goes undercover as Dietrich's maid to shed light on the true circumstances that unfolded. Police inspector Michael Wilding (Smith) is also delving into the case.
The film holds the interest even though it is quite long and we do, unfortunately, get one of those awful British comedy characters - Joyce Grenfell plying her trade to win a doll by shooting a duck ("lovely ducks") - thrown in for bad measure. Endlessly mugging for the camera. Yawn. Wyman's character is also non-believable as she is in love with Todd and really does go the extra mile for him. Where is the motivation for her to bother when he treats her with no interest and flaunts his interest with Dietrich in her face?
Dietrich shines her star quality into the film and we get a genuine twist to the tale that you won't expect and will make you think about everything that has gone before. It also suggests that a second viewing of the film will encourage you to watch from a different viewpoint and see things from a clearer perspective.
Hitchcock loves himself way too much in this film!
The Sleeping City (1950)
Stay on your side of the room
Detective Richard Conte (Fred) goes undercover in a hospital to try to solve the shooting of a doctor who worked there. He becomes the new room-mate for doctor Alex Nicol (Steve) who previously roomed with the deceased doctor. As Conte is not a real doctor, he has to try and avoid actually carrying out any doctoral procedures and he is assigned to the wing run by nurse Collen Gray (Ann). He discovers a social betting ring organized by maintenance/lift operator Richard Taber (Pops) and he joins in order to see if he can open up any avenues to solve the crime as he is getting nowhere. He gets to find out some unexpected twists to the tale.
The film has a couple of good scenes where the audience can feel some tension, both involving Conte in his role as a doctor. Will he blow his cover? And the film gets better towards the end. Unfortunately, this only lifts the film into the 'ok' category as there is just something lacking in the rest of the film. There is a terrible prologue at the beginning of the film which Conte delivers and there just don't seem to be enough characters to choose from when trying to figure out the bad guys. So, you will guess correctly. All the detectives in this film are terrible! They bark out every line of dialogue as if shouting instruction after instruction a la Whit Bissell in 'The Time Tunnel'. It is just terrible acting.
It's a novel setting for a crime as we would normally expect a comedy with naughty nurses set in a hospital in the vein of 'Carry On Nursing'. No such frivolity in this film and you will be reminded of those doctors and nurses who hit the headlines these days by abusing their positions of power and end up in tabloid headlines.
'Medication, whoa - oh - oh. Medication - that's what you need' should be the signature song to this film. Please sing to the tune of 'Dedication, whoa - oh - oh. Dedication - that's what you need' as sung by Roy Castle as his theme tune to his 1970s UK TV programme "Record Breakers".
Love That Brute (1950)
Killer with a heart
Paul Douglas (Big Ed) is the most feared gangster in Chicago and he appears to be untouchable. However, his life is missing something - a woman. When he sees governess Jean Peters in the park in charge of a group of children, he pretends he has 2 children and is looking for someone to help him at home with them. She accepts the invitation. Now all he needs to do is get some children and pretend he is an upstanding member of the community in order to seduce her into being his wife. He hires some of his friends to play maid and butler and the set-up is ready to play out in this comedy. Enter Cesar Romero (Willie) who is a rival gangster boss and also takes a shine to Peters.
A lot of killers seem to make use of their cellars and this film is true to that pattern. It also has a nice comeuppance for the bad guy. There are twists in this story.
The Iroquois Trail (1950)
Last of the Mohicans
Only it is slightly different. We have 'Hawkeye' as played by George Montgomery and one daughter instead of 2 daughters being accompanied to camp by the treacherous Huron Indian. Sheldon Leonard takes on this baddie role as 'Ogane' instead of the more famous 'Magua'.
The film is ok but there are two 'Last of the Mohicans' films that are better - the 1936 version and the 1992 version. So............... watch those instead! This film is a bit complicated to follow and will lose you at the beginning stages. It is not made easy as everyone looks the same. They all wear wigs in the British army and it is confusing as to who is who and what is happening. The film comes across as a poor man's imitation of 'Last of the Mohicans' with one daughter instead of two daughters, and one Indian accomplice for Hawkeye instead of 2. The slight changes to the story take away from the effect of what we know is a better story.
There is a good knife fight when one hand of each of those involved are tied together and Sheldon is the standout character of the film. Unfortunately, Brenda Marshall (Marion) is a peculiar looking woman. She plays the daughter but looks like a middle-aged mother. There is also no way she is a source of desire for Leonard. It just doesn't ring true. I've seen her in another film - "The Sea Hawk" (1940) in which, again, she doesn't convince - there is something weird about her.
This film, does, however, contain the classic Indian greeting - "How". This is the only Indian word that absolutely everyone said at school when we were about 5 years old and I have never ever heard it spoken in a film. In TV comedy sketches, yes, but never in an actual film. So, we get an iconic moment when Leonard delivers this iconic word!
Watch 'Last of the Mohicans' for a more satisfying experience of this tale. It has a better story and ties things up more memorably rather than playing out as a happy families love story as in this effort.
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Can I borrow your car?
Screenwriter William Holden (Joe) is in financial difficulty when he encounters lonely washed-up actress Gloria Swanson (Norma) living in her mansion with her butler Erich von Stroheim (Max). There is something not quite right with Swanson as she surrounds herself with pictures of herself, watches only her old movies and generally thinks she is wonderful. She demands that Holden write a film for her so that her adoring public will once again get to admire and realize her talent. Well, basically, she is bonkers and Holden gets sucked in and caught up in her madness.
Swanson makes this film and she can be very funny. My wife liked her. I felt a bit sorry for Holden's friend Jack Webb (Artie) as a relationship develops between his fiancée Nancy Olson (Betty) and Holden and this didn't endear me to either of these parties. I didn't really relate to Holden's character but the film succeeds because of the strong presence of Swanson. You can probably guess, as I did, the whole von Stroheim thing.
If you practice self-delusion for long enough, you will only progress down one particular avenue. It's madness, my friends!
Gunman in the Streets (1950)
Unpleasant lead
Dane Clark (Roback) escapes from a police escort van in France and needs to get across the Belgian border to secure his freedom. He enlists the help of ex-girlfriend Simone Signoret (Denise). Can he make it?
Ok. So, what was this film all about! The main springboard for the whole film is the relationship between our escaped prisoner Dane Clark (Roback) and his ex-girlfriend Simone Signoret (Denise). But this makes no sense at all. They are no longer an item. Signoret has even started to date a new boyfriend Robert Duke (Frank) who she is happy with. I'm not sure why as he looks like Andrew Marr, an annoying political journalist who currently haunts Sunday morning TV in the UK. This relationship also makes no sense but we can swallow it if we have to - she could really do much better. He is wealthy, though. What is difficult to believe is why she would want to go so out of her way to help Clark, an ex-lover that she has finished with. And why was she ever with him as he is a horrible person and he is never kind to her. In fact, quite the opposite despite the help that she offers. So, the whole film is just unbelievable. Nothing rings true. We certainly can't sympathize with Clark as the main character as he is an asshole. I found no-one to relate to. It is one of those rare films where I want the bad guy caught and found myself rooting for the police.
Simone Signoret single-handedly pulls this film into the "ok" category. Nothing more, I'm afraid.
The Blue Lamp (1950)
The black and white lamp
This film is boring rubbish.
I thought it would be ok, despite being made at Ealing Studios. The synopses that I read portrayed it as a serious film. But, of course, the film was barely 20 minutes in and already I had to suffer the stereotypical trademark silly British humour on two occasions. The first time was when we are introduced to a typically unfunny drunken character at the police station. And we then got a situation where everyone shouts over one another in that crazy madcap style popularized by those terrible US screwball comedies. I wanted to turn the Goddam film off - I felt I had been hoodwinked by other reviewers. But then again, the clue was in the studio that made this piece of crap - Ealing!
Moving to the actual film, it has plenty of terrible acting and ludicrous accents. Dirk Bogarde (Tom) doesn't convince as a tough guy but the worst character by a mile is Peggy Evans (Diana). She just screams and shouts and shouts some more. We then get another scene with her and she screams and shouts and shouts some more. Were there really women like this at one point on the planet? You really wish that someone will just bump her off and save the audience from this torture. That became the main focus of the film for me because the story wasn't at all interesting or exciting and I wanted Evans killed. Will someone kill her?
The film does have an interesting idea at the end at White City greyhound racetrack when the net closes in on our bad guy and a good technique is employed by the bookies at the trackside. Nothing else to say.
Undercover Girl (1950)
A day at the doctor's
Rookie policewoman Alexis Smith (Chris/Sally) goes undercover to help Police Lieutenant Scott Brady (Trent) smash a drugs gang and exact revenge on the man who killed her father.
The story is ok but the picture quality isn't too good. It's also unbelievable nonsense. Smith is badly cast - she doesn't have the looks to physically attract so many people and she is too square-looking to convince as a top gangster woman. It also makes no sense why seasoned bad girl Gladys George (Liz) would open up to her and tell her all that she does. There is also no way that Smith would be sent in to carry out that final sting. There is so much that is just a load of tosh with this film, but it keeps the audience watching.
Goodness knows why the female trainee officers have to wear shorts during target practice. Very funny. They should also wear shorts when making arrests. And when answering the telephone.
Rocky Mountain (1950)
Ghost rock
Errol Flynn leads a small band of Confederates into Yankee territory to meet with Howard Petrie (Cole) and join forces in a plan. Not sure what the plan is but the story unfolds on a particular rock which they meet at. There are enemy soldiers to deal with as led by Scott Forbes (Rickey) and the Indians in this area are not friendly. Can the soldiers from both sides team up to defeat the angry redskin enemy?
It's an engaging cast and the character development leaves you suspicious of how it may well end up for this small band of men. The scenery is stunning, the Indians are a welcome addition to the plot and there is drama as well as action.
For anyone who has ever spent any time wondering, a dog cannot run faster than a horse. This film proves it.
A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Ticket to nowhere
The first train to Tomahawk needs to get there on time so that a franchise can be granted and a trainline officially opened. There is one passenger aboard - Dan Dailey - who sings and dances and can blag a few card tricks. However, the train needs to be chaperoned by the Deputy Marshall - Anne Baxter - to make sure it gets to Tomahawk. You see, there is no track to Tomahawk for the last leg of the journey and the 'iron horse' meets with resistance from the local Indian tribe as well as the town's bad element who want to blow it up. Can Baxter deliver the train to Tomahawk?
The film is a comedy, lightweight musical so you know there is never any real danger. Chief Thundercloud plays the Indian chief and I thought he was terribly cast as an Indian Chief as he looks nothing like an Indian. He's just a white bloke in a costume with no effort made to make him up like an Indian. Turns out he's a genuine Indian! Just shows people's perceptions can be so wrong.
Marilyn Monroe turns up in this as part of a troupe of female 'entertainers' who hitch a ride on the train to Tomahawk. Not sure why but I assume they are being run out of town as a bad element. Know what I mean? She doesn't have much to do but it is fun to spot her in the background of several scenes and the girls put on a show at one point. This is fun to watch, thanks especially to their costumes and glorious Technicolour. It's not a particularly good film and makes no sense but Technicolour saves it and makes it ok to watch. God knows why anyone wants to go to Tomahawk.
Orphée (1950)
Don't look back!
It's the old story about not looking back or you will lose your loved one forever. In this film, Death makes the biggest sacrifice.
The film is entertaining and well-acted and the supernatural elements are introduced gradually which keeps you gripped to how the story will unfold. Jean Marais (Orphée) is memorable if a little unpleasant in the lead role but from the moment we are introduced to the Princess Maria Casares, she is the standout character. François Périer (Heurtebise) is also good as Death's helper.
The opening scene is fun with the beatnik poets and café culture and was filmed with real bohemians who then stayed on at the makeshift café for a few days just hanging out. Ha ha. That's my vibe and my people!
I now have a lifelong hobby thanks to this film. I just need to buy some marigolds and then I can practice crossing over to the other side whenever I am in front of a mirror. I know it works.
Check out the cover to the Smiths single "This Charming Man". Familiar? Unfortunately, I am selling my copy to a record dealer in a couple of days' time but life has to move on. Swapping the Smiths for some marigolds.
House by the River (1950)
Tidal intrigue
Louis Hayward (Stephen) is an unsuccessful novelist with manuscript after manuscript being returned to him in his fancy house by the river. One day, he is advised to spice things up. So, he goes after his maid Dorothy Patrick (Emily) for some hanky-panky whilst his wife Jane Wyatt (Marjorie) is away with friends. However, the maid is not interested and he unintentionally kills her just at the moment that his brother Lee Bowman (John) arrives. Together, they cover up the crime but the brothers are at odds with each other as to what to do. Hayward's manipulative manner persuades Bowman to go along with him. Can the cover-up hold together?
It's an entertaining film that leaves you siding with Bowman. Unless you are a psycho. It has an excellent setting in the house and river and the cast are good except for the fat maid. She is irritating. This film has shades of Nicola Bulley who was found among the reeds recently in the UK.
Time to write a novel. And yes, whilst I agree that there should be truth in what you write in terms of real-life experiences, I think you can omit the whole truth about everything. How dumb would that be!
Shakedown (1950)
Ambition takedown
Howard Duff (Early) plays an unpleasantly ambitious photographer who continually turns up at the right time to make sure he gets the unique picture that everyone wants to buy. He treats everyone with disrespect and has no morals whatsoever. He is guided by his values of greed and self-interest. Well, he gets what he deserves.
It's a strange film in that it is entertaining and I'm going to keep onto it despite the lead man being thoroughly unpleasant. Newspaper editor Bruce Bennett (David) sums things up perfectly for everybody when he says "I don't like him". Yep, no-one does. He reminds me of a typical John Garfield type or Humphrey Bogart. They are solely out for themselves and not particularly relatable or pleasant. God knows why Peggy Dow (Ellen) takes an interest in him. It is just not believable. Duff is a horrible man and he fixates on gangster moll Ann Vernon (Mrs Palmer).
The rest of the cast are good and you root for the rival gangsters Brian Donlevy (Palmer) and Lawrence Tierney (Colton) to reset the power balance against this egomaniac photographer. The moral of the story is good - don't be like Duff!
Highway 301 (1950)
Radio days
Based on a true gang and real incidents, this is a tense film in relation to the three female roles who all get prominent parts. And Steve Cochran (Legenza) is one mean gang leader. The gang is a well-groomed team and Cochran doesn't hesitate to tidy up other 'bits'. At one point, I said "they look good", meaning clothes-wise, and without hesitation Cochran answered me in the film "Looks don't matter". Wow! One of those perfect moments of coincidence where the film's dialogue matched me perfectly with a response. It was really weird and funny but it has put me off a life of crime. He shouldn't have been so dismissive towards me.
Talking of being a deterrent to crime, we get a preachy intro from 3 State Governors involved in the regions where the crimes were committed and they, together with the film's chief of police, wave the morality wand at us. However, whilst this should be irritating, in today's climate, it is a God-sent message that we should all listen to. We need to be harsh with criminal behaviour and punish those responsible instead of trying to understand the culprits. At least the French don't mess around. They just shoot the bad guys dead. No need to provide an audit trail of bullets used and no inquiry needed. Bang! Criminals dealt with.
The film has tense sequences that stay with you and it's one to keep to watch again.
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
Smallpox on the loose
Diamond smuggler Evelyn Keyes (Sheila) steps off a train in New York and has Treasury Agent Barry Kelley (Johnson) on her tail. She needs to reach her musician boyfriend/husband Charles Korvin (Matt) to tell him how the operation went and rekindle their love. However, there is a problem with this as Korvin has been carrying on with Evelyn's sister Lola Albright (Francie) behind her back and has new plans of his own. However, Keyes has also brought back something deadly from Cuba.
Welcome to a film which is all too familiar in its procedural methods to tackle an epidemic. No lockdown, though. Keyes is good in the lead role as a woman determined to exact revenge and it is her film as we follow doctors and policemen in their quest to identify her as the carrier and track her down. Meanwhile, she is dying. Dying but strong-willed.
We get segments of the film where we see how easy it is to transfer the disease - eg, drinking from the water fountain in the park. Game over for the next person who uses it. I never understood people who put their mouth directly over the spout on those water fountains.
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
A bit boring
Sterling Hayden (Dix) is a hooligan who is recruited into a small team to rob a jewellery safe masterminded by Sam Jaffe (Doc). We also have family man Anthony Caruso (Louis) along for the ride as the safe-cracker and alarm expert and get-away driver James Whitmore (Gus). Louis Calhern (Emmerich) is lined up as the buyer of the stolen merchandise. A plan is put into action after all introductions have been made by Marc Lawrence (Cobby), who is the "go-to" man when dealing with characters that play on the wrong side of the law. However, greed is never a good companion on these heists.
The plot sounds ok and the film is alright but it is overlong and the female roles are terrible. Jean Hagen (Doll), Dorothy Tree (May) and Marilyn Monroe (Angela) are typical soppy females who have been put into a macho film. This is disappointing. Our lead actor - Hayden - also has no likeable qualities. He is just a horrible, grumpy man. How are the audience supposed to relate? The asphalt jungle. More like the asshole jungle.
One thing is now very funny as with hindsight the film provides a premonition of the future in the UK police force. The film ends with a police commissioner explaining that there may be a few bad cops in the force and he turns on the radio for the gathered press conference and demonstrates that at least we are in a position where each reported incident in the city is attended to. He turns through the dial on the police radio as we listen to a continuous set of instructions to attend various crimes. The commissioner tells us to imagine if this didn't happen. Wow! Well, this is the route the UK have gone down. Nothing gets investigated these days and people have given up reporting certain crimes because nothing gets done. The police are more concerned with investigating whether or not someone's feelings have been hurt as a result of woke nonsense and spend their time virtue-signaling and taking the knee. Uuurgh!
Souvenirs perdus (1950)
Keep it lost
How boring was that!
We have 4 stories, all of no significance whatsoever, set around 4 items in some kind of warehouse. Three of the stories are supposed to be comedic and one is a disturbing thriller.
For the first segment, Pierre Brasseur (Philippe) and Edwige Feuillère (Florence) are past lovers who meet up in a museum and pretend to each other that they are wealthier than they are in order to impress one another. They go on a date and that's pretty much it. Boring.
In the second segment, the tedium is cranked up by what is essentially a French farce but it just drags on. And on. Give yourself a pat on the back if you don't fall asleep.
Segment three finds us in a typically French downbeat episode with an escaped nutter and a suicidal woman finding company with one another. However, this is French, so it's not a happy ending.
When is this film going to finish! Oh no, we still have one more segment to sit through.
The final story pretty much scores all the points on the entertainment front for the performances of local policeman Bernard Blier (Raoul) and street-singer Yves Montand (Raoul) in a comedic story of unrequited love. The boy who plays the violin atrociously also throws in some comedy by sneezing during his performance. It's the best segment of the four but not enough to save the whole film experience.
This film goes on far too long and doesn't provide the required amount of entertainment for such a long investment of your time.
Murder Without Crime (1950)
What's in the ottoman chest?
A rather unrelatable and over-emoting Derek Farr (Stephen) has a row with his wife Patricia Plunkett (Jan) which causes her to storm off to stay with a friend. Only she doesn't. She ends up staying at a hotel around the corner. Meanwhile, Farr goes out to a club with his landlord Dennis Price (Matthew) where Farr meets with good-time girl Joan Dowling (Grena). God knows why but Dowling agrees to go home with Farr! This won't look good if Plunkett returns, which is what she does. However, something is not quite right. Farr is extra jumpy and still generally unpleasant whilst landlord Price is ever present with his witty and suspicious insinuations as to where Dowling may be. Where is Dowling? She has disappeared and there is a piece of furniture - an ottoman chest - which takes on a central role. Surely not! Well, we have all seen Farr do it.
The two best characters are Dowling and Price and the apartment is richly decorated with atmospheric furniture which adds to the spooky feel to the film. It's an entertaining thriller that keeps up the suspense and throws in some surprises along the way. The film has similarities to "Rope" (1948) and "Laura" (1944).