praisinghiminkc

IMDb member since December 2004
    Lifetime Total
    10+
    Lifetime Filmo
    5+
    Lifetime Plot
    5+
    IMDb Member
    19 years

Reviews

House of Strangers
(1949)

Not a noir
I just bought this and was looking forward to watching as I like all the main actors and am a film noir fan. This title is being marketed as a film noir - it's a good movie - but it definitely isn't a noir. I certainly don't stick to the narrow definition of a noir either.

I won't bother to write a whole synopsis since that has been covered by earlier posts. Edward G Robinson never disappoints (even though he does kind of sound like Chico Marx in this) and Richard Conte is great. I hadn't seen Luther Adler in anything before but he was perfect in the role of the scorned older brother.

Like I said it is a good movie...just don't expect a noir.

X Marks the Spot
(1942)

A nice little B picture
A private detective about to enter the Army investigates the murder of a cop by gangsters who are in the stolen tires racket. Along the way he is helped by Helen Parrish the pretty girl who plays records by request. I remembered her from You'll Find Out, a great old movie with Kay Kyser & Co.

The cast does a good job and there are some recognizable faces. You will recognize Neil Hamilton who played Comissioner Gordon on the 1960s Batman series and Anne Jeffreys who played Marion Kirby in the Topper TV series. Also Esther Muir who was the blonde Groucho pursued in A Night At The Opera and Dick Wessel who was in many many old movies. Of course there are a few times when things don't exactly make sense but it's entertainment. A nice little B movie that moves along well and wraps everything up in under an hour. It captures the feeling of movies made around that time. Worth watching!I gave it a 6.

Romance on the Run
(1938)

A fast paced little movie
When a valuable necklace is stolen the insurance agent who mistakenly issued the policy suspects the suave and handsome man that her boss has hired to get it back and who the inept police officer (William Demarest) on the case also suspects. They follow him and his valet (Edward Brophy)as they in turn are following a nightclub singer and her boyfriend. The group finds themselves on a train and then at a shack out in the middle of nowhere with guns pointed at them by country folks who distrust "city people in circus clothes".

It all ends happily of course and in just under an hour. The actors are very good and some very funny situations.

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
(1948)

A nice little movie
Diana Lynn is great as usual a year or so before her role as Irma's best friend in My Friend Irma. She carries the story quite well and it is worth seeing. I agree with another poster that the music is terrible but there isn't much of it and really it's only the music at the beginning that is that bad. It's a cute story and could have been better but still an enjoyable way to spend 76 minutes. It does have some good moments and lots of familiar faces, some you may not be able to put a name to but will recognize from other old movies. I won't go into the whole plot since that has already been covered very nicely but it is well worth your time to watch this. Since it has fallen into Public Domain you can see it at internetarchives.

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