The Mask of Dimitrios (Jean Negulesco, 1944)
Lorre and Greenstreet in another Negulesco film, but this one's not even as good as Three Strangers. The plotting is really dumb, and moments where Lorre says things aloud for our benefit ("How did he know my name? I never told him my name.") were typical of the overall cartoonishness and had me wishing I was watching the Warner Bros. cartoon version of Lorre instead.
Grade: C-
Fallen Angel (Otto Preminger, 1945)
This ruins my theory about how every movie with Dana Andrews in it is fantastic. The cinematography is great — Preminger and Joseph LaShelle choreograph some glorious moving camera shots — but the story is pretty weak. So weird film for this to be Alice Faye's final film (for years and years). She didn't fit here at all. Andrews and Linda Darnell are better, but I sort of wish this had been Charles Bickford's film from the start. The ending's not bad on its own, but it feels like something out of a totally different film (which is the same thing I said about Michael Clayton's, actually).
Grade: C+
Downstairs (Monta Bell, 1932)
Damn these pre-Code films, taunting me with what could have been. This is a fun little comedy. Saucy, too! Feels more like something out of 1932 France than 1932 Hollywood, with a strong Lubitsch feel as well. John Gilbert has a really good time as the unrepentant scoundrel of a protagonist, and Paul Lukas' performance — as the butler trying to keep the house in order hold onto his new wife (Virginia Bruce) — has me convinced to stop putting off seeing Watch on the Rhine.
Grade: B
The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957)
So simple yet so good. I was expecting more action, but the film is mostly buildup — and really good buildup at that. I've been iffy on Randolph Scott, but he's fantastic here. Richard Boone is strong, too (is Have Gun - Will Travel on DVD?), but Henry Silva nearly steals the show as the gayest draw in the west. John Hubbard's character is annoying, moreso that the story requires, I think, but otherwise everything is pretty good here. I just wanted more is all.
Grade: B+
pixote