MILLIONS LIKE US (1943)

Canadians sometimes  have an inferiority complex when it comes to their military history.  Recent developments notwithstanding, we seem to be ignored in pictures  regarding the Second  World War; likely because it is simply we were seen as being under the British.  It actually may be surprising to learn that we  were under our own command...

PAID (1930)

The subversive world of pre-code Hollywood continues to delight.  Each studio had a formula and star that was put into dastardly situations, usually coming out on top or with a new moral fiber.  The pleasure comes from seeing how these  film makers were blatant with their language, actions, and  predicaments.   Sam Wood  delivers a punchy...

ILLEGAL (1955)

Hollywood in the fifties was going through a transition. The moguls were losing control of the medium. Actors were becoming independent. Audiences were evolving.  Sure, scandals  still happened that were hushed up.  The argument, the  evidence, the testimony and the final sound of the gavel hitting wood can all be bought or controlled.  This was...

STARDUST ELEGANCE: An opinion on simplicity and people.

Watching film for the  sheer enjoyment of it can  sometimes be  overpowering in the amount one  views.  I thought it  would a  good time to step back  -a  type of intermission-  and  look one of the admirable aspects of picture watching which is overlooked: its simplicity.  Embodying simplicity and elegance was TCM Networks  on air...

THE INVISIBLE MENACE (1938)

The mystery play, with its creaking doors, sliding panels and bodies falling out of unexpected places has  long been a staple of  stage thrillers.  THE CAT  AND THE CANARY (1927), THE BAT WHISPERS (1930) and others were made into films with the  fusion of the forties of horror/mystery to come. Boris Karloff, or "Billy Pratt"...