(NOIR) Fog Island - 1945 ***

A poorly done "B'' movie about a group of people invited to an old man's house at Fog Island. He invites them there under the pretext that they will be given some of his inheritance but he actually wants to uncover which of them murdered his dead wife. I was surprised but happy to see Jerome Cowan of the 'Fred and Ginger' films taking a moderate sized part here, but the quality of the film was so dire that a lot of the time it was hard to differentiate who was who.

Conflict - 1945 ****

A hidden gem. Critics said that this was a strange film for Bogart to be in. Totally unlike his Sam Spade personalities. I think it was brilliant, and I found the storyline to be immensely exciting. Bogart plays an unhappily married man who is in love with his wife Katherine's sister Evelyn. He decides to murder Katherine in the hopes of starting a relationship with Evelyn but things go horribly wrong when he starts to believe he is seeing traces of Katherine everywhere. Of course he cannot go to the police to tell them his fears because they are hoping she will be found alive and so he begins to live a nightmare which threatens to send him mad.
Excellent movie. Overlooked and understated.

(NOIR) Bewitched - 1945 ***

'Bewitched' is a very strange film. I'm not sure it should really be called a noir, because it has none of the stereotypical points that would make it one. It follows a young girl named Joan, seemingly possessed by a voice in her head that forces her to abandon her home, family and fiance and run away to New York. It controls her actions and tells her what to do. Even when the thing it wants her to do will produce tragic consequences. It's very odd, and I guess it comes across quite well. One of the last scenes is actually quite terrifying.

*(NOIR) The Lady Confesses - 1945 ****

I really liked this noir. I thought the story was excellent, and the twist at the end I did not see coming.
Larry Craig's wife Norma disappeared 7 years ago. He decides to get on with his life and becomes engaged to a girl named Vicki. Without warning, Norma appears out of the blue, and is murdered shortly after. Larry has an alibi, but do other people that Larry knows also have one? And why did the manager of the club that Larry was at on the night of the murder refuse to acknowledge his existence there?
One of the best of the month so far.

(NOIR) My Name is Julia Ross - 1945 **1/2

This was one of those noir films that made me wonder why the director had tried to cram what could of been   a full length story into just over an hour's worth of screen time. Julia Ross applies for a job working as a live-in secretary for a widow in a large, old house in Cornwall. The agent tells her she must move in that night, but when she awakes the next day all her things have disappeared and the members of the house are referring to her by another name. Despite the fact she knows exactly who she is the family try to convince her that she is the widow's daughter in law and is suffering from a nervous breakdown. She is trapped with no way out.
Not a bad film, but the ending doesn't really tie up all the loose ends that have been flailing around throughout the movie.

(NOIR) Fallen Angel - 1945 ****

I think 'Laura' is the most flawless film noir ever, but 'Fallen Angel' isn't too far behind.

Dana Andrews always puts on a good show and the added support from the beautiful Linda Darnell and Alice Faye makes the film too good to miss. Andrews usually plays good, hero-like characters but here he breaks the mould and plays a dangerous man who begins an affair with June (Faye) with the sole intent of inveigling himself into her life, taking her money and marrying the local barmaid Stella (Darnell) whom he has become infatuated with. As in any film noir things don't go to plan and when Stella is mysteriously murdered Andrews becomes inbroiled in tracking down the culprit, whilst being under suspicion himself.

Otto Preminger is a superb director and I rate him very highly. I also think he is brilliant at picking the best actors in his films, and although there was supposedly some drama behind the scenes of the film (Faye's scenes were cut in favour of fleshing out Darnell's part instead) it doesn't stop the audience being presented with polished characters and an exciting plot.

A must-see.

Pink String and Sealing Wax - 1945 ****

One of the first Ealing movies I have seen that wasn't a comedy. I've always been drawn to it by the title of the picture, it sounds so old-fashioned and just up my street!

Googie Withers was looking lovely as Pearl, the wife of an alcoholic pub owner who befriends an innocent chemist's son in an effort to obtain some poison to kill her husband. At the same time there is another story going on in the son's household where the strictly religious father keeps a tight leash on his family to the extent where his daughter's plea to become a professional singer falls on deaf ears.

Exciting film, and a bit bizarre, plus it has the guy from George Formby movies as the alcoholic pub owner (and of course Googie Withers who was in one of George's films too, ironically with the pub owner actor!)

Dorian Gray - 1945 ***

George Sanders stole the show for me in this. If he hadn't been in it I would have been pretty disappointed. Hurd Hatfield was in my opinion pretty dreadful as the main character, only saved by the quick-witted Sanders (quoting like mad from Oscar Wilde) and the beautiful Donna Reed as his love interest. Angela Lansbury is very good as well. In fact most of the characters have some redeeming qualities about them except for Dorian Gray. Everyone knows the story so I won't go into it, but will say that the painting (amazingly shot in colour) is absolutely hideous and gives me the shivers thinking about it. I'm not sure whether the actor chosen to portray Gray was completely dull because all his energy and emotion was supposed to have gone into the painting, or whether he was just genuinely a boring actor. Either way I didn't agree with the choice.

Will watch the new version to see how it compares.