(NOIR) Sudden Fear - 1952 ****

Excellently shot. A film noir through and through. Joan Crawford plays a gullible playwright named Myra who falls in love with sleazy actor Lester whom she originally rejected as the main star of her newest play.
Although believing they are meant to be together, Lester has other plans, hoping to murder her and take her money, with a little help from his old girlfriend Irene, played suitably sourly by Gloria Grahame.
In most ways this is the perfect noir, but although Joan Crawford was very good in her part, I can't help feeling by now that the roles she was choosing at this point should be for younger starlets.

The Baby - 1973 **

This is one of the weirdest films I have ever seen. Apparently a 'cult classic' I can only imagine it's because people are completely traumatised by it afterwards.

A young social worker goes to investigate a case involving a family's strange relationship with their baby, the only thing out of the ordinary is that the 'baby' is a 31 year old man.

It's one of those films that gives you the creeps and afterwards you feel a bit disturbed. I suppose it does satisfy 'cult' status but it's not something I would want to see again. Sort of makes you wonder why this film is so hard to find. It reminds me a bit of how I felt after watching 'Pink Flamingos', just like I wanted to drench myself in cold water to get rid of the shock. The only thing I did like was that the mother character sounds a cross between Joan Crawford and Shirley MacLaine. Bizarre.

The Unknown - 1927 ****

What a superb film. Lon Chaney totally blew me away with his terrifyingly eerie characterisation of a burglar named Alonso who poses as an armless circus performer.

Joan Crawford is almost unrecognisable as Nanon, who becomes Alonso's love interest against her will. Alonso then sets up what he thinks is a cunning plan to win Nanon over, with drastic results.

The score that I heard with the film was spot on and the acting was simply amazing. The thing about silent movies is that you can spot someone who can't act a mile off because all you are relying on is their facial and physical expression. Films nowadays show us that most actors can't act very well indeed. The actors in this film can captivate you with a single glance, and without saying a word.

It was a horrifying thought to think that this film was almost lost, and was only found by fluke in a box named 'unknown' full of unknown films (how ironic).

This has set me off on an obsession with silent films.