Sensation Hunters - 1933 ***

'Sensation Hunters' doesn't particularly stand out, although it was apparently good enough for a remake to be made 10+ years later. 

A woman named Dale is taken under the wing of the aristocratic first class passengers of a Pacific liner, but is soon outed as a cabaret girl and shunned by society. 

It wasn't bad, and Arline Judge is quite good in her part. 

The Lost Moment - 1947 ****

A very overlooked film barely ever mentioned in annuals nowadays.
Cummings plays a publisher desperate to get his hands on love letters written by a deceased writer. He carefully ingratiates himself into the house of the widow and her great niece, hoping to be able to  steal the letters for himself. Things aren't simple however when it turns up that the great niece Tina has a schizophrenic nature resulting in her frequently believing she is the rightful recipient of the love letters. Its a beautifully haunting movie very like 'Rebecca'.

Phone Call From a Stranger - 1952 ***

Actually quite a well structured and formulated plot. A man who survives a plane crash decides to call the relatives of the three friends he made on the fateful flight. Each story is interesting and concise. Bette Davis is great as the paralysed widow towards the end, although the star of the show is really Shelley Winters, as the balsy, doomed aspiring actress.

His Private Secretary - 1933 ***

Not a bad offering from John Wayne, showing that he can actually be funny, and not just hover around on a horse in movie after movie.
The first film I have seen Evalyn Knapp in and actually she was quite good. Dick (Wayne) has to prove to his father, his friends, and his potential girlfriend Marion (Knapp) that he is more than just a playboy. His father in particular finds his behaviour disgusting and vows never to employ him again at work, or to accept any relationships that he has. Once he marries Marion, she decides to go undercover as his father's new secretary to gain his trust and win him round for his son's sake.
Quite a sweet, albeit predictable story, I liked it.

(NOIR) A Life at Stake - 1954 **

I always find myself feeling bad if I have a negative review to say about a noir, it's like I'm personally taking a swipe at it. I can't help it here however, as this film doesn't deserve much credit at all. One reviewer called the characters 'cardboard-like' and I have to say that I agree. Angela Lansbury doesn't really have the personality to be a 'femme fatale' and Keith Andes is neither charming or exciting to watch as the lead role. Andes starts an affair with Lansbury after she approaches him with a business proposition involving the purchasing of some land. However, before long he starts to panic that both she and her husband are plotting to kill him, but cannot get anyone to believe him.
The acting isn't brilliant, and the plot is diluted far too much. In short, just not a very good film.

Behind Green Lights - 1946 ** 1/2

I was so surprised by this film, mostly because Carole Landis's acting is awful! There is no describing that she was a beautiful woman and her death was tragic, but she performed like a piece of wood.
William Gargan plays a cop in charge of investigating the murder of a well known blackmailer, who's body is found full of bullets on the sidewalk next to the station.
After seeing the name of a would be mayor's daughter in his address book, she is brought in for questioning, as well as the estranged wife of the blackmailer and her new beau.
It was quite a slow story, and not one of my favourites.

The Small Back Room - 1949 ** 1/2

I was a bit peeved to discover at the end that this was a Powell and Pressburger movie. Generally the quality of their films is outstanding, but this didn't do much for me after the first 20 minutes or so. Getting deeper into the film seemed a bit like watching 'The Lost Weekend' and I came out of the experience feeling depressed and miserable.
The lead character Sammy is full of woe and self-pity, in a way that renders him utterly unlikeable, and none of the other characters have anything that I could convey as emphatic personalities. He spends his time working as a scientist doing research in a hidden 'Back Room' in London and drinking the evenings away.
In particular the girlfriend of Sammy was awful. Wimpish, with no self respect or anything about her, she clings on to him like a sack of potatoes, regardless of how badly he treats her.
Not one of the ones I would recommend from the otherwise great duo.

The Awful Truth - 1937 ****

Notably Cary Grant's first 'screwball' film, it's certainly a funny one and is now in the annuals of the top hundred comedies. Grant and Dunne play a soon to be divorced couple. Despite not wanting to stay together, they each go out their way to sabotage the other's new relationships leading to some hilarious moments that only Leo McCarey could envisage. Ralph Bellamy is rather good as Dunne's new love interest, but it is Grant who fills the screen with wit and charm, the only way he knows how.

L'Atalante - 1934 ****

L'Atalante is a beautiful film, both in action and in photography. It has this weird, slightly surreal feel to it that I have only ever experienced in another masterpiece of it's time 'The Night of the Hunter'.
Jean Vigo only made a small number of films in his short life, and this is the one that defies time and stereotype. It's hard to explain how you feel after watching, but it's somewhere between deep exultation and heartbreak. It probably is a fair comment to make that it's one of the greatest films ever made.

(NOIR) The Enforcer - 1951 ****

Incredibly powerful and well paced classic noir starring Humphrey Bogart as an intimidating law enforcer who gets himself embroiled with some dangerous men which we see through a variety of flashbacks. Very tense and very entertaining movie. One of Bogart's last.

Behind Office Doors - 1931 **

Despite starting well, this pre-Hays film sadly lagged behind, not to mention the awful sound and picture quality that was intensely distracting.
Mary Astor alone couldn't save this film, although she does look lovely as a post-1920s flapper.

St Martin's Lane - 1938

I didn't like this at all. I didn't like Vivien Leigh's character who cared about no one at all and I didn't like Charles Laughton's character who had an unhealthy interest in her. She was 18 and he must've been in his mid to late 40s.
All set around St Martin's Lane in London and starring Leigh as a professional pickpocket and Laughton as a busker who takes pity on her when he spots her stealing someone's wallet.
I didn't like the over the top acting and even Rex Harrison couldn't save the day.

Standing Room Only - 1944 ***

An enjoyable little rom-com starring the delightful Paulette Goddard who plays the quirky and ditzy Jane.
Lee Stevens takes his secretary to Washington but is annoyed when Jane cancels their hotel bookings without telling him thinking that they aren't adequate.
Finding no other rooms available in the whole city, the pair take posts as maid and butler in a house but soon find the jobs not exactly how they imagined.
A nice movie, nothing special but worth a watch all the same.

(NOIR) Out of the Fog - 1941 ***

John Garfield is an amazing actor but he doesn't half play some unlikeable characters. Here he plays a bootlegger who makes his living beating up people who won't give him money, and stumbles into a situation where he falls for the daughter of one of his latest victims. Ida Lupino plays her usual stupid, dense self who becomes infatuated by Garfield even when she finds out he is blackmailing her father.
Not your usual noir, as its set around the waterfront, but one to watch once.

(NOIR) Loan Shark 1952 **

A rather weak noir with George Raft fronting as an ex-con who is infiltrated into a group of vicious loan sharks in order to put a stop to the attacks and threats made to the people who can't pay up. He of course falls in love with a beautiful woman and has to decide whether his morals are more important than his romantic life. Wouldn't watch again.

Shock - 1946 **

One of those films that you imagine is going to be better than it actually is. 'Shock' doesn't really deliver, but is still fairly entertaining for it's length and cast. Lynn Bari plays a young wife who goes to a hotel to await her husband who is coming back from the war. After falling asleep she wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to the balcony where she witnesses something horrific in the adjoining room. A murder! Going into shock, she is taken to a psychiatric hospital where she is treated by a menacing Vincent Price who she soon realises is the murderer she saw through her window. Will anyone believe her? Sounds a good story doesn't it, but it comes across like its been done before.
Not a strong contender and despite it's labelling as a noir I don't think it can really be called one.

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.

The Wrong Road - 1937 ***

A young couple robs a bank and then hides the money somewhere that only they can find it. They then end up in jail and have to serve considerable sentences before they can be reunited with their money. The trouble is, when they do get out they are being pursued by the man's cellmate and an investigator, both on a trail for their vast sum of stolen loot.
Surprisingly enjoyable, although sadly very bad quality.

Don't Bet on Love - 1933 ***

Notably the film that took Ginger and Lew up the aisle, this is a mediocre movie about a plumber who is addicted to betting on horses because he gets hints before each race. His girlfriend Molly will not marry him unless he stops his gambling and saves up $1000. He wins the money but continues to gamble, and although Molly is not happy, she takes his word that he will never put money on races again. However, when she finds out on her wedding day that he is taking her to Saratoga for their honeymoon because of the horses, she has had enough, and finishes with him. 

I love Lew Ayres and I'm pretty keen on Ginger as well, so this it was nice to see how they met and got together. 

Murder with Pictures - 1936 ****

Oh Yes! This is the type of movie I needed after this weekend to cheer me up. Ironically the 2 films I have enjoyed the most have both starred Lewis Ayres. Ayres (again) this time plays a good guy (for a change) who is caught up in the middle of a murder investigation after someone is killed at a gathering of reporters and photographers. It's actually a really good story despite the sadly dire quality of the film (I do wish more of these less well-known classic movies would be digitally remastered) and I was pretty keen to find the culprit. Lew Ayres was excellent, and I think this is the start of my researching into his filmography for much more of his work.