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The Black Pirate
(1926)
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Martin Dickstein
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It is my guess that you will like The Black Pirate immensely. It will afford you as exciting an evening as ever you are likely to spend before the screen.
Posted Mar 22, 2023
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The Devil Horse
(1926)
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Martin Dickstein
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This may afford rare entertainment for, as they say, lovers of horseflesh. More practical moviegoers will find... a number of lovely desert and mountain scenes together with many instances of moving camera manipulations by the aforementioned Hal Roach.
Posted Mar 21, 2023
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Steamboat Bill, Jr.
(1928)
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Martin Dickstein
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This is not perhaps the funniest picture which the stony-faced pantomimist has ever made(The Navigator, for example) but it will provide you with at least halt ta laughs of the, er, abdominal variety.
Posted Mar 21, 2023
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The Dark Angel
(1935)
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John Reddington
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Blessed by a first-rate job of direction by Sidney Franklin, and three equally impressive acting performances by Merle Oberon, Fredric March, and Herbert Marshal.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1953)
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Jane Corby
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This picture belongs to Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.
Posted Mar 09, 2023
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Requiem for a Heavyweight
(1962)
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Jane Corby
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There is an appealingly human quality about this film that may well get to any adult audience, even to those who never had a glove laid on them or even saw a prize fight.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Back to Bataan
(1945)
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Jane Corby
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Wayne gives one of his best performances.
Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Main Street
(1923)
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Eagle Staff
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There ought to be a law passed prohibiting movie producers from picturizing books that they haven't read.
Posted Jan 25, 2023
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Frankenstein
(1931)
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Martin Dickstein
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It might have degenerated into mere stuff and nonsense. Instead, it sets you quivering on more than one occasion, and leaves you a bit shaken after it's all over.
Posted Jan 18, 2023
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The Lady Eve
(1941)
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Herbert Cohn
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The Lady Eve is Preston Sturges' way of sneering at the law of averages and laying down the gauntlet to the fates... Sometimes he has got to crack, but that is not now: The Lady Eve is a honey.
Posted Dec 29, 2022
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Gentleman's Agreement
(1947)
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Herbert Cohn
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It states its case with such frankness, such screen grace and such persuasiveness that it will do more for man's understanding of man than the most militant haranguer. And not for an instant does it fail to be a captivating screen show.
Posted Nov 16, 2022
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The Maltese Falcon
(1941)
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Herbert Cohn
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The Maltese Falcon is a beguiling melodrama that does nothing the ordinary way. In fact, by strict motion picture standards, it shouldn't even click. But it does, and big.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
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Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944)
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Jane Corby
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Vincente Minnelli has been sensible about directing Meet Me in St. Louis. He didn't go out of his way to spill tears, or even try hard for laughs -- he just let things take their course.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
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King Kong
(1933)
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Martin Dickstein
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King Kong is, to say the least, a novelty among talking pictures. It is also, if you will allow us to be entirely honest, a little bit silly... Cooper and Schoedsack, we think, should have devoted their talents to some more credible theme.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
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Herbert Cohn
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington [is] a meaningful social commentary and a delightful bundle of entertainment despite its weaknesses. For that the credit goes to Capra, to Stewart and to Miss Arthur.
Posted Nov 09, 2022
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The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
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Herbert Cohn
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[The supporting players] make a pleasant gallery of simple people talking chit-chat while Mr. Lubitsch and his charming leading couple magically transform a small bundle of comedy into a good-sized lark.
Posted Nov 07, 2022
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Stalag 17
(1953)
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Jane Corby
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Stalag 17 is one of those rare pictures that has an intrinsically arresting quality. This overall effect stems from the script itself, the racy dialogue (which, in fact, only seems racy) and the casting, which is uniformly superb.
Posted Nov 05, 2022
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The President's Mystery
(1936)
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Winston Burdett
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The picture works up considerable interest.
Posted Oct 25, 2022
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The Thief of Bagdad
(1924)
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Martin Dickstein
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[Anna May Wong] furnishes one of the outstanding personalities in this new Fairbanks film. So-Jin is splendid... and Snitz Edwards, as the evil associate of The Thief, is also deserving of much credit for his very effective interpretation of the role.
Posted Oct 22, 2022
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Java Head
(1934)
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Winston Burdett
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[Java Head] proceeds from a fairly arresting situation, becomes suddenly vague toward the middle and hastens thence to a pat and unsatisfying conclusion.
Posted Oct 21, 2022
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When Were You Born?
(1938)
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Herbert Cohn
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It takes more than novel atmosphere to make a good mystery out of a flimsy crime.
Posted Oct 21, 2022
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Shanghai Express
(1932)
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Martin Dickstein
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The contributory characterizations by Lawrence Grant, Louise Closser Hale, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Emile Chautard and Anna May Wong are as nearly perfect as they can be.
Posted Oct 21, 2022
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Lady From Chungking
(1942)
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Jane Corby
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It is a stirring film, well directed by William Nigh.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
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Peter Pan
(1924)
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Martin Dickstein
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Betty Bronson, playing her first really Important role in the films, leaves no doubt concerning Sir Barrie's good Judgment In choosing her to play Peter.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1919)
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Arthur Pollock
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We have never believed the movie capable of amounting to anything worth mentioning. This film gives evidence that they can if the men who make them want them to.
Posted Oct 03, 2022
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Cobra Woman
(1944)
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Jane Corby
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It is in an atmosphere, therefore, of uncertainty, though undeniable beauty, that Jon Hall pursues his oft-pursued romance with Maria Montez in Cobra Woman.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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High Noon
(1952)
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Jane Corby
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High Noon is just what a Western should be -- a page out of American folklore, a close-to-the-soil delineation of human characters, played against a true-to-life background.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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Battling Butler
(1926)
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Morris Kinzler
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The first half of the picture drags with an awkwardness and weariness that should never be there. Mr. Keaton evidently prefers a whirlwind finish, and his aim. it seems, is to leave a last impression. He accomplishes his aim, and admirably, too.
Posted Aug 26, 2022
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The Life of Emile Zola
(1937)
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Gould Cassal
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By compressing and transposing events, the scenarists have been able to distill a satisfactorily active account which is always sincere, dignified and arresting.
Posted Aug 03, 2022
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Mutiny on the Bounty
(1935)
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John Reddington
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By any standard, one of the most picturesque and beautifully photographed of movies, it is that rare avis among films -- an excellent story retold in a manner possible only for the screen.
Posted Jul 28, 2022
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How Green Was My Valley
(1941)
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Herbert Cohn
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Make no mistake about it: How Green Was My Valley, weaknesses and all, is a grand screen production. Its acting is magnificent and its direction is compelling without being pretentious.
Posted Jul 26, 2022
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The Rogue Song
(1930)
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Martin Dickstein
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Frankly, The Rogue Song is hardly a composition of such merit as to deserve the distinction of serving as Mr. Tibbett's first vehicle before the movie microphones.
Posted Jun 29, 2022
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Ten Modern Commandments
(1927)
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Martin Dickstein
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Directress Arzner has been notably successful in depicting the flurry of an opening night backstage.
Posted Jun 25, 2022
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Neptune's Daughter
(1914)
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Eagle Staff
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The struggle for life under the water, and the scene in which [Kellermann] is cast, bound hand and foot, from a cliff 60 feet high Into the sea were among the most exciting.
Posted Jun 24, 2022
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From Here to Eternity
(1953)
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Jane Corby
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James Jones' book, From Here to Eternity, has been made into Oscar-bait movie, superlatively written for the screen, ingeniously directed, brilliantly cast and acted and dramatically photographed.
Posted Mar 17, 2022
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You Can't Take It With You
(1938)
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Arthur Pollock
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Something about the work of Frank Capra seems to indicate that he is fond of the human race -- at least, in principle.
Posted Feb 07, 2022
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The Lost Weekend
(1945)
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Jane Corby
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As a subject for discussion, it's the film of the year. It is cinematically speaking, a brilliant achievement, with two sequences standing out as high points of film horror, on a strict realistic basis.
Posted Feb 03, 2022
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The Devil's Daughter
(1915)
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Eagle Staff
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Mlle Bara's facial expression is wonderfully brutal and fiendish, but every physical movement snows grace and charm.
Posted Jan 13, 2022
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The Miracle Man
(1919)
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Eagle Staff
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Out of a simple plot, intelligent work has made a vehicle for splendid movie acting and artistic direction.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
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Mrs. Miniver
(1942)
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Herbert Cohn
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No one person in Mrs. Miniver alone is responsible for its beauty; it is the result of superb craftsmanship by all concerned... But If any one is to be singled out for special praise it should be Teresa Wright, who gives a knockout performance.
Posted Jan 04, 2022
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Nightmare Alley
(1947)
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Herbert Cohn
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When it began to slip, it slipped fast. It soon became so shabby that, by the end, the ghostly polish it had had at the beginning was completely forgotten.
Posted Dec 03, 2021
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The Great Ziegfeld
(1936)
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Winston Burdett
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Though it is a flattering tribute to the taste of the late showman, The Great Ziegfeld is also an apt one, for it has the same combination of gaudiness and elegance, of show and finish, which you associate with a good "Follies."
Posted Dec 02, 2021
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All the King's Men
(1949)
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Louis Sheaffer
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Written, produced and directed by Robert Rossen, the picture is filled with surging vitality, tough-eyed comment and shrewd observations about the seamier aspects of practical politics.
Posted Nov 30, 2021
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The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
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Herbert Cohn
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Despite its shortcomings, The Wizard of Oz is a spectacle to be seen -- a fantastic romp that will be a treat for the youngsters and a welcome diversion for their oldsters.
Posted Oct 14, 2021
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His Girl Friday
(1940)
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Herbert Cohn
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So long as Hollywood is determined to have remakes, may they follow in the footsteps of His Girl Friday.
Posted Oct 14, 2021
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Sunset Blvd.
(1950)
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Jane Corby
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Sunset Boulevard is like no other picture that was ever made. They threw away all the old patterns when they made this one.
Posted Oct 11, 2021
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Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
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Herbert Cohn
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Miss Tierney has the dramatic plum in Leave Her to Heaven and plays it earnestly. Her supporting cast, though, including [Cornel Wild, Jeanne Crain, Darryl Hickman, and Vincent Price], are equally artful.
Posted Sep 29, 2021
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Them!
(1954)
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Julian Fox
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The implausible idea and the thin story pervade the entire production despite good performances by Edmund Gwenn and James Whitmore.
Posted Sep 28, 2021
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The Thing
(1951)
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Jane Corby
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This reviewer actually jumped twice while watching The Thing. That's how tense and tingling and unexpected Howard Hawks has made this fascinating picture.
Posted Sep 21, 2021
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The Little Fugitive
(1953)
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Jane Corby
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It's pretty sure to win the hearts of all who see it.
Posted Sep 16, 2021
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