The Lost Moment (1947)

No. 109 Starring Robert Cummings; Susan Hayward; and an unrecognizable Agnes Moorhead under many layers of ancient-lady makeup. This goth melodrama romance features the plot of a really really slow heist -- who will get the letters? Where are the letters? Offbeat but kind of enjoyable. At one point I thought, this movie has to end in fire, right? And ... spoiler: it does, but not quite in the usual way. It's based on a Henry James novella. A lot of the gothic tropes are not used or explored in the expected ways ... which I found interesting. But overall the extreme melodrama was laughable at times.

Roman Holiday (1953)

No. 108 stars Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and the city of Rome. While it runs a little slowly in the first half, the second half delights. Costumes by Edith Head are a true highlight.

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Another train movie! This Hitchcock film was A+ and so much train action. The star Margaret Lockwood is great. All the gents are cads in this movie though ... Sigh.

The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960)

No. 106. This comedy-war picture stars Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson. There was not enough "wacky" for my taste. And there was definitely too much underwater photography -- the filmmakers were obviously in love with some new technology! Too many tragic war scenes dampened any enjoyment of the comedic elements ... Not recommended.

Borrowed Wives (1930)

No. 105. Borrowed Wives (1930): odd, mediocre comedy that felt like the script was being written as they were filming. Thank goodness it was short! 1 hr 2 mins. A mountain lion is included for some unfathomable reason. Not recommended.

A Night to Remember (1942)

No. 104. This romp stars Loretta Young: it's a madcap comedy smashed together with a murder mystery-thriller. I'm not sure I like that genre: murder isn't funny to me ...

She is so beautiful that I want to like every movie she's in, but I couldn't like this one: so murdery.

The Great Train Robbery (1978)

No. 103. This flick starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland is "amiable enough," as one critic wrote, but this Michael Crichton project suffered from too much laborious dialogue and the common use and abuse of the woman co-star as a sex object. Not recommended.

 

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

No. 102: British disaster flick that is a paragon of the genre. The Cold War fear was intense. Actors are all fabulous. Effects are gritty and realistic.

The Rage of Paris (1938)

Might as well keep going! No. 101: The Rage of Paris (1938) stars Danielle Darrieux and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Her comedic talent blazes on the screen, but I think she mostly made dramas in Europe. The plot of this movie is twisted, so I'm not a fan: kidnap a woman twice and she will surely fall in love with you. Ugh!

Rome Express (1932)

No. 100! I set myself a goal to watch and blog about 100 old movies and I did it! Rome Express is a 1932 British thriller directed by Walter Forde, starring Esther Ralston as the glowing starlet and Conrad Veidt as the evilest of evil vile criminals. It's the original of another train movie I watched during my binge. It's pretty good except for the absolutely incessant smoking. Gag. The ensemble cast was very good, with each actor having at least one memorable scene showing their acting chops. The train shots were great! 

Sinners in Paradise (1938)

No. 99 is an American south seas adventure film directed by James Whale. The ensemble cast includes Madge Evans, John Boles, Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin, and Gene Lockhart. The casual racism is tough to take. Not recommended.

The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939)

No. 98 stars Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas. Comedy-romance-mystery and police-procedural. I'm watching movies lately that are A LOT. It was okay. A little madcap for my current mood. But I'm definitely a Joan Blondell fan.

Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)

No. 97: Starring Nancy Carroll, Jack Benny & large ensemble cast. A cruise ship murder mystery, comedy, musical romance! It was kind of all over the place, with a Busby Berkeley-esque musical number thrown in for good measure. A ship FULL of criminals, so it was hard to find a sympathetic character to root for. Oh, and the ubiquitous drunk (shown in so many 1930s travel movies!) was in almost every scene. An odd mashup that wasn't my cup of tea. One acrobatic dance sequence gave me the heebie-jeebies because they werebliterally throwing women around. 😮

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

No. 96 had to feature Barbara Stanwyck. There's never enough Barbara for me. She's amazing in this film noir as the strung out invalid who heard a murder plot on the phone by accident. I wasn't going to watch anymore noir for a while because it's so intense and every character is so evil, but this flick almost seemed like a spoof of the genre at times -- so over the top -- that I actually laughed aloud at the final line. Oops. Sorry to the filmmakers. 😜😂😂😂