Tuesday: Double Dynamite (1951)
Johnny works at a bank with his girlfriend Mibs. They want to get married but he wants to be making more money before they do. He is passed over for a promotion. One day Johnny saves the life of a leader of a gang. The leader wants to repay Johnny. So he gives Johnny money and then bets the money for him. Johnny ends up winning a lot of money. Enough to get married and then some. But no one believes his story about winning it from a bet. Mibs thinks he is just making it up. His friend Emile thinks he stole it from the bank. On the same day Johnny wins the money there is a huge discrepancy at the bank. The bank manager believes it was one of the employees who stole it. Johnny gets help from Emile to hid the money he won and tries not to get caught. I liked this movie ok. It was entertaining. Emile is played by Groucho Marx. He does not have his iconic eyebrows so it took be a minute to recognize him. He still does his eye roll. You can tell he's trying not to but it's just a habit. Although this movie is a comedy it is not like the comedies he has done before. He was trying something new. Frank Sinatra played Johnny, and of course he sings. Mibs is really annoying and a little bit stupid.
Wednesday: Five Easy Pieces (1970)
This movie is about a man named Robert who works on an oil rig. He is moody and dissatisfied with his life. He comes from a wealthy family. Everyone in is family, including him, are talented pianists. Robert's sister tells him that his dad is not doing well. So he goes home to see him. Robert doesn't fit in at home and it makes him unhappy to be there. I didn't like this movie. Nothing really happens. There was loud music over dialogue. It was hard to hear what was being said. Some of the characters mumbled.
Thursday: While the City Sleeps (1956)
There is a serial killer killing women in the city. The authorities are having a hard time finding him. The major newspaper comes under new management. Walter inherits the paper from his father. He doesn't want to be too involved. He decides to start a competition between the three heads of the newspaper. Whoever gets the scoop on the killer (called the Lipstick Killer because of a message left in lipstick) will become the head of the paper. Edward, an anchorman associated with the paper, helps the editor Griffith get the scoop by using his connections with the cops. The other competitors Loving and "Honest" Harry try to get the scoop with limited success. We see the killer from the beginning so we know who it is. We just watch them figuring it out. I don't really like that set up in a mystery. You already know the killer. So there is no real mystery. That being said it was a good movie.
Friday: The Farewell (2019)
Billi is young Chinese woman living in New York. Her family finds out that her grandma is dying of cancer. They decide not to tell her. As an excuse to see her they put on a fake wedding between Billi's cousin and his girlfriend in China. They all have to control their emotions around the grandma. They can't let on that anything is wrong. This a comedy and drama. I liked this movie ok. Some of it was a little slow. There was random shots of the city with loud classical music playing. I do like that it was an all Asian cast. Awkwafina plays Billi. She does a good job. It's nice to see her in a more dramatic role.
Sunday: Les Girls (1957)
This musical is about three former dancers in a variety show. Sybil has written a book where she claims Angele tried to kill herself in their apartment after losing the affection of her lover. Angele says this isn't true and is suing Sybil. We see what happened in their show days in flashbacks. Sybil tells the story of how Angele had an affair with their director/co-star Barry even though she was engaged to another man. It was fine until her fiancé showed up. Barry is upset and rejects her. Sybil finds her in their apartment with the gas turned on. Angele denies this. In her testimony she tells the story from her perspective. Sybil was a drunk. To keep her from getting fired Angele tell Barry that Sybil does all this because she is in love with him. He wants to help her. They fall in love. But she also has a man who believes they are engaged. She is also later found in the apartment with the gas on. Then Barry comes in and tells his side of the story. It proves both of their stories to be wrong. I liked this movie a lot. You can't go wrong with a 50s musical in color starring Gene Kelly (Barry). I am determined to see all of Gene Kelly's movies. It is proving difficult. TCM, where I watch most of these older movies, doesn't play a lot of his films.
Johnny works at a bank with his girlfriend Mibs. They want to get married but he wants to be making more money before they do. He is passed over for a promotion. One day Johnny saves the life of a leader of a gang. The leader wants to repay Johnny. So he gives Johnny money and then bets the money for him. Johnny ends up winning a lot of money. Enough to get married and then some. But no one believes his story about winning it from a bet. Mibs thinks he is just making it up. His friend Emile thinks he stole it from the bank. On the same day Johnny wins the money there is a huge discrepancy at the bank. The bank manager believes it was one of the employees who stole it. Johnny gets help from Emile to hid the money he won and tries not to get caught. I liked this movie ok. It was entertaining. Emile is played by Groucho Marx. He does not have his iconic eyebrows so it took be a minute to recognize him. He still does his eye roll. You can tell he's trying not to but it's just a habit. Although this movie is a comedy it is not like the comedies he has done before. He was trying something new. Frank Sinatra played Johnny, and of course he sings. Mibs is really annoying and a little bit stupid.
Wednesday: Five Easy Pieces (1970)
This movie is about a man named Robert who works on an oil rig. He is moody and dissatisfied with his life. He comes from a wealthy family. Everyone in is family, including him, are talented pianists. Robert's sister tells him that his dad is not doing well. So he goes home to see him. Robert doesn't fit in at home and it makes him unhappy to be there. I didn't like this movie. Nothing really happens. There was loud music over dialogue. It was hard to hear what was being said. Some of the characters mumbled.
Thursday: While the City Sleeps (1956)
There is a serial killer killing women in the city. The authorities are having a hard time finding him. The major newspaper comes under new management. Walter inherits the paper from his father. He doesn't want to be too involved. He decides to start a competition between the three heads of the newspaper. Whoever gets the scoop on the killer (called the Lipstick Killer because of a message left in lipstick) will become the head of the paper. Edward, an anchorman associated with the paper, helps the editor Griffith get the scoop by using his connections with the cops. The other competitors Loving and "Honest" Harry try to get the scoop with limited success. We see the killer from the beginning so we know who it is. We just watch them figuring it out. I don't really like that set up in a mystery. You already know the killer. So there is no real mystery. That being said it was a good movie.
Friday: The Farewell (2019)
Billi is young Chinese woman living in New York. Her family finds out that her grandma is dying of cancer. They decide not to tell her. As an excuse to see her they put on a fake wedding between Billi's cousin and his girlfriend in China. They all have to control their emotions around the grandma. They can't let on that anything is wrong. This a comedy and drama. I liked this movie ok. Some of it was a little slow. There was random shots of the city with loud classical music playing. I do like that it was an all Asian cast. Awkwafina plays Billi. She does a good job. It's nice to see her in a more dramatic role.
Sunday: Les Girls (1957)
This musical is about three former dancers in a variety show. Sybil has written a book where she claims Angele tried to kill herself in their apartment after losing the affection of her lover. Angele says this isn't true and is suing Sybil. We see what happened in their show days in flashbacks. Sybil tells the story of how Angele had an affair with their director/co-star Barry even though she was engaged to another man. It was fine until her fiancé showed up. Barry is upset and rejects her. Sybil finds her in their apartment with the gas turned on. Angele denies this. In her testimony she tells the story from her perspective. Sybil was a drunk. To keep her from getting fired Angele tell Barry that Sybil does all this because she is in love with him. He wants to help her. They fall in love. But she also has a man who believes they are engaged. She is also later found in the apartment with the gas on. Then Barry comes in and tells his side of the story. It proves both of their stories to be wrong. I liked this movie a lot. You can't go wrong with a 50s musical in color starring Gene Kelly (Barry). I am determined to see all of Gene Kelly's movies. It is proving difficult. TCM, where I watch most of these older movies, doesn't play a lot of his films.
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