A Night To Remember (1942)

Directed by: Richard Wallace
Written by: Richard Flournoy + Jack Henley
Starring: Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Jeff Donnell, William Wright, Sidney Toller, Gale Sondergaard, Donald MacBride, Lee Patrick

In this quaint, serviceable comedy, a mystery writer and his wife move into a basement apartment at 13 Gay Street in Greenwich Village. The whole house has a sinister air and the other tenants seem hostile and frightened. The discovery of a murdered body outside the couple's back door doesn't help the atmosphere.

What this film really is is a knock-off of the popular 'Thin Man' series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. 'A Night to Remember' tries to reproduce the witty banter and screwball crime solving done so wonderfully in those films, and it is only somewhat successful.

Young and Aherne have good chemistry, and the supporting actors are all game, but most of the humor is forced, and the mystery, taking a backseat to the comic antics, is only somewhat intriguing and borders on implausible. The cinematography is pretty good, making the dark shadows of the apartment sinister, but the entire production reeks from budget constraints and looks cheap.

Final Verdict: If you've seen the brilliant first three 'Thin Man' films, don't bother with this one. You've already seen the best and you'll be disappointed here. However, if you haven't seen them yet, check this out, and then rent 'The Thin Man' movies and you'll appreciate them so much more.

The Window (1949)

Directed by: Ted Tetzlaff
Written by: Cornell Woolrich; Mel Dinelli
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman

Now here is a great little film! I've been wanting to watch this for a couple years now, but since it is unavailable on DVD or VHS, it was impossible. Thank goodness for Turner Class Movies!

The story is simple. A little boy has a bad habit of making up wild stories to impress his friends and family. When he's sleeping out on his fire escape one sweltering summer night, he witnesses his upstairs neighbors murder a man. When he tells his mother and father, not surprisingly, they think he's making it all up or that he's had a bad dream. When the killers upstairs get wind that the little boy knows about their crime, the decide to kill him. So it's up to the boy to prove he's not lying and evade the killers.

'The Window' has many things in common with the much better known 'Rear Window.' For one thing, they're both based off of short stories written by Cornell Woolrich. Themes of voyeurism, murder, urban paranoia, and being trapped and defenseless dominate both films. 'Rear Window' is clearly the better film all around, but 'The Window' deserves to be released on DVD so it can be rediscovered and celebrated for the tight, compelling, suspenseful noir classic that it is.



Final Verdict: See It

Ladies In Retirement (1941)

Directed by: Charles Vidor
Written by: Reginald Denham
Starring: Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett, Isobel Elsom

This fog-shrouded Victorian era film stars Ida Lupino as Ellen Creed, the housekeeper to Leonora Fiske, a retired actress in a remote country house. One day she receives a distressing letter from London. Her two eccentric step-sisters, Emily (Lanchester) and Louisa (Barrett) are about to be evicted from their lodgings. Ellen convinces Leonora to let her step sisters stay with her. She agrees, but only for a short time.

When the dark, serious Emily and the flighty, nervous Louisa arrive they do nothing but unnerve Leonora. They're not only eccentric, they're absolutely certifiable. Ellen keeps the fact that the sisters will be committed to an insane asylum if they do not remain under Ellen's care a secret. When Leonora demands that the sisters leave the house, along with Ellen, Ellen must resort to desperate measures to assure that her family stick together. And the desperate measure? Murder.

Throw in Louis Hayward as Albert, a handsome, untrustworthy vagabond, Evelyn Keyes as Leonora's suspicious maid, and two intrusive nuns, and Ellen's problems have only just begun.

This film was clearly adapted from a play. It all takes place in and around Leonora's country house. But the staginess never gets in the way of the witty script and the great performances from Lupino and Hayward. But it's the always wonderful Elsa Lanchester who steals the show.

So if you're in the mood for fun fog shrouded suspense, watch 'Ladies In Retirement.'



Final Verdict: See It