The Ghost Train - 1941 - UK

The Ghost Train - 1941 - 5/10

 
Owing to an absurd delay, eight passengers are stranded lonely train station.
Middle of nowhere, rain pouring in buckets.  Worse, there’s a legend of a ghost train.
And death associated with it.
Decent thriller marred (ruined) by Arthur Askey’s ridiculous shtick.
His antics grow more insufferable with each (frequent) scene he is in.
I need to track down the earlier version.  This one misses the spot.

Suspicion - 1941 - USA

Suspicion - 1941 - 6/10

 
Lina is swept off her feet by Johnnie, very flashy playboy.
Johnnie is a bon vivant, a friendly rake, and, as Lina learns after an impulsive marriage, penniless.
Cary Grant the beguiling confidence man, whom Hitchcock wisely keeps ambiguous.
A quiet thriller throughout, teasing audiences with preconceptions of Grant during this era.
Joan Fontaine matches him with a brittle performance.
Unsure how bygone snap marriage films are perceived by modern, commitment phobic audiences.

Confessions Of Boston Blackie - 1941 - USA

Confessions Of Boston Blackie - 1941 - 6/10

 
A counterfeit statue, an auction gone awry, exchange of bullets, a death.
Who is in attendance?  Inspector Farraday.  And who does he suspect?
As always, brisk B-film, packed with action and banter.
In this, Blackie’s “ex” surfaces, to shake him down for money.
Otherwise, Runt and George Manleder return to give Blackie inadequate assistance.
Formula fun.  If you missed something, you didn’t miss much.

A Christmas Carol - 1941 - USA

A Christmas Carol - 1941 - 6/10

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A radio perennial that aired regularly for decades before fading away.
Ronald Colman makes a crisp Ebenezer Scrooge, bolstered with assorted supporting actors and musical accompaniment.
What is surprising is how much of the Dickens tale is distilled into a half hour.
My ancient vinyl is paired with the Christmas section of “The Pickwick Papers” read by Charles Laughton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RmnelkRvfk

No Hands On The Clock - 1941 - USA

No Hands On The Clock - 1941 - 6/10  

 
Private eye Humphrey, on his honeymoon in Reno, is tasked with finding a missing man.
Several shady ladies fuel his new bride’s jealousy, while mobsters try to rub him out.
There are also scattered murders, suspicious cops, and FBI agents.
Pre-Boston Blackie Chester Morris glides effortlessly through muddled, percolating script.
I never knew what happened to the son, or why gangsters assumed Humphrey was one of them.
Jean Parker, as the new bride, makes a great foil to Chester.
Typical B-film:  fun, forgettable.

Meet Boston Blackie - 1941 - USA

Meet Boston Blackie - 1941 - 6/10

 
First of a long running series is a solid mystery, boasting pre-Noir photography.
Chester Morris is the breezy Blackie, reformed thief (although his main nemesis, Inspector Farraday, never believes that).
In between romancing attractive females and damsels in distress, Blackie solves the crime de jour.
This outing, Nazi spies and German submarines out beyond Coney Island.
No great shakes, but engaging and entertaining.

Horror Island - 1941 - USA

Horror Island - 1941 - 5/10

 
Aaarrr!   Ahoy, mateys, reckon there be pirate’s gold out there on Morgan’s Island!
Young Bill, a college boy, owns a deserted rock off of Florida.
He acquires half of a treasure map that may, or may not, be authentic.
Who cares!  He charts a vessel and ferries paying suckers on treasure hunts.
Typical B-film from Universal has assorted characters mixing mysteries, scares, yucks and romance.
The atmosphere stand outs.  Solid choice for lovers of cheap quickies.
A favorite video of mine for late night dates, this usually yielded good results.

The Devil And Miss Jones - 1941 - USA

The Devil And Miss Jones - 1941 - 6/10

 
Union organizers, whether at your local Starbucks, or decades earlier in the department store.
Most bosses just want these headaches quelled.  By the quickest means.  Usually firing.
Unlike most overlords, Mr. Merrick is a hands on kinda guy, and he goes undercover.
He is now the new shoe salesman, and a poor one at that, but befriended by – gasp! – those union types.
Feel good comedy is a product of its times (the Depression) and gets too schmaltzy.
Best to see for the leads, who are fun.
When everyone has an IRA or 401k, sympathy for the underpaid working class seems diminished.

Never Give A Sucker An Even Break - 1941 - USA

Never Give A Sucker An Even Break - 1941 - 7/10

 
The Great Man (Fields) attempts to pitch his new film idea to a studio honcho.
Of course, there is no idea, no concept, no wall of post-it notes.
Rather, he improvises as he drones, to the consternation of his exasperated listener.
Utterly original, surreal film, stuffed with daffy antics.
From Squidulum to the rear observation deck on the airplane.
Using the Marx Brothers’ foil Margaret Dumont proves inspired casting, to boot.
Alas, this would be Fields last starring feature, as Paramount dropped him for Abbott & Costello.

Footsteps In The Dark - 1941 - USA

Footsteps In The Dark - 1941 - 6/10

 
Comedy - mystery starring Errol Flynn proves a fun change of pace for Warners’ action hero.
Investment broker pens best selling mystery novel under pseudonym.
Next he sets off solving real crimes, on the sly, with suspicious wife on his heels.
Breezy, lightweight, brisk paced fluff with solid Warners’ regulars in support.
Flynn and Brenda Marshall show genuine chemistry, and this might have made a good series.

I Wake Up Screaming - 1941

I Wake Up Screaming - 1941 - 7/10

A rising socialite is found murdered! Prime suspects - her sportswriter boyfriend and her own sister.
The detective in charge is convinced of the boyfriend’s guilt and he begins to grind him down.
Highly influential, half forgotten thriller / mystery filled with flashbacks, pungent dialogue and pursuits.
For me, this is where the American "look” of Film Noir begins.

The story and characters are not Noir, however. Time is still, barely, pre World War II.
Returning G.I.s would carry disillusionment and a grimmer outlook. The tone of this harks to an earlier time.
An underrated Victor Mature fine as the cornered sportswriter.
Betty Grable, before her mass popularity, radiant as lush American good girl.
The star, though, is Laird Cregar (only 24, looks older), tackle sized with purring voice.

Cregar, and brilliantly stylized camera work. I Wake Up Screaming is packed with angles, shadows, and inventive camera movement.
DVD has outstanding commentary by Eddie Muller: anecdotes, histories, tragic lives of Cregar and Landis.