REVIEW: Nocturnal Animals

Directed by Tom Ford
2016 Drama, thriller
1 hour 56 minutes
From Focus Features

Starring
Amy Adams
Jake Gyllenhaal
Michael Shannon
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Armie Hammer
Isla Fisher
Karl Glusman
Michael Sheen
Laura Linney

REVIEW: Allied

Directed by Robert Zemeckis
2016 Romance War Drama
2 hours 4 minutes
From Paramount Pictures

Starring
Brad Pitt
Marion Cotillard
Jared Harris
Simon McBurney
Lizzy Caplan
Daniel Betts
August Diehl
Matthew Goode

Good 40s Films: East Side, West Side

1949 Drama

From MGM

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring

Barbara Stanwyck

James Mason

Van Heflin

Ava Gardner

Cyd Charisse

Nancy Davis

Gale Sondergaard

William Conrad

Beverly Michaels

Douglas Kennedy

William Frawley

The Directors: Michael Curtiz

He was one of the most prolific directors Hollywood ever had. One of the great workhorses, his output, especially in Hollywood's Golden Age, is simply incredible. Though his last film was in 1961, there would be precious few today who are unaware of quite a cache of his films.  You may not know he directed them and some of you may not have heard of him, but you know the films.

REVIEW: Loving

Directed by Jeff Nichols
2016 Biographical Drama
2 hours 3 minutes
From Focus Features

Starring
Joel Edgerton
Ruth Negga
Will Dalton
Terri Abney
Marton Csokas
Nick Kroll
Michael Shannon

B Leading Men II

These two B leading men, Paul Douglas and Broderick Crawford, have a few things in common.  One is that their leading men status alternated with second leads. Both were burly and loud and gruff. They were born in the same city.  And they shared a famous role, that of uncouth junkyard tycoon, Harry Brock, in the comedy Born Yesterday.  Douglas played the part on Broadway and Crawford in the film.  Let's fill in the stats:

Good 40s Films: A Letter to Three Wives

1949 Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz

Starring
Jeanne Crain
Linda Darnell
Ann Sothern
Kirk Douglas
Paul Douglas
Jeffrey Lynn
Thelma Ritter
Barbara Lawrence
Connie Gilchrist

Character Actors: Woolley & Gomez

It's not a stretch to conclude that Monty Woolley and Thomas Gomez had a few things in common.  Both were born in New York City around the turn of the last century, both were accomplished stage actors before becoming movie performers, they were character actors who were highly-skilled scene-stealers, they were on the round side and both were gay although they conducted their lives far differently.

Mr. Reliable: Joseph Cotten

His longtime pal and discoverer, Orson Welles, once told Jo Cotten that he wasn't sure if he would be a very good actor but he was bound to become a big movie star.  Cotten certainly appeared in a number of important movies but I am not sure that I would include him in the ranks of the big movie stars.  To be frank, I thought he could be a bit colorless. I wish he'd played against type more. Watching a number of his films over the years, I found myself thinking of who I might have rather seen in his role.

Good 40s Films: The Postman Always Rings Twice

1946 Film Noir
From MGM
Directed by Tay Garnett

Starring
Lana Turner
John Garfield
Cecil Kellaway
Hume Cronyn
Leon Ames
Audrey Totter
Alan Reed
Jeff York