1947 - Top 30

1. Out of the Past
2. Lady From Shanghai
3. The Bishops Wife
4. They made me a fugitive
5. The Macomber Affair
6. Kiss of Death
7. Captain from Castille
8. Perils of Pauline
9. Fun and Fancy Free (Disney)
10. A double life

Comedy

1. My Favorite Brunette
2. Life with Father
3. Road to Rio
4. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
5. The Egg and I 
6. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
7. Miracle on 34th Street

British

1. Odd Man Out
2. Black Narcissus
3. Nicholas Nickleby
4. Brighton Rock

Foreign

1. Quai des Orfevres

Western

1. Unconquered
2. Angel and the Badman

Musical

1. Mother Wore Tights (Betty Grable)
2. Secret Life of Walter Mitty
3. My Wild Irish Rose
4. Good News
5. I Wonder Who's Kissing her now?

Marriage Italian Style (1964)

Pros: Acting, Loren, good script, good direction.

Cons: the print on the DVD was awful, although the no subtitles version was better.

Very enjoyable Italian comedy, an excellent showcase for Sophia Loren who's very charming and attractive. Not as funny as "Divorce Italian Style" but still pretty good. Rating ***

American Graffiti (1973) Lucas

Pros: Acting, Direction, sound track

Cons: Unnecessary postscript (Boomer self-pity alert)

Very funny comedy which follows a group of US small town teenagers one night in 1962 California. Richard Dreyfus and Ron Howard are about to leave for college while Paul Le Mat and Charles Smith have adventures cruising the strip.

Lucas interweaves a great soundtrack full of classic 50s rock and shows off some great 50s/early 60s cars. I think this shows Lucas could have been more than just Mr. Star Wars/Raiders of the Lost Ark. Strangely, Paul Le Mat puts in the best performance but Howard, Dreyfuss, and Cindy Williams all went on to be more famous. Not to mention bit player Harrison Ford.

Other highlights include, Bo Hopkins as the hilarious "Pharaohs Gangleader" and Wolfman Jack. Rating ****

1946 - Top 30 Movies

1. The Best Years of Our Lives
2. Notorious
3. Road to Utopia (Comedy)
4. Monsieur Beaucaire (Comedy)
5. Margie (Comedy)
6. Shadows over Chinatown
7. The Time of Their Lives (Comedy)
8. Gilda
9. The Razor's Edge
10. The Dark Corner
11. The Blue Dahlia
12. It's a Wonderful Life
13. The Killers
14. The Big Sleep
15. Battle of the Rails (Documentary)
16. Two Years Before the Mast

British

1. Great Expectations
2. Green for Danger
3. Stairway to Heaven
4. The Adventuress

Foreign

1. Shoeshine
2. Under the Bridges
3. Beauty and the Beast
4. No Regrets for our Youth

Musical

1. Blue Skies
2. Night and Day
3. Till the Clouds Roll By
4. The Kid from Brooklyn

Western

1. My Darling Clementine

The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) Rossellini - Film No 346

Co-stars: Brother Geradi as St. Francis

Plot: The film dramatizes about a dozen vignettes from the life of St. Francis and his early followers.

"The Flowers of St. Francis" is a well-directed, well-acted film that bored me. Its difficult to make a serious movie about Medieval Christianity entertaining or interesting. But that's my own eccentric opinion. I'd rather read about St. Francis than watch a movie about him.

Summary: I found it well-done but dull. Others will probably rate it higher. Rating **1/2

Villa Rides (1968) Buzz Kulik - Film No. 345

Co-stars: Robert Mitchum, Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson

Plot: Mexican rebel Pancho Villa (Brenner) lead a revolution helped by an American aviator (Mitchum) imprisoned in Mexico.

Pros: Scenery, Action scenes, Charles Bronson

Cons: Script, Too long, Brenner isn't very Mexican

Villa Rides is a fairly entertaining Western/Historical drama about the Mexican Revolution. Needless to state its cartoon history and entertainment trumps everything. The script isn't very good. Whenever someone starts shooting its pretty interesting. Whenever they stop its dull. The leads don't help. Mitchum looks sleepy and bored - while Yul seems to thinks he's playing the King of Siam with a Mexican accent. The movie is well shot and the scenery pretty. Bronson, and the Mexican actors are solid.

Summary: An average Shoot-em up about the Mexican Revolution with some good action scenes and production values. Rating **1/2

The Last wagon (1956) Davis - Movie No. 344

Stars: Richard Widmark, Nick Adams, Felicia Farr,

Plot: After surviving an Apache attack, settlers must put their lives in the hands of  "Commanche Todd", who's wanted for murder.

Pros: Location scenery, Widmark, brisk pace, good action scenes

Cons: Underdeveloped supporting characters, perfunctory romance, mediocre script

The Last Wagon is a fairly predictable Western that boasts an excellent performance by Richard Widmark as a hard-bitten, somewhat nasty White man raised by Indians. Widmark was always at his best playing "edgy"characters - and Comanche Todd is about as cuddly as a Bowie Knife. Widmark dominates the movie -and its a good thing too - because none of the supporting characters add much.

 The 3 female characters are pretty look at, but aren't given much to do. Poor Stephanie Griffin (very good-looking but absurdly made-up for someone in a wagon train) gets the whining ninny/racist part, while Susan Kohner plays an Indian maiden who's long on suffering and short on talk. Even Felicia Farr (a sorta love interest) is treated in a perfunctory manner. As for the men, they're forgettable except for Nick Adams who seems very Un-western.

Also, notable are the location shots of Northern Arizona and some well-directed action.

Hollywood Western Cliches

As can be expected in a Delmar Davis film (Broken Arrow), there's a lot of discussion of the Indian way (good) vs. the White man way (bad). The movie also includes three cliches popular in Hollywood after 1950.

•  First, the "half-breed" or white man "raised by Indians" who typifies the best of both groups. Examples: John Wayne in Hondo, Newman in Hombre, McQueen in Nevada Smith and lastly - and most absurdly - Stallone in Rambo. 
•  Second, the Indian wife/girlfriend/mother being killed by white racists (usually in a vile manner) or the US Calvary. Examples: Nevada Smith, Last Train to Gun Hill, Duel at Diablo, Little Big Man, and The Searchers. 
• Lastly, the "Injun Hating" ninny. Normally a secondary character he/she is usually stupid/obnoxious/vapid/crooked and mouths some racist rhetoric without any justification thereby sending us the message that racism is only for stupid/evil people.  Examples: too many movies to list.

Summary: A mediocre script and story made above average by Widmark and some great location shots. Rating ***