Big Sleep, The (1946)

“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings.”

Synopsis:
Private eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to take care of a man blackmailing his nymphomaniac daughter (Martha Vickers); meanwhile, her older sister (Lauren Bacall) [...]

Face of Fu Manchu, The (1965)

“He’s cruel, callous, and brilliant — and the most evil and dangerous man in the world.”

Long Goodbye, The (1973)

“It’s okay with me.”

Synopsis:
Private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) drives his old friend (Jim Bouton) to Tijuana in the middle of the night, only to unexpectedly find himself embroiled in a complex plot involving murder, missing money, and an alcoholic writer (Sterling Hayden) with a concerned wife (Nina van Pallandt).

Genres:

Detectives and Private Eyes
Literature Adaptation
Los Angeles
Murder [...]

Command, The (1954)

“I’ve got a uniform and a conscience. Right now, the uniform covers the conscience.”

Synopsis:
A calvalry doctor (Guy Madison) reluctantly takes command of a troop when its officer dies, and must hide his real identity when asked to help Infantrymen escort a wagon train through hostile Indian territory.

Genres:

Cavalry
Doctors and Nurses
Mistaken Identities
Westerns

Review:
Samuel Fuller co-wrote the screenplay [...]

Nashville (1975)

“Well, that’s the price of success, I guess.”

Synopsis:
On the eve of America’s bicentennial celebration, a diverse group of aspiring and successful performers interact with one another in Nashville, while preparations for a political rally ensue in the background.

Genres:

Aspiring Stars
Ensemble Cast
Musicals
Musicians
Robert Altman Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary refers to this classic Altman ensemble flick as a [...]

Magic Box, The (1951)

“You don’t see other people; you see colors, filters, little bits of machinery, and that’s the world for you!”

Synopsis:
British inventor William Friese-Greene (Robert Donat) reflects on his lifelong attempt to develop a “moving pictures camera” — a single-minded pursuit which leads to a life of poverty, and provokes both pride and anxiety in his two [...]

Girl in Every Port, A (1928)

“That big ox means more to me than any woman.”

Synopsis:
A pair of happily brawling sailors named Spike (Victor McLaglen) and Salami (Robert Armstrong) find their friendship at risk when Spike falls for a wily golddigger (Louise Brooks) in Marseilles.

Genres:

Comedy
Friendship
Gold Diggers
Howard Hawks Films
Louise Brooks Films
Rivalry
Sailors
Silent Films

Review:
Howard Hawks’ silent-era buddy comedy is an enjoyable harbinger of [...]

Smile (1975)

“Boys get money and scholarships for making a lot of touchdowns, right? Why shouldn’t a girl get one for being cute and charming?”

Synopsis:
A group of teenage beauty queens — including Miss Anaheim (Annette O’Toole) and Miss Antelope Valley (Robin Gibson) — compete in California’s Young American Miss Pageant.

Genres:

Beauty Contests
Satires and Spoofs
Small Town America

Review:
Smile — [...]

Paradise Alley / Stars in the Back Yard (1962)

“Everything in life is an illusion.”

Synopsis:
A once-famous director (Hugo Haas) moves to a condemned housing project and decides to cast his quibbling neighbors in a documentary-style movie — without using film.

Genres:

Do-Gooders
Has-Beens
Hugo Haas Films
Movie Directors

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary begins his review of Paradise Alley by commenting on director Hugo Haas’s unique claim-to-fame as a “genuine [...]

Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943)

“You laugh at my big belly, but you don’t know how I got it! You laugh at my mustache, but you don’t know why I grew it!”

Synopsis:
A British colonel (Roger Livesey) reflects on his long career in the military, his friendship with a sympathetic German officer (Anton Walbrook), and his love for two look-alike women [...]