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Synopsis:
During his marriage to a golden-haired Philistine named Semadar (Angela Lansbury), a supernaturally strong Hebrew named Samson (Victor Mature) begins a fight with guests over a gambling debts, which leads to Lansbury’s death. Samson — an active fighter against the Philistines, and hero of his people — is soon hunted down not only by a wily ruler (George Sanders) but Semadar’s cunning sister Delilah (Hedy Lamarr), who covets him and will stop at nothing to seek vengeance for his initial rejection of her.

Genres:

• Angela Lansbury Films
• Biblical Stories
• Cecil B. DeMille Films
• Femme Fatales
• George Sanders Films
• Hedy Lamarr Films
• Historical Drama
• Love Triangle
• Obsessive Love
• Revenge
• Victor Mature Films

Review:
This Technicolor extravaganza by Cecil B. DeMille was not only the highest-grossing film of 1950, but was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two (Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design). Unfortunately, the look of this film is its best feature by far: the storyline (based on a fairly short passage from the book of Judges) is overly long (Lansbury’s character was added to provide motivation for Delilah’s betrayal)…

… slow-moving, and not all that involving. (As Dave Sindelair puts it, “the actors are saddled with a script that is as fast-moving as a sleepy turtle and as agile as a three-legged elephant”.) Speaking of the actors, they’re in solid melodramatic territory here, mouthing hoary lines while looking gorgeous (especially Lamarr, and especially in the newly released Blu-Ray edition).

Those in the mood for a lavish, colorful, visual feast with plenty of extras and elaborate sets may enjoy this one, but it’s not on a par with more engaging mid-century Biblical epics.

Note: The most exciting sequence in this film occurs during the last few minutes, and it is indeed worth viewing. (Check Wikipedia for details about its filming; it took a year to shoot and cost $150,000.)

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Vibrant Technicolor cinematography, sets, and costumes
  
  
• The exciting final sequence
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article
• SciFilm Review
• Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review

Synopsis:
A showgirl (Lucille Ball) is hired by a detective (Charles Coburn) at Scotland Yard to track down a mysterious serial killer who solicits beautiful girls through personal ads. Thankfully, she’s shadowed by a helpful assistant (George Zucco) as she navigates a frightful encounter with a mad designer (Boris Karloff), is hired as a maid by a man (Joseph Calleia) whose leering butler (Alan Mowbray) makes continuous advances at her, then falls in love with a suave dancehall owner (George Sanders) whose faithful business partner (Cedric Hardwicke) remains calm and collected at all times.

Genres:

• Boris Karloff Films
• Charles Coburn Films
• Detectives and Private Eyes
• Douglas Sirk Films
• George Sanders Films
• Lucille Ball Films
• Serial Killers
• Strong Females
• Undercover Cops and Agents

Review:
Douglas Sirk directed this quirky, atmospheric whodunit starring pre-I Love Lucy Lucille Ball (in her 73rd film!) as a plucky dancer willing to put her life at risk to help catch a murderer — and hired surprisingly quickly by Scotland Yard to do so.

Perhaps due to Ball’s irrepressible penchant for comedic delivery, I found the film’s tone a bit uneven — and the rat-a-tat roster of characters coming and going (wait, was that Boris Karloff on-screen for just 10 minutes?!):

…makes it a tad challenging to keep up with what’s what and who’s who. However, some may find this unusual film to their liking; as described by TCM’s reviewer Jay Carr:

Lured is a delicious plum pudding of a cult movie dating from before the term was used to describe that tangy sector of pop culture heaven, or, for that matter, before pop culture entered the lexicon.

Meanwhile, William Daniels’ cinematography is consistently engaging, as are Ball’s gowns.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• 
  
  
• Fine gowns for Ms. Ball
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a Ball fan, or curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• Moria Review

Synopsis:
A Texas ranger (Gary Cooper) hoping to arrest a murderous trapper (George Bancroft) travels to the northwest prairies of Canada, where he encounters a band of mounted police about to fight a rebellion by native peoples and “half-breed” locals led by Louis Riel (Francis McDonald). Loyalties become complicated when Cooper falls for a beautiful nurse (Madeleine Carroll) whose brother (Robert Preston) is enamored with Bancroft’s manipulative daughter (Paulette Goddard); meanwhile, Goddard will stop at nothing to defend both her people and the man she’s obsessively in love with (Preston), and a Mountie (Preston Foster) hoping to marry Carroll resents Cooper’s presence.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Akim Tamiroff Films
• Cecil B. DeMille Films
• Cross-Cultural Romance
• Gary Cooper Films
• George Bancroft Films
• Historical Drama
• Lon Chaney, Jr. Films
• Love Triangle
• Madeleine Carroll Films
• Native Peoples
• Paulette Goddard Films
• Preston Foster Films
• Revolutionaries
• Robert Preston Films
• Westerns

Review:
Cecil B. DeMille directed this Technicolor blockbuster by Paramount Studios, based on a real-life rebellion taking place in Saskatchewan, Canada in the late 1880s. It was soundly lambasted by Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss in their book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and How They Got That Way) (1978), and while it doesn’t quite merit that label, it is pretty lame — thanks primarily to Goddard’s god-awful performance as a “half-breed” femme fatale:

… but also to Cooper’s aw-shucks western presence in a film depicting a momentous Canadian event.

The “comic relief” of a red-headed Scotsman (Lynne Overman) wearing a tam-o-shanter that plays a critical role in a later scene:

… and “immortal dialogue” such as the following:

Preston: “You’re the sweetest poison that ever got into a man’s blood!”

Goddard: “I love you so terrible bad I feel good.”

Carroll: “Oh, Dusty — you’re an angel in leather!”
Cooper: “Heh… I’d look funny with leather wings.”

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Fine Technicolor cinematography and sets
  
  

Must See?
Nope; you can skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry

Synopsis:
A bonds salesman (Macdonald Carey) recounts the story of his second cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Betty Field), who married a womanizing wealthy man (Barry Sullivan) rather than wait for her true love — Jay Gatsby (Alan Ladd) — to return from World War I and make a name for himself. Eleven years later, bootlegger Gatsby purchases a home near Daisy, determined to win back her love; meanwhile, Sullivan carries on an affair with the unhappy wife (Shelley Winters) of a garage shop owner (Howard Da Silva).

Genres:

• Alan Ladd Films
• Betty Field Films
• Elisha Cook Jr. Films
• Obsessive Love
• Shelley Winters Films

Review:
Other than a lost silent film from 1926, this hard-to-find flick — made after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s death, but before his book became such a widely-read staple in American high schools — is notable as the first cinematic attempt to translate this classic novel for the screen. Alan Ladd is well-cast as the title character, a self-made millionaire whose love for a “careless” socialite becomes his downfall. Unfortunately, the film itself is rather forgettable, deviating from the novel in its focus on Gatsby’s hard-scrabble past and criminal background as a bootlegger (Elisha Cook, Jr. shows up as one of his employees), and highlighting the potential romance between Nick Carraway (Carey) and a cynical golfer-friend (Ruth Hussey) of the Buchanans. This adaptation remains permanently overshadowed by the big-budget version — co-starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow — released in 1974, which unfortunately also fails to “do justice” to the book and its enduring themes.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• John Seitz’s cinematography
  

Must See?
No; this one is simply a curiosity for those interested in seeing all available adaptations of the novel.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review