SUSPICION (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, 1941). Cary Grant Is A Decidedly Dodgy Geezer And Joan Fontaine His

SUSPICION (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, 1941). 
Cary Grant is a decidedly dodgy geezer and Joan Fontaine his timid bride who suspects him of murder in movie number 11: Suspicion. Let’s be honest; this is not quite top drawer Hitchcock. It is, however, very, very good. Lacking much of the gallows humour and nail-biting set pieces which characterise Hitchcock’s later work, this is still a thoroughly entertaining romantic melodrama-cum-thriller. Some slightly artificial Hollywood sets stand in for the English countryside, but otherwise the whole thing is beautifully shot and expertly played by a stellar cast, especially Nigel Bruce as Grant’s bumbling, naive business partner. Highlights include a grizzly conversation about autopsy over a chicken dinner, a t
ense game of ‘Anagrams’ and the single most suspenseful glass of milk in movie history! Great stuff! 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

BIRDS OF PREY aka THE PERFECT ALIBI (Dir: Basil Dean, 1930).

Birds of Prey, released in the US as The Perfect Alibi, is an early British talkie co-scripted by director / producer Dean and A A Milne.

Based upon Milne’s play The Fourth Wall, this creaky thriller has little of the whimsical charm of Winnie the Pooh. Rather the story concerns the murder investigation, by Frank Lawton and Dorothy Byrd, of their uncle and guardian C Aubrey Smith.

In effect, Birds of Prey is a murder mystery in which the audience know the identity of the murder. As such, its mild thrills are to be gleaned from how and when the killers will be caught. The whole affair is rather jolly and somewhat predictable. However, Nigel Bruce, in a supporting role here as a blustering major, is always entertaining and keep an eye out for an uncredited appearance by future British film legend Jack Hawkins.

100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.

ALL ABOUT EVE (Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1950). Fasten your seatbelts for movie number 9: All About Eve. This backstage drama made cinema history with 14 Oscar nominations, a record it held for almost half a decade until Titanic equalled the feat in 1998. Both Bette Davis and Anne Baxter we’re nominated in the Best Actress category, although both went home empty handed (see previous post). In truth the movie is more of an ensemble piece, with above the title Celeste Holm and George Sanders equally important to the narrative. Mankiewicz’s highly quotable screenplay is witty and waspish by turns and, as director, he elicits excellent performances from the entire cast, including a pre-stardom turn from ingénue Marilyn Monroe. 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

I CONFESS (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, 1953).

While I Confess is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s lesser known films, it is certainly not one of his lesser works. The plot concerns a Catholic Priest to whom is confessed a murder which his oath prevents him from telling the authorities of. Knowledge of a pre-priesthood affair with a married woman who was being blackmailed by the victim implicates the priest as the culprit.

While Montgomery Clift is not the obvious casting choice as a Catholic priest he acquits himself well here. Nobody does angst like Monty and Hitchcock, famously not a fan of the method acting to which Clift subscribed, extracts a nuanced and believable performance from the star in a seemingly difficult part. Able support comes from Anne Baxter as his former lover and Karl Malden as the dogged investigating officer.

While not as showy as much of Hitchcock’s work - nobody dangles from the Statue of Liberty or is pursued across Mount Rushmore - it is beautiful shot in black and white on the Quebec locations on which it is set. This unfamiliar setting gives the film a decidedly un-Hollywood atmosphere, maybe a contributing factor to the film’s popularity in France while it was overlooked in the US.

While it is perhaps the most uncharacteristically Hitchcockian of the director’s work, I Confess holds up as a unique, unfairly neglected gem.

100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.

OUT OF THE PAST aka BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH (Dir: Jacques Tourneur, 1947).

Adapted from his novel by Geoffrey Homes, this classic thriller from the golden era of film noir stars Robert Mitchum as a former PI with a shady past and Jane Greer as the femme fatale he is hired to find by louche businessman Kirk Douglas in a star-making performance.

Mitchum has a new life and new girl in very un-noirlike rural Bridgeport California. But his past soon drags him back to his sordid big city life and back into the arms of his client’s cheating, murderous gal.

This terrific movie is like a film noir checklist with cutting dialogue, shadowy cityscapes and moody atmosphere to spare.

Out of the Past is a classic of it’s genre.

100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Dir: Rob Marshall, 2018). New Year’s resolution is going well. Second movie of the year Mary Poppins Returns. The second best Mary Poppins movie I have seen. (Third best if you include Saving Mr Banks.) 
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com