Nugget Reviews - 26

It is has been long, long time since we have shared some nugget reviews, so we are starting up that series once again with a motley assortment of American and British classics. 

Chasing Yesterday ( 1935 ) 14k

Sylvestre Bonnard, a Parisian bibliophile, is in search of an old and rare book that he and his long-lost love once tore a page from. He travels to her country estate and discovers that she had a daughter, who has only recently become an orphan. Sylvestre attempts to adopt her after he meets with her cruel and miserly guardian. Anne Shirley, O.P. Heggie, Elizabeth Patterson, Etienne Girardot. Directed by George Nicholls Jr., RKO Pictures. 

When I first heard about this story I thought it was about an old man who fell in love with a teenage girl and I stayed cleared of it for many years, but I should have known that RKO would only put out wholesome fare with their favorite child actress - Anne Shirley. It is really a sweet film and O.P. Heggie is adorable as the Parisian book lover. Simple 1930s entertainment, but enjoyable. 

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Moment to Moment ( 1966 ) 14k 

A married woman meets a handsome young sailor while vacationing on the French Riviera and, while attempting to break up their affair, accidentally shoots him. Together with her neighbor, she disposes of his body over a cliff but quickly finds the police on her doorstep asking questions. Jean Seberg, Sean Garrison, Honor Blackman, Arthur Kennedy. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Universal Pictures. 

Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense films throughout the 1950s and 1960s but director Mervyn LeRoy clearly gave him some competition with this production. Moment to Moment is classified as a "psychological thriller" which means if you like cat-and-mouse detective films you'll love this one. It has a clever twist at the end, features beautiful on-location filming in France, a lush Henry Mancini score, and who can resist pretty Jean Seberg? Especially when she gets to have a romance with a John Gavin look-a-like!

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The Franchise Affair ( 1951 ) 14k

A lawyer is called to defend two women who are accused of kidnapping and imprisoning a young schoolgirl in their house. Michael Denison, Ann Stephens, Dulcie Gray, Marjorie Fielding. Directed by Lawrence Huntington. Associated British-Pathe. 

The British always had such great scriptwriters! This film has a simple plot and yet it is so engrossing. Two spinsters are accused of kidnapping a schoolgirl...everyone in town believes they did it, all the evidence points towards them, and yet Michael Denison believes them innocent ( and so does the audience ). So what is going on? A good mystery, that's what. 
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Tarzan the Magnificent ( 1960 ) Eltc.

Tarzan must escort a prisoner out of the jungle in order that he can claim the reward, however, the prisoner's father and brother are hot in pursuit and are bent on killing Tarzan. Gordon Scott, Charles Tingwell, Lionel Jeffries, Betta St. John. Directed by Robert Day. Paramount Pictures. 

Ever since Johnny Weismuller first donned the loincloth as the jungle man Tarzan, he was a good box-office drawer throughout the 1930s-1950s. By the 1960s, Weismuller was showing his age, so Gordon Scott took over the role and quite admirably, too. This film had great African location filming, a good cast ( Lionel Jeffries is always a delight ) but unfortunately, the script was too simple. It was mainly a chase between the bad guys and the good guys. 

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Easy to Love ( 1953 ) 14k

An overworked and underpaid performer at Cypress Gardens finally decides to leave her boss and have a fling in New York City, but then discovers that she loves her boss and wishes to return. Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, Edna Skinner. Directed by Charles Walters. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 

Who can resist a Esther Williams film? They're colorful, comical and often feature some great musical numbers, too. Easy to Love has a particularly catchy-tune performed by Tony Martin: "That's What a Rainy Day is For".  It's a jolly fun film and the water-skiing finale at Cypress Gardens is uber impressive. 

Nugget Reviews - 24

Alas, there be no golden nuggets among this batch of films, but some of these movies are mighty entertaining nonetheless. 

Can't Help Singing ( 1944 )  14k 

A senator's daughter joins a wagon train en route to California in the hopes of meeting up with the lieutenant she wants to marry. On the way, she falls in love with a card shark. Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, Leonid Kinskey, Ray Collins, David Bruce. Universal Pictures. Directed by Frank Ryan.

After making thirteen black-and-white films, the powers-that-be at Universal Studios decided to showcase their number one box-office attraction, Winnipeg's Sweetheart, in her first Technicolor production Can't Help Singing. The film was a great success combining light-hearted comedy and romance with beautiful western locales and some lovely tunes by Jerome Kern ( which were nominated for two Oscars ). A slew of wonderful character actors also appear, including Akim Tamiroff and Leonid Kinskey, who do a great bit of schtick involving Durbin's trunk. 

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How to Frame a Figg ( 1971 ) 14k

A city accountant gets framed by crooked politicians in a $50,000 swindle and must use the new accounting computer, L.E.O, to help him prove his innocence. Don Knotts, Frank Welker, Joe Flynn, Edward Andrews, Elaine Joyce. Universal Pictures. Directed by Alan Rafkin.

Don Knotts is fun to watch in every movie he made. How to Frame a Figg isn't as memorable as The Ghost and Mr. Chicken or The Reluctant Astronaut but it has its moments...many of them highly amusing. This was the last of a series of comedies that Knotts made for Universal Pictures. Later, he would team up with Tim Conway in such Disney classics as The Apple Dumpling Gang and Hot Lead, Cold Feet. Incidentally, while Frank Welker was great as Hollis' friend Prentiss, Tim Conway would have been an even better addition to the film. 

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The Man from the Alamo ( 1953 ) 14k.

John Stroud is branded a coward when he leaves the scene of the Alamo to check on his and the other soldiers' families back at their ranches in Ox Bow, but he later gets a chance to prove his courage when he protects a wagon train being attacked by a gang of outlaws. Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Chill Wills, Victor Jory, Hugh O'Brien. Universal Pictures. Directed by Budd Boetticher. 

Throughout the 1950s, Budd Boetticher directed a number of low-budget westerns starring Randolph Scott. The Man from the Alamo could have easily been a Scott western, but instead, it stars the delightful Glenn Ford as the downcast soldier Stroud who is branded a coward. Julie Adams, one of the busiest Western stars of the era, didn't get much of a romantic part in this movie but adds a feminine touch to a very masculine film. Little Marc Cavell is also adorable as Stroud's only friend, Carlos. Overall, it's an entertaining but not very memorable western. 

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The Unholy Intruders aka Hinter Klostermauern ( 1952 ) 14k.

A middle-aged man returns home from the war and, unable to find lodging for his girlfriend and child, he moves them into an abandoned convent. When the nuns return to occupy it again, he refuses to leave and his presence proves to be a thorn to the nuns. Olga Tschechowa, Philip Dorn, Katharina Mayberg, Dorothea Wieck. Delta-Venus. Directed by Harald Reinl.

Thomas and Kathrin are two protagonists that you instantly want to hate, and it is very difficult for a film to hold the attention of its audience with the presence of anti-heroes. Yet, as Thomas ( Philip Dorn ) is just about to go from bad to worse, he has a change of heart and his redemption becomes the drawing feature of the film. Olga Tschechowa, that legend of the silent era, plays the prioress in this movie with such conviction. At one time Olga was accused of being a Russian agent in Nazi Germany. She obviously knows how to play many parts well! 

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Anne of Windy Poplars ( 1940 ) 14k

Anne Shirley takes up her first position as vice-principal in the town of Windy Poplars but finds she must first win over hostile faculty and feuding citizens before she receives a welcome. Anne Shirley, James Ellison, Slim Summerville, Henry Travers, Louise Campbell. RKO Pictures. Directed by Jack Hively. 

Six years passed before RKO decided to film a sequel to Anne of Green Gables ( 1934 ) which was based on L.M. Montgomery's book series of the same name. Anne Shirley, who portrayed Anne Shirley in the original film, returns to her namesake role, this time playing an older and more mature schoolteacher. The film trots along at a gentle pace and, while it isn't anything special, there are a number of good scenes, especially those involving character actors Slim Summerville and Henry Travers. Poor Anne sure has to put up with a lot of curmudgeons in Windy Poplars, but with her gentle ways she naturally wins them over by the end of the film....and gains a daughter too.