White Christmas

White Christmas

Paramount

October 14, 1954

Musical

DVD
C-

The music is good but I didn't care about the story, and Crosby and Kaye have no chemistry.  Michael Curtiz directed, and it's on a level with Life with Father.

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce

Warner Bros.

October 20, 1945

Crime Drama

DVD
B-

I've seen this before, possibly more than once, but maybe not in over twenty-five years.  This time I was most struck by, one, how much better the female performances are than the male (and, yes, I will always love Eve Arden); and two, how Forties it is, not just in its noir feel but in references to the economy and the War.  Faulkner apparently was one of the uncredited contract workers who adapted the James M. Cain novel.  Michael Curtiz directed, after The Adventures of Robin Hood and before Life with Father.

Life with Father

Life with Father
Warner Bros.
September 13, 1947
Historical Comedy
DVD
C-

I've seen this before, maybe more than once, but I couldn't really get into it today, although, like Topper Returns, it has nice sets and costumes, and an interesting cast.  (I tuned out before Liz Taylor though.)  This is based on the Clarence Day memoir of the same name, and Curtiz directed nine years after The Adventures of Robin Hood, and five years after Casablanca.  

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Hale on the right

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Warner Bros
May 14, 1938
Historical Drama, Action
DVD
C+

Yes, we've got to again go back to Warner Brothers in the '30s for a movie I can sit through, although I didn't think of this as "classic."  To be honest, I find Flynn a little bland, and it's Claude Rains who steals the movie, as Prince John.  The movie is not exactly historically accurate but it works, and I will say that I like how the action scenes are meant to be spectacle, rather than "shocking violence," like in many modern action movies.

Michael Curtiz and William Keighley both directed.