Awards & Nominations
NA
 

Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)

Links
 

(Click to Visit)
 

(Click to Visit)
 
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

 

Coming soon…
 

 
Production Company(ies)
Amigo Media,
 
Distributor
Alluvial Filmworks
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Florida Keys, Florida, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1944
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
drama, Mississippi, Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, Tarra Riggs, Micheal J Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Johnny McPhail, box office, budget, reviewed by Ben Kenigsberg, Joshua Rothkopf, Philip French, Tim Robey, Anthony Quinn, Peter Bradshaw, MPAA rating, Alluvial Filmworks, recovering addict, suicide, family, poverty, despair, slow pace, minimalist, emotion, realism, hope, tragedy, grief, resilience, contemplative, searing, subtle, forlorn, regional specificity, identical twin, danger, uncle, estranged, stoic, non-professionals, Mississippi Delta, poverty, despair, sadness, leader, troublemakers, neighbour, gunshot, healing, future, hope, unfortunate, honest, real people, real world
 

Cast & Crew

Micheal J. Smith Sr.

JimMyron Ross

Tarra Riggs

Johnny McPhail

Lance Hammer

Lawrence

James

Marlee

John

Director

Micheal J. Smith Sr. – Lawrence
JimMyron Ross – James
Tarra Riggs – Marlee
Johnny McPhail – John
Lance Hammer – Director
Lance Hammer – Writer

 

Lance Hammer

Lance Hammer

Nina Parikh

Lance Hammer

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Lance Hammer
 
Writer(s)
Lance Hammer
 
Producer(s)
Nina Parikh, Lance Hammer

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
3 wins & 3 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Ben Kenigsberg

Joshua Rothkopf

Philip French

Tim Robey

Anthony Quinn

Time Out

Guardian

Daily Telegraph

Independent

World Socialist Web Site

BALLAST
 All Critics (80) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (6)
 November 18, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Ben Kenigsberg
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Joshua Rothkopf
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 The opening half hour is electrifying, the ending interestingly open-ended…
 
 March 22, 2011
 
 Philip French
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 Quite a debut here from writer-director Lance Hammer, working on a minuscule budget in the Mississippi Delta, and evoking a memorably forlorn kind of regional specificity.
 
 March 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 March 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Anthony Quinn
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 A difficult, subdued film, but intelligent and with more intricacy and subtlety than at first appears.
 
 March 17, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 The storyline is direct and the characters well-sketched. The film revolves around the impact of a suicide on the family of a convenience store owner.
 
 March 5, 2021
 
 Joanne Laurier
 World Socialist Web Site
 This moving debut effort combines edgy camerawork, a stark story and a cast of inspired non-professionals.
 
 June 2, 2020
 
 David Lamble
 Bay Area Reporter
 Ballast packs a punch and its raw, visceral quality is hard to forget.
 
 December 24, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Lucy Popescu
 CineVue
 Its sense of space and time contains not only sadness and boredom, but something more curious, the resilience of newly born hope, like a slender green spike emerging out of the soil.
 
 August 22, 2017
 
 Dorothy Woodend
 The Tyee (British Columbia)
 Ballast, if anything, is spellbound by location, and we all know what a spell will do.
 
 June 14, 2016
 
 Nathan Kosub
 Stop Smiling
 Worth seeing as an example of the lengths to which a filmmaker will go to establish his career – but don’t ever mistake it for sociology.
 
 August 15, 2011
 
 Kelly Vance
 East Bay Express…

 

Plot
In the Atlantic during WW II, a ship and a German U-boat are involved in battle, and both are sunk. The survivors – from a variety of backgrounds -gather in one of the life boats. Trouble begins when they pull a man out of the water who turns out to be from the U-boa
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Ballast on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Lance-Hammer.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures,
 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
6301 Quebec Drive, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1944
 

 
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Fred MacMurray

Walter Neff

Barbara Stanwyck

Phyllis Dietrichson

Edward G. Robinson

Walter Neff

Phyllis Dietrichson

Barton Keyes

Mr. Jackson

Sam Garlopis

Fred MacMurray – Walter Neff
Barbara Stanwyck – Phyllis Dietrichson
Edward G. Robinson – Barton Keyes
Porter Hall – Mr. Jackson
Fortunio Bonanova – Sam Garlopis
Jean Heather – Lola Dietrichson

 

Billy Wilder

James M. Cain

Joseph Sistrom

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Billy Wilder
 
Writer(s)
James M. Cain, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
 
Producer(s)
Joseph Sistrom

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 7 Oscars
2 wins & 9 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Chuck Bowen

Mary Hunt

Marjory Adams

Kate Cameron

Mildred Martin

Slant Magazine

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Boston Globe

New York Daily News

Philadelphia Inquirer

DOUBLE INDEMNITY
  All Critics (101) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (3)
  Double Indemnity is a ruthless and poignant cornucopia of the details that command our lives.
 
  May 26, 2022
 
  Chuck Bowen
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Barbara Stanwyck Is consistently tough throughout and gives an excellent performance.
 
  February 17, 2022
 
  Mary Hunt
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  A powerful, ruthless and almost cruelly exciting picture in which Fred MacMurray and Bareara Stanwyck do the finest acting of their respective careers.
 
  November 19, 2020
 
  Marjory Adams
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  Barbara Stanwyck has given many interesting portrayals of femininity on the screen, but she has never presented as subtle and indelible a characterization as the one of Phyllis Dietrichson in “Double Indemnity.”
 
  November 18, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Kate Cameron
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Brilliantly and toughly directed by Billy Wilder.
 
  November 18, 2020
 
  Mildred Martin
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  To director Billy Wilder goes the credit for the suspense of the picture Its excitement stays at high pitch and its tension keeps a spectator at seats edge throughout.
 
  November 18, 2020
 
  Ida Belle Hicks
  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
  TOP CRITIC
  The murder isn’t the result of a battle between good and evil, but rather a natural response to a system that had no place for either Phyllis or Neff, both pawns in someone else’s game. Capitalism is the true villain of Double Indemnity.
 
  June 27, 2022
 
  Ian Thomas Malone
  Ian Thomas Malone
  It made Stanwyck the queen bee of film noir and Phyllis Dietrichson is her definitive incarnation: a platinum blonde with a heart of brass and a tarnished soul.
 
  June 25, 2022
 
  Sean Axmaker
  Stream on Demand
  Billy Wilder’s first great movie. It’s quite unlike anything else the director ever made, a hard, smooth, crime film full of cynicism and lust and constantly alive and tingling.
 
  June 11, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Jeffrey M. Anderson
  Combustible Celluloid
  There’s so much to admire here and so much technical craft on display.
 
  May 26, 2022
 
  Rob Aldam
  Backseat Mafia
  It does not engage the emotions, mercifully. Rather it invites the laying of odds as to whether the guilty parties will “get away with it.”
 
  February 17, 2022
 
  T.C. Kemp
  Birmingham Post
  An ingenious, cleverly written and well acted melodrama, which teems with suspense and thrills.
 
  February 17, 2022
 
  Reg Whitley
  Daily Mirror (UK)…

 

Plot
In 1938, Walter Neff, an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy and Walter devises a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause. When Mr. Dietrichson is found dead on a train track, the police accept the determination of accidental death. However, the insurance analyst and Walter’s best friend Barton Keyes does not buy the story and suspects that Phyllis has murdered her husband with the help of another man.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Billy-Wilder.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Stage 9, 20th Century Fox Studios – 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1944
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson, Dorothy Adams, directed by Otto Preminger, written by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt, mystery, thriller, film noir, box office success, budget, reviewed by Peter Bradshaw, Matthew Thrift, Dave Calhoun, Keith Uhlich, Michael Atkinson, Brian Eggert, Josh Larsen, Mike Massie, MPAA rating, obsession, murder mystery, psychological complexity, seductive style, expressionism, street realism, David Raksin’s score, snappy dialogue, dry wit, subversive, detective character, levels of obsession, tragic insight, haunting theme music, black-and-white cinematography
 

Cast & Crew

Gene Tierney

Dana Andrews

Clifton Webb

Vincent Price

Judith Anderson

Laura Hunt

Det. Lt. Mark McPherson

Waldo Lydecker

Shelby Carpenter

Ann Treadwell

Gene Tierney – Laura Hunt
Dana Andrews – Det. Lt. Mark McPherson
Clifton Webb – Waldo Lydecker
Vincent Price – Shelby Carpenter
Judith Anderson – Ann Treadwell
Dorothy Adams – Bessie Clary

 

Otto Preminger

Jay Dratler

Otto Preminger

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Otto Preminger
 
Writer(s)
Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt
 
Producer(s)
Otto Preminger

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Peter Bradshaw

Matthew Thrift

Dave Calhoun

Keith Uhlich

Dave Kehr

Guardian

Little White Lies

Time Out

Chicago Reader

Village Voice

LAURA
  All Critics (66) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (66)
  Laura is still every bit as gripping in 2012.
 
  February 23, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Not only one of Preminger’s greatest, but one of the great noirs.
 
  February 23, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Matthew Thrift
  Little White Lies
  TOP CRITIC
  February 23, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Dave Calhoun
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Few movies make you feel dirtier, and so perversely grateful for the pleasure.
 
  December 20, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Keith Uhlich
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Less a crime film than a study in levels of obsession, Laura is one of those classic works that leave their subject matter behind and live on the strength of their seductive style.
 
  October 23, 2007
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  A hypnotic and deathlessly interpretable experience.
 
  October 23, 2007
 
  Michael Atkinson
  Village Voice
  TOP CRITIC
  Onscreen, Tierney plays an icon who entrances everyone around her, but the performer’s life off-camera lends the role tragic insight that makes the film unforgettable.
 
  February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  …piles up the intrigue and obsession.
 
  March 14, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Josh Larsen
  LarsenOnFilm
  Rounded off with haunting theme music and sharp black-and-white cinematography (which took home an Oscar), this is a positively top-notch film noir.
 
  August 13, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Murder, as we say, has not looked so attractive in several seasons.
 
  June 17, 2020
 
  Jay Carmody
  Washington Star
  A masterly mix of expressionism and street realism, this ranks among the undisputed masterpieces of German silent cinema.
 
  June 16, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Tony Sloman
  Radio Times
  What remains of Laura is not only the ability of the scriptwriters and director to keep the mystery of the film noir but the originality of the dramatic structure and the attempt to delve into the psychological characteristics. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  August 28, 2019
 
  Diego Galán
  El Pais (Spain)…

 

Plot
Detective Lieutenant Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the killing of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), found dead on her apartment floor before the movie starts. McPherson builds a mental picture of the dead girl from the suspects he interviews. He is helped by the striking painting of the late lamented Laura hanging on her apartment wall. But who would have wanted to kill a girl with whom every man she met seemed to fall in love? To make matters worse, McPherson finds himself falling under her spell too. Then one night, halfway through his investigations, something seriously bizarre happens to make him re-think the whole case.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Clifton Webb’s performance as the arrogant and witty Waldo Lydecker is a standout in Laura.
 

 
Otto-Preminger.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros.
 
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.
 
Release Type
Streaming
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate

 
Year of Release
1944
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
Comedy, Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Frank Capra, Joseph Kesselring, Julius J Epstein, Philip G Epstein, Warner Bros Pictures, Warner Bros., Criterion Collection, box office, budget, reviewed by Derek Smith, David Parkinson, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Geoff Andrew, Nell Minow, Brian Susbielles, Michael Barrett, Matt Brunson, Cinelandia Staff, MPAA rating, dark comedy, upper-middle class, eccentric aunts, homicidal brother, marriage detractor, girl-next-door, Halloween, corpse, director, producer, writer, sound mix, aspect ratio, mono, 35mm, flat, runtime, distributor, cast, crew, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, audience score, streaming, theaters, rent/buy, vudu, Amazon, iTunes
 

Cast & Crew

Cary Grant

Raymond Massey

Priscilla Lane

Peter Lorre

Jack Carson

Mortimer Brewster

Jonathan Brewster

Elaine Harper

Dr. Einstein

Officer Patrick “Pat” O’Hara

Cary Grant – Mortimer Brewster
Raymond Massey – Jonathan Brewster
Priscilla Lane – Elaine Harper
Peter Lorre – Dr. Einstein
Jack Carson – Officer Patrick “Pat” O’Hara
Josephine Hull – Aunt Abby Brewster
Jean Adair – Aunt Martha Brewster
John Alexander – Teddy Brewster
Director – Frank Capra
Producer – Frank Capra
Writers – Joseph Kesselring, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein

 

Frank Capra

Joseph Kesselring

Frank Capra

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Frank Capra
 
Writer(s)
Joseph Kesselring, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
 
Producer(s)
Frank Capra

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Derek Smith

David Parkinson

Variety Staff

Dave Kehr

Geoff Andrew

Slant Magazine

Empire Magazine

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
 All Critics (34) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (5)
 Arsenic and Old Lace trenchantly lays bare the hypocrisies and prejudices of the upper-middle class that often remained concealed beneath the façade of good manners.
 
 October 11, 2022
 
 Derek Smith
 Slant Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Cary Grant et al are on sparkling form in this classic darkly twisted comedy.
 
 October 22, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Parkinson
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Despite the fact that picture runs 118 minutes, Frank Capra has expanded on the original play [by Joseph Kesselring] to a sufficient extent to maintain a steady, consistent pace.
 
 August 13, 2007
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 The timing is abysmal throughout, turning fast pace into numbing frenzy.
 
 August 13, 2007
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Dusty but gentle entertainment.
 
 June 24, 2006
 
 Geoff Andrew
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 July 29, 2003 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Nell Minow
 Movie Mom
 TOP CRITIC
 It is full of wicked humor that keeps the macabre tone throughout the movie and was yet another notch on Frank Capra’s belt of hit comedies.
 
 February 14, 2023
 
 Brian Susbielles
 InSession Film
 One of the film’s rewards is that, upon rewatching and rethinking, there’s all that subconscious evidence buried in the story’s basement, and much of the audience’s satisfaction rests in the desire to keep it concealed.
 
 October 31, 2022
 
 Michael Barrett
 PopMatters
 It’s not mere hyperbole to state that Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace ranks as one of the funniest films ever made.
 
 October 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 Although at first glance it seems a horrific issue, it is truthfully laughable to the extreme and no one is taking it seriously. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 September 1, 2022
 
 Cinelandia Staff
 Cinelandia
 A zany, cant-catch-your-breath comedy that never quits.
 
 February 17, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 Regardless of Cary Grant’s thoughts on the film, Arsenic and Old Lace is one of the best comedies of all time.
 
 January 12, 2022
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies…

 

Plot
A newlywed writer discovers that his family is even crazier than he thought when he finds a corpse hidden in a window seat, and must navigate his eccentric aunts, disturbed uncle, and homicidal brother in this classic dark comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Cary Grant believed he overplayed his character in Arsenic and Old Lace.
 

 
Frank-Capra.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
The Directors Company, Saticoy Productions, Paramount Pictures,
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios – 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1943
 

 
Genre(s)
Musical
 
Keyword(s)
starring Ethel Waters, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, directed by Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley, written by Marc Connelly, Lynn Root, Joseph Schrank, musical, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marjory Adams, Wanda Hale, Mildred Martin, James Agee, Len G Shaw, Colvin McPherson, Harry Levette, Moira Wallace, Thomas Archer, Jane Corby, MPAA rating, racial stereotypes, purgatory, heaven, devil, angel, gambling, drunken fight, Petunia Jackson, Little Joe Jackson, Lucifer Jr., Lucius, The General, Rev Greene, irresistible musical numbers, talented cast
 

Cast & Crew

Ethel Waters

Eddie “Rochester” Anderson

Lena Horne

Louis Armstrong

Rex Ingram

Petunia Jackson

Joe Jackson

Georgia Brown

The Trumpeter

Lucifer Jr.

Ethel Waters – Petunia Jackson
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson – Joe Jackson
Lena Horne – Georgia Brown
Louis Armstrong – The Trumpeter
Rex Ingram – Lucifer Jr., Lucius
Kenneth Spencer – The General, Rev. Greene

 

Vincente Minnelli

Marc Connelly

Arthur Freed

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley
 
Writer(s)
Marc Connelly, Lynn Root, Joseph Schrank
 
Producer(s)
Arthur Freed

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Marjory Adams

Wanda Hale

Mildred Martin

James Agee

Len G. Shaw

Boston Globe

New York Daily News

Philadelphia Inquirer

TIME Magazine

Detroit Free Press

CABIN IN THE SKY
 All Critics (47) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (9)
 [Cabin in the Sky] is one of the most charming, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable pictures that Hollywood has sent out in some time.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Marjory Adams
 Boston Globe
 TOP CRITIC
 It is something for you to go out of your way to see and hear.
 
 December 16, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Wanda Hale
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 The chief fault, it seems to us, is the unimaginative direction of Vincente Minnelli who never takes full advantage of the motion picture medium’s facilities for creating fantasy… If Minnelli has fumbled his opportunities, Miss Waters has not.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Mildred Martin
 Philadelphia Inquirer
 TOP CRITIC
 Like many star-filled pictures, this one never really shows off its crowded heavens.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 James Agee
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 The superb artistry with which [Ethel Waters] is so richly endowed is constantly in evidence, not only in her interpretation of the songs but in the emotional power she displays, as well as the gayer manifestations.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Len G. Shaw
 Detroit Free Press
 TOP CRITIC
 Cabin in the Sky would be worth the price if only to permit observation of Miss Waters’ acting skill.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Colvin McPherson
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 TOP CRITIC
 As a whole it is excellent entertainment, and has proven to be a fine vehicle for the talents and versatility of the notable cast.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Harry Levette
 California Eagle
 Ethel Waters has great emotional power not only in her singing of “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” and “Taking a Chance On Love,” but in every gesture and mood she portrays.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Moira Wallace
 San Francisco Examiner
 [Cabin in the Sky is] a fantasy that has great moments and other moments which rise little above the routine of the common or garden Hollywood musical.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Thomas Archer
 Montreal Gazette
 For sheer entertainment Cabin the Sky is high up on the list of current film attractions.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Jane Corby
 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
 The sum total is definite entertainment.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 MPH Staff
 Motion Picture Herald (Exhibitors Herald)
 There is enough variety to give some measure of pleasure to every one who can be induced to see the film.
 
 December 16, 2020
 
 Film Daily Staff
 The Film Daily…

 

Plot
Chronic gambler and carouser “Little” Joe Jackson is shot by Domino Johnson at Jim Henry’s gambling club over an outstanding gambling debt. Little Joe’s wife, the God-fearing Petunia Jackson, prays not only for her husband’s mortal life, but also his eternal soul as she’s afraid that if he dies now, he, despite not being an evil man, won’t make it into heaven. As Little Joe is close to death, he is visited by agents of both the Lord and of Lucifer. They make a deal with him: they will give him six months to atone for the errors of his human life. Once back on Earth, he won’t remember the deal but both the Lord and Lucifer will be watching over him, trying to get him to see things their way. As both sides try to get Little Joe’s soul, they figure that some of the most powerful tools they have at their disposal are the women in Little Joe’s life: Petunia on behalf of the Lord, and Georgia Brown, a gold-digging floozy, on behalf of Lucifer. As hard as both the Lord and Lucifer try to get Little Joe on their side, they don’t factor into the equation human judgment, which turns some of their work against them.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Rex Ingram plays the devil’s son, Lucifer Jr., in Cabin in the Sky.
 

 
Vincente-Minnelli.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Penthouse Video Long Road Productions,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
904 McDonald Ave, Santa Rosa, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1943
 

 
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
starring Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Hume Cronyn, Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Gordon McDonell, Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, Alma Reville, crime, mystery, thriller, drama, PG rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Paul Trench, Age Staff, SMH Staff, Emma Cochrane, David Denby, Walter Chaw, Brian Eggert, Mike Massie, Michael J Casey, Josephine O’Neill, produced by Jack H Skirball, Universal Pictures, Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite, Santa Rosa, California, murder, small town, suspicion, uncle, niece, wanted, charming, flesh-crawling, deftly, finely shaded characters, ingenious, unorthodox, thriller, continuously entertaining, tense dramatic scenes, superbly acted, believable relationship, intimate, heart-wrenching, eroding moral bedrocks, desecrating national monuments, ineffectual cops, bumbling clergy, psycho mothers, twists, straightforward, evil, horrifying, psychopath, steadily-paced, suspenseful, plot imperfections, brilliant, staging, scenes
 

Cast & Crew

Teresa Wright

Joseph Cotten

Hume Cronyn

Macdonald Carey

Henry Travers

Young Charlie Newton

Charlie Oakley

Herbie Hawkins

Jack Graham

Joseph Newton

Teresa Wright – Young Charlie Newton
Joseph Cotten – Charlie Oakley
Hume Cronyn – Herbie Hawkins
Macdonald Carey – Jack Graham
Henry Travers – Joseph Newton
Patricia Collinge – Emma Newton
Gordon McDonell – Writer
Thornton Wilder – Writer
Sally Benson – Writer
Alma Reville – Writer
Alfred Hitchcock – Director
Jack H. Skirball – Producer

 

Alfred Hitchcock

Gordon McDonell

Jack H. Skirball

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
 
Writer(s)
Gordon McDonell, Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, Alma Reville
 
Producer(s)
Jack H. Skirball

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 3 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kevin Maher

Paul Trench

Age Staff

SMH Staff

Emma Cochrane

Times

London Evening Standard

The Age

Sydney Morning Herald

Empire Magazine

SHADOW OF A DOUBT
  All Critics (51) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (51)
  It’s Hitchcock unleashed…
 
  January 21, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  An Alfred Hitchcock picture is something of an event. This one, which runs for an hour and 45 minutes, is an ingenious and unorthodox thriller which is continuously entertaining.
 
  May 26, 2021
 
  Paul Trench
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  A series of tense dramatic scenes superbly acted by Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright.
 
  April 10, 2020
 
  Age Staff
  The Age (Australia)
  TOP CRITIC
  Master of the suspense drama that he is, Hitchcock keeps his climax for the very end. When it comes it is terrific. The final curtain Is a glorious piece of cynicism.
 
  April 10, 2020
 
  SMH Staff
  Sydney Morning Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  This is certainly one of Hitchcock’s most satisfying thrillers, mostly thanks to Wright and Cotten’s believable relationship.
 
  April 10, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Emma Cochrane
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Shadow of a Doubt may or may not be Hitchcock’s greatest film, but it’s his most intimate and heart-wrenching.
 
  April 10, 2020
 
  David Denby
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  Hitchcock loved eroding moral bedrocks, most gaudily in the form of desecrating national monuments and more stealthily in the form of ineffectual cops, bumbling clergy, and psycho mothers.
 
  June 10, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Walter Chaw
  Film Freak Central
  Shadow of a Doubt refines the director’s most persistent theme down to its essential components: The prevailing notion that something dark lurks underneath the surface of things exists in nearly each Hitchcock film.
 
  February 23, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  For a story helmed by Hitchcock, one would expect the twists to be less straightforward.
 
  August 14, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  There’s something rotten in small-town, U.S.A., and Hitchcock chose Santa Rosa, California-one of the most picturesque cities in the nation-to set his tale of a modern-day wolf in sheep’s clothing.
 
  July 29, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Michael J. Casey
  Boulder Weekly
  Still reeling after having seen this film, I do not want to spoil a moment of it for anyone else. I can only tell you that it is a brilliant Alfred Hitchcock melodrama, set mainly in a leafy sunny American town — and leave the story at that.
 
  April 10, 2020
 
  Josephine O’Neill
  Daily Telegraph (Australia)
  To save studio materials, the film has been largely made in an actual Californian town and the gain is remarkable.
 
  April 10, 2020
 
  Edgar Anstey
  The Spectator…

 

Plot
Charlotte “Charlie” Newton is bored with her quiet life at home with her parents and younger sister. She wishes something exciting would happen and knows exactly what they need: a visit from her sophisticated, much-traveled Uncle Charlie Oakley, her mother’s younger brother. Imagine her delight when, out of the blue, they receive a telegram from Uncle Charlie announcing that he is coming to visit them for awhile. Charlie Oakley creates quite a stir and charms the ladies’ club, as well as the bank President where his brother-in-law works. Young Charlie begins to notice odd behavior on his part, such as cutting out a story in the local paper about a man who marries and then murders rich widows. When two strangers appear asking questions about him, she begins to imagine the worst about her beloved Uncle Charlie.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Joseph Cotten, who plays Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, was actually Hitchcock’s first choice for the role and was initially hesitant to take it on due to his dislike of playing villains.
 

 
Alfred-Hitchcock.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Jigsaw Productions, Wider Film Projects Below The Radar Entertainment,
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1943
 

 
Genre(s)
Musical
 
Keyword(s)
starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, directed by Andrew L Stone, written by Jerry Horwin, Frederick J Jackson, Ted Koehler, H.S Kraft, Seymour B Robinson, musical, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mildred Martin, Wanda Hale, John W Riley, John L Scott, Colvin McPherson, Bob Fredericks, Evelena D Jackson, Herman Hill, Pittsburgh Courier, NY Age Staff, Jane Corby, Harold V Cohen, B.M Phillips, MPAA rating, produced by William LeBaron
 

Cast & Crew

Lena Horne

Selina Rogers

Bill Robinson

Bill Williamson

Cab Calloway

Selina Rogers

Bill Williamson

Self

Self

Self

Lena Horne – Selina Rogers
Bill Robinson – Bill Williamson
Cab Calloway – Self
Katherine Dunham – Self
Fats Waller – Self
The Nicholas Brothers – Nicholas Brothers

 

Andrew L. Stone

Jerry Horwin

William LeBaron

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Andrew L. Stone
 
Writer(s)
Jerry Horwin, Frederick J. Jackson, Ted Koehler, H.S. Kraft, Seymour B. Robinson
 
Producer(s)
William LeBaron

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Mildred Martin

Wanda Hale

John W. Riley

John L. Scott

Colvin McPherson

Philadelphia Inquirer

New York Daily News

Boston Globe

Los Angeles Times

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

STORMY WEATHER
  All Critics (41) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (2)
  Plot doesn’t matter a hoot in this lively, likable picture.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Mildred Martin
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  The hottest thing in town.
 
  January 28, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Wanda Hale
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Really, the only thing to do is to sit back and enjoy yourself. The cast of Stormy Weather will see to that.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  John W. Riley
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  Nicholas Brothers, whose prodigious leaps ending in splits are almost incredible, prove real show-stoppers.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  John L. Scott
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  The Nicholas Brothers have done astonishing work in earlier pictures, but even at that, their stair-step, leap-frog splits brought gasps and a round of applause at the preview.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Colvin McPherson
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  The outstanding performance of this or any other film of its kind is the sensational dance act of the Nicholas Brothers. I won’t attempt to describe it; but is worth the price of admission in itself.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Bob Fredericks
  Miami Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  The acting, costumes, and scenery are superb.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Evelena D. Jackson
  Baltimore Afro-American
  All in all, [Stormy Weather] is excellent entertainment, and calculated to chase the war blues away.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Herman Hill
  Pittsburgh Courier
  The Nicholas Brothers outdo themselves in a breath-taking number.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  NY Age Staff
  New York Age
  Something new In musicals, Stormy Weather, with an array of entertainment headliners to keep it right on the beam, has a film story that is a cavalcade of rhythm.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Jane Corby
  Brooklyn Daily Eagle
  Stormy Weather moves briskly in the manner of a high-class revue and also be haves like one.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  Harold V. Cohen
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  All in all, the movie is a step in the right direction. Let’s hope that there will be more and that they will improve.
 
  January 28, 2021
 
  B.M. Phillips
  Baltimore Afro-American…

 

Plot
Dancing great Bill ‘Williamson’ sees his face on the cover of Theatre World magazine and reminisces: just back from World War I, he meets lovely singer Selina Rogers at a soldiers’ ball and promises to come back to her when he “gets to be somebody.” Years go by, and Bill and Selina’s rising careers intersect only briefly, since Selina is unwilling to “settle down.” Will she ever change her mind? Concludes with a big all-star show hosted by Cab Calloway.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features popular entertainers of the 1940s, including Fats Waller and Cab Calloway, who perform as themselves in the movie.
 

 
Andrew-L.-Stone.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Paramount Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate

 
Year of Release
1941
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Porter Hall, directed by Preston Sturges, written by Preston Sturges, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Richard Brody, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Geoff Andrew, Steven D Greydanus, Marjorie Baumgarten, Sean Axmaker, André Bazin, Brian Eggert, Danielle Solzman, Roger Moore, MPAA rating, Paramount Pictures, Criterion Collection, produced by Preston Sturges, Hollywood, social commentary, satire, escapism, train ride, hobo disguise, chain gang, socially conscious message, screwball comedy, audience score, Tomatometer, Gulliver’s Travels, Library of Congress, culturally significant, aesthetically significant, Joel McCrea as John L Sullivan, Veronica Lake as The Girl, Robert Warwick as Mr Lebrand, William Demarest as Mr Jones, Franklin Pangborn as Mr Casalsis, Porter Hall as Mr Hadrian, 35mm, Flat (1.37:1), Mono, Paramount Pictures
 

Cast & Crew

Joel McCrea

John L. Sullivan

Veronica Lake

The Girl

Robert Warwick

John L. Sullivan

The Girl

Mr. Lebrand

Mr. Jones

Mr. Casalsis

Joel McCrea – John L. Sullivan
Veronica Lake – The Girl
Robert Warwick – Mr. Lebrand
William Demarest – Mr. Jones
Franklin Pangborn – Mr. Casalsis
Porter Hall – Mr. Hadrian
Director – Preston Sturges
Producer – Preston Sturges
Writer – Preston Sturges

 

Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Preston Sturges
 
Writer(s)
Preston Sturges
 
Producer(s)
Preston Sturges

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Richard Brody

Variety Staff

Dave Kehr

Geoff Andrew

Steven D. Greydanus

New Yorker

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

Decent Films

SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS
 All Critics (40) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (40)
 This ingenious plot is brought to life with a remarkable profusion of dialogue: with the characters’ torrential, scintillating verbiage, Sturges seems to leap out from behind the screen to address the viewer directly.
 
 January 16, 2023
 
 Richard Brody
 New Yorker
 TOP CRITIC
 Sturges’ dialog is trenchant, has drive, possesses crispness and gets the laughs where that is desired.
 
 June 27, 2007
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 A dubious proposition, but in Sturges’s hands a charming one, filled out by his unparalleled sense of eccentric character.
 
 June 27, 2007
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Sullivan’s Travels is a gem, an almost serious comedy not taken entirely seriously, with wonderful dialogue, eccentric characterisations, and superlative performances throughout.
 
 February 9, 2006
 
 Geoff Andrew
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 The genius of this classic opening scene is that Sullivan’s Travels is both screwball comedy and socially conscious melodrama — as well as a satire of socially conscious melodrama, and a serious apologetic for crowd-pleasing comedy.
 
 September 12, 2003 | Rating: A
 
 Steven D. Greydanus
 Decent Films
 TOP CRITIC
 …a plot with more curves than Veronica Lake.
 
 March 10, 2003
 
 Marjorie Baumgarten
 Austin Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 The celebration of the simple joys of Hollywood comedies may seem like a self-serving defense of Sturges’ art, but it’s so magical and genuine and full of hilarious ego-puncturing moments that it overcomes the overly sentimental finale.
 
 December 3, 2022
 
 Sean Axmaker
 Stream on Demand
 It has enough merits and takes enough risks for us to consider it one of the most sensational productions of the last ten years.
 
 October 25, 2022
 
 André Bazin
 L’Écran Français
 Sullivan’s Travels remains an unconventional comedy, a blend of slapstick and drama, and one of the few effective message films in any genre.
 
 March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 Preston Sturges’s 1941 comedy, Sullivan’s Travels, doesn’t just satirize Hollywood but is the gold standard for satires about Hollywood.
 
 December 27, 2021
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies
 The most moving scenes are “Grapes of Wrath” accurate depictions of homelessness and the African-American church the prison inmates are ushered into…a preacher calling for sympathy for “those less fortunate” as they’re led in
 
 May 8, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Roger Moore
 Movie Nation
 It’s a dynamic storyline, ultimately serving as a celebration of laughter – that unalienable element of universal appeal.
 
 August 15, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
A successful movie director dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey to “know trouble” first-hand, but ends up in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang in Sullivan’s Travels.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have any goofy or funny comments about the film Signed in.
 

 
Preston-Sturges.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Block 2 Pictures, Jet Tone Production Orly Films,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Audubon Zoo – 6500 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1942
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
Cat People, 1942, Horror, Jacques Tourneur, Val Lewton, Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, Jack Holt, Alan Napier, RKO, ancient sin, psychology, taboos, desire, cursed, cat transformation, tragic results, fashion designer, marine engineer, assistant, director, producer, writer, critic, MPAA rating, box office performance, budget, noir, commentary, influence, photography, settings, dialog, supernatural, spooky, absorbing, eerie, credibility, melodrama, originality, suspense, sexual themes, production code, suggestion, violence, passion, bare bones, short, minimalistic
 

Cast & Crew

Simone Simon

Kent Smith

Tom Conway

Jane Randolph

Jack Holt

Irena Dubrovna Reed

Oliver Reed

Dr. Louis Judd

Alice Moore

The Commodore

Simone Simon – Irena Dubrovna Reed
Kent Smith – Oliver Reed
Tom Conway – Dr. Louis Judd
Jane Randolph – Alice Moore
Jack Holt – The Commodore
Alan Napier – Doc Carver

 

Jacques Tourneur

NA

Val Lewton

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Jacques Tourneur
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Val Lewton

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Mildred Martin

Len G. Shaw

Mae Tinee

Wanda Hale

Edwin Schallert

Philadelphia Inquirer

Detroit Free Press

Chicago Tribune

New York Daily News

Los Angeles Times

CAT PEOPLE
 All Critics (67) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (6)
 A weird little chiller called Cat People… is calculated to frighten you out of your wits and make you think twice before trusting anyone who arouses a feline’s instinctive dislike.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Mildred Martin
 Philadelphia Inquirer
 TOP CRITIC
 Simone makes her way through his combination of phantasy and reality, and comes off creditably in a part that calls for emotional repression.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Len G. Shaw
 Detroit Free Press
 TOP CRITIC
 Photography and settings are effective, and the naturalness of the dialog issuing from such a murk of the fantastic is very impressive.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Mae Tinee
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 This RKO production is a great example of Hollywood’s waste of precious lime and valuable material.
 
 December 30, 2020 | Rating: 1/4
 
 Wanda Hale
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 Cat People, per all advance heraldings, is supposed to be some punkins as a thriller. But for my money, whatever that may amount to, it isn’t a breeze let alone a shiver.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Edwin Schallert
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 I do like a film that opens with a mission statement, and… Cat People starts thus: “Even as fog continues to lie in the valleys, so does ancient sin cling to the low places, the depressions in the world consciousness.”
 
 October 3, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Kate Muir
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Cat People leaves us with much to consider about its heroine, use of darkness and the unconscious, and the inward feelings that have haunted audiences since its release.
 
 February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 Perhaps this fantastic tale could have been arranged to achieve the eerie credibility of Dracula, but Simone Simon seems by nature to be more kitten than were wolf.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Moira Wallace
 San Francisco Examiner
 The film, which has been admirably mounted and tightly directed and acted, should find an appreciative audience among those who prefer melodrama with originality, but can scarcely be termed pleasant entertainment.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 E. A. Cunningham
 Motion Picture Herald (Exhibitors Herald)
 The legend has been staged effectively for the most part, by virtue of Nicholas Musuraca’s photography, exercised amid first-rate settings, and Jacques Tourneur’s direction. When the film is dealing with the supernatural, it is quite spooky and absorbing.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 Donald Kirkley
 Baltimore Sun
 Cat People is a story that will hold you through to the picture’s end. A flapping blind may be your undoing for several days to come, however.
 
 December 30, 2020
 
 KC Star Staff
 Kansas City Star
 Cat People benefits rather substantially from its justifiably iconic visuals and a smattering of admittedly captivating sequences…
 
 December 23, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 David Nusair
 Reel Film Reviews…

 

Plot
The Cat People originated way back in time, when humans sacrificed their women to leopards, who mated with them. Cat People look similar to humans, but must mate with other Cat People before they transform into panthers. Irene Gallier was raised by adoptive parents and meets her older brother Paul for the first time since childhood. We follow brother and sister – who seem to be the only ones of their kind left.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Cat People.
 

 
Jacques-Tourneur.jpg