Saturday, September 30, 2023

Quick reviews of two films: a classic and an amusing time-waster

At Plan9Crunch blog, we note two vintage films we recently enjoyed. One a classic I’ve seen and loved 20 times. The other a low-budget comedy from an RKO ‘40s team I like.

--Doug Gibson




THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, 1955

The above is an iconic scene from Night of the Hunter. I recently watched it again via TCM. Although opinions are subjective, I consider this the finest film ever made. Charles Laughton helmed an allegorical tale - based on the Davis Grubb novel - of Good and Evil battling over the welfare of two innocents.




Robert Mitchum is fantastic as the murderous, coveting faux preacher. But Lillian Gish, as the elderly, flawed but pure, protector of children ... wow, the finest performance I've witnessed in a film.

---


GIRL RUSH, 1944

This Carney & Brown comedy B film recently aired early morning on TCM. I look for the RKO comedy team's other films because I enjoy the team with Bela Lugosi in two films. "Girl Rush" was pretty amusing, an entertaining 65 minutes. One of the co-stars is comedienne Vera Vague. She's considered blowsey and unattractive in film, but she's actually gorgeous.




Also in the 1944 film is a young, just-signed-to-a-contract Robert Mitchum. It's surreal to see Mitchum in drag in the comedy film's climax, Yet the star power is there. Mitchum dominates every scene he is in. Wally Brown and Alan Carney were no competition to Abbott and Costello but they provided fun films in a similar comedy vein. 

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