My Week of Movie Watching

The Big Lift – 1950 dramatization of the Berlin airlift following WW2. The story is told through the eyes of 2 American soldiers: The sensitive Danny (Montgomery Clift), who falls for a German girl who may not be what she seems, and Kowalski (Paul Douglas), who carries deep resentments from his time as a POW. The real story here is the destruction and hardship wrought upon German citizens from the war. The film is shot on location in Berlin, and makes no effort to hide the ruined city. The film is good as an historical illustration of an important event, but as a human drama, it falls a bit short. The stories don’t quite engage, despite fine performances from the two leads. A lukewarm recommendation.

21 Days – Tight little drama from 1940 stars Laurence Olivier as a young man who accidentally kills the estranged louse husband of his girlfriend (Vivian Leigh). When another man is arrested for the crime, the couple embark on a wild 3-week romantic spree. The rationale is, if the man gets off, all is OK. If he is convicted, Olivier’s Larry will have to turn himself in. It’s a neat little plot, and as the movie is barely an hour long, it doesn’t waste a frame. It’s also neat to see Olivier and Leigh at the start of their relationship, both looking young and gorgeous. Recommended.

The File on Thelma Jordon – This Noir from 1950 was unknown to me and a nice little surprise. Wendel Corey plays a married lawyer who gets involved with another woman (Barbara Stanwyk). When she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her elderly aunt, Corey connives to get himself appointed as prosecutor, thus enabling her to get off. Ah, but it’s not quite that simple. What I loved about this one was that both lead characters go into this situation knowing that it’s wrong, and they stand to lose everything. Hell, Corey is never even sure that Stanwyk didn’t kill the old lady, and tells her so. He is following his loins, not his brain. File was directed by the great Robert Siodmak, who also did Noir essentials Criss Cross, The Spiral Staircase, and The Killers. I put this one right there in the same class as those titles. Check it out, by all means.

The Wild Ride – Arrogant young race car driver treats his friends like servants, and thumbs his nose at the law. Then, his meddling in the love life of his best friend causes a tragedy. This low-budget number from 1960 would be completely forgettable, except for the gentleman who plays the race driver. That would be a very young Jack Nicholson. There’s nothing here to indicate that this punk would become the biggest star in the world (although the Nicholson sneer is already there). Not really recommended, except as a novelty for Nicholson fans.