The Stop Button

Gilda (1946) D: Charles Vidor. S: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray, Joe Sawyer, Gerald Mohr. Too long, impressively moody noir does well on an obviously limited budget. Ford’s a gambler down on his luck in Argentina, Macready’s a megalomaniac looking for a pal, Hayworth’s the dame who drives them both literally mad. As in criminally insane. Macready does that creep well; Ford does not. Hayworth’s dynamite, however, and Calleia’s fantastic as a laconic cop.

Napoleon (1927) D: Abel Gance. S: Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmond van Daële, Gina Manès, Nicolas Koline, Annabella, Philippe Hériat. Singular achievement from Gance, recounting Napoleon (Roudenko then Dieudonné) from childhood to the start of the Italian campaign. Lots of time on the Revolution, the Terror, Toulon, and romancing Joséphine (Manès). Sometimes, Gance balances the messianic framing with the horrors of war or the dangers of megalomaniacs. But mostly, it’s just messianic. And transfixing. Peerless filmmaking, fabulous acting. A couple restorations exist: the COPPOLA (Francis Ford) and the BROWNLOW. See the latter if at all possible.

Night Key (1937) D: Lloyd Corrigan. S: Boris Karloff, Warren Hull, Jean Rogers, Alan Baxter, Hobart Cavanaugh, Samuel S. Hinds, David Oliver. Uneven crime thriller about unscrupulous alarm company owner Hinds taking advantage of wizened genius Karloff one too many times. Karloff breaks bad a little, using a gadget (the NIGHT KEY) to sabotage Hinds’s service, drawing the attention of gangster Baxter. Karloff’s great, Rogers is earnest as his daughter, and Baxter’s okay. Otherwise, recast it. Tepid direction doesn’t help.

One More Time (1970) D: Jerry Lewis. S: Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, John Wood, Dudley Sutton, Maggie Wright, Ester Anderson, Percy Herbert. Just okay sequel has London club owners Davis and Lawford heading to the country and getting involved in an intrigue concerning Lawford’s just revealed twin brother, South African thugs, and various mistaken identities. Davis and Lawford spend way too much time apart. The third act’s way too tinkered. Director Lewis’s comedy direction’s (at most) middling, but he’s got moments.

The Raven (1935) D: Lew Landers. S: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware, Samuel S. Hinds, Spencer Charters, Inez Courtney. Moody but unsuccessful “adaptation” about brilliant, misanthropic, Poe fanatic neurosurgeon Lugosi coming out of retirement to save Ware’s life. He then falls in love with her and starts creeping on her. She eggs him on (to the point her father, Hinds, gets involved). Little does anyone expect Lugosi’s plan to involve Karloff, blackmail, and torture. The short runtime helps.

Salt & Pepper (1968) D: Richard Donner. S: Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark, Ernest Clark. Frequently problematic, cartoonish outing for Davis and Lawford. They’re club owners in swinging London and get involved with espionage. Occasionally delightful, usually diverting. Donner’s got a few strong moments but he doesn’t show any flare for the fight scenes, and–appropriately–even less for the madcap. The cast is game, and the leads do have great timing. And wardrobe.

Snitch (2013) D: Ric Roman Waugh. S: Dwayne Johnson, Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Melina Kanakaredes, Nadine Velazquez, Jon Bernthal. Badly done crime thriller about regular guy Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson going undercover to get his son a deal with the DEA. Johnson and de facto second lead Bernthal spend most of the movie talking to each other about the plot. The script’s talky and tedious and utterly absent character development. Not incompetent just boring and bland.people