DVR Catch-Up: Non Noir Edition

I recorded several movies last summer as part of my online course, Summer of Noir. In the past six weeks or so, I watched several of those films. But I've watched other films as well--this will be the shorter post.

Young Bess (1953): a romanticized story of Elizabeth I (Jean Simmons) and  Thomas Seymour (Stewart Granger.) Things I've read depicted him as a lech, but here he is an honorable man dedicated to his wife Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr) for the most part. A good film, if historical accuracies don't bother you.

Girl Missing (1933): I watched this mainly for Glenda Farrell--I love her as Torchy Blane. The cast included Lyle Talbot (an under-rated actor) and Guy Kibbee in a memorable scene. It was fun, if not memorable--a typical Warner Brothers B movie.

Nazi Agent (1942): I was curious to see Conrad Veidt in a dual role and was pleasantly surprised by this effective B film. Veidt expertly plays the kindly bookseller who has emigrated to America and the ruthless Nazi operative. As it sometimes happens in films (A Stolen Life and Dead Ringer come to mind) one twin impersonates and takes over the other's  life. I especially love that it's a pet bird that alerts the bad guys to the impersonation.

Wine, Women and Horses (1937): If there's a C movie category, this could epitomize it. Kind of predictable, only worth it for Ann Sheridan and Warner Brothers fans (like me.)

Find the Blackmailer (1943): Fun to see Jerome Cowan as a private eye again  (he was Miles Archer in The Maltese Falcon, and a detective in Crime by Night with "perky sidekick" Jane Wyman.) The plot was silly and complicated, but Cowan was good.

Now onto the 21st century.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): good popcorn movie--not much else to say.

Mockingjay Part Two (2015): I wasn't happy with the decision to split the last book in the series into two installments, and the third book was my least favorite. Still I watched this film with an open mind. Ultimately, it was a disappointing end to what could be an epic series.

I'll catch up on noir films in another post.