SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)

"The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it?"

Life in a small town is so boring, so young Teresa Wright is quite excited when her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) comes to visit her family.  Things are all hunky dory for a few days until Teresa starts to notice a few odd things about her uncle who she hasn't seen in years.  First off, he's kinda an asshole.  Secondly, he carries a lot of cash on him and thirdly, he's a fucking serial killer!!!  And worst of all: he knows she knows.  Yikes!

In the hands of Alfred Hitchcock this story rocks.  A lot of directors would be clumsy and screw the whole thing up, but Hitch plays it perfectly and even for such an old film it's still pretty exciting.  The story's logic is stretched a few times, but it's alright.  Great photography, quick pace, quirky characters, Skinny Puppy sample, strong performances, dark humor, lots of vampire themes/references.  Solid Hitchcock outing.  Worth a watch for sure.

THE CANARY MURDER CASE (1929)

Very rough around the edges early talkie mystery starting a pre-THIN MAN William Powell as detective Philo Vance.  Apparently a stage performer by the name of the Canary has her hooks into the son of a wealthy banker.  She plans on blackmailing him and when his father goes to talk some sense into her she winds up very dead.  Around the same time a whole slew of wannabe Canary fuckers were hanging around her crib, so now it's up to Philo Vance to figure out who all was there and who did the killing.

Sounds exciting, but it's not in the least.  Powell might have been at the top of his game in the mid-30's, but here with this script he's pretty dull.  But not as dull as those around him!  My Satan, it was torture getting through this...and I love old movies.  If it hadn't been for my curiosity to see a young William Powell and Jean Arthur I probably would've never made it through.  And speaking of Jean Arthur: she has like one minute of screen time.  Louise Brooks doesn't have much more.

Watch it if you want, but I'll never watch it ever again.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

At the end of WWII, three men with three very different lives come home.  Fredric March was a platoon Sargent in the South Pacific.  He's a banker with a loving wife (Myrna Loy) and two teenage children, including Teresa Wright.   Harold Russell (a real life Army veteran who lost both his hands in 1944) was a seaman who lost his hands in an explosion.  He lives with his parents and has a fiancee.  Dana Andrews is an Air Force captain and bombardier married to nightclub waitress (Virginia Mayo).  And she's been living the party life while he's been gone.  The three men's lives might be different, but all three face the same problems with readjusting to civilian life and putting the demons of war behind them.  That's all you really need to know about the story.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES rightfully won a wheelbarrow full of Oscars, but I think it should have won two more.  Most notably Teresa Wright for Best Supporting Actress.  I thought she was absolutely stunning in her performance of a young woman tormented with her emotions.  Anne Baxter's performance in THE RAZOR'S EDGE (she did win) was good, but not as impressive as Teresa's performance.  Also it should have won for Best Cinematography.

Also, Dana Andrews should have won over Harold Russell for Best Supporting Actor.  Russell was good and he did get an honorary Oscar for his brave performance, but as far as acting skill goes Dana Andrews turns in one of the best performances of his career in this film.  And with as many outstanding performances as he had, that's saying something.

Side note: IMDb lists Joyce Compton as "Hat Check Girl (uncredited)" but I don't see her anywhere.