L'empire de la nuit (1962)

 English tite: The Empire of Night

It's not clear what the protagonist does exactly; one site claims he is just a "cabaret show organizer", but he has more of the demeanor of a performer, with a large feminine following and very fame-conscious; he is never shown singing or dancing, however, and does have a say on the show's contents. He is hired to do a show in France and upon arriving there gets involved with the widow of the man who hired him and a plot by the dead man's brothers to seize control of his assets.

Criminal comedy. I found it uninspired and tedious. The dialogue is quite elaborate, but I'm not sure that is a positive thing.

Rating: 32

Salome, Where She Danced (1945)

 An Austrian dancer must flee to America after having spied on the Prussians. She and her American journalist friend stop at a small Western town, where she gets involved with an outlaw. The three of them move to San Francisco, where she then is courted by a rich Russian.

Very unusual film. It is almost universally hated by reviewers, though reportedly it did well at the box office. It acquits itself rather well in its creative mélange of several genres. Though it does not aim for laughter, the comedy label fits nicely to it. While not exactly an exciting movie, it handles well its theme of post-war social and individual challenges.

Rating: 51

Donnez-moi ma chance (1957)

English titles: Give Me a Chance; Give Me My Chance 

A young woman from a small town dreams of becoming a movie star. She goes to Paris, and struggles for parts in movies while taking part in amateur theater. She falls into an amorous trap.

Social drama. I suppose it works both as warning-to-the-young and a guide for makers of public policies. It is dated regarding morality. As for the basic problem of the financial survival of young artists, I assume things are a lot easier today, with all sorts of scholarships, grants and whatnot. Perhaps the movie helped progress in that aspect. Overall it's not a very interesting movie, but it's well done enough that it may be watched without excessive effort.

Rating: 34

Film (1965)

 A man is walking home and seems to shy away from other people's eyes. At home, he tries to eliminate all possibilities of being seen.

Short. This looks like what a child who had just been given a camera as a birthday present would produce as his or her first film. Naturally, since it came from a renowned theater author, all sorts of philosophical meanings have been ascribed to it. Said author seemed to take himself to be a modern Jesus, concocting all sorts of enigmatic parables for the intellectually inclined. It's often the case that the reviews and discussions are much more interesting than the play (or, in this solitary instance, film) itself. This review by poet and film lover Christopher Mulrooney is an example of that.

Love from a Stranger (1937)

 Soon after a woman wins the lottery she makes the acquaintance of a mysterious and charming man.

Suspense story which follows a very predictable pattern, but which probably was not as worn out a concept at the time it was written. These stories have a sort of educational purpose, I suppose, and I assume that as they got more and more popular, women became a lot more warier of men. This one, though hardly a masterpiece, is fairly watchable, and the supporting characters work as comic relief.

Rating: 43

Flor de mayo (1959)

English-speaking version's title: Beyond All Limits

An American shrimp fisher docks at a Mexican seaside town in search of an old fishing partner, to propose some joint fishing venture. It so happens that said friend's wife and the American guy have some unfinished business themselves.

Drama with a run-of-the-mill plot, yet well directed and acted, and overall passably entertaining. According to IMDB, it was filmed twice, respectively in Spanish and English. I saw both versions, which have slightly different lengths but are both shorter than IMDB says they should be. 

Rating: 43

Land Without Music (1936)

 U.S. title: Forbidden Music

A country is immersed in debt due to the fact that its population spends its time playing music rather than working. The ruling monarch decrees a ban of all musical activities. A famous tenor who was born there but lives abroad is visiting the country. He teams up with an American journalist in a plot to hold a secret musical performance.

Musical comedy. The plot is silly and not supposed to make much sense. The comic star is funny. The musical bits are not particularly memorable, but the tenor star is an excellent singer. The film is visually agreeable and provides some lightweight forgettable entertainment. The copy I watched appears to be a shortened (1h03') version, if the IMDB reports the correct length.

Rating: 41

The Captive Heart (1946)

 The life at a German World War II prisoner camp. Some flashbacks to the day before they leave for the war are shown; also we get a glimpse at the lives of those they left behind in England. The main drama concerns a Czech fugitive who assumes the identity of a dead British soldier.

English cinema seems to fall into either of two categories: sentimental and morbid. This film belongs to the former one, as expected. There isn't much of a plot as the main goal is to show in an almost documentary style the varieties of prisoner experience. So, it is not particularly exciting, but it is exceedingly well done and may be watched with some pleasure. 

Rating: 51

Elle & moi (1952)

English title: She and Me

The vicissitudes of a couple, starting with courtship, followed by their honeymoon, then their search for a house and finally their domestic problems, including their relationship with servants, with the couple's best friend, with the husband's former lover, their arguments over money problems, etc.

Comedy with somewhat dated notions. It's impeccably staged and acted, and, though not exactly hilarious, will probably make one smile during some bits. Apparently not many have seen it aside from prolific IMDB commenter dbdumonteil, who wrote a mostly correct review where he astutely points out that neither of the two protagonists works for a living.

Rating: 48

Mirage (1965)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on August 1, 1999.

A man experiences strange mnemonic phenomena the onset of which is geographically and chronologically proximal to the death of another man who fell from a high story in an office building.

Psychological thriller. It is based on a crappy novel and it shows. Though they fixed some of the more outrageous inconsistencies and polished the dialogue considerably, one can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, and therefore the result is passable at best. On the other hand, it has impeccable production values, which helps.

Rating: 34 (up from 27)