TV and Movies

[Oznell]

This list expands from Part One, which was strictly film noir love stories.  This is slightly more eclectic-- it includes noirs, a suspense thriller and damsel in distress thriller!

The criterion for inclusion is that the movie must be so entertaining that I want it in my permanent library.  I don't think any of these contained "extras", except the Orson Welles film.

"THE CHALK GARDEN"--   Dame Edith Evans lives and gardens on the gorgeous, cliff-bound coast of southern England.  She has been vainly seeking a governess-companion for her troubled teen grand daughter, (Hayley Mills), when she encounters the ideal candidate (Deborah Kerr).  Or is she?

The mysterious "Miss Madrigal" has a veiled past, and everyone from an initially hostile Hayley to the household's intrigued manager/houseman, (John Mills), wants to know her secrets.

"THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSINGER"--   FABULOUS thriller with George C. Scott as a retired MI5 agent looking into a series of linked deaths in Britain, including the suspicious plane crash death of a close friend who was equally suspicious of the previous deaths.  He joins forces with the dead friend's aristocratic cousin (Dana Wynter) and an intuitive Frenchman involved in the crash.  This has Kirk Douglas in a pivotal role, and cameos by everyone from Frank Sinatra, to Tony Curiis, to Robert Mitchum.  Wittily directed by John Huston.

But it's the brilliant George C. Scott who holds the whole narrative together-- he is enigmatic and riveting throughout.

"TOUCH OF EVIL"--  Great Orson Welles-directed film about corruption on the border.  Charlton Heston in an off-beat role as a scrupulous Mexican investigator and newly wed husband of American Janet Leigh.  Their honeymoon trip quickly descends into murder, kidnapping, and cover-up of massive proportions.  Also stars Orson Welles himself as a monstrous sheriff, and Marlene Dietrich in another of her quirky turns.  

There are a couple more DVD's that I'll try to tack on later....