"Call of the Wild" (1935)

If you needed any other proof why Clark Gable was nicknamed 'The King' in 1930's Hollywood, then look no further than his charismatic star turn in this tale of the the Yukon Gold Rush at the turn of the 20th Century. He's sexy as all hell as a down on his luck fortune hunter who's searching for an apocryphal gold mine up in the backcountry mountains. He's aided by three loves, Loretta Young as the wife of lost prospector who knows the way to the gold, Jack Oakie as his comic relief sidekick, and Buck, his loyal St. Bernard sled dog. The story gives only a passing glance to the plot of Jack London's popular novella which put the anthropomorphized Buck at the center of the action. This being Hollywood they weren't going to make the biggest male lead of the day play second fiddle to a dog. What you do get is a lot of fun romance, dog races, snarling wolves, and stunning wintry vistas shot in Washington state. Reginald Owen shows up as the hissable baddie trying to steal the gold (and Buck). And let's not discount the performance of the canine himself. It's no wonder that Gable ends up with the lovable pooch over Young!

"Key Largo" (1948)

Proof an all star cast can take okay material and transform it into something great. Liberally adapted from a play by Maxwell Anderson, John Huston directs this story of a WWII vet (Humphrey Bogart) visiting the widow (Lauren Bacall) of one of the men in his company who died under his command in the battle of San Pietro. She lives with her wheelchair ridden father-in-law (Lionel Barrymore), the proprietor of a seen-better-days resort hotel in the remote Florida Keys. Things take a noir turn when we find out the the other guests at the place are a snarling kingpin mobster (Edward G. Robinson), his band of thugs, and his desperate ex-lounge singer gun moll (Claire Trevor). A bad hurricane hits and there's much verbal sparring, as Robinson tries to strong arm Bogie into getting him to Cuba and away from the law. Things could've gotten stagey here but Huston keeps things moving and the cast is like a finely tuned machine, everyone doing what they do best, especially Trevor who won a much deserved Oscar for her emotionally bruised character. When she does a boozy off-key rendition of "Moanin' Low" she's an exposed raw nerve. Robinson is always good as the heavy and Bogie is...well, Bogie. Nobody did the reluctant hero better in the history of movies.

Haiku review: "Five Came Back" (2017)

Old Hollywood goes
to war; fascinating and
essential viewing.