"Mogambo" (1953)

It doesn’t feel like a John Ford movie…and that’s the good news. It’s sexier and feels more ‘adult’ than you usually get with his simplistic fare. A good solid script by John Lee Mahin decidedly helps. Clark Gable is a big game hunter in the wilds of Africa vacillating between the love of two otherworldly beautiful women who just happen to be in his neck of the veldt, lusty Ava Gardner and prim Grace Kelly. (Don’t ask, only in Hollywood, folks.) You could probably make a lot of theories about who’s really the hunter here and who’s the hunted, but why overthink the surface appeal of the gorgeous locations and three iconic leads. Gardner is especially alluring doing her patented ‘earthy’ thing, at turns funny and ravishing. And there’s some authentic wildlife footage mixed into the proceedings, especially some up-close-and-personal stuff of a family of gorillas that’s aces. 

"The Feminine Touch" (1941)

The plot is convoluted and repetitive—two couples jealously mix and mingle— but when you’ve got four leads like Don Ameche, Rosalind Russell, Kay Francis, and Van Heflin delivering the rapid fire dialog and gags with nonchalant ease it’s lighter than air delicious. Director W.S.Van Dyke, who helmed the immensely popular ‘Thin Man’ movies, keeps the laughs coming like soap bubbles that keep popping before your eyes. You admire the sheen and before you know it, POOF!, you’re onto the next funny set-up. 

"Kiss of Death" (1947)

Richard Widmark made an indelible mark on Hollywood history here with one of the most auspicious film debuts ever. His portrayal of villain Johnny Uto is at turns smarmy, funny, engrossing, and chilling…no one had ever seen a pure sociopath depicted on the screen like this. He walks away with the movie in his pocket right under the nose of the earnest lead Victor Mature. The story is solid noir fare. Mature is a two-bit convict made to turn state’s evidence by Assistant D.A. Brian Donlevy against Widmark. Revenge ensues and it makes for some nice suspense set pieces between the two leads. Credit director Henry Hathaway for that and the almost documentary feel of the whole enterprise. And let’s not forget the notorious murder scene with Widmark that’s the definition of twisted. Is is so sick it’s funny…or the other way around? Either way it’s it’s unforgettable.

"Green Fire" (1953)

One of those slick technicolor adventure romances where a bunch of white leading characters entangle with love and intrigue in an exotic locale amongst ‘lesser’ people of color reduced to mere background props. Stewart Granger is a looking for elusive emeralds in the mountains of Colombia. There he meets and woos the beautiful owner of a coffee plantation (Grace Kelly) whose land may or may not contain those green rocks. Granger’s effortless swagger salvages the picture. He’s a got a sense of humor in his delivery, the lovable cad syndrome that always works. Kelly is a little stiff but it suits her character. And boy, does the look great in a bevy of Helen Rose peasant skirts. 

"Sister Kenny" (1946

We’d all prefer our Rosalind Russell as a funny lady. Nobody was better ‘cept maybe Ms. Ball on television. But even a dramatic Roz is better than most actresses anyday. And so here we get her in a sincere if somewhat humorless biopic as the selfless Sister Kenny, an early 20th Century nurse who pioneered treatment for children’s “infant paralysis”, later defined as polio. (You can already see why there are no laughs). Nevertheless it’s quite fun to see the feminist streak running thru the tale as, time and again, the domineering nurse has to defend her theories (and herself) to countless hospital administrations filled with skeptical male doctors. How could a lowly nurse know anything about medical research? It would be nice to say such patronizing practices are a relic of the past, but in this post-feminist #metoo world it’s sad to say they’re not.