This evening I saw “Secret Agent,” dir. Alfred Hitchcock (UK, 1936)… https://markstoneman.com/2025/04/07/this-evening-i-saw-secret.html [continued on blog]
#OldMovies

Just watched "Berlin Correspondent," dir. Eugene Forde (20th Century Fox, 1942). It's not so much about a reporter as it is about the Gestapo's efforts to uncover his spying and then beat his escapes. Interesting to me were the overt references to euthanasia or "mercy killings" in the film.
#OldMovies #WWII (1/2)

For thievery and spying escapades set in the Blitz, "Counter-espionage" (aka "The Lone Wolf in Scotland Yard") dir. Edward Dmytryk (Columbia Pictures, 1942) isn't bad. If its light tone, despite its air raids and bombs, seems out of place, it was produced for a wartime public in need of good tales.
#OldMovies #WWII (1/2)

I enjoyed "Diplomatic Courier," dir. Henry Hathaway (20th Century Fox, 1952) this evening, available at https://archive.org/details/diplomatic-courier-1952 and https://youtu.be/oZRYB30JIgQ. There were airplanes, trains, and cars from Washington to Salzburg to Trieste. One interesting twist for me: One of the leads was Hildegard Knef, who starred in the 1946 DEFA film "Die Mörder sind unter uns" (The Murderers Are Among Us). https://archive.org/details/diplomatic-courier-1952 #OldMovies #ColdWar

After watching Roberto Rossellini's 1945 "Rome Open City" (Roma città aperta) this weekend, I've started on his "Paisan" (1946). This is only the second time I've seen this remarkable collection of six stories about soldiers and civilians during the Allied liberation of Italy, and it feels raw. #OldMovies #WWII #Italy

Blogged this evening, riffing off lines from Rossellini's "Rome Open City" (1945): "Killing and Fueling Hatred" https://markstoneman.com/2025/03/31/killing-and-fueling-hatred.html

Here are 10 things you should know about Gloria Swanson, born 126 years ago today. She was one of the biggest stars of the silent era and later worked in the theatre, radio and television. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #FilmNoir #ClassicBroadway #OldTimeRadio #ClassicTV #SilentMovies

Here are 10 things you should know about Roscoe Arbuckle, born 138 years ago today. In his too-brief life and career, he experienced both dizzying heights and tragic depths. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #silentmovies #silentcomedie #CharacterActors

Here are 10 things you should know about Edward Everett Horton, born 139 years ago today. His name in the credits is enough to convince us to watch just about any picture. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #PrecodeMovies #ClassicBroadway #OldTimeRadio #ClassicTV #CharacterActors #Vaudeville

Here are 10 things you should know about Rockliffe Fellowes, born 142 years ago today. He began his career on the stage and made more than 60 movies over a 20-year film career. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #PrecodeMovies #ClassicBroadway #CharacterActors

Here are 10 things you should know about Marguerite Chapman, born 107 years ago today. She enjoyed success in modeling, motion pictures, radio and television. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #OldTimeRadio #ClassicTV

In California, an old man (Bela Lugosi) grieves the loss of his wife (Vampira) and on the next day he also dies. However, the space soldier Eros and his mate Tanna use an electric device to resurrect them both and the strong Inspector Clay who was murdered by the couple. Their intention ...

Plan 9 From Outer Space directed by Ed Wood (1959)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zNSQmS2gls

Here are 10 things you should know about Henry Travers, born 151 years ago today. The actor best remembered as Clarence the Guardian Angel enjoyed a 40-year stage career before turning to pictures. #OldMovies #ClassicMovies #ClassicHollywood #ClassicBroadway #CharacterActors

Watched "Il conformista" [The Conformist], dir. Bernardo Bertolucci (Italy, 1970). The first half stitches together vignettes to make the character who joined the secret police. Then we see him on a job in interwar France. The denouement comes after Mussolini's dismissal is announced on the radio. #OldMovies #Fascism

"Cloak and Dagger," dir. Fritz Lang (Warner Bros., 1946), is good as a thriller and as a war film. Unfortunately, it never develops its initial premise, the international race to develop the atomic bomb.
#OldMovies #AtomBomb #AtomicAge #WorldWarTwo (1/3)

If you want to watch a thriller set in 1939 before Germany's invasion of Poland, "Man Hunt," dir. Fritz Lang (20th Century Fox, 1941), holds up. Only the ending was unsatisfactory, if appropriate to a time when embattled Britain needed Americans to understand what was going on. #OldMovies

Watched "'Pimpernel' Smith," dir. Leslie Howard (British National Films, 1941), which imagines "The Scarlet Pimpernel" set in Germany in 1939. #OldMovies