76 - Lloyds of London (1936) - 8/10 - Freddie Bartholomew stars as Jonathan Blake, boyhood pals with Horatio Nelson. The two discover a plan to defraud those at Lloyds of London by scuttling a ship and claiming the insurance. Jonathan heads to London to warn them and earns a job there as a reward. Tyrone Power takes over as the adult Blake and befriends a woman named Elizabeth (Madeleine Carroll) who is trying to escape from France. This leads to a number of complications as time passes. There is a heavy emphasis on the need to insure ships, even in time of war. Blake also forms a syndicate to do this as well as insuring other things. I thought the movie was very entertaining with nice performances all around. It is clear that Bartholomew’s star power at the time since he received top billing even though he is only in the first 30 minutes of the film. He did a nice job, though.
77 - Jesus of Montreal (1989) - 8/10 - A talented young actor is brought in to update a Passion Play at a local church. He recruits other talented individuals and puts together an avant-garde production that is critically acclaimed. The actors find themselves changed somewhat as a result of this experience. Conflict with the Catholic Church threatens the continuation of the play. This was very well acted and I thought that the play within the movie was pretty creative as well. Very well done.
78 - This Above All (1942) - 7/10 - Joan Fontaine stars as Prudence Cathaway, a young aristocrat who joins the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) as a private, rather than using her family’s influence to become an officer. When helping a friend by going on a double date, she meets Clive Briggs (Tyrone Power), a moody man at times who seems to have something bothering him. The two fall in love and start spending what time they can together and eventually Prudence learns what his secret is. I thought that Fontaine was pretty good in her role. Power was perhaps a bit miscast, but did an adequate job. Overall I enjoyed the film, though I wouldn’t rank it near either actor’s best.
79 - Lillian Russell (1940) - 6/10 - Alice Fay stars in this biography about a singer who was very popular in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I thought that Alice Faye did a decent job, though the movie itself was a bit underwhelming. Henry Fonda was kind of stiff as newspaperman Alexander Moore. Don Ameche wasn’t much better as Lillian’s first husband. It was watchable and the singing was decent, but other than a few humorous bits here and there, it was fairly pedestrian.
80 - Sweethearts (1938) - 7.5/10 - Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy star as Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane, singing partners on the stage and happily married off the stage. Their lives are pretty frantic between their popular Broadway show, radio performances, recording, and other events. Their family and the people involved in the show all place numerous demands on their time so when a man from Hollywood tries to get them to move there, they are interested. The people in the show then plan how to keep them from going. You get a lot of good singing from MacDonald and Eddy as expected. There is a lot of humor here as well and I enjoyed the film quite a bit.
81 - Fellini’s Casanova (1976) - 2/10 - This is a bizarre and terrible film. It does have some interesting sets, but that’s about it.
82 - Stand By for Action (1942) - 7.5/10 - Robert Taylor stars as Lieutenant Gregg Masterson, a Harvard educated Naval Reservist who serves as an aide for Admiral Thomas (Charles Laughton). He spends much of his work time on social duties leaving plenty of time to plan tennis or flirt with women. He gets assigned as the XO of a first world war destroyer that has been in mothballs for 20 years, but is reactivated due to the need for ships. His captain (Brian Donlevy) is a man who worked his way up from the ranks during the first world war and later retired, but was recalled to active duty for the second world war. Walter Brennan also has a decent role in the film. After a shakedown cruise, their ship, the USS Warren, is assigned to join a convoy escorting ships to San Francisco. There is plenty of action in the film along with plenty of humor as well. I enjoyed it quite a bit.