The Stop Button

An appreciation of amusements.

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Entries Tagged as 'Ella Raines'

Phantom Lady (1944, Robert Siodmak)

December 31st, 2007 No Comments

There’s a distinct, definite brilliance to Siodmak’s direction. The film itself is unique in casting a woman as the hero in a film noir, essentially Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, while maintaining her as female. Ella Raines’s boss (played, in the film’s only mediocre performance, by Alan Curtis) is falsely convicted, due to perjury. Raines […]

The Runaround (1946, Charles Lamont)

December 10th, 2007 No Comments

It takes a while for The Runaround to get started… actually, I suppose it’d more accurate to say it stalls out after the first fifteen minutes, then takes another twenty or so to get started again. The film starts out strong with Frank McHugh in a sidekick role–McHugh’s perfect in that role–and lead Rod Cameron […]

Hail the Conquering Hero (1944, Preston Sturges)

October 26th, 2005 No Comments

Well.
I’m trying to think about how to talk about Hail the Conquering Hero. It shouldn’t so difficult. The film is great, better than I remembered it, but it’s never easy to talk about great films. I mean, how many words can you pull out of your ass for something you love? You want to share […]