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Reviews
They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
dated, boring, too long..
Charles Laughton, even more annoying than usual, full equipped with glued on beard and Italian accent, is a simple-minded farmer somewhere in napa.(wearing a pair of dungarees most of the time, which look like they might burst any second) having seen the waitress Carole Lombard only once, he's already very much in love with her and after writing some letters, proposes to her. being the coward that he is, he sends a photograph of his pal joe(equally unattractive William Gargan)to lure her to his farm in the desert. after a terrible accident(in which he falls off a roof while being completely wasted)Carol, his wife to be, finally gives in to her urges and has some fun with farmhand William Gargan.
will their relationship survive this tragedy?? believe me after 96 min, (wich felt like 2 hours) you wont give a rats ass about those little lost souls in the middle of nowhere.
and of course the upright local priest Frank Fay, who has such important lessons on life and love that you really wonder how one man alone can acquire such deep and meaningful knowledge is truly unforgettable.(pun intended)
on the other hand, if you're into 400 pound guys imitating Italian farmers(badly) and pretending to be 3 years old(with baby talk and all)than this is the movie for you.
i really wonder how Carole Lombard ever got into this nonsense. i got some (unintented) laughs out of this one, but overall its a real waste of time. if you wanna see gorgeous Carole Lombard in a good serious part watch Made for each Other.
Next Time I Marry (1938)
pleasant fluff
heiress lucille ball has to marry a 'plain American' to get her inheritance. already engaged to fortune hunter boyfriend lee bowman(is he really a count, who knows)she engages road worker james ellison, who is prepared to marry her for a certain summe of money...
not an unusual plot for a 30's screwball comedy..
one of few early films with lucille ball that i saw, i didn't expect a laughing riot (never liked her later TV persona much)but i was pleasantly surprised by this one.
the plot is funny and has a good tempo, lucille gives a good performance as an hysterical heiress, james ellison is a delight(never noticed him in any other movies though)and overall this movie amused me enough to catch it a second time..(which isn't that easy since its not commercially available) recommended
Spirit Trap (2005)
Lame and stupid..
this movie is really a waste of time. the plot(if you wanna call it that) is ludicrous at best and at times painfully stupid.
there are elements that could easily make a really enjoyable movie(old house, locked doors, doomed lovers) but everything original or interesting is either soon discarded or just not explained at all. also i couldn't help but feeling i already saw the same storyline in a number of movies, maybe thats just because the ending was so terribly predictable.
the acting is laughable, and involuntarily funny... i haven't seen any of the actors in any other movie, but they can only be better than this stinker.
how anyone would invest money to produce movies like this one is beyond me...
the only thing good was the song during the end credits...
therefore my rating: 1