Not had a chance to update the thread for some time with what I have watched the last few weeks.
I really enjoyed The Spiral Staircase, which provided suspense right up until the end, and Goodbye Lenin’s mix of tragedy and comedy - I watched both of these on holiday.
One I didn’t care for that much, which it seems a lot of people do like is The Man With The Golden Arm - I think I must dislike films with gambling in as I’m noticing a theme, though Frank Sinatra put in a great performance and I did enjoy the sketch it painted of the slums.
Don’t bother to Knock had Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark paired as two strangers flirting in a hotel room while Monroe babysits, but her tragic past catches up with her. This was quite watchable but nothing particularly new.
T-Men was a treasury agent procedural, on the trail of counterfeit money. Quite a few twists and turns, while being a bit moralising.
The Devil Thumbs a Ride - Laurence Tierney (later to be in Reservoir Dogs), on the run after a robbery, hitches a ride with a drunk salesmen. They pick up some dames at a gas station, and as the cops close in, their troubles begin… not as good as Detour, but Tierney makes a thuggish single-minded villain, and the action moves fast. Some particularly amusing “drunk acting” by a night watchmen.
Murder By Contract - a professional calculating man becomes a hitman. Sent to California for a high profile job, he plans out his attack meticulously, showing a cool aloofness that frustrates the two goons who are babysitting him. The performance of the lead, Vince Edwards, made me feel I was watching an early Clint Eastwood role. Apparently a major inspiration for Scorsese, this is a tautly directed film with fantastic use of music to complement the action scenes.