. . . muttered the ogre

Mister Roberts (1955) is the dullest movie I’ve sat through in some time. I did not turn it off because the characters have enough potential that one keeps thinking something might happen.

I was mildly surprised to find that To Catch a Thief (1955) is in color; I must have seen part of it before 1981. — The phrase cat burglar is never used in the film; how old is it?

Samurai Trilogy (1954-6) might make more sense if the subtitles covered more than half of the dialogue.

Simple Men (1992), recommended on an INTP list. Extremely indie. I abandoned it, bored.

Les diaboliques (1955), a murder story with a twist. From a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac; when they heard that Hitchcock had sought the rights, they wrote one with him in mind, and it became Vertigo.

Guys and Dolls (1955), a musical about gamblers, based on a story by Damon Runyon. The characters are quite engaging, and the songs amusing. Frank Sinatra sings, and as usual I wonder why.

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955). The title means either “Some violence among men” or “Of the violence in men”, I can’t say which. An impeccable suspense picture.

Funny Girl (1968). An unknown becomes a Ziegfeld Follies star through chutzpah; after that the plot gets boring, but the songs are still enjoyable.