July movies, part 2 of 3:

116. (653.) Show Boat (1951)
I'm told that this isn't the best production of Show Boat, but I don' think I care. I think I've had it with Rodgers and Hammerstein. I don't find their music entertaining, and I typically find their stories somewhere between boring and depressing.

117. (654.) $ (1971)
Yup. The movie is named $, pronounced "dollars." The top billed stars are Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn, but I tuned in for Gert Frobe! I've said before that I like heist films, and this definitely qualified both as a heist film and a film I like.

118. (655.) Hot Summer Night (1957)
Leslie Neilsen's career can rather cleanly be divided into two halves. His starring role here falls firmly in the first half. Good noir, but not great.

119. (656.) The Italian Job (1969)
This was the original Micheal Caine version, not the Marky Mark remake. It's more comedy than heist film, and except for the overly long Mini Cooper commercial in the third act, a lot of fun.

120. (657.) To Be or Not To Be (1942)
Jack Benny does what he can to protect Poland from the Nazis in World War II. What a great set-up for some jokes! Jack Benny still delivers.

121. (658.) The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
I started watching this on PBS a few months back, but didn't get to see the ending until it came on TCM earlier this month. It's a really good film. I doubt the book could be better. The best part of the film is seeing the portrait itself (although the amoral Lord Wotton runs a close second).

122. (659.) Super 8 (2011)
So J.J. Abrams thinks he's Stephen Spielberg? No sir, I don't like it.

123. (660.) The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936)
I'd heard that Jack Benny didn't have much of a movie career, but this, the second Benny movie I saw this month proves that he was as funny on the big-screen as he was on the radio.

124. (661.) College Holiday (1936)
Even more Jack Benny (and Burns & Allen). This film is a lot weaker than the previous two Benny movies (the plot barely exists and is only there to link the songs and gags), but he's still plenty impressive. If you like comedy, give a Jack Benny movie a shot.

More movies coming soon. (For the record, Jack Benny wasn't the only actor I saw three times this month. I'll tell you who the other three are next post.)

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