With September comes football, but I still managed to watch a bunch of movies! Here's the first half of the bunch.

154. (691.) The Children's Hour (1961)
This movie deserves extra credit for trying to tackle a subject it refuses to explicitly describe. (The "L" word.) I was lukewarm on this predictable suspense/melodrama, but the final scene sold me. Also, I'm not much of a Shirley MacLaine fan, but she was a hottie in her youth!

155. (692.) Pillow Talk (1959)
Ugh. Rock Hudson: "Me man. You woman. Me take you to my cave!" Doris Day: "Oh-kay!" Ugh. Seriously, everyone involved in making this film — including the audience — should be embarrassed.

156. (693.) Fourteen Hours (1951)
We spend the entire movie waiting to see if a man will commit suicide by jumping off a building. The best part isn't the drama on the ledge but the bystander's reactions. (This film reminded my of 2002's Phone Booth, but for the life of me, I don't know why.)

157. (694.) Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Ah, John Carpenter can do no wrong. No, I take that back: Ghosts of Mars, which borrows too many elements from this earlier, far superior bit of fluff.

158. (695.) 36 Hours (1965)
This was a G.I.Joe episode! Part suspense, part thriller, all good.

159. (696.) Darby's Rangers (1958)
Part bio-pic, part propaganda, all boring.

160. (697.) The Split (1968)
I love heist films, but not this one. I mean, it's okay, especially the footage of the Atlanta Falcons playing the L.A. Rams in 1968, but the protagonist — one Jim Brown — is very hard to like. I got the impression that when Gene Hackman arrived very late in the picture, he was the real hero.

161. (698.) Mister Buddwing (1966)
This movie felt like a rejected Twilight Zone script, as James Garner wanders around New York in search of his true identity. It's not an especially memorable film, but there are some pretty girls, including Suzanne Pleshette, Katharine Ross, Jean Simmons, and Nichelle Nichols. New York is apparently populated exclusively by beautiful people. Who knew?

More to come.

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