70/2640. Crack in the World (1965)
A mad scientist nukes the Earth's crust in the hopes of breaking it, and he succeeds, unleashing a series of earthquakes that threatens to destroy the whole world. It was dull, but I watched the hole thing.

Intense underground heat, Janette Scott? Have a pause that refreshes!

71/2641. The Crowded Sky (1960)
This airplane disaster film plays backwards, with most of the runtime devoted to introducing the characters who will die in the midair disaster, which comes very late. The many, many inner monologue voiceovers are intended to be dramatic but instead come across plane hilarious.

72/2642. Another Face (1935)
This one is also constructed backwards: it's a farce where the only person who has mistaken an identity is the gangster who has had plastic surgery and is trying to parlay his new beauty into Hollywood stardom. Helped greatly by its short runtime, this film nose not to overstay its welcome.

73/2643. The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
The biplane-era aerial action is the only reason to keep watching this episodic story of the frequently unsatisfying life of an early barnstormer. Many of the episodes end with death; it's an a-salt on the nerves.

74/2644. Big Wednesday (1978)
A long time ago, I read that this American Graffiti-wannabe coming-of-age surfing tale from John Milius (screenwriter of Apocalypse Now and Red Dawn) was the film that Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas thought would be better received than Jaws and Star Wars. Goes to show what they know. Despite its killer cast (hello, Reb Brown!), the autobiographical nature of its themes results in a week narrative.

The 1960s changed America, but Coke soldiers on!

More to come.

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