[CASUAL] January Movie Challenge

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I've watched more movies in the past two weeks due to bouts of not feeling like doing anything, including Mafia, because real life is kicking my ass right now and when I am not working I'm exhausted for the most part. My favorite channel is TCM, and that's where all of these come from.

1.

Repeat Performance (1947)

-- New Year's Eve, 1946. Actress wishes she could undo the events of 1946 that led to her shooting her husband on New Year's Eve. She falls asleep and wakes up to New Year's Eve 1945.

This movie sucked me in, as I started it about halfway in on the East Coast feed, watched it to the end, then watched the entire movie again on the West Coast feed. There's something about those years, 1947-1953, that fascinate me. I think it may be because my parents were kids then and grandparents were adults of course, but just soaking in the way people dressed and talked and treated each other and comparing that stuff to today is edifying. This movie had a simple, run of the mill premise, but the acting was solid and, apparently, the film was lost for some time or something and found within the last 20 years I think. 2/5 stars

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2. A Night at the Opera (1935) -- Classic Marx Brothers. I've seen 20+ times. Some comedy doesn't age well, some ages beautifully. This is the latter. 5/5 stars

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3. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) -- Retired war vet travels to desert town with a population of about 12 to find a particular person. When he gets there he learns the person he's looking for is no longer there. The town's residents are hostile to him, and he suspects foul play.

Spencer Tracy is a strong lead. Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis. 3/5 stars

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4. Topper (1937) -- Comedy. I've seen it before but it's been probably 20 years. Funny ghost movie with Cary Grant and Roland Young, but Constance Bennett steals it. Not a particularly great story. 3/5 stars

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5. The Philadelphia Story (1940) -- Comedy. I've seen 20+ times. High society wedding, with moralistic twist ending. Misogynistic and dated, etc., but still a top 10 film for me. Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart. Big secret though is Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler almost steal it. 5/5

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6. The Great Escape (1963) -- WWII POW camp in Germany. Allied troops decide they're going to escape 150+ prisoners in one night. It's a drama with quite a bit of humor. And packed with stars. Richard Attenborough, David McCallum, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Jim Garner, Donald Pleasance. Another top 10 for me. I've seen it at least 30 times. I always keep in mind that this was made just 17 or 18 years after WWII ended, and that makes it more authentic than a lot of period piecies in my opinion. 5/5

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*If anyone is interested in the transatlantic accent that Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and others had, TCM is showing a 5-minute short on its development and place in early-mid 20th century.