Priscilla (2023): How Priscilla met Elvis and how it all evolved from her POV. This is a reflective movie about her rather than a tribute to The King (which is a good thing).
Freaky Tales (2025): I’m guessing this would be a lot of fun to watch while stoned, but since I saw it straight, I wasn’t that engaged. Kudos to set/props/wardrobe for throwing the most stereotypically 80s stuff everywhere.
Down to Earth (1947): Rita Hayworth is stunning. That’s the only thing I liked about this musical. I watched it thinking I was going to watch a bunch of movies related to “Here Comes Mr. Jordon”, (Heaven Can Wait, Down to Earth w/ Chris Rock, and less related, A Guy Named Joe, and my favorite: A Matter of Life and Death) but it became a James Gleason week, instead.
The Meanest Gal in Town (1934): Cute old timey comedy. Barber won’t marry the gal he loves until he can get a second chair for his shop. Her business is going well, but not his – until he hires a hotty to manicure the men who want to make time with her. Chaos ensues. Oh, and James Gleason is in it.
** “Hildegarde Withers” series of whodunit murder/comedies (there were 6, but I only saw 5) **
The Penguin Pool Murder (1932): Edna May Oliver stars as a prim and sharp tongued teacher who sees a body land in the penguin pool at the Aquarium. James Gleason is the hard boiled NYC cop who has to deal with her smarts. Cute penguin.
Murder on the Blackboard (1934): Same stars as same characters investigate a murder at Hildegarde’s school. Still entertaining watching the the two interplay.
Murder on a Honeymoon (1935): Same stars/characters but this time outside NYC. Weaker film. The sharp criticisms are fun at the start, but the film drags in the middle. I liked the resolution despite a silly ending.
The Plot Thickens (1936): Galling because they replaced Edna May Oliver with Zasu Pitts (who played the love interest in The Meanest Gal in Town), but as a movie, it is probably a shade better than ‘Honeymoon’. There was no reason to keep the Hildegarde Withers character because not only did they change actresses, they changed her personality. They should have let Inspector Piper deal with a new dame.
Forty Naughty Girls (1937): Well, at least we get to see the two going out together. I still think it’d have been better with Edna May Oliver, but I don’t know if even she could have saved it. There’s funny bits, but in both this and the previous flick, Zasu Pitts is too cute and slightly… meek? demure? compared to be the original Hildegarde Withers.
** “Hildegarde Withers” series of whodunit murder/comedies (there were 6, but I only saw 5) **