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Macbeth (1948, USA, Welles)

Orson Welles is cursed twice, first to become the king of Scotland, a foggy scattering of rocks where even the nobles live in caves, and then to die for his troubles.  Fate is a bitch.  Watched it all.  Makes me wish that Welles made lots of cheesy B-movies.  Macbeth feels just like one, only .. better.  Much better.  The way you always wish a cheesy B-movie will be, but almost never is.

Up in Central Park (1948, USA, Seiter)

There’s no democracy in New York because that bastard Vincent Price controls everything.  Send in the singing immigrants and the idealistic reporters!  Watched: 9 minutes.

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Raw Deal (1948, USA, Mann)

Claire Trevor busts her boyfriend out of prison, and they head out on the road in a stolen car, with the cops and the gangsters and the shootouts.  Watched it all.  Anthony Mann is the meanest of the noir directors.  No glamour, just dangerous people hurting each other.  He’s also a kind of feminist.  His women are interesting characters in their own right, unpredictable, real.  The movies hinge on their decisions.

Apartment for Peggy (1948, USA, Seaton)

The kind old man wants to kill himself, because it seems like the sensible thing to do, what with the housing crisis and everything.  Watched: 10 minutes.

Moonrise (1948, USA, Borzage)

Dane Clark was picked on because his dad was a murderer, so he becomes one too.  He should have checked to see if his conscience (and the Hays Code) was okay with it first.  Watched it all.