"Quicksand," directed Irving Pichel

Movie, 1950

Serviceable, worthy film noir, concerning a series of crimes, committed in a chain reaction - an initial minor peccadillo leading into a series of more desperate measures. A semi-cautionary tale with some B-movie pacing which tumbles at a hurried end as if the whole thing had been played as a comedy after all. The femme fatale is pretty lightweight, reflecting an overall lack of intensity. For all that, this is an enjoyable caper with a few nice scenes and thrills connected with the genre. Largely forgettable, though fun while it lasted.

"Harvey", directed by Henry Koster

Movie. 1950

An extraordinary film by contemporary standards, happily charting the story of a happy drunk by showing his endless charm and immunity to any of the downsides of alcoholism. Such is the disconnect, it's hard to offer a proper critique of what happens on the screen - the imaginary rabbit is quite possibly dispensible, the drunk's family are desperate human beings and the role of the sanitarium flips between being sinister oppression to a force for societal good. Too distracting to watch on a modern critical level.


Image source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26353576