Dad's Movies: "The Uninvited"

 This ticks two boxes that Dad had for old movies he liked to revisit. Stories about musicians and released during WW2. Which brings me to The Uninvited (1944). 

This was made during the time when psychology was becoming a trendy topic in Hollywood films. The show isn't all about psychological things but also works as a good haunted house story. Fortunately, the psychology angle isn't overdone and thus the show has aged better than other movies of the time. The plotting is a little convoluted but keeps you guessing well enough until the nature of the mystery is apparent, even if we figure it out well before the characters do. 

The cast is really good. Milland can be pretty bland in some of his shows but he's better here and of course we know he had acting chops since his famous performance in "The Lost Weekend" is only a few years off. Here, he plays it charming and cool, though he comes off a bit flat on the more dramatic scenes. 

Gail Russell gives a realistic, vulnerable performance which apparently was a reflection of the actor's insecurity in real life. The rest of the cast is good and Cornelia Otis Skinner doing well with a slightly off-balance take as the mental institution director who seems to have had a gay relationship with one of the "ghosts". And yeah, of course it's problematic that one of the weirder people in the movie is the lesbian. Fun! Oh, and isn't it funny how most of the people in the movie, which takes place in England, sound like Americans? 

The movie is justifiably famous for introducing the jazz standard song, "Stella by Starlight".

What also makes the movie work is the very effective cinematography, much of which takes place in dark, candlelit interiors. 

Dad's Movies: "Mr. Lucky"

 Given how much of a staple Grant's movies were in my home, growing up, it's a bit of a surprise that it's taken me this long to get to this one, Mr. Lucky (1943).  I can imaging Dad seeing this in between shifts at the aircraft factory he worked at during the war.

This movie fits Cary Grant's natural acting style like an old shoe; he really does convince as a charming con man. There are some unavoidable wartime propaganda aspects that bog things down in the last third of the movie, but it mostly works. Normally, the predicable character turns would be tough to swallow but Grant sells them well and Laraine Day's love interest character proves to be up to taking on Grant's smooth deceptions; she's actually pretty good here and has some depth of character. 

The film lacks some of the crackling dialogue that we got in Grant's best movies but the charm and overall good feelings smooth over the cracks. I'm grading this one on a bit of a curve due to the time it was made.