revenge of the fifty-word review

Three Donna Reed movies reviewed in fifty words each.

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

Fourth in the Thin Man series; a factory product. William Powell, Myrna Loy, and terrier Asta play their usual selves. The real reason to watch this is Donna Reed. Barely twenty, she already had that wonderfully mature and soothing voice that as much as anything made her America’s favorite housewife.

They Were Expendable (1945)

Flag-waving tribute to the PT boat crews trapped in the Philippines in the days leading up to the Bataan Death March. It’s well-made, but unrealistically heroic, without the complexity of From Here To Eternity or any subsequent WWII movie. Picture To Have and Have Not, only with Douglas MacArthur producing.

The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

An engaging F. Scott Fitzgerald story, great Epstein Brothers dialogue, and fine supporting performances by Eva Gabor, George Dolenz, and Roger Moore are negated by MGM’s soul-sucking blandness and the miscasting of Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, and Donna Reed in key roles. Suffers in comparison to Taylor’s next film, Giant.