Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

mark.waltz The cellblock tango that the title character here really is her dance of death as she faces her tragic past during the last hours of her life. Told through her fading mind while under a mind-altering sedative, the film mixes some pretty impressive special effects with an outstanding screenplay that documents her life from being adopted by an elderly couple to their tragic death, her attempts to become a dancer in New York, subsequently working in the circus, the tragic rape by a rather salacious lion tamer (John Miljan), and ultimately, her affair with a powerful politician who becomes governor. The back story is told through the sympathetic D.A. who just happens to be the brother of the governor's wife, maliciously determined to destroy the woman who wrote the anonymous letters to her husband.The heroine is gloomily played by Zita Johann, but if your life had the issues of hers, you'd be gloomy too. She is as equally moody as her character from "The Mummy", only showing any sort of happiness when she's with her lover (Paul Cavanagh) who also gets the chance to explain his side of the story to the audience. Claire Du Brey is Cavanaugh's wife, although they never share a scene together, simply seen sitting in brother Alan Dinehart's office listening to his story of the heroine's life. At first, the flashbacks show Dinehart as rather hard-boiled and Du Brey is definitely initially perceived as a vindictive fish wife, both using Cavanaugh for their own gains. There certainly isn't any love lost between the governor and his wife (only insinuated through his love for Johann and Du Brey's controlling personality), so as the story unfolds, it is obvious that she will have to open up her eyes to why he strayed.This film only challenges credibility a few times, but is mesmerizing throughout. For a Majestic film, it is also preserved extremely well and never drags or crackles and pops like many poverty row films. For a story that has been done over and over again, this one ranks as one of the best of the doomed dame films and is certainly deserving of moving up the ranks to become a classic beyond the exploitation theme it seems to have been promoted as.

JohnHowardReid Based on a stage play entitled "Burnt Offering" by newspaperman turned press agent (for Webber and Fields, Chauncey Olcott and many others), W. Maxwell Goodhue, this is, to say the least, an amazing film noir. Its complex narrative structure anticipates many of the famous classics including Citizen Kane. Nor is the direction by Phil Goldstone (a "B" movie producer who directed only two sound movies of which this is the first) in any way lacking. In fact, it's very inventive, as is the darkly noirish cinematography of Ira H. Morgan (who co-photographed the fabulously spectacular "When Knighthood Was in Flower" in 1922 but whose career declined in the sound period where, except for an occasional "A" like Chaplin's Modern Times, he worked almost exclusively in Poverty Row. He managed to chalk up over 200 credits in all before his death in 1979). The acting too is highly creditable, particularly by Zita Johann in the title role, John Miljan as one of the most repulsive villains ever seen in a movie, Claire Du Brey as the self-centered, antagonistic Mrs. Crawford, and Paul Cavanaugh as the charming but disappointingly weak-willed governor. The only not-so-hot performance is offered by the normally thoroughly professional Alan Dinehart who seems unsure how to play his role. As a result, he simply rattles off his lines and is often unconvincing. In all, however, The Sin of Nora Moran is a must-see item for every film noir fan. Available on an excellent Alpha DVD.

jorozko This film is a great surprise. Apart from being thematically unusual (murder, suicide, corruption, capital punishment, rape, etc) it is visually astonishing and years ahead of its time, anticipating lots of stuff from 40's film noir to art-house European cinema (Bergman's Wild Strawberries for instance).The film uses the `narratage' technique first used the same year by Preston Sturges in `The Power and the Glory' (also a very interesting film, directed by William K. Howard and a clear precedent of `Citizen Kane') which consists of voice-over narration and flashbacks and flashforwards, but if takes it much further with a very complex structure that includes flashbacks within flashbacks, dreams, hallucinations, flashforwards and characters appearing in scenes where they were not originally present and commenting the action with the main character.The film is also extraordinarily shot with quasi expressionistic photography, lots of tracking shots, montages and very imaginative use of stock footage. To make all this even more admirable the film was produced on a very low B budget and it runs only 65 minutes.

Kitreno This film's not quite what you expect from 1933, the trailer boasts that it uses the famous 'narratage' technique from Preston Sturges's The Power and Glory, with Flashbacks and narration; then Flashbacks within Flashbacks. At just sixty five minutes the plot twists are great and the old fashioned dialog is really quite funny.Made on a tight budget, it manages to look like a bigger movie using library footage and cleaver back projection. Overall well worth watching just for the novelty value.