Widely hailed as a classic of film noir, Out of the Past is difficult, complex, and not entirely satisfying. The Robert Mitchum caper has the star as a gas station attendent with a past shrouded in mystery, namely involving a lot of money and a dame (Greer), of course. The money and the dame belong to Kirk Douglas, and most everyone ends up dead. A little too brooding and stylish for its own good, if you ask me.

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Gunfight At The O.K. Corral Review

By Christopher Null

Weak

Interested in the Wyatt Earp-Doc Holliday-O.K. Corral legend but don't want a lot of bloodshed? Or maybe you feel like dozing off a bit?

Have I got a movie for you! The Burt Lancaster-Kirk Douglas rendition of the still-going-strong story of the shootout in Tombstone is possible the tamest and least inspired on record, a workmanlike and low-budget retelling of the story. No insight, no real violence, no soul. This Gunfight doesn't actually occur until 1 hour and 45 minutes into the film -- tragic in its deception and painful in the boredom induced on the way.

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The Spiral Staircase Review

By Christopher Null

Good

Heralded as a noirish classic, The Spiral Staircase is terribly forced as a thriller. While the ubiquitous eye peeping through the wall (which belongs to a serial killer of "afflicted" women in the 1910s) is creepy, the bad guy can really only be one of two people in the pick. Dorothy McGuire does a fair job as the mute could-be-next victim, but overall the thrill of Spiral is largely gone.