Movies

Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons (1960) George Sanders gives a decidedly un-gallic twist to this sensationalized version of the story of misogynist serial-killer Henri Landru. Takes place in that half-french world where a few main characters, and all police officers, clerks and taxi drivers speak with French accents. Sanders is always immaculate and impeccable, and this is a good showcase for his appealing villainy. Moderately entertaining. 6/10

George Sanders: "I'll be with you in a moment, my dear."

Spare a Copper (1940) George Formby is a police reservist who becomes entangled with a gang of saboteurs trying to blow up a new battleship. Directed by John Paddy Carstairs, who also directed some Norman Wisdom films, it's nonsensical throughout, but quite amusing. The songs are good and sufficiently frequent, the humor is less crude slapstick and repetitive chasing around than some of the other Formby films I have seen recently, and he comes across as a charming character at times rather than an irritating idiot. There is a climactic chase sequence that becomes bizarre and dreamlike as George drives a miniature car around a carnival's Wall of Death and launches it out the top to drive across the rooftops. For this sort of all-purpose comedy it is really rather good. 8/10