I watched a lot of movies this month, but a majority of them were spent in the shadows of film noir thanks to TCM’s Summer of Darkness. Alongside that, I got to see one of my favorite movies of all time on the big screen: Double Indemnity! Anyway, let’s take a look at what I watched in July.

New-to-Me: 29

Re-Watched: 7

New-to-Me Films by Decade:

• 1920s – 1
• 1930s – 0
• 1940s – 8
• 1950s – 15
• 1960s – 1
• 1970s – 0
• 1980s – 1
• 1990s – 1
• 2000s – 1
• 2010s – 1

List of New-to-Me Films:

1. The Full Monty (1997)
2. Romancing the Stone (1984)
3. Best in Show (2000)
4. Follow Me Quietly (1949)
5. The Threat (1949)
6. Shadow on the Wall (1950)
7. Armored Car Robbery (1950)
8. The Window (1949)
9. Destination Murder (1950)
10. High Wall (1947)
11. Marlowe (1969)
12. Inside Out (2015)
13. The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
14. Black Hand (1950)
15. Tension (1949)
16. Where Danger Lives (1950)
17. The Woman on Pier 13 (1949)
18. A Lady Without Passport (1950)
19. Cause for Alarm! (1951)
20. No Questions Asked (1951)
21. The Racket (1951)
22. Too Late for Tears (1949)
23. 99 River Street (1953)
24. Roadblock (1951)
25. Kansas City Confidential (1952)
26. Talk About a Stranger (1952)
27. Split Second (1953)
28. The Locket (1946)
29. Metropolis (1927)

Monthly Tallies

• Best Picture Nominees Watched: 1
• Movies Watched from The Criterion Collection: 0
• Movies Watched via the Watch TCM app: 12
• Movies Watched on TCM: 17
• Movies Watched on Hulu: 0
• Movies Watched in theaters: 2

Trends and Notes

• Watched 28 films noir from TCM’s Summer of Darkness festival, 24 of which were new-to-me. And the rest of this month’s trends will be as a result of watching so many noir films!
• Watched 6 films from the year 1949, 2 of them were in a row.
• Watched 4 films starring or featuring Charles McGraw, one was a re-watch.
• Watched 7 films from the year 1950, with two instances where I watched 2 of them in a row.
• Watched 3 films featuring William Talman.
• Watched 3 films featuring or starring Barry Sullivan, 2 of them were in a row.
• Watched 4 films starring or featuring Robert Mitchum, 2 of them were in a row where one was a re-watch.
• Watched 4 films from the year 1951, 3 of them were in a row.
• Watched 3 films featuring or starring Lizabeth Scott, 2 of them were in a row and the other one was a re-watch.
• Watched 4 films from the year 1952, 2 of them were in a row and the other 2 were re-watches.

A Few Favorite Discoveries:

Inside Out (2015), directed by Pete Docter

A lot of people have been complaining about the recent output of Pixar films not being up to par with the company’s usual creativity as the last few have been linked to previous films. I still enjoy everything Pixar puts out, whether it be a sequel, a prequel, or an original film. Here though, the company brings one of its most profound films, perhaps even the most out-there of ideas they’ve presented in narrative form. Viewers can see how much thought was put into the process of what goes on in one’s head. As this is a movie that centers on emotions, it is quite an emotional movie-watching experience, touching on aspects of growing up that everyone can relate to. And what I love most about this film is the message of how important every emotion is, even a so-called negative emotion like sadness. This is one of Pixar’s smartest films, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the best new film I see this year.

Too Late for Tears (1949), directed by Byron Haskin

This is another film noir that was recently restored and aired for the first time on TCM, and I’m glad I got to watch it in great quality. Lizabeth Scott is one of my favorite noir actresses, and she’s at her noir best here as the film’s femme fatale. Another actor I love seeing in film noir is Dan Duryea, who always serves as a great presence as a bad guy. But even here as a bad guy in this film, his character still gets his morals tested by the deadly Scott. And throughout it all is some sharp dialogue served by the characters, especially in the interactions between Scott and Duryea. Too Late for Tears is one of film noir’s hidden gems that I hope more people see in its restored print.

Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang

I posted my seventh entry for my 2015 Blind Spots series earlier this week on Metropolis, one of the best films I saw in July. My thoughts on the film can be found here.