Back to Bataan (1945)

back to bataan is a disappointing Second World War film that's best left alone.

John Wayne stars as Col. Joseph Madden, an American soldier working with Filipino resistance fighters against occupying Japanese forces.

Anthony Quinn is Capt. Adres Bonifacio, a resistance leader who's freed from captivity.

His girlfriend, Dalisay Delgado (Fely Franquell) broadcasts propaganda for the Japanese. Not good.

That's Beulah Bondi from It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as a teacher of Filipino children.

RATING: 5/10

FUN FACTS: Lawrence Tierney appears as Lt. Cmdr. Waite. He was in The Naked Gun: Files from Police Squad more than 40 years later.

Penny Serenade (1941)

Penny Serenadeis a spin worth taking.

Told in flashbacks with records tied to pivotal moments, this 1941 drama from director George Stevens (Shane, Giant) considers the relationship of Roger and Julie Adams (Cary Grand and Irene Dunn).

Their marriage appears to be over. Why, we don't know until near the end of the film's two-hour running time.

It's music that brings this couple together. Roger hears a song played at a record store. He sees Julie and is smitten.

Their relationship starts and deepens. These kids are crazy about each other, but Roger isn't too keen on having children of his own. When a job comes up to report in Japan, he's game and, on New Year's Eve, asks Julie to marry him.

There's more spur of the moment decisions by Roger - rash perhaps - that rankle his better half. He lives in spacious quarters, with servants, in Japan. He'd fit in with folks who live above their means in 2014, taking advances on his salary to pay the bills. Julie, who joins him in the Far East, is rattled by his decision to quit his job and travel the world with a modest inheritance. What about our baby, she asks.

The couple return to America and set up shop in a small California town. Roger wants to run his own newspaper. Circulation isn't as big as his dreams. There's bad news with their expected child. An earthquake in Japan badly hurt Julie. She can't bear children. Julie wants to adopt. Roger needs some coaxing.

There's no grand adventures in Penny Serenade. Roger struggles to get by. Julie wants a child. They get their wish when a newborn becomes available for adoption. There's some funny scenes as the inexperienced parents deal with a crying infant that needs to be washed and diapered. Roger grows to love being a dad. But tough times in the newspaper business - hello again 2014 - mean the couple don't have the income necessary to formally adopt Trina. They risk losing her and eventually each other.

"We don't need each other anymore," Julie suggests as their marriage hits a tough stretch.

Penny Serenade is touching without being melodramatic, funny without being a farce.

Hurray for Edgar Buchanan as Applejack Carney, a friend of the couple whose handy in the childcare department and quick with a joke.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: That's Eva Lee Kuney as Trina at age six. She appeared in seven films between 1935 and 1948 including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Cary Grant received an Oscar nomination for best actor for his work in Penny Serenade.

It's a Wonderful Life (1947)

It's A Wonderful Life is a wonderful movie.

Reel Popcorn Junkie has reviewed several Christmas films in recent weeks. This is the best of the bunch.

It's hard not to cry watching Frank Capra's 1947 film. Fellas, that's OK.

There's tears of empathy for George Bailey (James Stewart), the dreamer from a small town who wants to see the world and be associated with big projects like building bridges and erecting skyscrapers. He dreams of "shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet."

But life keeps George from ever leaving his hometown. Emergencies at home, at work and in the world economy all force him to keep staying put while his family and friends move on to new adventures. They find success in the workplace and their investments, rubbing shoulders with dignitaries and enjoying life's luxuries.

George ends up heading Bailey Building and Loan, a business that helps the town's residents get decent housing. But it's a far than lucrative line of work for its overseers. The enterprise is the only business in Bedford Falls that operates outside the clutches of cold-hearted businessman Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore). There's little money for George to make and he has to work hard to keep Potter's paws off the enterprise.

It's a Wonderful Life has many wonderful scenes. One has Potter trying to woo Bailey to come work for him. There's a promise of a huge pay increase and business trips to large cities. It's like Satan trying to woo Christ in the desert. Bailey tries to get comfortable in a seat that's too small for him as he considers this amazing offer.

Bailey considers killing himself when his forgetful Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses a hefty bank deposit on Christmas Eve. Bank examiners are in town and those missing dollars mean scandal, and likely jail, for George.

Heaven sends Bailey's guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), to stop Bailey from taking his own life. His attempts to reason with George go nowhere, until he suggests he wishes he'd never been born. Clarence makes George's wish a reality. He has never existed.

Here's where more tears come easily. Clarence finally gets a chance to show George how his absence affects Bedford Falls. Timely interactions with others through his life have never happened. That impacts others outside Bedford Falls that George never knew existed. No George means the lives of many, many others have been impacted - for the worse.

Appreciating life. Appreciating what you have. Understanding how someone can make a big difference even in a small town. It's these themes that make It's A Wonderful Life a Christmas classic.

Plus, there's a great romance between George and Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), the girl who has loved him since she was a youngster. There's laughs with George and Mary dancing the Charleston at a high school graduation bash and George's pondering what to do when Mary ends up with no clothes and hides in a bush.

George Bailey offers James Stewart one of the finest roles in his career. There's flashes of anger and despair as his character deals with what life has handed him. Lionel Barrymore is fantastic as one of Hollywood's great villains. This man has no soul. "I am an old man and most people hate me, but I don't like them either so that makes it all even," he tells George at one point. That's a wonderful life?

See this film, again and again, and appreciate all of your life's gifts.

Merry Christmas.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: Why didn't this happen to Titanic? It's A Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars, including best movie, actor and director, but didn't win a single Academy Award.

It's A Wonderful Life was James Stewart's first film after serving in the Second World War.

Ward Bond is in the supporting cast as Bert, a police officer. He was Major Seth Adams in television's Wagon Train.

Gloria Grahame is Violet Bick, the other woman who's interested in George Bailey. She won a best supporting Oscar for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful .

Look closely. That's Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer from The Little Rascals who tries to get Mary Ward on the dance floor during the graduation scene.