susan earlam ~ horror author

Hey there! How are you?

Some of you may know I had my op last week. For those of you that don’t, and are interested, the background details can be found here and here.

… Bedrest- the Doctor ordered, so I thought I’d do a post about the films I’ve been devouring whilst recovering.

 Clockwise from top left Double Indemnity, Only You, The Aviator, Frantic.

Double Indemnity– Of the four films mentioned this was the only one that I hadn’t seen before. Made in 1944 it is a classic film noir set in 1938 with Barbara Stanwyk as the femme fatale who leads an insurance man up the garden path into murder! Its fair to say I was swooning from watching the outfits and hairstyles but the storyline keeps you hooked all the way through too.

Only You– This is one of my comfort films. You know the ones you can watch time and time again and not get bored and feel great after? This is also one of of the only Rom-Com’s in my collection as I’m usually not that kind of girl! But this film is set in Italy, namely Rome, Venice and Positano for the most part- did you know I love Italy?! And Marisa Tomei’s character reminds me a bit of myself being a bit of a fatalist. I love the way it refereces other films too such as South Pacific and Roman Holiday- and Robert Downey Junior looks so young…. Have I given you enough reasons to watch this yet?

The Aviator– Made in 2004 I never really rated Leonardo Di Caprio until this film set in the 1920’s-1940’s Hollywood and covering a section of the extraordinary life of Howard Hughes. There is a plethora of stars playing stars in this film- Cate Blanchett is especially good (Oscar winning even) as Katherine Hepburn. And the Costume Department also won an Oscar for their accurate depiction of the glamour of the time and place.

Frantic– Made in 1988 by Roman Polanski, this story builds up the tension to you are almost Frantic yourself with frustration. I’m a big fan of Harrison Ford and this was made in his heyday of the eighties and I’ve seen this many times but it never fails to capture my imagination. It also has THE most amazing soundtrack- full of Grace Jones.