White Christmas (1954)

The best way to view older movies is to put yourself into the mindset of older movies. This one is set shortly after World War II and tells the simple story of two song-and-dance men (played by the inimitable Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) who team up with a couple of opportunistic women to save a small Vermont inn from closure. No need to bring your own baggage into this. The end result may seem sappy, corny or predictable to younger viewers, but it's been delighting audiences for 70 years. It's a classic Hollywood musical (made during the heyday of the 1950s), so it's unfair to set it against modern values. 

When taking it completely on its own merits for the time, it deserves full marks. They don't make films like this anymore...and that's the point. It's like stepping outside of yourself into a completely different era and there's something magical about that.

4½ busybodies out of 5

The Walking Dead (1936)

A group of well-dressed, behind closed doors villains need a patsy to divert attention from their deeds. Enter John Ellman (Karloff), a man with a criminal record, fresh from prison, keen to put his past behind him and in need of a job.
He references a few horror classics but Michael Curtiz, director of Casablanca (1942), delivers something a lot more sophisticated than the creaky B+W horror movie I was expecting. It owes a significant debt to James Whale, but unlike so many of Whale's imitators it doesn't simply emphasise the crazy, it keeps the lab scene mostly dignified and is all the better for it.
The Ellman character works because of Karloff's ability to effectively play the tragic victim, to generate pathos with just a glance from his unforgettable eyes, sometimes mere seconds after he's chilled you with a steely glare.

3½ mental strappings out of 5