Sick day movie festival day. First up was the Show, from 1927. Directed by Tod Browning, starring John Gilbert as a rakish carny barker in Budapest. Also Lionel Barrymore as a stone cold psycho, a carny tableau of John the Baptist (Camille Dixon would be so proud) and a killer iguana. Gilbert, who manages to look stylin' even tho he spends most of the movie in a ridiculous stripey shirt, apparently hated this movie and thought it was part of the studio's plan to destroy his career (he'd come to blows with L.B. Meyer over his relationship with Garbo). But I enjoyed it. It's been rarely seen lately since it had no score but recently ran on TCM after the winner of their young composer contest wrote one. Worth seeking out.
Up next was Strike Me Pink a silly movie (okay, very silly -- four words: Eddie Cantor, Action Hero) from 1936. Basically a B comedy, a showcase for Cantor (although he doesn't have any great songs) who plays a mild-mannered guy who ends up defending an amusement park from mobsters. Worth watching for: some nice 30s-style production numbers (Busby Berkeley lite), Ethel Merman in her younger, post-flapper days (she gets two songs), wacky set piece ending (Harold Lloyd lite), Fred Mertz as a mobster.
Finally, in a major change of pace, the Battle of Algiers, directed by Gillio Pontecorvo (who passed away last year), with music by Ennio Morricone. An amazing, unsparing, unsettling and frankly depressing film. Looks like it was shot in the middle of the revolution but there is, in fact, no documentary footage used. Although sympathetic to the Algerians desire for independence, it's hardly an inspiring tale of heroism. As a vision of people at war it's as stark and unforgiving as any movie I've seen. And, of course, way too many echoes to current events make it pretty uncomfortable viewing