WATCH ON THE RHINE

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Okay, now I've seen Watch on the Rhine. I had high expectations. The play on which it was based was written by Lillian Hellman and the screenplay was penned by Dashiell Hammett. Pretty damn good writing credentials there. It stars Bette Davis who, for my vote, is in the top ten movie actresses of all time. No, make that top five and I don't know who the other four would be at the moment. And Paul Lukas beat out Bogie in Casablanca for the Best Actor Oscar. Yep, high expectations.

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While Watch on the Rhine and Casablanca share some similar themes, Casablanca is a timeless movie (and one of my all-time favorites) and Watch is a movie of its time. Some movies retain their magic over the years while others do not. I can understand why the Academy gave the Oscar to Lukas but they blew it (they've done this before and will again in the future). Bogie should have won. Bogie wasn't an actor playing Rick Blaine. Bogie is Rick Blaine and still is.

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If you're a film history buff, most definitely seek out Watch on the Rhine. If you just like good movies, visit (or re-visit) Casablanca. Go there for the waters.