As it turns out, the secret to a great film adaptation is really rather straightforward: recognize the inherent strength of your source material—in this case, one of the defining works of modern American literature—and possess the good sense not to needlessly meddle with it.
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
This right here. This is the one—the very finest the studio system ever produced. Casablanca embodies Hollywood at its most romantic, most rousing, and most unforgettable.
Films don’t come any better.
Granted, this franchise is hardly known for its tasteful, respectful treatment of women, but naming your female lead “Pussy Galore” still feels a bit on the nose—even by Bond standards.
There’s no doubt Glaser is a gifted comedienne—there are certainly a number of genuinely good laughs to be had here—but a heavy reliance on sexual humor leaves Good Girl feeling decidedly one-note.
Never forget what streaming took from us: namely, the ability to have impromptu late-night phone dates where you stumble across Casablanca on some random cable channel, bond over your disastrous social lives, and unwittingly start falling in love.
That’s the sort of energy I need in my life. Bring back the magic—and maybe the landline, while you're at it.
Much like Lady of Burlesque a decade later, Night Nurse occupies the edgier, more salacious—one could argue trashier—reaches of Barbara Stanwyck’s filmography.
Nominally a rather straightforward pre-Code crime drama about a fresh-faced nurse trainee who stumbles upon a murder plot, the film frequently feels less like a cohesive narrative and more like a series of thinly veiled pretexts to strip Stanwyck down to her underwear.
If that sounds like the blueprint for any number of generic, lowbrow sexploitation flicks, that’s because…
