Double Indemnity (1944): review: 9/10

"I was thinking about the dame upstairs and how she'd looked at me and I wanted to see her again- close"

In LA, an insurance salesman and married female client fall for each other: they concoct a scheme to make some money from his firm and get rid of her husband at the same time.

Magnificently acted throughout, with splendid cinematography, shot through with laconic wit.

Ace in the Hole (1951): review- 9/10

Down on his luck, again sacked from a major paper, an out-of-work reporter finds himself working for a small newspaper in sleepy Albuqurque.

This story is about his return to prominence, media manipulation and the ethics of news management.

Told with wit, it contains excellent performances and observations with beautiful camerawork, lending it the mood of a film noir.