I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Life on the Thames (1950) *** (out of 4) One of the better entries in MGM's TravelTalks series starts off at the Tower of London and travels down the Thames River. That's pretty much what we get here and it really does make for one of the most entertaining entries simply because of everything we get to see in such a short time. I really enjoyed seeing how the 150-mile river changes as it goes along. We learn that it has 27 bridges along the way as well as several toll-gate like sections. We also get to learn that those who own land by it want to make sure they have it well decorated and looking nice with flowers and various other items. Not only that but we learn about the swimming, fishing and the business that the river holds. As you'd expect, the narration by James A. FitzPatrick is top-notch with all sorts of information given out and that wonderful Technicolor really shows off everything perfectly.