When friendly gangster Gloves Donahue's cheesecake supplier turns up dead, he launches his own personal investigation into the mysterious murder of his favorite German baker. Little does he know his sleuthing will lead him to uncover a Nazi plot involving both Peter Lorre and Conrad Veidt. This spy thriller has a lively and action-packed plot, though the first hour is more taut than its flabby latter half.

Given that this is a movie about Nazi spies, filmed during World War…

The Conformist is ostensibly a spy film, but the espionage content is limited as it concentrates more on the character's love life and his internal ethical struggles. French actor Jean Louis Trintignant plays an Italian who takes up work for the Fascist secret police. The film is a tense examination of how Fascism pollutes the morality of those who live under it. I found it difficult to be moved by the characters, who are vapid and robotic for much of…

Bogart is at his best in this classic proto-noir thriller. For a guy who played so many anti-heroes, his portrayal of Sam Spade may just be his anti-est. It's a joy to watch a movie with so many despicable yet magnetic characters. The rest of the cast is phenomenal as well, and the rapid-fire dialogue is some of the best of its era. If the film has a flaw, it may be that it's TOO talky. Would it have killed…

This '70s adventure flick, based on the popular action hero of 1930s and '40s pulp fiction, is a whole lot of fun. It's not an origin story; you're just expected to know who Doc Savage is and what his powers are. I didn't have a clue, and I doubt many viewers of the '70s would have known much about him either. From what I can tell, Savage is a superior athlete, a scientific genius, and seems to possess some knowledge…