Hands Across The Table (1935)

Starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Astrid Allwyn, Ruth Donnelly
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A manicurist just managing to scrape by pursues one of her wealthy male customers, only to discover he's as penniless as she is.

In my journey through Carole Lombard's films, this one is I think perhaps the best showcase I've yet seen her in, with equal opportunities for the actress to show her comedic and dramatic skills, and she looks beautiful throughout.  She's also paired quite well with MacMurray, which makes it easy to see why they would co-star again in other productions.  Playing the faux rich man whom her character finds she has to take in, while both pursue richer beaus, MacMurray has several splendid comedic scenes, and his interplay with Lombard is wonderful.  A scene in which he and she call his rich fiancee, with Lombard pretending to be an obnoxious operator is comedy gold.  It's a smart and well-directed picture, with the two leads at the top of their game.

The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)

Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The Frankenstein monster and the evil Ygor, after surviving their apparent deaths, make their way to Vasaria, where another son of Dr. Frankenstein lives who might restore the creature to full strength.

The first of Universal's Frankenstein series to not star Boris Karloff as the monster, it lacks the quality  of sets, staging, and visual presentation of the earlier films, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.  Chaney, although he can't possibly make anyone forget about Karloff in the role of the Monster, is certainly imposing and fills the screen menacingly especially when his shadow is captured on screen, but his ability to emote is hampered by heavy makeup on his eyelids that don't ever reveal his pupils.  He nevertheless has some scenes with young Janet Ann Gallow in which he's able to deliver at least some of the pathos of the monster that Karloff introduced.  There's plenty of moody atmosphere, thanks to composer Hans J. Salter delivering an ominous score with some wonderful themes and melodies, and Lugosi's return, reprising his role as Ygor, is most welcome, delivering another rich characterization.

The Wolf Man (1941)

Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles

Directed by George Waggner
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Young Larry Talbot returns home to manage his ancestral estate, where he tries to save a woman killed by a wolf, but after he's bitten, he soon begins to fear he could now be a werewolf.

Lon Chaney, Jr. stars in what became his most iconic role, that of the tortured Larry Talbot, cursed to transform into the bestial Wolf Man during the full moon.  It's a classic film, with a good cast of character actors, great foggy atmosphere, and a first-rate musical score.  Although Chaney would make scores more movies, he probably never got as terrific a showcase again, but went on to reprise the character in four more films.  There's some gaffes, with Chaney starting to transform into the Wolf Man in one set of clothes and then appearing in a completely different outfit as the monster, as well as the werewolf at the beginning of the film being played by an actual wolf rather than an actor.  But these are easily overlooked in this gem of a movie.