These are movies I haven’t seen before and since I’m still an inexperienced critic you might be surprised at what shows up on the list (so don’t be). But enjoy the list, watch the films, and maybe one day you can have your own blog about movies. Just don’t get in my way. Enjoy!
15. A Face in the Crowd
Forget everything you ever knew about Andy Griffith. Forget about his comedy shtick, forget about Mayberry, and get ready for a new experience. I’d never heard of this movie until it was nominated for the new AFI Top 100 List, but let me tell you, Andy plays a monster! His character, Lonesome Rhodes, is a neurotic country singer, who starts out small and becomes the biggest and most powerful star on television.
Patricia Neal plays Marcia Jeffries, a radio host who gives Lonesome his big break. Rhodes hates the big business attitudes, although his love of money gives him that same slick style. From the radio he moves to TV, and the more successful he gets, the crazier he acts. There’s a glint in his eye and he has a hearty, creepy laugh. Andy plays the part to a T adding another bit of excellence to the film.
14. Sherlock Jr.
Buster Keaton always held an interesting aspect as director, but here he creates magic. Magic and a lot of gags. It’s a celebration of film and an inspiration for future directors. Keaton plays a small town projectionist who fantasizes about becoming a detective. One day he falls asleep in the booth and his dream-self enters the movie screen to help solve the crime of the story.
Imaginative and very funny, my favorite gag is when Keaton and the villains are shooting pool. They’ve rigged the table with a fake 16 ball that’s really a bomb. Every shot, he hits around it, providing not only suspense, but hilarity.
13. The Night of the Hunter
With Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, and Lillian Gish starring plus Charles Laughton directing, you can’t go wrong. A brilliant Mitchum plays bogus preacher “Reverend” Harry Powell. After he’s arrested in a small town, Harry learns of some money stolen by his cell mate. The prisoner, who is later hung, won’t tell Harry where he hid the dough, so after he’s sprung the preacher finds the man’s widow and starts a search. The man hid the money with his children and they’ve sworn to secrecy. Meanwhile, Harry piles on the charm in town, making everyone love him. He even marries the children’s mother (Shelley Winters) to get close to the money. The kids know what a creep he is and refuse to tell him the hiding place, but they soon find out just how tenacious and evil he can be.
Mitchum is terrific and the slick voice and outfit add to his sinister presence. Gish pulls her weight as the gruff protector of the children. And Laughton makes me sad, considering he made such a good movie, only to never direct another.
12. Dead Poets Society
This movie is about as inspiring as it gets. Robin Williams plays John Keating, an English teacher at a boy’s academy. He teaches them about life and how to seize the days ahead of them. How to think free and be all you can be. Some understand it and some don’t. That’s all there is to it.
11. Rudy
In 1986, David Anspaugh and Angelo Pizzo directed and wrote “Hoosiers.” It was a great film and probably one of the finest sports movies ever made. Seven years later they made “Rudy” and I must confess that I like it even better than the previous film. The acting is great, the story is an emotional punch, and Jerry Goldsmith’s music fits perfectly.
Sean Astin plays Rudy Ruettiger, a little guy who’s always been bossed around. His life goal is to play college football for Notre Dame, but his grades aren’t good enough to get into the school and it seems like no one wants him to succeed. Still, the one thing he remembers is to never give up on his dreams.
10. A Hard Day’s Night
There are few films quite as cool as “A Hard Day’s Night.” It’s got everything you could ever want: The Beatles, rock and roll songs, wild direction, funny gags, and a “clean” old man.
Richard Lester films the movie as a day in the life of the Beatles with John, Paul, George, and Ringo traveling to a TV gig. On the way, they encounter strange things and just try to have fun. The dialogue by Alun Owen is hilarious. Every moment is some sort of joke. But the movie’s standout is Wilfrid Brambell as Paul’s wild Grandfather. You’ve just got to see it to believe it.
9. Out of the Past
Film noir is one of the most creative genres and “Out of the Past” is a prime example of it. Daniel Mainwaring writes cracking dialogue and Jacques Tourneur executes some fine direction. You’re bound to remember this.
Robert Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, a local gasoline pumper with a former life he’s trying to forget. His real name was Markham and he worked for a gangster named Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). A few years back, Sterling sent him to find his old girlfriend, Kathie (Jane Greer), who shot him and stole his money. When Jeff sees the girl, they fall in love and try to hide it from Sterling, although he finds out and sends a spy after the two. During a series of strange events, Kathie runs away and Jeff goes into hiding. Now the boss needs him again. But why? All answers lie ahead in this cool, slick bundle.
8. Lost Horizon
As a cluster of people leave panicky China on an airplane, it’s hijacked by a pilot and crashed in the middle of the Himalayas. The aviator is dead, but the passengers are intact. Through the snow they look for shelter and food until a group of people come to greet them. They are taken to a wonderful land called Shangri-La. Hidden away from the rest of the world, it’s warm, bright, deep and you can live peacefully there for hundreds of years. Most of the visitors love the place and others simply don’t. The rules are simple: If you want to leave, you can, but there are consequences with every action.
Frank Capra directs an unusual masterpiece and the cast is great together. Ronald Colman is a good leading man, Jane Wyatt is fine as the love interest, and Thomas Mitchell and Edward Everett Horton make a great screen duo that learn to like each other in the end.
7. The Man Who Would Be King
Sean Connery and Michael Caine have a certain chemistry and humor that makes everything they do in “The Man Who Would Be King” look effortless. John Huston directs this adventure tale and provides an epic look at two friends and their journey across the untamed lands of the Middle East.
Based on a Rudyard Kipling story, Peachy Carnehan (Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Connery) are best friends in the British army. Always scheming some way or another, they resign their ranks in India and set off into the mountains to become kings. But the local tribes mistake them for gods! They meet strange people, have wild adventures, and prove what little mistakes can cost. But along with its’ morals, it makes for a good time at the movies and it’s pretty darn funny.
6. Rebecca
Alfred Hitchcock’s direction shines in his first American film and the story is eerily magnificent. Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier fall in love at a resort and marry. When he takes her home to his mansion, she learns of his past and his previous wife, Rebecca. She died in a boating accident and no matter what happens, Fontaine can’t get out of her shadows. The Macguffin in the movie is a killer.
5. Safety Last/The Freshman/The Kid Brother/Girl Shy
I’ve seen four Harold Lloyd movies this year, and they’re so good it’s hard to pick just one favorite. What I like about Harold is that he’s fun to root for. His smile, personality, and ordinariness make his characters happy-go-lucky underdogs who somehow always come out on the top. The films I saw were “Safety Last,” “The Freshman,” “The Kid Brother,” and “Girl Shy.” He plays the same basic character in each film, but the gags are always different and fresh as are the storylines. He really went to some great lengths for some jokes, especially the building climbing scene at the end of “Safety Last.” And remember, these stunts are real!
4. White Heat
Jimmy Cagney defined the gangster genre with such films as “The Public Enemy,” “Angels With Dirty Faces,” and “The Roaring Twenties.” His characters were always smarmy wise guys who were tough but mixed up kids at heart. In “White Heat,” there’s nothing mixed up about him. His character, Cody Jarrett, is 100% insane and Cagney is great in the role.
Cody is a crook who longs for attention and loves being a bad guy. His gang consists of a few guys, his wife, and his mother. He and “Ma” are a team and whenever Cody gets headaches, she cuddles him until he feels better, just like a baby. He likes to kill and he loves money. The government sneaks a spy into the gang to check up on Cody and the thrills begin. And who could forget that finale?
3. The Right Stuff
It’s tough to make a three hour movie and sustain the audience’s attention but “The Right Stuff” knows how to do it. It’s about the first years of NASA and the race to beat the Soviets into space. We follow the tales of the astronauts and everything they go through, from the test modules, to the first flights, to the experiments, and more. The movie succeeds in drama, special effects, acting, story, and lots of humor. It’s a truly amazing film.
2. Breaking Away
Never before have I seen a film quite as unique as “Breaking Away.” Every scrap of screenplay is ingenious and clever. The movie focuses around four friends in their early twenties who have no idea what to do with their lives. As people egg them on to go to school and get jobs, they have to learn things for themselves, like Dave, the main character played by Dennis Christopher. His dream is to become an Italian bicycle racer. But he’s not Italian and with his reputation, he’ll never be able to race. But he keeps trying and even uses a phony accent. That’s what makes the movie work: They keep trying and keep the charm going.
1. The Crowd
Simply put, “The Crowd” is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Every inch of film has a purpose and it all comes crashing down on us, unexpectedly at the end. It’s just like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” only depressing. But that’s not an insult.
The movie focuses on Johnny Sims (James Murray), a young man with the dream to do something big. He doesn’t know what, but it’ll come to him eventually. Years pass until he grows up and moves to the city, working as a desk clerk in a huge office where everyone seems to have the same life goal. Through the film, Johnny makes mistakes, gains a family, and becomes lost in the crowd of people. It seems rough, but can there be any hope left?
The music by Carl Davis on the edition I saw was marvelous. It sets the tone of the movie and gives a feeling of what the characters are thinking. The movie makes its’ points with broad strokes and I promise it’s all you’ll be thinking about after the last, haunting scene.
