Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

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Ann Harding
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by Ann Harding »

I am not a 'list-person', but the idea of choosing my own 25 essential films is very tempting! It's going to be probably a bit odd-looking as I usually prefer off the beaten track pictures. :wink:

1. Battements de Coeur (Heartbeat, 1940) by Henri Decoin. Superb romantic comedy with Danielle Darrieux.
2. Visages d'Enfants (Faces of Children, 1923) by Jacques Feyder. One of the very best French silent ever made and still undated.
3. Le Corbeau (The Raven, 1943) by Henri-Georges Clouzot. A real corrosive masterpiece.
4. Monsieur Ripois (The Knave of Hearts, 1953) by René Clément. Shot in London, a wonderful bitter-sweet drama with Gérard Philipe.
5. La Fin du Jour (The End of the Day, 1939) by Julien Duvivier. An incredibly dark look at human beings. Fantastic cast and dialogue.
6. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) by M. Powell & E. Pressburger. A masterpiece.
7. The Fallen Idol (1947) by Carol Reed. Lest famous than The Third Man, but as engrossing.
8. Die Bergkatze (The Mountain cat, 1920) by E. Lubitsch. Hilariously mad comedy with Pola Negri.
9. Divorzio all'italiana (Divorce Italian Style, 1961) by Pietro Germi. Quintessential Italian comedy.
10. Senso (1954) by Luchino Visconti. Beautifully shot and acted drama.
11. Herr Arnes pengar (Sir Arne's Treasure, 1919) by M. Stiller. Essential Swedish silent. Gorgeous looking and engrossing.
12. Terje Vigen (A Man There Was, 1917) by V. Sjöström. Another magnificent masterpiece.
13. Man's Castle (1933) by F. Borzage. A beautiful emotional film.
14. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932) by F. Capra. My favourite early Capra.
15. Sylvia Scarlett (1933) by G. Cukor. Lovely bitter-sweet comedy with C. Grant and K. Hepburn.
16. The Devil to Pay! (1930) by G. Fitzmaurice. Beautifully paced early talking comedy with bags of charm.
17. Broken Blossoms (1919) by D.W. Griffith. Raw melodrama with incredible delicacy and poetry.
18. It's Always Fair Weather (1955) by G. Kelly & S. Donen. Lesser known musical with brilliant script and routines.
19. Stella Dallas (1925) by Henry King. Superb melodrama.
20. To Be or Not To Be (1942) by E. Lubitsch. Wonderful comedy.
21. The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947) by J. L. Mankiewicz. Poetry on the screen with Hermann's fabulous score
22. Devil's Doorway (1950) by A. Mann. A wonderful western/film noir with a great score and cinematography.
23. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) by L. McCarey. Absolutely heartbreaking masterpiece.
24. The Crowd (1928) by King Vidor. A masterpiece. Unmissable;
25. Dodsworth (1936) by W. Wyler. A moving Sinclair Lewis adaptation with fab Walter Huston.
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myrnaloyisdope
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by myrnaloyisdope »

6. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) by M. Powell & E. Pressburger. A masterpiece.
7. The Fallen Idol (1947) by Carol Reed. Lest famous than The Third Man, but as engrossing.
10. Senso (1954) by Luchino Visconti. Beautifully shot and acted drama.
13. Man's Castle (1933) by F. Borzage. A beautiful emotional film.
15. Sylvia Scarlett (1933) by G. Cukor. Lovely bitter-sweet comedy with C. Grant and K. Hepburn.
16. The Devil to Pay! (1930) by G. Fitzmaurice. Beautifully paced early talking comedy with bags of charm.
17. Broken Blossoms (1919) by D.W. Griffith. Raw melodrama with incredible delicacy and poetry.
20. To Be or Not To Be (1942) by E. Lubitsch. Wonderful comedy.
21. The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947) by J. L. Mankiewicz. Poetry on the screen with Hermann's fabulous score
23. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) by L. McCarey. Absolutely heartbreaking masterpiece.
24. The Crowd (1928) by King Vidor. A masterpiece. Unmissable;
Of your list I've seen all of these, you've chosen many underlooked films. You insight into French cinema is very useful, given that so little of the early French silents and talkies have been canonized in North America. It's pretty much Melies and nothing till Renoir, with maybe a little Gance thrown in. I have a copy of the Duvivier film, but haven't watched it. Ooh, and do you have a copy of Stella Dallas. I really like the Vidor version, and I'm currently reading Brownlow's The Parade Goes By and Henry King speaks very lovingly of it, so my interest is piqued.
"Do you think it's dangerous to have Busby Berkeley dreams?" - The Magnetic Fields
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srowley75
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by srowley75 »

Thanks to all of you who've participated. I've really enjoyed reading your lists and explanations.

-Stephen
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fxreyman
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by fxreyman »

I must first say how impressed I am with this website or blog site, whichever way you all refer to it. And I must shout a special "Thank-you" to several people who informed me about this site over the past few months. LZcutter, MissGoddess, and from the TCM message boards, FrankGrimes. They all told me I should join up and post my thoughts.

So without any further ado, that is what I am about to do now. As some from the TCM message boards will attest to, I am a firm believer in list making. I have been compiling lists for a long time and I simply enjoy the exercise.

For this list I have had to scramble somewhat over the past month or so whenever I have been able to find time to compile a list of Essentials. However, I must say that this list I have come up with has gone through the proverbial ringer at least 25 times now. And tomorrow, I may think that at least half of my selections may be wrong. Or at least at the least be choices that I find not so essential.

So here is the list:

The Adventures of Robin Hood, Michael Curtiz / William Keighley 1938

Gone With the Wind, Victor Fleming 1939

Ninotchka, Ernst Lubitsch, 1939

Stagecoach, John Ford 1939

The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming 1939

His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks 1940

Citizen Kane, Orson Welles 1941

The Lady Eve, Preston Sturges, 1941

Casablanca, Michael Curtiz 1942

Random Harvest, Mervyn LeRoy 1942

The Talk of the Town, George Stevens 1942

Double Indemnity, Billy Wider 1944

They Were Expendable, John Ford 1945

The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler 1946

It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra 1946

Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock 1946

Red River, Howard Hawks, 1948

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, John Huston 1948

All About Eve, Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1950

Winchester '73, Anthony Mann, 1950

Singin' in the Rain, Stanley Donen / Gene Kelly 1952

The Searchers, John Ford 1956

North By Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock 1959

Seven Days in May, John Frankenheimer 1964

The Professionals, Richard Brooks 1966

The final two are very personal favorites of mine and in my view would be very interesting picks due to the great cast in both and the great storytelling of Rod Sterling (Seven Days) and Richard Brooks (Professionals).
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moira finnie
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by moira finnie »

Welcome, FX!

Your list of your own essentials crosses so many genres that it might be useful to keep handy for a course in "Film Appreciation 101: The Studio Era" for newbies, though you've listed several movies that I never really tire of seeing. One big hint that your list is a hit with me: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is number 1, where it belongs!! I also love your avatar for obvious reasons.

It's great seeing you posting and thanks for taking the time to check out the site. I hope that you'll let us know if you need any assistance.
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Mr. Arkadin
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Glad to see you here FX. I see several of my favorites on your list including The Best Years of Our Lives and Citizen Kane. Have fun cruising the forum and don't forget to take a turn at Dewey's Record Party, where everyone can be a DJ!
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ken123
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by ken123 »

In no special order:
The Searchers
Fort Apache
The Grapes of Wrath
Twp Rode Together
The Long Voyage Hoe
My Darling Clementine
How Green Was My Valley
The Last Hurrah
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Lost Patrol
Rio Grande
The Gunfighter
Brute Force
Crisscross (Siodmak )
Sunset Blvd
The Treasure of Sierra Madre
The Big Sleep(Hawks)
Ace in the Hole
The Best Years of our Lives
Of Mice & Men ( Milestone)
Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd )
North by Northwest
Strange Cargo
Detective Story
Thieves Highway
The Roaring Twenties
Scarface ( Hawks )
Bring Up Baby
The Charge of the Light Brigade (Curtiz)
The Devil & Daniel Webstser
White Heat
Public Enemy
The Ox - Bow Incident
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Laughton)
The Mortal Storm
Red River
The Killers (Siodmak)
The Furies
Double Indemnity
The Woman in the Window
Fury
Shenendoah
No Way Out(Widmark)
Nightnare Alley
I Wake Up Screaming
Stranger on the Third Floor
The Mask of Dimitros
A Letter to Three Wives
All About Eve
The Black Legion
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Mr. Arkadin
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

I dig most of your faves, particularly Black Narcissus, Vertigo, Manchurian Candidate, King Rat, and The Hill.

I'm also a big Wild Bunch fan. :wink:
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by jdb1 »

I'm very pleased to see The Nun's Story on your list, rat. I loved the book, and I was not at all disappointed in the film version. This is a film I like more every time I see it, for the story, the cinematography, the direction, and especially for A. Hepburn's strong and understated performance as a woman of science and no small ambition who struggles to live a life of faith and self-abnegation. I don't think she ever got enough credit for this -- apparently, the public didn't want to see her in anything but Givenchy.
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JackFavell
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by JackFavell »

Everyone has such great lists!

Ken123 - Heavy on the John Ford - love it! And Nightmare Alley is an excellent choice....

Nice to see you over here, Rey!

It will take me a while to come up with a list.... but this is a great thread. I can't tell you how many times I have thought, "Why did they pick THAT film for The Essentials?" Now I see how hard it is to pick them......
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ChiO
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by ChiO »

Citizen Kane, Wizard of Oz & Psycho also were assumed.
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JackFavell
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Re: Choo-choo-choose Your Own Essentials!

Post by JackFavell »

I guess I was right when I said it would take me a while to come up with my list of Essentials. I still haven't done it. See you in 3 years! :D
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