kingrat wrote: ↑January 15th, 2024, 6:47 pm
My favorite year of the classic era is rarely mentioned as one of the great years, yet for sheer entertainment value and for films that make a personal connection with me, no year equals 1947. These are films I could watch any time they are on TCM. I haven't included foreign films, though Les Maudits belongs, and I haven't seen Desert Fury, Railroaded, and no doubt other worthy candidates.
This was not the best year for comedy, and I've failed a couple of times to make it through Life With Father. However, if you like film noir, domestic melodramas, romantic dramas, and offbeat dramas, this could be your year. I haven't listed the films in order of preference, but the top five are my top five.
Black Narcissus
Deep Valley
The Long Night
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Nightmare Alley
High Barbaree
The Macomber Affair
Born To Kill
Night Song
Out of the Past
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
Brute Force
Crossfire
Body and Soul
Dead Reckoning
Brighton Rock
Odd Man Out
It Always Rains on Sunday
So Well Remembered
Miracle on 34th Street
The Unfinished Dance
Pursued
Ride the Pink Horse
A Double Life
T-Men
Gentleman's Agreement
The Bishop's Wife
The Guilt of Janet Ames
Framed
Dark Passage
Nora Prentiss
Golden Earrings
Hungry Hill
They Won't Believe Me
Smash-Up
Green Dolphin Street
Daisy Kenyon
Forever Amber
Captain from Castile
An Ideal Husband
Escape Me Never
Notes: Gentleman's Agreement is not just a worthy film that exposes the depths of anti-semitism, on a second viewing you may see it as a darn good women's film, with four strong female characters, each of whom wants Gregory Peck to behave in a way that validates her beliefs. Monsieur Verdoux is overrated, for my taste, although I could have included it and other films like The Hucksters, The Red House, Kiss of Death, Woman on the Beach, and The Unfaithful, all worth seeing.
Got something against hillbillies?
Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main first appeared as Ma and Pa Kettle in The Egg and I (1947)
1949 was a very good year for noir films, right up there with 1946 and 1947:
Act of Violence (MGM)
Border Incident (MGM)
The Bribe (MGM)
Chicago Deadline (Paramount)
Criss Cross (Universal)
He Walked by Night (Paramount)
House of Strangers (Fox)
Manhandled (Paramount)
The Reckless Moment (Columbia)
The Set-Up (RKO)
Thieves' Highway (Fox)
Too Late for Tears (United Artist)
The Window (RKO)
Note that I didn't include White Heat (the only Warner Bros noir that year other than Davis in Beyond the Forest), since I'm not a big fan of this film despite its reputation.
kingrat wrote: ↑January 15th, 2024, 6:47 pm
My favorite year of the classic era is rarely mentioned as one of the great years, yet for sheer entertainment value and for films that make a personal connection with me, no year equals 1947...
Black Narcissus ...The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Nightmare Alley...Born To Kill...Out of the Past...Crossfire Body and Soul...Odd Man Out ...Ride the Pink Horse ...The Bishop's Wife...Dark Passage Nora Prentiss ...Forever Amber Captain from Castile ...
With extreme prejudice, I cite those above as films essential to me, MICHAEL POWELL... LINDA DARNELL ...I'll shut up.
skimpole wrote: ↑January 27th, 2024, 3:08 am
One of the things I remember about 1980 was how there was so much disappointment with the box office. It's not simply the Heaven's Gate debacle. I remember in a World book encyclopedia year book that the summer season was very disappointing with an absurdly high proportion of box office revenues made by one movie, The Empire Strikes Back, with Airplane! and Friday the 13thalmost the only other serious moneymakers from the summer. And while although The Shining and The Blues Brothers got more love later, there was considerable critical disappointment at the time. Among the many disappointments people had were Where do the Buffalo Roam, The Nude Bomb, The Gong Show Movie, The Hollywood Knights, The Mountain Men, Up the Academy, The Island, Roadie, Wholly Moses, Rough Cut, Can't Stop the Music, The Blue Lagoon, The Final Countdown, Raise the Titanic, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, Xanadu and Smokey the Bandit, Part II
Yes, many of those didn't just get bad reviews, they received scorched earth ones. That said, the year holds up better than 1981, which has many films that didn't hit the mark (and that year's Under the Rainbow is one of the worst films I have ever seen)
