LISTS

[ChiO]

Well, CM, you pretty much saw the right 33 films. I had 30 films on my short list for the Top 10 (two of your Top 10 didn't make my Top 30 and two of KR's didn't make my Top 30).

Surprised that neither of you mentioned (nor did I, but I considered them) THEY LIVE BY NIGHT or THE NAKED CITY or MOONRISE.

And it hurt me not to include the three other Eagle-Lion movies lit (or not lit) by John Alton. It was his finest year.

[JackFavell]

They Live By Night will definitely be on my list for 48, that is if I ever get to it.

[CineMaven]

Well, CM, you pretty much saw the right 33 films...Surprised that neither of you mentioned (nor did I, but I considered them) THEY LIVE BY NIGHT or THE NAKED CITY or MOONRISE...[/b]

.
I hear ya ChiO. When I go through the list of films I see, I first circle the films that I absolutely love without question. Like a lightning rod, my hand and mind goes to those films. Of course it's more than ten and then the process of elimination occurs. But for these later years, I've had to stretch and stretch to find ten favorites. In fact, I thought of all three of the films you've mentioned. "They Live By Night" and "Moonrise" make me too emotional to watch repeatedly.

* * * * *

They Live By Night will definitely be on my list for 48, that is if I ever get to it.

Jaxxon, why don't you start making a list now of your favorite films for 1950? It'll put you ahead of the curve.

[CineMaven]

( 1949 )

It's 1949 and Broderick Crawford wins an Oscar. Tracy & Hepburn add another comedy under their belt. Robert Ryan makes two good ones that exercises his acting chops. The greatest dance team in movies make their last film together. 20th Century Fox tackles another social issue, and a baby gorilla grows up to be mighty Mighty. I've seen thirty-two films to end the 40's, and am really bowled over by seven of 'em:

“CRISS CROSS”


Yvonne DeCarlo and Burt Lancaster

Because. Because of the hubba hubba factor. Because it’s Burt Lancaster taken in by another brunette. Because Yvonne DeCarlo is that other brunette. Look, if you have to say you’re planning a heist to cover the fact you’re obsessing over Dan Duryea’s girl...you know you’ve got to be on a “favorites” list. Noir, what else. And that ending. Whoa...

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“TOO LATE FOR TEARS”


Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy

Free money falls into your lap. What are you going to do...walk away? What else can you do but keep it. Did I tell you it’s Dan Duryea’s money? What a mistake YOU just made. I love Lizabeth Scott’s single-mindedness!

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“A LETTER TO THREE WIVES”


Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern and Jeanne Crain

No, this isn’t Charlie’s Angels. You could call it a “woman’s picture.” But I’d call it swell. We flashback into three marriages to see what might’ve caused one of these ladies’ husbands to run off with the unseen, dulcet - toned Addie Ross. What a great set-up and a good way to unfold the story.

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“SAMSON and DELILAH”


Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature

You can laugh if you want, but I love every lavish over-the-top DeMille minute of this. The Bible never looked so good. What a beautiful pair Lamarr and Mature make.

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“IMPACT”


Brian Donlevy

Helen Walker is cold and calculating, Ella Raines is warm and helpful and Brian Donlevy has lost his memory in this tight little drama. I like watching Ella put on her investigative hat, and do her noir thing even in the sunshine. There’s an element in this movie that will be mirrored in one of my favorite films of 1953. This is a good one.

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“THE HEIRESS”


Olivia deHavilland and Montgomery Clift

Olivia deHavilland reigns supreme as a young woman literally starved for love. As movies do, this one stacks the deck against deHavilland in the guise of the painfully beautiful Montgomery Clift. Without armor, DeHavilland makes her way with smarts, common sense and guilessness. But she’ll learn. She has been taught by masters.

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“WHITE HEAT”


James Cagney

A masterpiece. Some pick “Yankee Doodle Dandy” but I see “White Heat” as Cagney’s signature role. He’s a berry berry bad man. But it’s the power of Cagney that makes us feel a little sorry for him when he’s betrayed. Huh? Wait? Oh...I am the only one?

[RedRiver]

You could call it a “woman’s picture.” But I’d call it swell

So would I, but I'd say it with a masculine air!

Did I tell you it’s Dan Duryea’s money?

Any time DD is involved, there's gonna be trouble!

What a beautiful pair Lamarr and Mature make.

Forget the haircut. Trim those eyebrows!

I see “White Heat” as Cagney’s signature role

Signature or not, it's very much his finest movie. THE best gangster film of them all!

Cine-magnificent!

[ChiO]

The late -40s to mid-50s is my favorite peroid. Oh...the humanity!

1949

1. Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis) - Transgressive. Inversion. Everything a noir should be.
2. Caught (Max Ophuls) - Noir masquerading as Domestic Melodrama. The anti-Romantic Movie masquerading as the Romantic Movie. Plus Ophuls camera. Oh, and Robert Ryan.
3. Thieves' Highway (Jules Dassin) - Life is futile.
4. The Set-Up (Robert Wise) - See above. Plus, Robert Ryan.
5. Reign of Terror (Anthony Mann) - Okay, maybe Life isn't futile....if one can only destroy Robespierre. That's right, it's noir only if there are fedoras (said tongue in cheek). John Alton + Mann = Noir.
6. D.O.A. (Rudolph Mate) - Mate is in my pantheon of cinematographers, but the movies he directed always leave me wanting...except for one. This is the one.
7. The Reckless Moment (Max Ophuls) - The second Ophuls of the year. The second James Mason of the year. Domestic Melodrama. Romance. And Joan Bennett looking through the bars....just another Ophuls woman trapped.
8. Not Wanted (Ida Lupino) - Speaking of a woman trapped.
9. The Third Man (Carol Reed) - For me, the best Welles movie not directed by Welles (except for the scenes directed by Welles, which are the best scenes).
10. I Shot Jesse James (Samuel Fuller) - Is this the start of the revisionist Western? Maybe yes, maybe no. Either way, it has John Ireland and I want to smack him...even though I completely understand.

Some of the Honorable Mentions: On the Town, White Heat, Adam's Rib (yeah, Cukor sometimes hits me the right way), Border Incident, All the King's Men, The Woman on Pier 13 (aka I Married a Communist), House of Strangers, Knock on Any Door

Non-English language favorites: Uni si jolie petite plage (my favorite French noir not directed by anyone named Melville), Late Spring, The Silence of the Sea, Stray Dog, Orpheus.

Edit: Decided, based on all evidence, that the reference to Joan Fontaine should have been to Joan Bennett. Details.

[CineMaven]

You could call it a “woman’s picture.” But I’d call it swell

So would I, but I'd say it with a masculine air!

I can hear the bass in your voice Red.
_______

Did I tell you it’s Dan Duryea’s money?

Any time DD is involved, there's gonna be trouble!

You said it. Duryea's not to be trifled with. Trouble IS his middle name.
_______

What a beautiful pair Lamarr and Mature make.

Forget the haircut. Trim those eyebrows!

No no...leave the brows.
_______

I see “White Heat” as Cagney’s signature role.

Signature or not, it's very much his finest movie. THE best gangster film of them all!

The best gangster film of all time?
_______

Cine-magnificent!

Ack! Go on with ye Blarney Red.

[CineMaven]

2. THE HEIRESS – One of William Wyler’s best films, perhaps even better than James’ novel, as Olivia De Havilland’s Catherine learns her lessons from masters. Too bad that Ralph Richardson never had another film role as good as this one and the previous year’s THE FALLEN IDOL.

Finally saw "The Fallen Idol" and it stunned me. Ralph Richardson was fantastic.
__________

3. GUN CRAZY – Just crazy kids in love having fun with guns. John Dall and Peggy Cummins have the roles of their careers, and Joseph H. Lewis doesn’t need a big budget to wow us with his directing.

What a wild movie. The robberies seemed like documentary footage. The couple kept me on the edge of my seat with their edginess and tension.
__________

7. THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS – This doesn’t have the most sympathetic story, but what David Lean does with it amazes me. Ann Todd, she of the glacial beauty, is torn between her rich husband (Claude Rains) and the man she loved once and might love again (Trevor Howard). The scene in the taxi between Ann Todd and Claude Rains is one of my favorite examples of the director’s art. Every sound effect, every change of lighting, every bit of dialogue, enriches the total experience.

This was a wonderful film. I hadn't known what to expect, and was totally surprised. There was a tense scene with Rains looking out the window through binoculars at Howard and Todd coming back to shore in a boat. And another scene that was suspenseful was the three of them sitting in the living room after Todd and Howard came back from the opera...they never went to. Remarkable film. Can you hold on to someone who doesn't love you.
__________

8. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH...An all-male film about the decisions that men had to make in wartime. Fine camerawork, thoughtful editing, and a first-rate cast. The use of actual combat footage, from both Allies and Axis, is another plus.

I've got to see this one. I always buy Peck as a leader. The film I was drawn to with a similar story ( but one I didn't add to my list in 1948 ) is "Command Decision."

[CineMaven]

The late -40s to mid-50s is my favorite peroid. Oh...the humanity!

I enjoy your pithy commentary. Especially for "Caught."

2. Caught (Max Ophuls) - Noir masquerading as Domestic Melodrama. The anti-Romantic Movie masquerading as the Romantic Movie. Plus Ophuls camera. Oh, and Robert Ryan.

I also enjoyed Curt Bois in that movie. Poor Barbara Bel Geddes. She sure didn't know what she was letting herself in for.
__________

7. The Reckless Moment (Max Ophuls) - The second Ophuls of the year. The second James Mason of the year. Domestic Melodrama. Romance. And Joan Fontaine looking through the bars....just another Ophuls woman trapped.

Keeping up with the Joans. Bennett, that is. She played the role like a violin. Being a Momma Bear protecting her cub, being in charge of her family while her husband was away at war. And tentatively, temptingly falling for James Mason. Mason was touching and I liked that Frances E. Williams ( Sybil the housekeeper ) was just part of the fabric of this family.

[CineMaven]

LISTS CHALLENGE

May I offer up a challenge? We’ve named just about 100 of our favorite films of the 1940’s. I’m wondering if we can boil it down to ten. Can you pick your one favorite film from all your favorite films for each year? For example:

1. Rebecca
2. The Letter
3. The Grapes of Wrath
4. His Girl Friday
5. Remember the Night
6. The Mortal Storm
7. The Great McGinty
8. The Great Dictator
9. Waterloo Bridge
10. Johnny Apollo

Kingrat, of your ten favorite films of 1940, which film do you like the best?

1. His Girl Friday
2. Stranger on the Third Floor
3. The Great McGinty
4. The Great Dictator
5. Remember the Night
6. Foreign Correspondent
7. They Drive by Night
8. Contraband
9. The Bank Dick
10. Pride of the Bowery

From your list of favorite films of 1940 ChiO, which one of these do you like the best?

I know I know. You all think I’m nuts, cuckoo, have too much time on my hands. ( Well...maybe, so have pity on a Baby Booming AARP member. ) But I also think it would be a good exercise ( in torture? futility? ) to look within and see what we really REALLY like; make some tough choices. Yeah it's more work...but it's not like we're digging ditches for a living. Hey, this isn’t even your “which-DVD-would-you- take-with-you-to-a-desert-island?” pick. That won’t be until we’re done with these lists and I ask you to pick your favorite film of the 40’s 50’s and 60’s. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here is my list of favorites from 1940:

1. “The Letter”
2. “They Drive By Night”
3. “Black Friday”
4. “Castle on the Hudson”
5. “City For Conquest”
6. “Foreign Correspondent”
7. “Ghost Breakers”
8.“His Girl Friday”
9.“The Mummy’s Hand”
10.“Broken Strings”

You might tell me ( in a nice way ) to go fly a kite. But I hope you'll consider taking the challenge before we move on to the 1950's. Alright then...If I had to pick my favorite film out of all these, my favorite of 1940 is...

[ChiO]

Oy! See -- Ophuls' women are all alike! Thanks for the gentle catch you Caught when I magically converted Joan B. to Joan F....and Olivia was pleased...in my Reckless Moment.

[ChiO]

Mine are in order of preference. So #1 is HIS GIRL FRIDAY.