[10] An unshakable sheriff and his riff-raff crew brace for a days-long siege when a swarm of bad guys descend on their town, threatening to free one of their own from jail. Rio Bravo is the last great film from legendary director Howard Hawks (Scarface, Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep). It’s not the epic western you might imagine from Hollywood in the ’50s. Nor …
[10] A young boy is orphaned and left in the care of his only living relative, an eccentric aunt who defies convention and encourages discovery. The pair endure challenge after challenge in an episodic narrative that ends in the boy becoming a man and getting married, a decision that threatens to finally tear them apart. It’s so rare for me to fall this much in …
[8] A British colonel (Alec Guinness) leads his fellow POWs in constructing a bridge for their Japanese captors, unaware of the fact that allied forces, guided by a reluctant American (William Holden), have launched a covert mission to destroy it. David Lean’s film zips along remarkably well considering it’s nearly-three-hour running time. The film benefits from its exotic locale, Oscar-winning cinematography, and distinguished performances.
[9] William Wyler directs this story about an Indiana Quaker family trying hard to keep their pacifist faith while the Civil War creeps up on their doorstep. The screenplay makes the period setting completely accessible, skillfully blending comedy and drama with character and substance. I quickly invested in the family, especially Gary Cooper as the father, a man who enjoys horse racing his neighbor to …
[10] James Dean received the first posthumous acting nomination from the Academy Awards for his performance as the troubled Cal in East of Eden, his first major film role. (He would die tragically just a few months after the film was released.) It’s a riveting performance, one of the most vulnerable and moving I’ve ever seen. The film, directed with style and elegance by Elia …
[10] James Dean stars as Jim Stark, an angst-ridden teenager who quarrels with his parents almost as much as he tangles with high school bullies. I normally hate tough guy movies, and I’d normally put teenagers with puffed-out chests in the same group as mobsters — but Rebel Without a Cause doesn’t glorify bravado. The Oscar-nominated screenplay is more concerned about the vulnerable, real person …
[10] Two small children run for their lives from a murderous preacher in the only film actor Charles Laughton ever directed. The Night of the Hunter is a unique blend — part fable and part thriller, both pastoral and horrific, a beguiling mixture of qualities that usually mark the work of an amateur… or a genius. Laughton is as precise and purposeful as Orson Wells …
[9] Montgomery Clift (Red River, The Heiress) stars as a poor young man who takes a job at his rich uncle’s garment factory where he falls in love with a coworker played by Shelley Winters. Things become complicated when Clift is introduced to an alluring young socialite played by Elizabeth Taylor in her first ‘adult’ role. Just as Clift is ready to commit to Taylor …
[9] Charm can take a movie a long, long way. With Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in their only film together, The African Queen goes the distance. She’s Rosie, the prudish widow of a missionary, and he’s Charlie, the rough-around-the-edges steamboat captain. Director John Huston puts them in a small boat together and lets the sparks fly. We need only a simple plot to drive …
[10] In this darkly comic noir masterpiece from Billy Wilder, a struggling Hollywood screenwriter (William Holden) moves in with a delusional silent film star named Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) who wants him to write the script for her big comeback. But when the writer strikes up a relationship with a younger woman (Nancy Olson), the eccentric diva goes dangerously insane with envy. Sunset Boulevard is …
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