[8] Chameleon master craftsman Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend) staked a name for himself and elevated low-budget film noir to new levels of respectability with his Hitchcockian suspense yarn Double Indemnity. The film, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, stars Fred MacMurray as an L.A. insurance salesman who conspires with an unhappy housewife, played by Barbara Stanwyck, to collect a massive insurance payout …
[6] Maestro Billy Wilder directs Ray Milland as a drunk writer circling the drain in the multi-Oscar-winning The Lost Weekend. Milland’s character is supposed to begin recovery on a long holiday weekend with his brother (Phillip Terry) and gal pal (Jane Wyman), but after he steals money to spend at his favorite bar, he gets drunk and misses their departure time. Things get progressively worse …
[7] In this potpourri of Middle-Eastern folklore, a banished king (John Justin) and a street boy (Sabu) team up to stop an evil magician (Conrad Veidt) from marrying a beautiful princess (June Duprez). The Thief of Bagdad tries to combine everything you can imagine from “Arabian Nights”, including the Genie and the magic carpet. Disney certainly used this classic as a springboard for their own …
[5] Marlon Brando is terrific as Marc Antony in the centerpiece scene, rallying Rome to condemn Caesar’s assassins. The supporting cast, sets, Miklos Rozsa’s score, and the cast of thousands are impressive. But I’ll be damned if this movie didn’t have me fighting off sleep on more than one occasion. Maybe I need to see it again later, or maybe James Mason’s voice just puts …
[7] H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) travels through time to 1979 in hot pursuit of Jack the Ripper (David Warner), who’s hell-bent on continuing his murderous rampage in a whole new century. In the hands of director/screenwriter Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), Time After Time is a solid romantic romp. I like McDowell and Warner in anything, and Mary Steenburgen is fine …
[5] The disgraced Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to learn King Richard the Lionheart is imprisoned in Austria. He goes to the court of King John to plea for Richard’s ransom, but King John is pretty keen to keep the throne for himself. So Ivanhoe teams with Robin of Locksley to raise the ransom and restore Richard to the throne. As Ivanhoe, Robert Taylor leaves …
[9] Of the nine films which paired Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Adam’s Rib is often considered the best. Writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin were friends of the famous couple and wrote the film specifically for them. Kate insisted the film be directed by her favorite screen director, George Cukor, who services the brilliant writing and on-screen chemistry with his trademark elegant staging and …
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