Teresa Wright

[3] In this TV movie from producer Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno), several inhabitants of a small fishing town debate whether or not their dam is about to break after several weeks of rain. The mayor refuses to believe the town is in danger until the flood waters are upon them. In typical Irwin Allen fashion, we get an all-star (B-level, since …

[8] Teresa Wright (Mrs. Miniver) plays a bored teenager who’s over-joyed when her favorite Uncle (The Third Man‘s Joseph Cotton) comes to stay with her family. But the warmth of family reunion soon gives way to cold suspicion when Cotton starts hiding things from her. Could he be the infamous ‘Merry Widow’ murderer? Alfred Hitchcock said Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite film he …

[6] Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons star in this adaptation of an autobiographical stage play by writer/actress Ruth Gordon (Harold & Maude, Rosemary’s Baby). The story centers around teen-aged Gordon’s final year at home with her parents, when she first set her sights on acting while dodging her father’s efforts for her to pursue a more practical line of work. Director George Cukor sticks to …

[5] Robert Mitchum headlines this William Wellman flickĀ about a family battling their personal demons while also trying to hunt and destroy a near-mythical black panther that is preying on their cattle during a deadly snowstorm. Mitchum plays one of three brothers, along with William Hopper and Tab Hunter. Mitchum and Hopper go off into the blizzard to kill the panther, but the family’s just as …

[10] William Wyler’s portrait of an English family weathering the darkest hours of World War II is a moving drama about hope and persistence. There’s a quiet strength and noble resolve about the characters in this movie that I find utterly disarming. Wyler shows admirable restraint in the direction and storytelling, sidestepping any opportunity to sensationalize the material. One of the greatest scenes in the …