Some Like It Hot (1959)
[9] Two Chicago musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) try to evade mobsters by disguising themselves as women and joining an all-girl band on its way to perform at a Florida resort. Both men fall in love with the band's…
The Lady Gambles (1949)
[5] Barbara Stanwyck catches the gambling bug something fierce in this melodramatic film co-starring Robert Preston as her worried husband. Stanwyck dips her toes in a Las Vegas casino during a vacation and quickly falls under the spell of craps…
Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
[2] Any reasonable viewer would expect a certain guaranteed level of enjoyment from a '60s romantic comedy set in Paris that stars William Holden and Audrey Hepburn. Yet somehow, Paris When It Sizzles squanders ever ounce of its cast's and…
The Defiant Ones (1958)
[8] Socially-conscious filmmaker Stanley Kramer (Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg) made an impact early in his directing career with this dramatic chase story of two escaped convicts evading authorities while chained together at the wrists. The twist? One prisoner's…
Spartacus (1960)
[8]
Fans of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator might be surprised how much they will also enjoy (perhaps even prefer) its progenitor. Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus is a briskly-paced epic, and uncharacteristically emotional compared to his other work. Kirk Douglas is iconic in the lead role, playing a slave forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena for the enjoyment of the aristocracy. Of course he falls in love with a fellow slave girl, of course he escapes, and of course he leads a mammoth army of slaves in revolt against Rome… but when these broad strokes are painted so earnestly, I don’t care. The bleak, bold final act of the film is what really sells the story for me.