the classics

His Girl Friday is my favorite film of all time. It has been since the first time I saw it, when I was 12. Cary Grant is never better as newspaper editor Walter Burns, who is about to lose his ace reporter and ex-wife Hildy Johnson (a superb performance by Rosalind Russell) to marriage to an insurance man (Ralph Bellamy). Just so happens a major news story breaks as convicted murderer Earl Williams, who is about to be put to death, escapes from custody. Walter convinces Hildy to take this last job assignment and he will sign a nice big check for an insurance policy for the soon to be wed couple. During her investigation, Hildy manages to track down Williams and tries to keep him safe from the police and the mayor. A wonderful mix of comedy and some drama make this my all time favorite film. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make a terrific dream team. The one liners fly fast and furious, expertly handled by the entire cast. Great direction by the legendary Howard Hawks. Highly recommended.
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Wilson, reporter: Any dope on how he escaped?
McCue, reporter: Maybe the sheriff let him out so Williams could vote for him.
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Walter Burns: Sorta wish you hadn't done that, Hildy.
Hildy Johnson: Done what?
Walter Burns: Divorced me. Makes a fella lose all faith in himself. Gives him a... almost gives him a feeling he wasn't wanted.
Hildy Johnson: Oh, now look, junior... that's what divorces are FOR!

A gem of a movie. Kate and Cary team up for this classic screwball comedy that couldn't be any better. The story involves a zany heiress (Kate), a paleontologist (Cary), a leopard named Baby, a dog named George, a million dollar research grant, and a missing bone to a brontosaurus skeleton. And it all climaxes with the cast being arrested. Hilarious and very entertaining. One of the best comedies ever made. And one of my personal favorites.

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Susan: "Now, don't lose your temper".
David: "My dear young lady, I'm not losing my temper. I'm merely trying to play some golf!"
Susan:" You choose the funniest places; this is a parking lot".

Superb film. Liz is smoking hot in this Tennessee William's adaptation. And she gives a great performance, to boot. Easily could have won an Oscar for it. Liz is Maggie the cat and she's married to Paul Newman, who have come home to celebrate his dad's birthday. He's called Big Daddy , wonderfully played by Burl Ives. When a southern family like this get together, all kinds of drama starts to unfold. This is the type of film where you just sit back and watch the fireworks go off, because it's an actors showcase. One of my favorite films of all time. Sitting right there in my top 10.

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Brick: "What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?"
Maggie: "Just staying on it I guess, long as she can".

Marilyn's best role and best film has the gorgeous one playing a young woman living in the upstairs apartment of a married man. The man is prone to daydreaming about being a real ladies man but when he finally meets Marilyn, comedic results happen quickly and often. A hilarious film that shot Monroe to stardom. You can't go wrong with this one.

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The Girl: When it gets hot like this, you know what I do. I keep my undies in the icebox!

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The Girl: I think it's just elegant to have an imagination. I just have no imagination at all. I have lots of other things, but I have no imagination.

Pure comedy gold. Grant and Dunne team up again for this hilarious comedy about a man who remarries after his wife is reported missing at sea. Everything is fine until the first wife is found by the coast guard and turns her husband's life into a wreck. Cary is in usual good form, but it's Irene Dunne who makes the picture. She is delightful as the former wife who comes back. Great comedy.

Nick: "The moment I saw you I knew.."
Eve: "I bet you say that to all your wives".

Great film with Bogart playing private eye Philip Marlowe. Hired by a rich lady (Bacall who is absolutely awesome) to look into matters involving her wild sister, Marlowe becomes embroiled in a complicated mystery. This flick has so many twists and turns you may lose track of what's going on but it's an entertaining ride. This is one of Bogie's best role and when teamed with Bacall, they make one hell of a team. One of my favorite films of all time. I will put it up against any of the blockbusters from today. Highly recommended.

Philip Marlowe: My, my, my! Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains! You know, you're the second guy I've met today that seems to think a gat in the hand means the world by the tail.

The first in the long running series of films about Nick and Nora Charles, a husband and wife detective team ably played by William Powell and Myrna Loy. The story kicks off when our duo is picked to investigate the disappearance of a scientist. Well, Nick is asked, Nora decides to tag along. It's all fun and games until Nick runs into some questionable relatives and colleagues who didn't get along with the missing man. Powell and Loy make the perfect team and the wisecracks fly pretty fast. Five more thin man films would follow this one and they all are very entertaining. But I think this one is the best one. Well the followup, After The Thin Man is pretty good too. Enjoy.

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Lieutenant John Guild: You got a pistol permit?
Nick Charles: No.
Lieutenant John Guild: Ever heard of the Sullivan Act?
Nora Charles: Oh, that's all right, we're married.

My favorite Hitchcock film of all time. It mixes comedy with suspense extremely well. Set in the Swiss Alps, a bunch of tourists meet at a village the night before boarding a train the next morning. A young girl named Iris (the excellent Margaret Lockwood) meets a young student named Gilbert (wonderful performance by Michael Redgrave). Of course they meet cute and can't stand each other. The next day on the train the lovable old Mrs. Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes and the chase is on to find her. You have to pay attention to the details in this one because things are not what they seem. An excellent film from Hollywood's golden past. One minute you're laughing, then you're on the edge of your seat. In my opinion, this is Hitch's best work. Just ahead of Psycho.

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Gilbert: Come on, sit down, take it easy. What's the trouble?
Iris Henderson: If you must know, something fell on my head.
Gilbert: When, infancy?

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Gilbert: Can I help?
Iris Henderson: Only by going away.
Gilbert: No, no, no, no. My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.

The definition of a dark comedy. When you mix humor with murderers and corpses, then throw in Cary Grant with two old bitties (his aunts) who happen to like killing single old men- then count me in. A truly different type comedy that has to be seen. Cary is of course in perfect form. Josephine Hull and Jean Adair as his aunts are quite funny. And lets not forget the long lost brother Raymond Massey who just escaped from prison and decides to come home. Plus Prisciilla Lane is fetching as Cary's girlfriend-soon to be wife.

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Aunt Martha: "For a gallon of elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon full of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon of strychnine, and then just a pinch of cyanide."
Mortimer: "Hmm. Should have quite a kick".

This is where it started. I mean Kevin Costner's version was a good entertaining film, but for me, Errol Flynn is the Robin Hood. No question about it. One of the best looking and best sounding movies you will ever see. Lots of action and witty dialogue plus great villians in Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy and Claude Rains as Prince John. Plus Olivia deHavilland is terrific as Maid Marian. A winner any way you look at it.


Lady Marian:"Why, you speak treason!"

Robin:"Fluently".

My second favorite western, right behind Tombstone. A slam bang film which has John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance who has a murderer locked up in the jail and must withstand repeated attempts to free the bad guy. It's a whole posse of hired thugs and all Chance has is an old crippled deputy and another deputy Dude (played by Dean Martin) trying to stay sober. Chance eventually gets more help in the form of bad girl turned good (Angie Dickinson) and a young hotshot named Colorado (Ricky Nelson) who is quick with his mouth and his gun. This is how you make a great western. Terrific heroes, evil bad guys, rousing action, and frequent humor. All involved give solid performances especially Martin, Nelson, and Dickinson. Of course, The Duke is awesome as usual.


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Pat Wheeler: I told him you were one of the best.
Colorado Ryan: Well, I'll tell you what I'm a lot better at, Mr. Wheeler... that's minding my own business.

One of Hitch's best films he ever made. Anthony Perkins is perfect as Norman Bates, a young man who runs The Bates Motel, who has a serious mother fixation. Along comes Janet Leigh, a young woman on the run from the cops for stealing money from her job. And the rest is cinema magic. Psycho set the standard for all the slasher flicks that would follow, but it's still the best one. It works as a thriller and a character piece. You really get to know Norman Bates and Perkins does a helluva job. Janet Leigh is pretty good too. A must see.

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Norman Bates: A boy's best friend is his mother.

Steve McQueen at his super cool best. And features one of the best car chase scenes in film history ever. Bullitt:"Look, you work your side of the street, and I'll work mine".

Classic comedy with a dream team of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn. Kate is Tracy, a wealthy woman who is about to remarry. Grant is her ex-husband who pops by the weekend of the wedding. And Jimmy is a reporter trying to get an exclusive for the wedding event of the year. They all converge at Tracy's huge estate and the fireworks soon begin. This is classic golden age comedy right here. Kate is simply amazing. Jimmy Stewart is really funny. And Mr. Grant is kinda laid back in this one, but he is still very good. This is one for the ages.

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Macaulay Connor: I would sell my grandmother for a drink - and you know how I love my grandmother.

One day in a New York City police precinct where all kinds of people intersect. Kirk Douglas is the tough detective who is dealing with a case involving an abortionist. It also has a shoplifter, two dangerous burglars, and an embezzler. A taut in your face crime drama that features a strong performance by Mr. Douglas and another good one by Eleanor Parker who plays his wife. One of the best of the detective movies from the 1950's.

Detective McLeod: "Take a couple of drop dead pills".

Another classic comedy with Cary Grant as playboy artist Richard Nugent who through a court order has to date a love struck teenage named Susan (wonderfully played by Shirley Temple) who sneaks into his apartment one night. Her sister, Judge Margaret Turner (Myrna Loy) is convinced that for Susan to get over Nugent is for her to date him and then she will eventually come to her senses. Of course Nugent goes out of his way to make sure that happens all the more quickly. This is a classic comedy that has everyone involved at their peak acting abilities, especially the three leads in Grant, Loy, and Temple. One of the best comedies from yesteryear.
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Matt Beemish: I'm the court psychiatrist.
Richard Nugent: Come back in an hour. I'll be crazy by then.

Very funny comedy with everyone involved at the top of their game. Ace director Billy Wilder leads Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon through this delightful funny romp set during the Prohibition era. Curtis and Lemmon posing as women to get away from the mob, end up joining Monroe's all girl band. Complications ensue. Doesn't get much better than this. Easily one of the best comedies ever made. Curtis and Lemmon make a great team and Monroe is super as Sugar Kane the singer who stays in trouble. Also notable is George Raft as head of the mob trying to catch the two guys who are witnesses to a murder.
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Jerry: "Have I got things to tell you!"
Joe: "What happened?"
Jerry: "I'm engaged."
Joe: "Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?"
Jerry: "I am!"

Classic western with Brynner and McQueen leading the way. Vin:"We deal in lead, friend".

I remembering seeing this movie in 11th grade in English class and I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. One of Hitchcock's best films he ever did. A classic suspenseful mystery with solid performances by Olivier and Fontaine. But the standout is Judith Anderson as the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. She is the definition of creepy.

A truly great movie. And being a true story just makes it amazing. Anne Bancroft as teacher Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as deaf and blind child Helen Keller are simply unbelievable in this movie. They both won Oscars for their roles and once you see this film you will easily see why. A classic in every sense of the word.

James:"Sooner or later, we all give up, don't we?"
Annie: "Maybe you all do, but it's my idea of the original sin".
James: "What is?"
Annie: "Giving up!"

Annie: "It's less trouble to feel sorry for her than it is to teach her anything better".

Classic Marilyn
Lorelei Lee: "Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help?"

Connery's second Bond film is a winner. Better than Dr. No in so many ways. Part romance, part thriller with a little humor and great villians. Of course Connery is perfect as 007, without question. But this film has some truly twisted and effective villians. Robert Shaw is terrific as Russia's premier super assasin Red Grant. And Lotte Lenya is memorable as Rosa Klebb. his boss. And let's not forget Daniela Bianchi, who is just stunning as Tatiana, the girl who is forced to betray Bond, but winds up with him anyway. She is truly breathtaking. Definetly one of the best Bond films ever made.

Kerim Bey: "Ah, the old game: give a wolf a taste and then leave him hungry. My friend, she's got you dangling".

Paul Newman is at his very best as Luke, a former soldier who gets sent to a prison chain gang. He stands up to the sadistic guards and even worse warden and becomes the leader of his fellow prisoners. Newman gives another Oscar worthy performance which he didnt win for his potrayal of Luke. This drama is hard hitting but also has some welcome lighter moments. This is a pretty good movie from the 60's. A worthy addition to Newman's resume.

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Captain, Road Prison 36: What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men

Excellent black comedy from Stanley Kubrick about a U.S. army general who flips out and sends military planes with h-bombs to attack the Soviets. The president and his aides must find a way to call off the attacks before it's too late. Peter Sellers plays three different characters: the president, a British officer, and the slightly deranged scientist Dr. Strangelove. He makes each character very different and very engaging. George C. Scott is hilarious as general who tries to reason with the president that attacking the Soviets might not be such a bad idea. Classic film-making at it's very best with Kubrick at the top of his game. A must see.

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President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.

Classic film noir about a writer who goes looking for his old childhood buddy and becomes entangled in a mystery. Top notch suspense with a great cast led by Joseph Cotten as the writer and Orson Welles as his missing friend-Harry Lime. Definetly a must see film. You won't be disappointed. Features one of the most memorable lines in movie history. Harry:"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love- they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock".

Very funny classic comedy with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery as a husband and wife who after three years discover they aren't really married. So when it comes time to actually make it legal, the husband has second thoughts. Screwball hi-jinks ensue with Lombard and Montgomery making a great team. And what's surprising about this film is the fact that it is directed by the master of suspense-Alfred Hitchcock. I recommend this film to any film lover of classic screwball comedies. It's one of the best.

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Ann: If you had it all to do over again, would you still have married me?
David: Honestly, no.

Funny movie about the rules of cheating while married. Ed:" Basic principle number one: Never, NEVER say you'll be where you can be found not to be".

Excellent film from Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot) about a struggling young screenwriter (Holden) who runs into former silent film star Norma Desmond (Swanson) who is dreaming of a comeback. She hires him to patch up her script so Cecil B. DeMille can direct her. The lady is a little around the bend, but the writer needs money so he takes the job. This is a marvelous film with great performances. And it holds up today beautifully. William Holden is great as Joe, the writer. It's one of his best parts ever. But it's Gloria Swanson who owns this picture. She is simply amazing. And the dialogue in this film is some of the best you will ever hear in a movie. Great stuff.

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Joe Gillis: There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five.

The Marx Brothers in top form as they take on high society trying to get two opera singers into the biz. The wisecracks and antics of the boys are offset by the occasional song and dance, but the film still flows pretty good. Groucho rips off one liners faster than you can blink your eyes. One of their last really good films.
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Otis B. Driftwood: "You're willing to pay him a thousand dollars a night just for singing? Why, you can get a phonograph record of Minnie the Moocher for 75 cents. And for a buck and a quarter, you can get Minnie".

Exciting thriller set in LA, about a train station policeman named Lt. Willie Calhoun (super performance by William Holden) chasing down a ruthless kidnapper. The bad guy has taken the blind daughter of a millionaire and holds her for ransom. The kidnapping is seen by the rich man's secretary (a solid Nancy Olson). Calhoun swears that he will find the girl and put the kidnapper down, and everyone believes him because Calhoun is one hell of a cop. A very short film at about 80 minutes long, but it is packed with riveting drama and some terrific action. Holden is top notch as the policeman, this being one of his best performances ever. And Lyle Bettger is memorable as bad guy Joe Beacon, the kind you love to hate. Union Station is one of those little films that not too many people have heard about, much less seen, but it is one terrific movie. One of my personal favorites.
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Marge Wrighter: Gonna send that kid home, aren't you, Joe? I mean after we collect.
Joe Beacom: She'll go home...they ever fish her out of the river. Let's have the coffee, huh?

Excellent film with Sidney Poitier in an Oscar winning performance as Homer Smith, an ex-GI now traveling contractor. Homer is making his way through a small town in Arizona when his car overheats. He pulls into a place and encounters a group of East German Catholic nuns led by the strict Mother Superior Maria (Lilia Skala). All Homer wants is some water for his radiator but he ends up staying at the request of Mother Maria to help out around the place. And when Mother Maria asks him to build a chapel cause she thinks God has sent him for that task, Homer reluctantly agrees. Lilies of the Field is a wonderful film mixing drama with some humor and a great performance by Mr. Poitier. I used to think Sidney's best acting work was in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. I stand corrected, Lilies is by far his best work and he deservedly was named Best Actor for 1963. He makes Homer such an engaging character that most people can identify with. And all the actresses portraying the nuns give worthy performances also. Lilies is a small but immensely enjoyable film. One of the best scenes in the film is when Homer teaches the nuns how to sing an old time church hymn called Amen. It's heavenly, rousing, and funny all at once. A great music score by Jerry Goldsmith is a plus also. Add this Poitier's list of films that he made in the 1960's and you have one of the best stretches of film acting ever delivered. His other films during this period include A Raisin in the Sun (1961); The Bedford Incident (1965); To Sir, With Love (1967); Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); and In The Heat Of The Night (1967). All equally impressive films during a six year span. And Lilies is right up there with them.
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Mother Maria: [the morning after a fiesta] Well, you are awake?
Homer Smith: Yeah, I guess so.
Mother Maria: Good.
[throws a cup of cold water in his face]
Homer Smith: Why'd you go and do that?
Mother Maria: The women last night, they say that is the only thing when a man has been mixing wine with tequila!
[walks away]
Homer Smith: I'm gonna mix you with tequila!

Star loaded 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl is an enjoyable film. It stars Jimmy Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner. Like I said star loaded. The film centers on three different girls who become Ziegfeld girls, which they hope mean fame and money. Judy is Susan Gallagher, one half of a musical variety act with her old school dad (played by the fabulous Charles Winniger) that play at very small locales just to earn some money. Well Susan gets the call that the great Mr. Ziegfeld is looking for new girls and she is all happy for her and her dad. But Ziegfeld just wants Susan and not dad. So tension arises from that situation but good old dad doesn't stand in her way. Susan becomes a Ziegfeld girl and her dad carries on the show by himself. Hedy plays Sandra Kotler, a married woman whose violinist husband Franz is struggling to make a name for himself. At the audition for acts for The Ziegfeld show, Franz is overlooked but Sandra is picked to be a ZG, much to Franz's displeasure. They end up separated for awhile and Sandra becomes close with the show's male vocalist Frank (played by Tony Martin). And finally there is elevator girl Sheila Regan (Lana Turner) who has a boyfriend trucker named Gill (Jimmy Stewart with a thick Brooklyn accent). Sheila is the type of girl from the wrong side of the tracks with a hard working family. Once she gets picked, she makes the biggest transformation of all the girls. She lets the fame and money go to her head and breaks up with Gill and starts romancing a much older and richer man. All the girls personal issues play out against the backdrop of the Ziegfeld musical shows. Judy Garland gets to belt out a few good numbers. But its actually Charles Winniger who has the best musical number: a song and dance number with an old vaudeville partner that leaves the audience amazed. Hedy Lamarr is strictly here for decoration, not that there's anything wrong with that. Her scenes with Franz are her best though. Jimmy Stewart is good as Gill, a nice change of pace from playing the good guys..he ends up in jail for bootlegging after being dumped by Sheila. His Brooklyn accent is thick, but somehow he loses it by midway through the film. The standout in this film is Lana Turner as Sheila. Whoever may have question Ms. Turner's acting ability will be put in check by her performance here. It deserved some type of award for her hard take on this girl who becomes her own worst enemy. Towards the end, Sheila will have hit rock bottom and Turner nails it with a riveting performance. Ms. Turner may have been known for her beauty, but here she proves she can act with the best of them. There is also solid support from veterans Edward Everett Horton, Fay Holden and Eve Arden. Typical Eve gets in several good zingers. So, Ziegfeld Girl is a marvelous film, not really a straight forward musical, more of a drama that has a few musical numbers in it with solid performances by a talented cast. And one knockout performance by Lana Turner. I enjoyed every minute of it.

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