Thursday Thirteen #26 -- 13 Great Old Movies




THIRTEEN MOVIES
THAT HAVE AN ENDURING PLACE
IN THE HEART OF THE GAL HERSELF


I love old movies. Part of it is the romance and the clothes of Hollywood in days gone by. Part is that I just love the art form of film and it’s fun to see how where we were has influenced where we are today.

Here are some truly terrific old (for the sake of this list, "old" means pre-1960) movies you may wish to check out if you happen to find yourself with a free rainy afternoon. There are some you may be familiar with, others you may not. But all give you a warm and lovely passage to another place and time.

This list is, of course, nowhere near complete. If this meme was called the Thursday 30, I could have filled it easily. But here are the first 13 as they occurred to me …


1. My Man Godfrey. (1936) Carole Lombard is the most beautiful funny girl in Hollywood history. She’s charming, gorgeous, amazingly verbal and physical … a force of nature. William Powell is her elegant butler/protégé. And there’s a message about how we treat our fellow man that’s relevant and important today, too.

2. A Star Is Born. (1954) It’s a big, glossy showbiz musical, but the songs never overpower the story. Our lovers meet when she’s on the way up and he’s on the way down, so they never had a chance. Judy Garland is so vulnerable and sincere as she fights for her man (James Mason) that you may wish to have a Kleenex nearby. ("Hi, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine.")

3. Destry Rides Again. (1939) I really don’t like Westerns, nor Marlene Dietrich. But this movie is a revelation to me because … um … damn but Jimmy Stewart was sexy! Really, in the movie he has his truly hot moments. I also wonder how much of Tom Destry went into the character development of Sheriff Taylor of Mayberry. Which leads me to …

4. A Face in the Crowd. (1957) Starring an evil Andy Griffith. Crass, ruthless, ambitious, and terrifyingly charismatic once the microphone is turned on. Kind of a Rush Limbaugh for the McCarthy era. Andy is so good in this movie that you barely notice Walter Matthau, Lee Remick and other dramatic actors who complete the cast.

5. Horse Feathers. (1932) “Why Mrs. Bailey! I knew and respected your late husband for years! And if you were good enough for him, you’re good enough for me.” Oh, there’s a plot. But mostly it’s Groucho cracking wise, talking to the camera and being Groucho. And that’s good enough for me.

6. Young at Heart. (1954) The love of a good woman (Doris Day) saves a cynical rogue (Frank Sinatra). She’s so pretty. He’s so poignant and he loves her so. She has an Aunt Jesse, a widowed father and a dog. He sings “Someone to Watch Over Me” to break your heart. Sigh …

7. Suddenly, Last Summer. (1959) The cast is first rate: Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, and Elizabeth Taylor. But the plot is about as sick as it gets: prostitution, homosexuality, cannibalism, lobotomies, and just a soupcon of incest. But it’s Tennessee Williams, so even as this twisted Southern family does one another very, very wrong, they do it while spouting the cleverest, most divine dialog.

8. Casablanca. (1942) Love. Integrity. Patriotism. Doing the right thing for God and country has never been sexier. I believe I can recite this one. “The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.” “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, and she walks into mine.” “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.’” “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” “Round up the usual suspects.” “The problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” (True story: a guy actually used the line, “We’ll always have Paris” to get me into bed. It completely worked.)

9. Guys and Dolls. (1955) Have you ever seen a 30-something Marlon Brando in a well-tailored suit? A portrait in graceful masculinity. His duet with Missionary Sister Sarah Brown, “I’ll Know,” breaks my heart every time. Everyone knows they are in love, destined for one another … everyone, that is, except them.

10. Rope. (1948) Alfred Hitchcock’s take on Leopold & Loeb. It’s known for a bit of cinematic gimmickry – the entire movie, all 80 minutes – is done in one shot. But that’s not what makes it fascinating on repeated viewings. It’s about schadenfreude, how we enjoy being scared in theory but not in reality, about the equality and decency of all human beings.

11. Some Like It Hot. (1959) I think of this as Marilyn’s movie. She’s soooo funny in this. “Diamonds! Must be worth their weight in gold!” “Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop.” Not that funny on paper, but her line readings are charming. Jack Lemmon is incredibly funny and so likable, too.

12. Holiday. (1938) My favorite Hepburn movie – and that’s going some. Linda (Kate) is thrilled to meet her beloved sister’s beau, and then proceeds to fall in love with him. (Of course she does! He’s Cary Grant.) She won’t do anything about it, of course. She’s Kate, after all. But the look of elation on her face when Sis admits she's dumping her fiancé over filthy lucre … Sigh. Also has a timeless message about the real value of wealth, and how the richest of us follow our hearts.

13. Mister Roberts. (1955) It’s about heroism. Big, wartime heroism, and small, every day heroism. And has there ever been a more completely American movie hero than Henry Fonda? It has its funny moments, especially courtesy of Jack Lemmon, but it’s Fonda’s poignancy and courage that stays with me. “Goodnight, Mr. Roberts.”



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3. Puss Reboots has a visual TT

4. Dewey charms us with Bookish LOL Cats

5. Milan - zzz has a breaktaking photographic TT

6. Nicole Austin's TT is a clear-eyed view of summertime

7. Crimson Wife's TT is about her summer reading (and it makes me embarrassed that I'm reading yet another bio of Princess Di)

8. Nicholas shares his cynical but very witty take on things we hear every day, but shouldn't believe

9. Crux & Damozel have a bi-partisan TT that should be required reading

10. Thommalyn conjures up 13 ghosts

11. Lori's TT is brought to you by the Letter T

12. Comedy + gives us 13 snappy one-liners

13. Janet is onto the Letter U

14. JennyMcB takes us along on vacation

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16. Even the most dedicated TV trivia addict will learn something at Malcolm's

17. Denise has a TT about movies, too.

18. Garthtrekker shares 13 cool, cool, good deeds

19. Sue's TT is the dumbest things celebs have ever said

20. Mo notices and shares the clever names of local businesses

21. Impworks shares what he's watching/reading/listening to

22. l^2 imparts the wisdom of her dogs (and they are wise indeed)

23. Nicole's TT is devoted to everyone's favorite wizard (you know who)

24. David's TT is random but highly quotable (for example, Dr. Seuss gave us the word "nerd")

25. Gabriella shares 13 dreamy ways to spend 3 hours

26. Bookmama tells us 13 things that are great about being mother to BB and LS


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