The scene with Bogart selling the bald postman a comb and brush set is hilarious.
Even better is where Bogart is trying to stuff this guy into a too small jacket. The guy asks for a larger size and Bogie walks into the back room, counts to ten and comes back out with the same exact jacket and proceeds to shoehorn the guy into it. Sidesplitting!
I’d like to mention the original edition of “The Secret Garden”. Saw it when I was a kid. Seemed like really good stuff.
So far no one has been able to point me to a Dirk Bogarde flick where he fakes insanity to get out of a murder charge but ends up getting committed. Someone got a title for me?
I’m not sure if this qualifies as being too mainstream, but I hadn’t seen nor heard of it till I caught a late-night showing of it on PBS a couple years ago:
Slueth starring Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine. Very entertaining film, with outstanding performances by the two stars.
The Man Who Would Be King starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine (again). This movie popped into my head as I was describing the last one. Why can’t Connery and Caine give performances like these anymore?
I’m drawing a blank now, but I know I’ll think of 10 more as soon as I hit “Submit”
I can’t find any of the Ben Turpin silent comedies at my local video stores. They show up on TV only when I forget to check for them, so I fail to get them on tape to show others.
“Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949) - Sir Alec Guiness in 8 roles of a family in line for the throne of England. Realizing he won’t live long enough to assume the throne, he kills off everybody in his way. The story is told as a series of flashbacks from a prison. The ending is hilarious!
I’ve heard nasty rumors that Eddie Murphy wants to do an updated version. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
“The Rage of Paris” (1938) - Danielle Darrieux as a French girl who’s down on her luck and decides to hook a rich playboy (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr). I taped this off, of all places, Nick at Nite waaaaayyyyy back in the late 80’s. Danielle was quite the hottie in her day (she’s 83 now!).
A magical 1946 British movie by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger( they also made The Red Shoes ) staring David Niven and Kim Hunter. It’s about a WWII airman who survives a certain death situation only to find out that it was a mistake and he was meant to die. It leds to a court case in heaven to see if he can stay alive of not.
It’s a fantastic movie with lots of amazing images (heaven is very impressive looking). What I like about it the most is that it leaves it up to the viewer to decide the reality in the movie. If you get a chance to see this one I can’t recommend it enough.
The Treasure Of The Sierre Madre
Cromwell
Don’t Bother To Knock
All About Eve
Day For Night
And Then There Were None (1945)
One, Two, Three
Dead End
Amarcord
I’ll pipe up again to emphatically agree with Mr. Blue Sky about Kind Hearts and Coronets. There once was a time when black comedy was done well. Sigh . . .
All About Eve, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and The Man Who Would Be King are all outstanding movies, but I would hardly think they qualify as “forgotten.”
Joseph Finn, I was glad to see someone else mention Westward the Women. You are right about showing how hard it was to cross the country. And when the guy who organized the expedition told them “By the time this is over one in three of you will be dead” he was right. It even broke the cardinal rule of movies, and killed off the cute little boy. But there was humor too. And I liked it when the older woman who made the trip told the waiting men “Don’t think that YOU’RE going to get to do the choosing!”
I was mighty pleased to find Kwaidan at my local video store this weekend. The movie consists of four Japanese ghost stories that are beautifully done and nicely creepy, albeit very slowly paced. Make sure you find the version that’s around 160 minutes long; I hear a shorter 120 minute version is out there, which cuts out “The Woman of the Snow”, the second story.
Special Jury Prize, Cannes film festival, 1965; nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, 1966.
You’re right about the humor, but it still makes me sniffle when the kid bites it. One of the best use sof western United States scenery ever. It’s like seing the endless expanses of the Mongolian desert in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Alec Guinness plays 8 members of the titled family. Dennis Price plays the poor relation who kills his way to the title. As for the remake, it’s worse than you think. Robin Williams will play the Guinness parts and Will Smith will take the Dennis Price role.
Rocket88: good call on Charley Varrick and Pelham 123.
Some of my favorites:
Smile (1975)
Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973)
Soldier in the Rain (1963)
The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964)
Tomorrow at Ten (1962)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Full of Life (1956)
Bob Le Flambeur (1955)
La Ronde (1950)
Thieves’ Highway (1949)
The History of Mister Polly (1949)
He Walked at Night (1948)
The Fallen Idol (1948)
October Man (1947)
It’s a Gift or The Bank Dick - W. C. Fields. He doesn’t get much play anymore, but the man was a true comic genius. “Say, friend, did I come in here last night and spend $20 on liquor?” “Yes, sir, I’m afraid you did.” “Whew! What a load off my mind. I’d thought I lost it.”
Sorry, Wrong Number - Burt Lancaster and Barbara Stanwick. The name says it all.
The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao - Tony Randall as a mysterious, Oriental carnival huckster. Good little fantasy movie.
Klute - Michael Kaine and Jane Fonda.
Play Misty For Me - Clint Eastwood doesn’t play the hardboiled detective. He’s the object of a fatal attraction.
The Cowboys - My favorite John Wayne flick. Revenge tastes sweet.
Casablanca’s Big Night - Bob Hope. Like “The Court Jester,” a largely forgotten comic gem. Shot in the amazing color process.
And for the horrorphiles among us, there’s The Masque of the Red Death, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), all starring Vincent Price.
spooje, I loved Matewan. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad Sayles film - and that reminds me, I need to go see The Return of the Secacus 7, too.
Ooh, here’s another one: 1975’s The Sugarland Express, Spielberg’s first feature film, starring Goldie Hawn - but not a fluffy comedy, as the star and title might imply (it’s a lovers-on-the-lam road film).
Well, if you’ve gone toward Wicker Man, then you ought to take another step and find a copy of Eraserhead. Its definitely in the cult status. A bit creepy, but…
Dave
The Crimson Pirate, 1952, starring Burt Lancaster. It’s a film which seems to have been forgotten, despite the fact that it was a huge hit when it came out. It’s a great, great action-comedy, the kind of film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but avoids becoming a parody. It has wonderful, acrobatic action (no special effects, no wire-work, no stunt doubles, nothing), a rousing score, and compared to most movies of its period it’s hardly aged at all - with a few cosmetic changes, it could have been made today. Lancaster has the kind of charisma I haven’t seen for years, and Nick Cravat plays one of the all-time funniest sidekicks.
Another movie that’s probably better known, but still underappreciated, is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, IMHO the best Western ever made. It has all the insights and complexities of Unforgiven, but is better made, and perhaps even better acted.
I remember seeing Donovan’s Brain on TV when I was around 10 (that would be around 1969). I believe it was made in 1953, not 1963. I remember my my mom saying “Oh! Donovan’s Brain, we have to watch that!”
You’re right, Danimal, about All About Eve etal its just that the the title always made me think that it would be a chick flick, so I never bothered to watch it. Of course, it’s not like that at all.
May I add
Fail Safe (better known now because of the TV movie with George Clooney)
The Two Of Us (1967)
Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines
A Night In Casablanca (My favorite Marx Bros. but everyone else says its one of their lesser films)
