An Oldies Night (Alky, inquire within.)
 

I'm doing something that I haven't done before. An oldies night. A marathon of movies that one is required to see, from the golden age of cinema. I'm mainly doing this to see if I'm interested, as I have been skeptical... but lately, an interest has grown. Expecially from the film; What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

As I am completely new at this, I thought... why not ask the folks here? Mainly, Alky... who seems to have a heart for films of this nature.

The question;
Which golden-age films would you suggest I watch? That would be, the top of the top. Ones that would make me say; "Wow! I really have to give some others a chance!"

I've been thinking about these already...

Psycho
Vertigo
The Birds
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Also, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca are classics, but I'm not quite sure about my interest in seeing them.

Also, Alky... you said that there are a few films you consider "perfect". Would you list them? I want to check them out.

since you're going to watch "whatever happened to baby jane ?", might as well watch some more of bette davis in "all about eve"... if you haven't already seen it of course.

the movie is damn near perfect, and so is bette. ;)


edit : "rear window" as well. ""to kill a mockingbird" is also a must see. great movies. damn, i could go on and on...

Josh- I'm beaming from the respect and trust you've thrown to me here. I'd be honored to give you sugeestions.

So here we go:

The 5 perfect classics (according to me):

1. Casablanca- Whatever you think this is, whatever you've heard about this film, ignore it. It needs to be something that you witness, something you can see with your own eyes. To me, Casablanca is American cinema at its finest. Not only are the performances perfect, but the entire layout is simply entrancing.

2. Vertigo- Excitement. Mystery. Hitchcock at his absolute finest. In fact, this is filmmaking at its best, period. Obsession, to me, is a very hard theme to touch upon, but Alfred gave this gem so much class and grace that it is undoubtably the best in the biz.

3. The Maltese Falcon- This one's all about the style. The use of lighting in this is unbelievable, creating a strange and very uncomfortable atmosphere, a city where crime is abundant and a man goes through a dame like pairs of socks. Humphrey Bogart teams up, once again, with Peter Lorre for a strange kind of relationship that never quite settles.

4. Cat People (1942)- Val Lewton, as you may or may not know, was a famous horror producer of the 1940s. He was remembered not only for his "never show it" style, but also for his fantastic financial skills. He was always shafted, given very small, sometimes left over budgets from Warner Bros. This didn't stop him, however, from creating one of the most stylish pieces of horror cinema in history: Cat People, of course. This one proves that money isn't everything, and Val makes his masterpiece look like a million dollar movie.

5. Arsenic and Old Lace- This Cary Grant gem is absolutely the most fun you can have in a film. It's a dark comedy, grim and glorious. The plot is magnificent: A newlywed (Grant) heads home with his fiancee to share the news of his marriage with his two aunts. Through a chain of events, he finds out his charming aunts have been happily murdering lonely men, and hiding them in the window seat of their warm home. This one also stars Peter Lorre (seeing a trend, my boy?) and a perfect supporting cast, and you can't get any more fun than this.



I also highly suggest the following:

• Psycho (1960)
• Rear Window
• To Have and Have Not
• The Philidelphia Story
• Citizen Kane
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
• The Body Snatcher
• M
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Dracula (1931)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• King Kong (1933)
• Rope
• The Big Sleep

I wish you luck, my friend. Lemme know if you need more, or need some information on any of the above films.

Throw a little Creature from the Black Lagoon in there, will be fine.

Sunset Boulevard and Black Sunday are real greats, too. Should you decide to do this again, both of these are highly recommended.

Agree with Alky on everything, but would elevate The Philadelphia Story over Arsenic and Old Lace.

Philadelphia Story may have funniest dialogue and comedic acting in all of cinema.

But kudos, lovely list.

I'd add
The Unholy Three
Gaslight
The Third Man
The Misfits
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence

:D

It definately stands up there for me. There's just something so delightfully sinister about Arsenic and Old Lace that I can't help eating up every time I see it.

So? Did this ever happen, Josh?