15 Films I Must Own – part 2

I know I dwelt on the comedies in my first installment so I will try and sober up in this next installment:

6) Hobson’s Choice (1954) – David Lean co-wrote and directed his adaptation of a popular stage play about the eldest spinster daughter (Brenda de Banzie) of a Sulford boot merchant, Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) and her marriage to the shop’s boot hand, William Mossop (John Mills). Lean went on to produce some of cinema’s most lush, epic films but you can already see his great sense of place in this charming tale set in Manchester. Laughton delivers a truly great screen performance of the inebriate Hobson, Mills is endearingly charming as Mossop but the day goes to de Banzie. Maggie Hobson is a strong, smart, business-minded, unapologetic woman who makes good for herself and those around her. It’s a proto-feminist tale done deftly with style and charm.

7) Stage Fright (1950) – Hitchcock supposedly felt he let down his audience by presenting a lie as a flashback. Given time and taste many have come to love this fact about it. I find it to be one of the master’s most synthetic works; the juxtaposition of “real life” versus “theatrics” constantly turns in on itself as this murder mystery plays out. All the Hitchcock bits are here (the camera following a character off the street and into a house, rear projection, his cameo) plus he had a cast that could breathe life into the material. Marlene Dietrich is pretty much Dietrich and I’m sure her fastidiousness worked well with his. He had his blank-slate leading lady in Jane Wyman (who does some of the best “back acting” in cinema history) but filled the gapes with English staples Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike (a disarmingly funny cameo by Joyce Grenfell). It’s a lovely balance of mystery, comedy and romance that I never fail to enjoy.

8) A Streetcar Named Desire (1972) – I’ve always depended on the kindness of Streetcar! Whenever I’m feeling down, nothing makes me feel better than watching Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) go at it. It’s not just the “fact” that my life is sooo much better than theirs, but every time I return to this movie I find these two gigantic performances fresh and engrossing. They are like to tops battling it out on a schoolyard: the forces that drive them together, the whine and the whirr and someone’s ultimate defeat. Kazan was wise to open this stage play just enough while remaining true the basic plot (Tennessee Williams’ film adaptations were often watered down by Hollywood due to their sexual content). Beautifully photographed by Harry Stradling, Jr. and scored by effectively by Alex North, this movie reaped four Academy Awards.

9) A Lion in Winter (1968) – As dysfunctional then as they are now, the English royals never cease to provide excellent entertainment. Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn reign as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s adaptation of his stage play. Though from very different schools of acting, these two create sparks as they thrust and parry their way through this unconventional holiday drama. Director Anthony Harvey does an adequate job of keeping this topsy-turvy tale on track but he has a hard time keeping up with his stars and his location (the film was shot on location in France and Ireland). Hepburn snagged her 4th Oscar for this film. It’s also first film appearances by Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton, as Richard and Phillip II, respectively, two powerful men with a rather close past! I wonder if you wonder why I chose it?

10) Nashville (1975) – I remember seeing this film with my father in Philly when it first came out. I had never seen anything quite like it then and haven’t seen anything quite like it since. Robert Altman is the ultimate American film auteur; his style is unique, the aural quality lush and, whether or not the film has succeeded, you were taken on a unique journey. This film finds Altman in the right place at the right time and holds up a mirror to America that is still relevant and a little scary. Politics, religion and pop culture converge and collide (literally) in an American industry capital Drama plays out large and small with a stunning cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, Altman muse Shelley Duvall, Geraldine Chaplin, a hilarious Barbara Harris and a silent Jeff Goldblum. The music sung is original and written by cast members, as well as others including Gary Busey. And the opening K-Tel credits are a hoot!

Up next, we go overseas…..