As a moviegoer for
more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really
bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in
their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were
released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw
some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being
afraid of The Thing.
Many times I disagree
with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews,
so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m
sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you
will agree. I hope to hear from all of
you.
It’s Oscar time. I’m sure all of you know who he is. He is a
13.5-inch, 8.5 pound statue of gold-plated
beauty. Oscar’s design is of a knight in the art deco style; he is
holding a crusader’s sword and is standing on a reel of film with five spokes.
He is awarded to those who excel in all aspects of movie making. There are
several theories of how he came by his name. Unfortunately, none can be proved.
He is what he is.
The best movies of the first 20 years:
5/16/29: Wings: Clara Bow, Richard Arlen and Gary Cooper star
in this story of World War I fighter pilots. Given the technology of the times,
it is very well done. It holds up nicely to today’s films.
4/3/30: The Broadway Melody of 1929: Two
sisters, Anita Page and Bessie Love, head to New York to make it on Broadway.
Charles King plays the hero, but the story doesn’t end well.
11/5/30: All Quiet on the Western Front: Lew
Ayres is a young German soldier on the front line. This is a powerful anti-war
film based on novel by Erich Maria Remarque. There have been remakes, but I much
prefer this version.
11/10/31: Cimarron: Yee haw. The great
Oklahoma land rush of 1889 provides the backdrop for this film starring Robert
Dix and Irene Dunne. The Edna Ferber novel provides the engrossing story.
11/18/32: Grand Hotel: If Greta Garbo really
wanted to be alone she should have stayed away from this hotel. John Barrymore,
Joan Crawford and many other stars shine in a collection of stories that take
place in a Berlin hotel.
3/16/34: Cavalcade: I wasn’t able to find a
copy of this film to watch. Clive Brook and Diana Wynard star in an adaption of
a Noel Coward play about two English families in the years 1899-1933.
2/27/35: It Happened One Night: This is truly
a classic film to be enjoyed by most everyone. Clark Gable, newspaper man, and
Claudette Colbert, socialite on her way to elope with gold-digger boyfriend,
meet and sparks fly.
3/5/36: Mutiny on the Bounty: Charles
Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone star in this classic true story of
mutiny at sea. Many remakes, but this version did, after all, win an Oscar.
3/4/37: The Great Ziegfeld: Based on the
true story of the great impresario Flo Ziegfeld, this film is a joy to watch.
Playing the title character is William Powell and our favorite costar Myrna
Loy. Fanny Brice and Louis Rainer round out the cast. Rising from carnie to Broadway darling,
Ziegfeld lived the American Dream.
3/10/38: The Life of Emile Zola: Paul Muni
plays the French writer who exposed the social ills of his day, including the
Dreyfuss case.
2/23/39: You Can’t Take it With You: The legendary
Frank Capra directs this adaption of the George S. Kauffman/Moss Hart play
about the course of true love. Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, and James Stewart
star.
2/29/40: Gone With the Wind: What could I
possibly say that hasn’t been said before?
2/27/41: Rebecca: Laurence Olivier, Joan
Fontaine and George Sanders star in Hitchcock’s only film to win an Oscar. It
is a haunting tale.
2/26/42: How Green was My Valley: This is a
lovely movie about Welsh coal miners. Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, and Roddy
McDowell star in John Ford’s film.
3/4/43: Mrs. Miniver: Greer Garson plays the
strong wife of Walter Pidgeon during WWII. She manages with cool aplomb through
tragedy.
3/2/44: Casablanca: This is another film
that needs no explanation. How many times have you seen it?
3/15/45: Going My Way: The great crooner Bing
Crosby plays a priest who is sent to a parish to care for Barry Fitzgerald, an
aging, curmudgeon of a priest. A charming little movie.
3/7/46: The Lost Weekend: Billy Wilder
directs Ray Milland and Jane Wyman in this film about a man left alone for a
weekend who goes on a granddaddy of a binge.
3/13/47: Best Years of our Lives: Three WWII
veterans return home to pick up the pieces of their lives, with varying
results. Dana Andrews, Frederic March, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright
and Hoagy Carmichael star in a film that tries to show what is was like.
3/20/48: Gentleman’s Agreement: A reporter,
Gregory Peck, starts a series on anti-Semitism by posing as a Jew. The results
are dramatic and dangerous. Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield and Celeste Holm
costar. This film haunted me for years. When I saw it as a young girl, I had
not heard of anti-Semitism.
