LISTS

[movieman1957]

Interesting list. You did put a lot of work into it. A long discussion is waiting if we get into the "why" of your choices.

 

I haven't seen most of the more recent pictures. For my taste "Mrs. Miniver" and "Random Harvest" are almost interchangeable for an award. There are a couple of others to quibble about but overall it is an interesting idea.

 

"Gran Torino" I liked but I didn't see anything else from that year to argue about. The one thing I thought funny about the film was the smoking disclaimer that ran in the end credits. It seemed long and rather apologetic. Do they run cocaine disclaimers at the end of movies that feature use of that substance?

[fxreyman]

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}

> The problem for me is that I haven't seen many of the Best Picture winners. It's rare that I like such films.

 

Well my friend, if you are going to call yourself a "classic" movie fan you are going to need to step outside of your Film Noir comfort zone and start watching some of these Best Picture winners.

 

You don't have to like the films, but you should know about the history of some of the films and how they got to be where they are today. For me I have taken the time to see these films. I do not have many of these films in my personal library, but I have seen them.

 

For me it is a labor of fact finding more than anything else. Just like when I viewed my first Noir. That is when I truly started to appreciate lighting technique in those films. Ever since I have paid close attention to lighting and set production / art direction.

 

That is why I think today's films are so well made. I am not saying that the films of today are better than films from the early years i.e., 30s-50s. I am just saying that attention to detail seems to be more relevant today than in the past. Maybe its just that most of todays films are just so much clearer to the eyes and senses. I look at a recent film like 2010's True Grit. If you carefully look at the film you will see amazing attention to detail. Just the look of the film, the sets, art direction and especially the photography is so clear. Anyway, I am getting off the point here.

 

I think that as with anything anyone ever attempts to tackle, you should feel comfortable doing whatever it is that you like to do. But you might want to spend some time revisiting or in your case looking at past Best picture winners and some of the other films that were nominated or not nominated and see which ones actually did deserve to get nominated or win for a particular year.

 

Because when you get right down to it, the Academy Awards are the pinnacle of achievement in the motion picture industry, the "gold-standard" so to speak. Every other award pales in comparison. And that does not mean that all of the other awards that are heaped upon the films do not mean anything, it just means that from the very beginning near the start of the sound era, the Oscars have meant something a lot more than all of the other awards combined, IMHO.

 

Just some meanderings. Don't worry, I was not criticizing you in the first paragraph.

 

Edited by: fxreyman on Mar 3, 2011 10:45 AM

[FrankGrimes]

Yeah, you're right, Rey, I pretty much watch only film noir.

[fxreyman]

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}

> Yeah, you're right, Rey, I pretty much watch only film noir.

 

"It's about time you crawled down from Mount Rushmore and took a look around for yourself. You'd be surprised at the changes we've made in the last 100 years."

 

"Man, I tell you, the women - they're smokin' cigarettes, drinkin' whiskey, doin' the shimmy-sham-shimmy, hot damn!"

 

To paraphrase the above quote, "Yes, maybe its time you crawled down from the top of Mount Film-Noir and looked around and watched some other films for a while?"

[MissGoddess]

Well, I have give MrGrimes credit for having seen over forty John Ford films (including now a Shirley Temple vehicle), which is pretty good for someone who's not a fan. In the last month or so he's seen and talked on the board about half a dozen Lubitsch comedies AND _musicals_ as well as *Midnight, The Good Fairy, The Bravados, Westward the Women, Fantomas, The Heiress, The Best Years of Our Lives* and *Till the End of Time*.

[MissGoddess]

> My top five favorite actresses

>

> 5. Lauren Bacall

> 4. Grace Kelly

> 3. Ingrid Bergman

> 2. Vivien Leigh

> 1. Katharine Hepburn

 

 

Welcome to the boards....Okay I'll just call you Mrs. O'Hara-Hamilton-Kennedy-Butler,

 

Excellent taste! Vivling is my #1 favorite actress.

[fxreyman]

Yes I know. I am very proud of him. Hard to believe he owns over 45 Ford films in his collection. Bet you didn't know that, huh?

 

All I was saying is that considering the amount of time and effort TCM goes into producing 31 Days of Oscar and the importance Mr. Osborne has shown toward this theme each year, I just think Mr. Grimes could step out a little more. That's all.

 

This is all in jest.

 

I am NOT suggesting he stop and smell ALL of the roses. Not at all.

[JackFavell]

 

h2. Rey - Congratulations on 1,000 posts!

[FrankGrimes]

To paraphrase the above quote, "Yes, maybe its time you crawled down from the top of Mount Film-Noir and looked around and watched some other films for a while?"

 

Thanks. I'll try to do better.

[fxreyman]

Now that is the kind of deliberate attention I like to receive!!!!

 

One of my all-time favorite films!!!

 

Thanks, Wendy!!!!!

[JackFavell]

Though I haven't been posting much, I've been enjoying reading your lists and writing, Rey. As have the boys of the 3rd Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron.

[fxreyman]

Well that is good to hear!

 

We must not let those boys down, shall we?

 

Hey..... is that one of those big **** converted cruisers off the coast???

 

Better wind them up men!!!

[MissGoddess]

> {quote:title=fxreyman wrote:}{quote}

> Yes I know. I am very proud of him. Hard to believe he owns over 45 Ford films in his collection. Bet you didn't know that, huh?

>

> All I was saying is that considering the amount of time and effort TCM goes into producing 31 Days of Oscar and the importance Mr. Osborne has shown toward this theme each year, I just think Mr. Grimes could step out a little more. That's all.

>

> This is all in jest.

>

> I am NOT suggesting he stop and smell ALL of the roses. Not at all.

 

Hi Rey! You know this discussion has given me an idea for a new list!

 

Favorite films from genres I'm not crazy about.

 

Favorite "War" Films (WWI and WWII only, not including post-war

films like The Best Years of Our Lives that deal with the homefront

and not including Nazi occupation films. I'm talking films set mainly in

a military environment whether on a base, a P.O.W. camp, a ship or in the field):

 

1. They Were Expendable

2. Kings Go Forth

3. From Here to Eternity (technically not "war" until the end)

4. Hell Below

5. All Quiet on the Western Front

6. The Dawn Patrol (Flynn/Niven version)

7. In Harm's Way

8. Men Without Women

9. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

10. Wings

11. Run Silent, Run Deep

12. The Enemy Below

13. The Story of G.I. Joe

14. Paths of Glory

15. The Hunters

16. What Price Glory? (Walsh, not Ford)

17. Twelve O'Clock High

18. Mister Roberts

19. Homecoming

20. So Proudly We Hail

 

Favorite Musicals:

 

1. Gigi

2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

3. Top Hat

4. Swing Time

5. Pal Joey

6. The Love Parade

7. Love Me Tonight

8. Daddy Long Legs

9. Let's Make Love

10. The Smiling Lieutenant

 

Favorite Science Fiction Films:

 

1. Star Wars

2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

3. The Thing From Another World (original)

4. The Day the Earth Stood Still

5. The Fly (original)

6. The Empire Strikes Back

7. It Came From Outer Space

8. The Quartermass Experiment

9. Donovan's Brain

10. Them!

[fxreyman]

As has been suggested by FrankGrimes and MissGoddess, I have come up with a short list with dialogue of ten films and their great death scenes. I hope you all enjoy.

 

Little Caesar 1930

Edward G. Robinson as gangster Cesare Enrico 'Rico' Bandello:

Thomas E. Jackson as Police Sergeant Flaherty

 

Fleeing from the police, Ricco is gunned down behind a billboard by his archrival, Sergeant Flaherty. The movie closes with an up close shot of a dying Ricco:

 

"Mother of Mercy! Is this the end of Rico?"

 

Angels With Dirty Faces 1938

James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan:

Pat O'Brien as Father Jerry Connolly

Edward Pawley as the Guard

 

After being sentenced to die in the electric chair, Father Connolly visits Rocky in prison moments before Rocky is to walk down to the execution chamber. Jerry asks Rocky for one last favor: To die pretending to be a screaming, snivelling coward, which would end the boys' idolization of him.

Rocky refuses to do this and insists he will be tough to the end. But, as faith would have it, Rocky changes his mind and has to be dragged to the electric chair:

 

"Oh I don't want to die, oh please, I don't want to die, oh please, please let go of me!, oh please don't kill me! oh please don't kill me! ohhhh.

The guard:

"The little yellow rat was going to spit in my eye!"

 

The Wizard of Oz 1939

 

Maragret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West:

Judy Garland as Dorothy

Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow

 

As the Witch corners our heroes on the castle's parapet, the Witch sets the scarecrows arm on fire, as Dorothy grabs a bucket of water to douse Scarecrow she also hits the witch with the water thereby causing the witch to melt:

 

"You cursed brat!!! Look what you've done!! I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I'm going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!"

 

 

Shadow of a Doubt 1943

 

Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie and

Teresa Wright as his young niece Charlie:

 

Uncle Charlie decides that he needs to leave for San Francisco. As the train starts to pull away from the station Uncle Charlie grabs young Charlie's arm and gathers her into the compartment between the cars. This is where he plans to kill her by throwing her off the train. But just as the train picks up speed, she manages to twirl him around so that he is now with his back toward the tracks. He loses his footing and falls to his death before an oncoming freight train.

 

 

Kiss of Death 1947

 

Ricahrd Widmark as gangster Tommy Udo and Mildred Dunnock as Risso's mother:

 

Tommy Udo shows up at Rizzo's tenement looking for Rizzo, the only person there is Rizzo's mother. After looking around the tenement she tells Udo that her son was out and would be returning later. Angered with her attepmpt to deceive him, Udo ties her up in her wheelchair aith an electrical cord and:

 

"I'm askin' ya, where's that squealin' son of yours?"

"You think a squealer can get away from me? Huh?"

"You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over. You're worse than him, tellin' me he's comin' back? Ya lyin' old hag!"

 

And with that pushes her down the flight of stairs, killing her. All the while laughing with that maniacal chuckling of his.

 

 

White Heat 1949

 

James Cagney as crook Cody Jarrett

 

After arriving at the chemical plant to rob the payroll, the holdup starts to fall apart and Cody escapes long enough to evade police until he climbs up one of a large gas storage tanks. At the top he starts to shoots at the police down below. After being shot several times by Fallon, Cody starts firing into the tank and shouts:

 

"Made it, Ma! Top of the World!"

 

Just then the tank explodes killing Cody instantly.

 

 

Kiss Me Deadly 1955

 

Albert Dekker as Dr. G.E. Soberin, Gaby Rodgers as Lilly Carver, Maxine Cooper as Velda, and Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer.

 

Toward the end at an isolated beach house, Hammer finds Lily with her evil boss, Dr. Soberin. Velda is their hostage, tied up in a bedroom. Soberin and Lily are vying for the contents of the box. Lily shoots Soberin, believing that she can keep the mysterious contents for herself. As she slowly opens the case, it is revealed to be stolen atomic material, which in the final scene reaches an explosive climax when the box is fully opened. As Hammer and Velda try making their way down the beach and away from the house, the interior of the house is lit up as the box is fully opened. Horrifying sounds come from the atomic material as Lily bursts into flames.

 

The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

 

William Holden as Cmdr. Shears

Alec Guiness as Lt. Col. Nicholson

Sessue Hayakawa as Col. Saito

Jack Hawkins as Maj. Warden

Geoffrey Horne as Lt. Joyce

 

Making a final inspection of the newly built span across the Kwai River, Lt. Col. Nicholson spots a wire protruding from the water down below, and brings it to Saito's attention. As the train is heard approaching, the two colonels hurry down to the riverbank to stop the potential destruction. Joyce breaks cover and stabs Saito to death; Nicholson yells for help, while attempting to stop Joyce from reaching the detonator. Shears swims across the river but he and Joyce are shot by Japanese soldiers, just before he reaches Nicholson.

Recognizing the dying Shears, Nicholson exclaims, "What have I done?", and attempts to run towards the detonator. Warden fires his morter and mortally wounds Nicholson. The colonel stumbles towards the detonator and falls on it as he dies, just in time to blow up the bridge and send the train hurtling into the river below.

 

Ride the High Country 1962

 

Joel McCrea as Steve Judd

Randolph Scott as Gil Westrum

Mariette Hartley as Elsa Knudsen

Ron Starr as Heck Longtree

James Drury as Billy Hammond

John Anderson as Elder Hammond

Warren Oates as Henry Hammond

 

On their way back to town from the mining camp, Judd and his traveling companions, Elsa and Heck decide to stop at her fathers' farm. As they put the horses away in the corral gunshots come from the house. They are being ambushed by the remaining Hammond brothers. They run for the ditch. Because neither Steve or Heck have rifles, Heck decides to make a run for the horses but is wounded. Steve runs to help. They manage to get back to the ditch but not without Steve being wounded. In the distance we see Gil charging his horse toward the homestead. He is gunned down, but it is a ruse. He gets up and runs toward the ditch. There he finds a wounded Steve and Heck. At this point it is decided that the two old gunfighters will have it out one last time with the Hammonds. In the end all of the Hammonds are killed but Steve is mortally wounded. The final image is that of a dying Steve looking off to the mountains as he lays down to die.

 

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982

 

William Shatner as Adm. James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Capt. Spock

DeForest Kelly as Dr. Leonard McCoy

James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott

 

The dramatic death scene of Captain Spock, who had just sacrificed his life (after being exposed to radiation) to save the starship U.S.S. Enterprise from a deadly explosion; before he went to his death, Spock transferred his katra ? his living soul ? to Dr. Leonard McCoy with the word "Remember"; as Kirk walks u to the glass that separates him from Spock they have one final conversation:

"Ship out of danger?"

Kirk: "Yes".

"Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh......

Kirk interjects: "the needs of the few". Spock continues: "Or the one."

"I never took the Kobayashi Maru test, until now. What do you think of my solution?"

Kirk: "Spock"

"I have been, and always shall be, your friend. Live long, and prosper".

 

Kirk places his hand opposite Spock's hand as his friend slowly collapses, slumping down and expires next to him; Kirk quietly said: "No" as Spock dies.

[fxreyman]

Okay, here is a list that is a little different than your list. My list takes most of the major wars and or battles or situations within wars from nearly every time period that I consider to be the best of film for each period.

 

War films:

 

*American Civil War 1861-1865:*

 

Glory 1989

Gettysburg 1993

 

*American Indian Wars 1622-1898:*

 

Fort Apache 1948

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949

Rio Grande 1950

 

*American Revolutionary War 1775-1783:*

 

Drums Along the Mohawk 1939

The Patriot 2000

 

*Anglo-Zulu War 1879*

 

Zulu 1964

 

*Chinese Revolution / Chinese Civil War 1911-1949:*

 

The Sand Pebbles 1966

 

*Cold War 1945-1991:*

 

The Bedford Incident 1964

The Hunt for Red October 1990

Thirteen Days 2000

 

*Colonial Conflicts in Northern Africa 1880s-1931:*

 

Beau Geste 1939

The Wind and the Lion 1975

 

*Crimean War 1853-1856:*

 

The Charge of the Light Brigade 1936

 

*Crusades 1095-1272:*

 

Kingdom of Heaven 2005

 

*French and Indian War 1754-1763:*

 

Northwest Passage 1940

The Last of the Mohicans 1992

 

*Greco-Persian War 499 BC-450 BC:*

 

The 300 Spartans 1962

 

*Hundred Years War 1337-1453:*

 

Henry V 1989

 

*Indian Rebellion 1857:*

 

Lives of a Bengal Lancer 1936

Gunga Din 1939

 

*Invasion of Grenada 1983:*

 

Heartbreak Ridge 1986

 

*The Iraq War 2003-2010:*

 

The Hurt Locker 2009

The Green Zone 2010

 

*Korean War 1950-1953:*

 

The Bridges at Toko-Ri 1954

MASH 1970

Men of the Fighting Lady 1954

Pork Chop Hill 1959

The Steel Helmet 1953

Submarine Command 1951

 

*Mahdist Sudanese War: 1881-1899:*

 

The Four Feathers 1939

Khartoum 1966

 

*Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815:*

 

Captain Horatio Hornblower 1951

Damn the Defiant! 1962

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2003

Napoleon 1927

Waterloo 1970

 

*Somali Civil War 1988-present:*

 

Black Hawk Down 2001

 

*Texas War of Independence 1835-1836:*

 

The Alamo 1960

The Last Command 1955

 

*Vietnam War 1959-1975:*

 

The Green Berets 1968

Platoon 1986

Full Metal Jacket 1987

Hamburger Hill 1987

We Were Soldiers 2002

 

*War of 1812:*

 

The Buccaneer 1958

 

*Wars of Alexander the Great 338BC-325BC:*

 

Alexander the Great 1956

 

*Wars of the Roman Republic / Empire:*

 

Ben-Hur 1959

Spartacus 1960

The Fall of the Roman Empire 1964

Gladiator 2000

 

*Wars of Scottish Independence 1296-1328, 1332-1357:*

 

Braveheart 1995

 

*World War I 1914-1918:*

 

All Quiet on the Western Front 1930

The Big parade 1925

The Blue Max 1965

The Dawn Patrol 1938

Dr. Zhivago 1965

The Fighting 69th 1940

Gallipoli 1981

Lawrence of Arabia 1962

The Lost Patrol 1934

Paths of Glory 1957

Sergeant York 1941

What Price Glory 1952

Wings 1927

 

*World War II 1939-1945:*

 

Action in the North Atlantic 1943

Attack! 1956

Bataan 1943

Back to Bataan 1945

Battleground 1949

The Big Red One 1980

The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

A Bridge Too Far 1977

The Caine Mutiny 1954

The Cruel Sea 1953

The Dam Busters 1954

Das Boot 1981

The Desert Fox 1951

The Desert Rats 1953

Destination Tokyo 1943

The Dirty Dozen 1967

The Enemy Below 1957

Flags of Our Fathers 2006

The Great Escape 1963

Guadalcanal Diary 1943

The Guns of Navarone 1961

In Which We Serve 1942

In Harm's Way 1965

Letters From Iwo Jima 2006

The Longest Day 1962

Memphis Belle 1990

No Man is an Island 1962

Objective, Burma! 1945

Patton 1970

Run Silent, Run Deep 1958

Sahara 1943

Sands of Iwo Jima 1949

Saving Private Ryan 1998

Schindler's List 1993

Sink the Bismarck! 1960

Stalag 17 1953

The Story of G.I. Joe 1945

They Were Expendable 1945

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944

To Hell and Back 1955

Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970

The Train 1964

Twelve O'Clock High 1949

Wake Island 1942

Windtalkers 2002

[FrankGrimes]

Those are superb choices for your favorite death scenes, Reyman. And what you wrote about them was terrific. Wonderfully done.

 

SERIOUS SPOILERS

 

10. Teresa Delgado (Margaret Landry) in The Leopard Man

9. Elsie Beckmann (Inge Landgut) in M

8. Miriam Haines (Marion Lorne) in Strangers on a Train

7. Kitty March (Joan Bennett) in Scarlet Street

6. Stevie (Desmond Tester) in Sabotage

5. Danny Harland (Darryl Hickman) in Leave Her to Heaven

4. "The Wild Bunch" in The Wild Bunch

3. Marion Crane (Janet Leight) in Psycho

2. Moe Williams (Thelma Ritter) in Pickup on South Street

1. Sergeant Donald MacDuff (Victor McLaglen) in Wee Willie Winkie

[lzcutter]

Frankie,

 

Excellent choices! Here are some of mine:

 

1. Joel McCrea - *Ride the High Country*

2. John Wayne- *The Shootist*

3. The Bunch - *The Wild Bunch*

4. William Holden- *Sunset Blvd*

5. Eric Schweig/Jodhi May- *The Last of the Mohicans*

6. Kirk Douglas - *Spartacus*

7. Charlton Heston *El Cid*

8. Sean Bean- *Lord of the Rings*

9. Warren Beatty- *Reds*

10. Joel McCrea- *Colorado Territory*

11. James Cagney- *Angels with Dirty Faces*

12. James Cagney- *The Roaring Twenties*

13. Doug Fairbanks- *The Iron Mask* (1929)

14. Gabriel Byrnes- *The Iron Mask* (1998)

15. Kevin Spacey- *LA Confidential*

16. Russell Crowe- *Gladiator*

17. Oliver Reed*- *Gladiator*

18. James Mason- *A Star is Born*

19. Humphrey Bogart *High Sierra*

20. John Garfield- *Four Daughters*

[CineMaven]

Hiya Rey,

 

I haven?t done a list in a while. May I please join the fray with some of my favorite death scenes? They?ve been poignant, harrowing tragic and spectacular. These are some of my cinematic deaths. Some I can't wait to see..and others I dread. Oh yeah, there will be spoilers but of course you?ve all seen these films before:

 

1. Agnes Moorhead in "DARK PASSAGE." Ooooh, she was so deliciously venomous, wasn't she?

I hated to see her go.

 

2. Anthony Dawson in "DIAL M FOR MURDER.? Turnabout is fair play. Ow! Didn't his mom tell him not to run with scissors!

 

3. Barbara Leigh-Hunt in "FRENZY." Tawdry, lurid, shameful, unworthy of the Master. I hate Hitchcock for not letting me turn away.

 

4. Barbara Stanwyck in "THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS.? Up close and personal. And by her own hands, too. "...No, Smith."

 

5. Bette Davis in "DARK VICTORY.? So brave, so poignant. Bette was sweet. I was sorry she didn't have a chance at a full life.

 

6. Bette Davis in "THE LETTER.? To err is human; to forgive, divine. Pssst! Someone forgot to tell Gale Sondergaard. I loved Bette for saying my most favorite line in movies: "With all my heart, I still love the man I killed." Gosh, she doesn't back down for anybody, does she.

 

7. Burt Lancaster in "THE KILLERS.? "I did something wrong...once.? I'd say. 'Twas beauty killed the beast. Fellas, when you see Ava, well...you've been warned.

 

8. Cagney in "WHITE HEAT.? I?ve seen nothing more spectacular than this maniacal and fitting ending. I couldn't be as crazy...or as brave as he to shoot that tank. A blaze of glory!

 

9. Cagney in "PUBLIC ENEMY.? OMG! He literally falls face first without blinking. How many takes did Mervyn need for that?

 

10. Dana Andrews in "THE OX-BOW INCIDENT." He was soo scruffy and curly-haired and so passionate. His lynching haunts me. Not an easy movie.

 

11. Dorothy Dandridge in "CARMEN JONES.? Green-eyed jealousy trumps the red hot Dandridge. Dorothy was fantastic.

 

12. Errol Flynn in "THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON.? Valiant! Heroic. But his goodbye to de Havilland as Libby already had me in tears. And the music in that scene broke my heart. It was probably harder to say goodbye to her than it was to face his death.

 

13. Faye Dunaway & Warren Beatty in "BONNIE AND CLYDE.? I...am...still...stunned.

 

14. Garbo in "CAMILLE.? Garbo is magnificent. I believed her every step of the way. "...Make my love hate me." Whew!

 

15. Gene Tierney in "LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN.? Gene?s maliciousness was astounding. Her brother-in-law...her baby and...well...if you want something done right... I loved her posses-

siveness reaching from beyond the grave. Her beauty is breathtaking in this technicolor classic. How could anyone so beautiful be so malevolent.

 

16. Gregory Peck in "MOBY DICK.? Obsession...not always a good thing. Now THAT should have been the one that got a way, Cap'n.

 

17. Herbert Marshall in "THE LITTLE FOXES.? "...I'll be waiting for you to die!" Well, I think that about says it all, don't you? Herbert didn?t learn his lesson with Bette after ?The Letter?? Oooooh, an ugly way to go. Step by step...inch by heart-wrenching inch.

 

18. Janet Leigh in "PSYCHO." This changed e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Hitchcock makes me feel what I don't want to feel. Get outta my psyche, Hitch!

 

19. Jason Miller in "THE EXORCIST.? From beginning to end, I was on the edge of my seat with this motion picture. I saw it in the theatres recently. Still horrifyingly effective.

 

20. Jennifer Jones in "DUEL IN THE SUN.? Well, you know what they say about a woman scorned. They say: "Come and get me Pearl!!? Oh Jennifer's comin' to getcha alright! You just wait right there.

 

21. Jennifer Jones in "THE TOWERING INFERNO." I gasped!! Why her and not a starlet like Susan Blakely. Ugh! Jennnnnny!!!!

 

22. Joan Crawford in "HUMORESQUE.? What else could the woman do? She was too near-sighted to see the ocean.

 

23. Juanita Moore in ?IMITATION OF LIFE.? Whew!I I cannot even think about her. It hurts.

 

24. Kim Novak in "VERTIGO.? Kim Novak is spectacularly lost and sensual in this, which makes her demise all the more... Scottie?s cure will kill him this second time around.

 

25. Kirk Douglas in "THE DETECTIVE STORY.? Whew!! The Past is the past but he just couldn?t let it go...

 

26. Kong in "KING KONG.? ? ?Twas beauty killed the beast.? Boy, you can say that again. Oooh, I just did. (Gene Pitney said "It Hurts to Be In Love").

 

27. Lew Ayres in "ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.? Eighty-one years later...and we haven?t learned yet. What will it take. A damn shame.

 

28. Lizabeth Scott in ?TOO LATE FOR TEARS.? Now here?s the gal with the husky voice who is head over heels for money. Whoops! Thar she goes.

 

29. Marilyn Monroe in "NIAGARA? Whew! What a waste. Wouldn?t divorce had been easier, Joseph?

 

30. Mercedes McCambridge in "JOHNNY GUITAR.? What a showdown!

 

31. Olivia de Havilland in "GONE WITH THE WIND." I saw this at 16 as a class trip. I was stifling sobs throughout her death scene.

 

32. Robert Keith in "WRITTEN ON THE WIND.? Poor poor man. I was sorry to see him go. See:

It's really fun. And when you have a moment...check this out as well:

 

33. Rock Hudson in "SECONDS.? Sometimes a second chance can be fatal. (See "Vertigo"). Rock did a phenomenally unrecognized job in this movie. He was not just another pretty face; I do love his pretty face, though. And his big voice.

 

34. ?Sebastian Venable? (character's name) in ?SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER.? Hannibal Lecter would have appreciated this. Pass the chianti.

 

35. Shelley Winters in "A DOUBLE LIFE.? Art imitated life in this film. Shelley was good.

 

36. Shelley Winters in "A PLACE IN THE SUN.? Shelley "stood? in the way of true love. "Siddown up front. You?re rockin? the boat!!" Uh-oh, she can't swim?

 

37. Shirley MacLaine in "THE CHILDREN?S HOUR.? Times have changed.

 

38. Sinatra in "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.? ...but not his marriage to Ava. He was wonderfully dramatic (with a tinge of humor). A portent of things to come for The Voice.

 

39. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in "THELMA & LOUISE.? I know women who go to the ladies room together...but this was a fantastic way to go. I mean, if ya gotta go. Grand job, ladies! Husbands...don't drive your wife off a cliff.

 

40. Yeller in "OLD YELLER? A heartbreaker after all these years. Still.

 

41. Susan Hayward in ?I WANT TO LIVE!? The most harrowing thing I've ever s(c)ene. Susan gives a masterful performance.

 

42. Veronica Lake in ?SO PROUDLY WE HAIL.? This peekaboo blonde faced death squarely with both eyes opened and both hands on a grenade.

 

43. Zachary Scott in "MILDRED PIERCE.? Ha! Bullets were too good for Monty...and he deserved all six of 'em...the cad.

 

* Honorable Mention to the Extra who fell to his death in ?THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE?, Susan Flannery in ?THE TOWERING INFERNO?, the actor harpooned by Sean Connery in the James Bond classic: "DR. NO", the carnage Anthony Hopkins inflicted on two character actors who played his jailers near the end of "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" and all the actresses in Richard Burton?s film ?BLUE BEARD.? And Joey Heatherton escapes?

 

Please pardon the quick trivia: Just watched ?CAPRICORN ONE? and it?s wild to see James Brolin with Elliot Gould.

[MissGoddess]

I am very impressed with these lists!

 

*Rey*, I love the descriptions...brings them vividly to...ah....death.

 

*Lynn*, you mentioned L.A. Confidential and Gladiator, yay!

 

*MrGrimes*, I still cannot believe a Ford film starring Shirley Temple gave you your favorite death scene.

 

Tall T, I am still laughing at the Humoresque quip! But all your selections were wonderful.

 

I'll have to get out my black crepe and get busy with my own list.

[OllieTSB]

I'll list as my #1 most memorable haunting death scene as George Murphy's in BORDER INCIDENT, as he's been beaten, tricked, shot and left on the field to be plowed under. The number of cutaways between the surrounding darkness, the tractor, its blades and George's screaming disbelieving face. Numero Uno.

 

Sophie's real choice might be #2.

 

Post Death Scene - Toni Collette's in JAPANESE STORY, and what she's faced with.

[FrankGrimes]

What a stunning collection and recap, Lively Gal. Excellent job. I have to skim the titles before I can check the list.

 

And it's great to see Lynn on the thread. I liked your list.

 

11. "Toddy" Macfarlane (Henry Daniell) in The Body Snatcher

12. Timmy McBain (Enzo Santaniello) in Once Upon a Time in the West

13. Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) in Border Incident -- Ollie has good taste

14. Mrs. Rizzo (Mildred Dunnock) in Kiss of Death

15. Kid Dabb (Thomas Mitchell) in Only Angels Have Wings

16. Bowie (Farley Granger) in They Live by Night

17. The Wrongly Charged in The Ox-Bow Incident

18. Laury Palmer (Isabell Jewell) in Born to Kill

19. Spade Allen (Frank Campeau) in 3 Bad Men

20. Doc Holliday (Victor Mature) in My Darling Clementine

[FrankGrimes]

MrGrimes, I still cannot believe a Ford film starring Shirley Temple gave you your favorite death scene.

 

I'm just as disappointed! The scene is rich in emotional impact and style. That's what Moe's death scene in Pickup on South Street is all about, too. There's a beauty to the death that is brought on by the director.

[OllieTSB]

I have to retract my comments about George's as being My Most Memorable Death Scene.

 

OLD YELLER. Far and away. I only saw that film once when I was 5 or 6, and I'll never see it again. That was the most memorable death scene, yep.

 

Then put George, then Sophie's real choice...

 

I still think my parents shoulda let me claim my sister's mouth-foaming was reason enough to put her out of my misery. "She's only brushing her fangs..." Yeah well, she still was foaming at the mouth. And she had that mad-dog sideways lurching motion, too. AND she too always did that on all-fours.

 

Of course, there was no confusing her with Old Yeller. She had this nice, dark mustache. Grrr - I was always jealous of that. She STILL has a darker mustache AND better sideburns than I ever did.

[MissGoddess]

oh, boy! I hope your sister doesn't cruise these boards!

[OllieTSB]

Oh, of course not! Those hooked claws are far too huge for keyboards. The tail, the huge glowing fins - none of those are easily fit inside most structures, outside of the few remaining zeppelin hangars. She's pretty much melted the rest.