Top Ten Films of...

[SansFin]

My favorite Hollywood movies of 1942 in no particular order:

 

Casablanca

Cat People

The Glass Key

Holiday Inn

I Married A Witch

Larceny, Inc.

The Male Animal

The Palm Beach Story

Tales of Manhattan

This Gun for Hire

[TopBilled]

My first viewing of WENT THE DAY WELL? was a TCM showing with a guest programmer. I think it may have been Patton Oswalt.

 

I checked the "1001 Movies..." book, and we've already named all but one of their 1942 entries. I thought you'd be amused to hear that MRS. MINIVER wasn't on the list until they received a lot of reader complaints, so they added it to a later edition.

Your earlier comment was well-written, about MRS. MINIVER helping to bring the struggles in England into the hearts of Americans. Seems most correct to me. So for a book to overlook a film of such historical significance-- well, it deserves to be taken to task by readers. 

[LawrenceA]

My favorite Hollywood movies of 1942 in no particular order:

 

Casablanca

Cat People

The Glass Key

Holiday Inn

I Married A Witch

Larceny, Inc.

The Male Animal

The Palm Beach Story

Tales of Manhattan

This Gun for Hire

Good list, SansFin! You named the one film from the 1001 Movies..list that Top and I had failed to mention, CAT PEOPLE. I like all of those Val Lewton films.

[TopBilled]

Good list, SansFin! You named the one film from the 1001 Movies..list that Top and I had failed to mention, CAT PEOPLE. I like all of those Val Lewton films.

Lewton's films are excellent. For some reason, I enjoy THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE more than THE CAT PEOPLE. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that it is more a children's fantasy story, and the juxtaposition of the little girl's innocence with the supernatural elements of the ghostly Irena, give it a unique tension. 

[Bogie56]

For 1942 - 76 films seen

 

1.  Casablanca

2.  The Magnificent Ambersons

3.  The Palm Beach Story

4.  Bambi

5.  To Be or Not To Be

6.  Yankee Doodle Dandy

7.  In Which We Serve

8.  The Talk of the Town

9.  Mrs. Miniver

10. This Gun For Hire

 

Here are just some from my runner up list: Tortilla Flat, The Major and the Minor and Take a Letter Darling.

 

This time I've seen all of the films on your list, Lawrence plus Cat People.  

 

I saw the restored Casablanca in the theatre a few weeks ago and it was still fantastic.  Ambersons is brilliant and would probably have superseded Kane if not for the studio ending.

[Bogie56]

My current choices for performances for 1942 are:

 

Best Actor

 

James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy

 

Best Actress

 

Greer Garson, Mrs. Miniver

 

Best Supporting Actor

 

Claude Rains, Casablanca

 

Best Supporting Actress

 

Agnes Moorehead, The Magnificent Ambersons

[LawrenceA]

For 1942 - 76 films seen

 

1.  Casablanca

2.  The Magnificent Ambersons

3.  The Palm Beach Story

4.  Bambi

5.  To Be or Not To Be

6.  Yankee Doodle Dandy

7.  In Which We Serve

8.  The Talk of the Town

9.  Mrs. Miniver

10. This Gun For Hire

 

Here are just some from my runner up list: Tortilla Flat, The Major and the Minor and Take a Letter Darling.

 

This time I've seen all of the films on your list, Lawrence plus Cat People.  

 

I saw the restored Casablanca in the theatre a few weeks ago and it was still fantastic.  Ambersons is brilliant and would probably have superseded Kane if not for the studio ending.

I completely agree about AMBERSONS. One of the great what ifs in film history.

 

I don't know TAKE A LETTER DARLING.

 

We all seem to be roughly in agreement for '42.

[TopBilled]

I completely agree about AMBERSONS. One of the great what ifs in film history.

 

I don't know TAKE A LETTER DARLING.

 

We all seem to be roughly in agreement for '42.

TAKE A LETTER, DARLING has some very fine comic moments with the leads (Roz Russell & Fred MacMurray) at the top of their game. However, it suffers from the sexism of most Hollywood films made during the 40s, where the successful female executive has to be punished for looking outside the home for personal contentment. Thus, by movie's end, she has to forfeit all the workplace success she has achieved and instead find a renewed sense of purpose standing by her man, out of her own spotlight and back into his shadows. 

[FrankGrimes]

1942

 

1. Cat People

2. Casablanca

3. The Big Street

4. This Gun for Hire

5. Saboteur

6. The Man Who Came to Dinner

7. Now, Voyager

8. Across the Pacific

9. Bambi

10. My Favorite Blonde

11. The Black Swan

12. I Married a Witch

13. Desperate Journey

14. A Date with the Falcon

15. The Talk of the Town

16. The Magnificent Ambersons

17. To Be or Not to Be

18. In This Our Life

19. Eyes in the Night

20. Moontide

21. Fingers at the Window

22. The Falcon Takes Over

23. Jungle Book

24. Larceny, Inc.

25. The Castle in the Desert

26. Les Visiteurs du Soir

27. The Glass Key

28. Road to Morocco

29. The Spoilers

30. In Old California

31. Reap the Wild Wind

32. The Boogie Man Will Get You

33. The Undying Monster

34. Keeper of the Flame

35. Tortilla Flat

36. Tales of Manhattan

37. You Were Never Lovelier

38. Dr. Renault's Secret

39. Invisible Agent

40. The Ghost of Frankenstein

41. Random Harvest

42. Hatter's Castle

43. Yankee Doodle Dandy

44. The Falcon's Brother

45. The Moon and Sixpence

46. Flying Tigers

47. Woman of the Year

48. Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake

49. The Palm Beach Story

50. Rings on Her Fingers

51. Mrs. Miniver

52. Reunion in France

53. Once Upon a Honeymoon

54. Roxie Hart

55. This Above All

56. The Mummy's Tomb

57. Ride 'Em Cowboy

58. The Major and the Minor

59. Lady for a Night

60. China Girl

61. The Mad Doctor of Market Street

62. Pittsburgh

63. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

64. The Pride of the Yankees

65. The Male Animal

66. The Corpse Vanishes

67. A Night to Remember

68. Crossroads

69. Take a Letter, Darling

70. Her Cardboard Lover

71. The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe

72. Maisie Gets Her Own Man

73. Thunder Birds

74. Star Spangled Rhythm

75. Kings Row

76. Black Dragons

[AndyM108]

First, a technical question, before I get into 1941 and 1942.

 

For the past few days, I haven't been able to login to the Message Boards, even though I just created a new password less than a week ago.

 

But now, all of a sudden, I'm magically logged in without any further action on my part.

 

What gives?  Is all this purely in response to the spam attacks?  I first noticed this problem a few months ago, when TCM couldn't remember my password for more than 1 or 2 days in a row.  After a while, I just gave up.  I was tired of having to keep resetting my password, and dropped out of the conversations.

 

In the entire five years+ that I'd been a Forum member, I'd never run into this problem before.

 

Does anyone have any idea what's behind this?  Are metal detectors and birth certificates next on the agenda?  I hope it's just a simple technical glitch that's now been resolved, but it's lasted for quite a long time.

[LawrenceA]

I'm not very tech savvy, so I can't answer your question. I use a tablet to post, and it stays logged-in all the time. It's only logged me out once in the past several months,when I failed to post or even visit the site for about a week. But even then, when I went to log-in, my username and password were already typed in; I just had to hit the log-in button.

[AndyM108]

1941.  82 films watched.

 

1. Pepe Le Moko - Sorry, but Jean Gabin, not Bogart, is the King of Cinematic Cool

 

2. The Lady Eve - Such a great plot, such perfect casting for the leads (Stanwyck, Coburn and Fonda), with even better casting for the supporting roles (Eric Blore, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest), and with one memorable line after the other---"I positively swill in their ale"  --- "The fish was a poem".

 

3. I Wake Up Screaming - So nice to see that TCM finally begun showing it.  Fine performances by Mature and Grable, but of course nobody could ever hope to steal the screen whenever Laird Cregar was around.  In terms of "Died too young", Cregar is right below Harlow on my list.

 

4. Ladies in Retirement - In terms of Gothic Supreme, this is right up there with the Bette Davis version of The Letter.  Of course any film with Ida Lupino is worth watching, but this is one of her best.

 

5. The Devil and Daniel Webster - When you combine the talents of two of the greatest character actors ever (Walter Huston and Edward Arnold), you can't go wrong.  And the fadeout shot at the end!  It was like  ending with the school principal in Reefer Madness, and just as funny in its own way.

 

6. The Maltese Falcon - This particular Bogart has grown on me like no other, and along with The Big Sleep is now the one I can keep coming back to without a sense of having seen it too many times.

 

7. High Sierra - Bogart played many a thug, but not that many lead gangster roles, and along with Ida Lupino this is my favorite of that small grouping.

 

8. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - I didn't think it was possible to equal the pre-code version of this movie, but somehow Tracy managed to pull it off.

 

9. A Woman's Face - A part Joan Crawford was born for.  She may have been limited in the types of women she could portray with any conviction, but for those few types there was never any better.

 

10. The Devil in Miss Jones - Just a sweet little romantic comedy, but Arthur is Arthur, Cummings doesn't get in the way, and Coburn is at his usual level of curmudgeonly perfection, which we all knew couldn't last forever.

Best of the rest:  Remorques (another Gabin), Sullivan's Travels (not nearly on the level of The Lady Eve, but still quite a film)

 

Underrated: Meet  Boston  B l a c k i e (a gem of a B movie series)

[Swithin]

If you selected the "Remember Me" option when you signed in, you will stay signed in. I remain signed in on my home computer. If I use a different browser from that computer, or access the site from another device, I have to sign in again.

 

[AndyM108]

If you selected the "Remember Me" option when you signed in, you will stay signed in. I remain signed in on my home computer. If I use a different browser from that computer, or access the site from another device, I have to sign in again.

 

I've always selected "Remember Me", which is why it's been all the more vexing.  Hopefully the TCM Robby the Robot has read my complaint and has fixed it once and for all. 

 

That last sentence above was Grin's Fairy Tale # 1003, brought to you by the Keep Hope Alive corporation.

[LawrenceA]

1941.  82 films watched.

 

1. Pepe Le Moko - Sorry, but Jean Gabin, not Bogart, is the King of Cinematic Cool

 

2. The Lady Eve - Such a great plot, such perfect casting for the leads (Stanwyck, Coburn and Fonda), with even better casting for the supporting roles (Eric Blore, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest), and with one memorable line after the other---"I positively swill in their ale"  --- "The fish was a poem".

 

3. I Wake Up Screaming - So nice to see that TCM finally begun showing it.  Fine performances by Mature and Grable, but of course nobody could ever hope to steal the screen whenever Laird Cregar was around.  In terms of "Died too young", Cregar is right below Harlow on my list.

 

4. Ladies in Retirement - In terms of Gothic Supreme, this is right up there with the Bette Davis version of The Letter.  Of course any film with Ida Lupino is worth watching, but this is one of her best.

 

5. The Devil and Daniel Webster - When you combine the talents of two of the greatest character actors ever (Walter Huston and Edward Arnold), you can't go wrong.  And the fadeout shot at the end!  It was like  ending with the school principal in Reefer Madness, and just as funny in its own way.

 

6. The Maltese Falcon - This particular Bogart has grown on me like no other, and along with The Big Sleep is now the one I can keep coming back to without a sense of having seen it too many times.

 

7. High Sierra - Bogart played many a thug, but not that many lead gangster roles, and along with Ida Lupino this is my favorite of that small grouping.

 

8. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - I didn't think it was possible to equal the pre-code version of this movie, but somehow Tracy managed to pull it off.

 

9. A Woman's Face - A part Joan Crawford was born for.  She may have been limited in the types of women she could portray with any conviction, but for those few types there was never any better.

 

10. The Devil in Miss Jones - Just a sweet little romantic comedy, but Arthur is Arthur, Cummings doesn't get in the way, and Coburn is at his usual level of curmudgeonly perfection, which we all knew couldn't last forever.Best of the rest:  Remorques (another Gabin), Sullivan's Travels (not nearly on the level of The Lady Eve, but still quite a film)

 

Underrated: Meet  Boston  B l a c k i e (a gem of a B movie series)

 

Great list, Andy. I'm a big fan of Gabin as well. I don't know REMORQUES, or LADIES IN RETIREMENT. I haven't seen MEET BOSTON BLAC KIE.

 

By the way, it's "The Devil AND Miss Jones". "The Devil IN Miss Jones" is a whole other animal that will shock the in-laws.

[TopBilled]

 

4. Ladies in Retirement - In terms of Gothic Supreme, this is right up there with the Bette Davis version of The Letter.  Of course any film with Ida Lupino is worth watching, but this is one of her best.

 

5. The Devil and Daniel Webster - When you combine the talents of two of the greatest character actors ever (Walter Huston and Edward Arnold), you can't go wrong.  And the fadeout shot at the end!  It was like  ending with the school principal in Reefer Madness, and just as funny in its own way.

 

9. A Woman's Face - A part Joan Crawford was born for.  She may have been limited in the types of women she could portray with any conviction, but for those few types there was never any better.

 

10. The Devil and Miss Jones - Just a sweet little romantic comedy, but Arthur is Arthur, Cummings doesn't get in the way, and Coburn is at his usual level of curmudgeonly perfection, which we all knew couldn't last forever.

 

Andy--

 

I've highlighted the ones from your post I wanted to comment on...First, I am glad you mentioned LADIES IN RETIREMENT. I was going to add it to my honorable mentions group but something prevented me. Not sure what. I probably need to re-watch the film.

 

I think you nailed the reason why THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER is such a good adaptation. It's those two "lead" character actors. But the rest are good, too. Jane Darwell is excellent, and so is Simone Simon. The young couple (James Craig and Anne Shirley) are relatively bland in comparison to the others but maybe they have to be, so the others stand out more. The cinematography is exceptional. Visually, this film is just as appealing as RKO's bigger film that year (CITIZEN KANE).

 

A WOMAN'S FACE is a title we talked about when we went over 1938. That's when Ingrid Bergman did the original version in her native Sweden. While Joan does very well here under Cukor's direction, she really cannot compare to how sinister Ingrid plays it in the beginning of the earlier film. The fact the Swedes did not have the type of production code Hollywood had, and the fact that it was made by a Swedish company that did not care about playing the material safe the way a studio like MGM does-- all of that makes the original superior on so many levels. Plus the outdoor sequences (the sleigh scene) are actually filmed with the cast outdoors, and there are great stunts-- not like the in-studio actors and rear projection fakery of the MGM remake.

 

Can't say enough good things about THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES. I rated it at #4. I think it's one of the best comedies of '41, for a variety of reasons. The scene where S.Z. Sakall brings the bratty girl into the department store, and Coburn tries to force a shoe on her foot is hilarious.

[Bogie56]

I like Boyer's Algiers (1938) but if you watch it back-to-back with Jean Gabin's superior Pepe Le Moko (1937) you will see that not only is it one of those shot-for-shot remakes but all of the location shots of the Casbah are just lifted right out of the original.

[film lover 293]

1941--My take:

 

1.) "The Little Foxes"--A favorite of mine, despite Bette's Kabuki make-up.

 

2.) "The Sea Wolf"--Sea-going noir based on a Jack London tale;  Edward G, Robinson, Ida Lupino, & John Garfield are Excellent.

 

3.) "High Sierra"--Bogart & Lupino.

 

4.) "A Woman's Face"--A noir made by MGM with Joan Crawford.

 

5.) "Sullivan's Travels"--Not as good as "The Lady Eve", but Veronica Lake & Joel McCrea make a fine comedic team.

 

6.) "H.M. Pulham, Esq."--Little known romantic film that stars Hedy Lamarr in her best performance.

 

7.) "You'll Never Get Rich"--Astaire & Rita Hayworth dance to a Cole Porter score.  Enchanting film when they dance.

 

8.) "Blood and Sand"--Tyrone Power and Hayworth, directed by Rouben Mamoulian--film is a swirl of emotions, with the color red being dominant.  Won 1941's Oscar for Best Cinematography.

 

9.)"The Man Who Came to Dinner"--Monty Wooley in a classic comic performance, backed up admirably by Mary Wickes, Billie Burke ,et al.  Bette Davis keeps the romantic subplot in the background & lets the others shine.

 

10.) "The Maltese Falcon"--Bogart & Astor are a perfect team.

[AndyM108]

Andy--

 

...A WOMAN'S FACE is a title we talked about when we went over 1938. That's when Ingrid Bergman did the original version in her native Sweden. While Joan does very well here under Cukor's direction, she really cannot compare to how sinister Ingrid plays it in the beginning of the earlier film. The fact the Swedes did not have the type of production code Hollywood had, and the fact that it was made by a Swedish company that did not care about playing the material safe the way a studio like MGM does-- all of that makes the original superior on so many levels. Plus the outdoor sequences (the sleigh scene) are actually filmed with the cast outdoors, and there are great stunts-- not like the in-studio actors and rear projection fakery of the MGM remake....

 

That sounds absolutely fascinating.  What's the name of that Swedish original, and was it ever released with English subtitles?  I'd love to see it if it was.

[AndyM108]

Great list, Andy. I'm a big fan of Gabin as well. I don't know REMORQUES, or LADIES IN RETIREMENT. I haven't seen MEET BOSTON BLAC KIE.

 

By the way, it's "The Devil AND Miss Jones". "The Devil IN Miss Jones" is a whole other animal that will shock the in-laws.

 

Good God, I can't believe I made that mistake, especially considering I'd heard of (though I've never seen) the porno flick many years before I ever saw the Arthur / Coburn movie. 

 

Nearly all of the 15-odd Gabins I've seen were shown during his SUTS day back in 2011.  Ladies in Retirement shows fairly often on TCM, most recently I believe on June 16th of this year. 

 

Boston B l a c k i e  shows up now and then, but it's been nearly 4 years since they've shown a big chunk of then in a short time period.  In many ways all these detective series are the same, clueless cops and bumbling sidekicks, with the only variation being the persona of the main character. Chester Morris' "B l a c k i e" is a street smart, fast talking urban type, whereas George Sanders' "Falcon" is---well, what he is, is George Sanders.  Morris isn't nearly on Sanders' level as an actor (who is?), but the B l a c k i e series is still pure buttered popcorn, every one of them a delight.

 

P. S.  Talk about an autocensor on steroids---what about having to place spaces in between the letters of

B l a c k i e?

[speedracer5]

I'm a little late to the party with this.  I am not too familiar with many of the very early talkies (Probably 1930-1934), so I didn't have many films to list.  I'm trying to get more familiar with the pre-codes, though I don't think I've seen enough from those years to be able to develop a definitive list of my favorites.  I don't think I can declare "best of" as I haven't seen every single film produced during those years, and even then, it would still be my opinion and inevitably a list of my favorites.

 

1935

 

1. Captain Blood

2. Alice Adams

3. A Night at the Opera

4. Roberta 

5. Top Hat

6. The Whole Town's Talking

7. China Seas

8. Broadway Melody of 1936

9. Rendezvous

10. Star of Midnight

 

1936

 

1. My Man Godfrey

2. After the Thin Man

3. Libeled Lady

4. The Charge of the Light Brigade

5. Follow the Fleet

6. Modern Times

7. The Petrified Forest

8. Theodora Goes Wild

9. Wife Vs. Secretary

10. Born to Dance

 

1937

 

1. The Awful Truth

2. Stage Door

3. Green Light

4. Nothing Sacred

5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

6. Stella Dallas

7. The Broadway Melody of 1938

8. Topper 

9. Double Wedding 

10. Marked Woman

 

1938

 

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood

2. The Affairs of Annabel

3. Bringing Up Baby

4. The Dawn Patrol

5. Four Daughters

6. Holiday

7. Jezebel

8. Test Pilot

9. The Sisters

10. Nancy Drew: Detective

 

1939

 

1. The Wizard of Oz

2. Another Thin Man

3. Bachelor Mother

4. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

5. Dodge City

6. Dark Victory

7. Five Came Back

8. Only Angels Have Wings

9. The Women

10. Gone With the Wind

 

1940

 

1. Rebecca

2. Broadway Melody of 1940

3. City for Conquest

4. Dance, Girl, Dance

5. They Drive By Night

6. The Letter

7. Remember the Night

8. His Girl Friday

9. The Philadelphia Story

10. I Love You Again

 

1941

 

1. Ball of Fire

2. Citizen Kane

3. Dumbo

4. The Great Lie

5. High Sierra

6. I Wake Up Screaming

7. The Maltese Falcon

8. The Strawberry Blonde

9. Sullivan's Travels

10. They Died With Their Boots On

 

1942

 

1. Casablanca

2. Gentleman Jim

3. For Me and My Gal

4. George Washington Slept Here

5. Holiday Inn

6. In This Our Life

7. Now, Voyager

8. The Magnificent Ambersons

9. The Palm Beach Story

10. The Talk of the Town

 

Looks like I'm all caught up now.  I noticed by 1940, it was getting harder for me to narrow down my favorites to the top 10.  I'm sure as I see more films, my list of favorites will probably change slightly. 

 

 

[LawrenceA]

Welcome to the thread, speedracer. I'm glad to see you liked CHINA SEAS, too. You've listed a few I'm not familiar with: RENDEZVOUS, GREEN LIGHT, and THE SISTERS.

[TopBilled]

That sounds absolutely fascinating.  What's the name of that Swedish original, and was it ever released with English subtitles?  I'd love to see it if it was.

It's called EN KVINNAS ANSIKTE. There is a restored print, with English subtitles, for online streaming at Amazon Prime. I believe it has also been released on DVD with some of Ingrid's other early Swedish films. 

[LawrenceA]

1943 - 60 films seen

 

 

1. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP

2. SHADOW OF A DOUBT

3. THE OX-BOW INCIDENT

4. DAY OF WRATH

5. THE MORE THE MERRIER

6. AIR FORCE

7. HEAVEN CAN WAIT

8. THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS

9. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

10. THE SEVENTH VICTIM

 

Runner-ups: I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, FOREVER AND A DAY, DESTINATION TOKYO, SAHARA, and SO PROUDLY WE HAIL.

 

 

COLONEL BLIMP is a film I saw for the first time in the last ten years, but I've already watched it at least six times. I get more out of it each viewing. Most of the films on this list are war related, as most films were during the height of the war. I have a couple more Val Lewton creepers. Also two religious films, DAY OF WRATH and BERNADETTE. I'm not religious at all, but I can still be moved by good filmmaking.

 

 

I've decided to add a new feature to my lists. If the films listed above are Lawrence's picks, then this will be Larry's choice. This will be one film from each year that is either so bad it's good, a low budget oddity that I feel should be seen, or something that is inexplicable. I can enjoy trash films sometimes more than the prestige films, but for totally different reasons. These films should be watched with a sense of humor, with friends, or with some sort of libation or other party favor. Some of these you will have heard of, and often, but others I can almost guarantee you won't know. So, without further ado...

 

 

Larry's Choice: DEAD MEN WALK

 

Poverty row really hit the grindstone during the war years, churning out fear films, serials, shorts and whatever other product they could to lure patrons to the theater. Some people became unlikely film stars out of these programmers, and one such was George Zucco. With his great voice and sneering gaze, he enlivened many a scary (though often stupid) story. DEAD MEN WALK is one of the best examples of Zucco's work. It also features the great Dwight Frye. This film isn't "Ed Wood" levels of bad, just cheap and clunky in that PRC way, and it's a lot of fun. Like most of these poverty row films, it's in the public domain now, so it's very easy to find.

[TopBilled]

1943 - 60 films seen

 

 

1. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP

2. SHADOW OF A DOUBT

3. THE OX-BOW INCIDENT

4. DAY OF WRATH

5. THE MORE THE MERRIER

6. AIR FORCE

7. HEAVEN CAN WAIT

8. THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS

9. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

10. THE SEVENTH VICTIM

 

Runner-ups: I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, FOREVER AND A DAY, DESTINATION TOKYO, SAHARA, and SO PROUDLY WE HAIL.

 

 

COLONEL BLIMP is a film I saw for the first time in the last ten years, but I've already watched it at least six times. I get more out of it each viewing. Most of the films on this list are war related, as most films were during the height of the war. I have a couple more Val Lewton creepers. Also two religious films, DAY OF WRATH and BERNADETTE. I'm not religious at all, but I can still be moved by good filmmaking.

 

 

I've decided to add a new feature to my lists. If the films listed above are Lawrence's picks, then this will be Larry's choice. This will be one film from each year that is either so bad it's good, a low budget oddity that I feel should be seen, or something that is inexplicable. I can enjoy trash films sometimes more than the prestige films, but for totally different reasons. These films should be watched with a sense of humor, with friends, or with some sort of libation or other party favor. Some of these you will have heard of, and often, but others I can almost guarantee you won't know. So, without further ado...

 

 

Larry's Choice: DEAD MEN WALK

 

Poverty row really hit the grindstone during the war years, churning out fear films, serials, shorts and whatever other product they could to lure people to the theater. Some people became unlikely film stars out of these programmers, and one such was George Zucco. With his great voice and sneering gaze, he enlivened many a scary (though often stupid) story. DEAD MEN WALK is one of the best examples of Zucco's work. It also features the great Dwight Frye. This film isn't "Ed Wood" levels of bad, just cheap and clunky in that PRC way, and it's a lot of fun. Like most of these poverty row films, it's in the public domain now, so it's very easy to find.

I like your list, and we have some of the same choices. And while I don't dislike COLONEL BLIMP, it doesn't compel me to rank it with my other selections. Perhaps I need to re-watch it. I recall it being gimmicky and overlong, though Roger Livesey gives a grand performance. 

 

Your idea of including a title that is so bad it's good, is an interesting one. I look forward to other ones you will pick for subsequent years.