Top Ten Films of...

[Bogie56]

I'll just say that that is very impressive.

 

Do you include reviews of the movies in your diary? Or some type of rating system? 

 

Yes, I sure do.  It's funny what a 12 year-old will give 4 stars.  And I noted if it was in a theatre and so on.

It has other benefits too.  You can't imagine how it helps jog the memory.  I went on a date with so and so on Monday, June 14, 1983  to see, etc.  You can almost judge how long a relationship lasted by your film diary.

[TopBilled]

Lol...I have 7 handwritten notebooks for the film's I've seen, divided into Earliest-1940's, 50's & 60's, then 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's each get their own. I also rate each film on imdb, so I can also get an exact number of films seen, even broken down by genre. I also have spiral notebooks with printed lists of actor's filmographies so I can mark them off when seen. I am kind of OCD about it, but mainly it's to help my memory. When you've seen over 12,000 movies, it gets hard to keep them all straight. I used to keep this stuff on my desktop pc, but when it died I lost everything, and I just use a tablet now for computer needs and old fashioned pen and paper for record keeping.

Interesting. I rate them on the IMDb, but I also rate TV show episodes on there, so when it says I have over 1400 ratings, I do not know exactly how many are feature films and how many were episodic programs. Is there a way to filter it and find out?

 

So I have never really counted the films I have seen. 

 

For our purposes with these lists, I have a binder where I hand-write all my choices for each year from 1930 to 2015. But it's in pencil so I can make changes when necessary. Then I post those lists here in this thread once I have typed them up, and after they seem satisfactory, for the time being at least, I copy and paste them on to one of my blogs.

 

However, I was thinking just yesterday that my lists may continue evolving to some extent-- because my tastes might fluctuate a bit and there will probably be films that I will continue to find and view for the first time for some of these years. One area that I haven't even considered yet is non-fiction (documentary) films...and also short films. I think if/when I get to those areas, I'll have to make a decision about whether to merge them with my current lists, or keep them separate.

[LawrenceA]

Interesting. I rate them on the IMDb, but I also rate TV show episodes on there, so when it says I have over 1400 ratings, I do not know exactly how many are feature films and how many were episodic programs. Is there a way to filter it and find out?

 

 

I just never rate tv episodes, or series, unless it's a standalone movie or mini-series.

[LawrenceA]

However, I was thinking just yesterday that my lists may continue evolving to some extent-- because my tastes might fluctuate a bit and there will probably be films that I will continue to find and view for the first time for some of these years. One area that I haven't even considered yet is non-fiction (documentary) films...and also short films. I think if/when I get to those areas, I'll have to make a decision about whether to merge them with my current lists, or keep them separate.

I think Bogie and Swithin listed documentaries, and at least one short so far. I have a few docs on later lists.

[speedracer5]

I can see that I have the most relaxed approach here.  Or a lackadaisical approach, lol.  I just kind of look at a list of films that were released on such and such year and choose my top 10 favorites from among them.

 

Whatever works for everyone.  I find the intense record keeping interesting.  I think the earliest memory I have of seeing a film is when I saw The Little Mermaid in the theater in 1989 when I was 5. As I recall, I liked the film. 

[TopBilled]

I just never rate tv episodes, or series, unless it's a standalone movie or mini-series.

Oh, I see. Yeah, I do rate TV episodes, and sometimes if I feel it's a groundbreaking episode in a series, I will even write a review for it. 

 

In the past, I rated things on TV.com and on the TCM database, but there were too many glitches and it was easier after awhile to just do everything on the IMDb.

 

I have never made a list on the IMDb, though. And I guess I could take the lists I made for this thread and put them on the IMDb, but I prefer keeping them here where I can discuss them in detail, and having them on one of my blogs.

[Swithin]

I think Bogie and Swithin listed documentaries, and at least one short so far. I have a few docs on later lists.

 

In terms of shorts, I know I listed Meshes in the Afternoon, which is about 15 minutes. It also appeared on your movies to see before you die list.

[Bogie56]

Time to start 1950, or do you think a few more might give us the best of the 40's decade?

[film lover 293]

I'm with speedracer5--I rely on memory --And if memory doesn't give me top ten films from a year, I Wiki it and can get the final 2 or 3 films. for a list.

 

speedracer5--the first film I remember seeing in a theatre was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", in 1968; I loved the flying car.  Great film for the under five set, LOL.

[LawrenceA]

1950 - 71 films seen

 

 

1. SUNSET BOULEVARD

I usually don't care much for inside-Hollywood films. They tend to be some variation of a woe-is-me pity-party. But SUNSET goes beyond that, creating an immortal caricature of Hollywood gone to seed in the guise of Norma Desmond. Swanson is perfect, and Von Stroheim as well, and Holden has one of his best, most suited roles. One of my all-time faves. Horror noir with a humorous streak as black as pitch.

 

2. RASHOMON

Kurosawa's breakthrough onto the world stage. Besides the groundbreaking story structure (the film's name has entered the lexicon to mean unreliable witness testimony), the camera work is incredible.

 

3. THE ASPHALT JUNGLE

Huston's heist film is one of the best crime films, period.

 

4. IN A LONELY PLACE

This noir has been talked about at length on here since it's recent showing, so I'll let that suffice.

 

5. NIGHT AND THE CITY

Another great atmospheric noir, with a unique setting and top-notch work by Richard Widmark.

 

6. GUN CRAZY

Small but impressive film, again with great camerawork, and a wonderful Peggy Cummins.

 

7. WINCHESTER '73

First western for the team of Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann started a decade of excellent collaboration.

 

8. ALL ABOUT EVE

Some of the best dialogue in film history.

 

9. RIO GRANDE

The final entry in John Ford's cavalry trilogy features fine scenery and a deceptively good turn by John Wayne.

 

10. HARVEY

Nice, simple, and funny.

 

 

Runner-ups: LOS OLVIDADOS, ORPHEUS, THE BARON OF ARIZONA, BORN YESTERDAY, and THE MEN.

 

 

 

Larry's Choice: THE FLYING SAUCER

 

Ridiculous turkey about a rich jerk recruited by the feds to investigate flying saucer sightings in Alaska. Mikel Conrad was on a real ego trip with this one; he not only starred but produced and directed as well. This combines two of the prime ingredients of 50's trash films: space invasions and the Red Menace. See this if you're a real American!

[Swithin]

1950 Favorites

I love the lady leads in the first two films on my (alphabetical) list and am glad one of them won the Oscar. To two other ladies who were nominated that year, and who continue to be (too) highly touted for their 1950 roles, I quote a line from the second movie on my list: "Pile out you tramps." You can't hold a candle to Holliday or Parker!

 

Born Yesterday

Glorious transition to film of a stage play, with great relevance for today's politics.

 

Caged

The best women's prison movie. Hard and unsentimental.

 

The Fall of the House of Usher

An odd, creepy version of Poe which I love for its moodiness.

 

The Happy Years

Joyous, nostalgic, a beautiful film set in turn-of-the century New Jersey.

 

In a Lonely Place

One of Bogie's best.

 

King Solomon’s Mines

Ripping yarn!

 

Los Olvidados

My favorite Bunuel (I think). Unrelenting, depressing. No filmmaker has done it better, though many have tried since.

 

Night and the City

Brit noir at its best!

 

Orpheus (Orphee)

I love all explorations of the Orpheus myth; after all, the myth is about the power of art. 

 

Rashomon

The age of the great Japanese post-war film has begun. 

 

Trashy mention:

 

South Sea Sinner

Shelley Winters, Liberace, and Luther Adler carrying on in the steamy South Seas. Best of its trashy kind, why won't TCM show it?

[speedracer5]

1950

 

1. All About Eve (Definitely in my top 10 favorite films ever. The definitive Bette Davis performance)

2. Sunset Blvd (A turning point in William Holden's career. He became one of my favorite actors after I saw him in this film.

3. Born Yesterday

4. In a Lonely Place

5. Father of the Bride (I used to prefer the '91 remake to this film, but the more I see it, the more it grows on me.  Mostly through the strength of Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett's performances)

6. Three Little Words

7. Caged

8. Montana 

9. Cinderella

10. Summer Stock

 

Honorable Mention

 

Young Man With a Horn

Woman on the Run

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Two Weeks With Love

[FrankGrimes]

The 1940s

 

1. Scarlet Street

2. Out of the Past

3. The Body Snatcher

4. Cat People

5. The Curse of the Cat People

6. Citizen Kane

7. His Girl Friday

8. Notorious

9. Casablanca

10. Raw Deal

11. The Third Man

12. Fallen Angel

13. They Live by Night

14. The Set-Up

15. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

16. The Leopard Man

17. Deadline at Dawn

18. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

19. The Lady from Shanghai

20. Ossessione

21. Decoy

22. Double Indemnity

23. The Treasure of Sierra Madre

24. Mr. Lucky

25. Spellbound

26. The Devil and Daniel Webster

27. The Shop Around the Corner

28. The Seventh Victim

29. Shadow of a Doubt

30. Criss Cross

31. Gilda

32. The Big Street

33. Unfaithfully Yours

34. Reign of Terror

35. Nightmare Alley

36. Secret Beyond the Door

37. The Maltese Falcon

38. Le Corbeau

39. The Killers

40. Portrait of Jennie

41. High Sierra

42. Rope

43. Foreign Correspondent

44. Waterloo Bridge

45. Man Hunt

46. It's a Wonderful Life

47. Laura

48. The Big Sleep

49. This Gun for Hire

50. Leave Her for Heaven

 

Favorite Director

 

1. Alfred Hitchcock

2. Robert Wise

3. Fritz Lang

4. Jacques Tourneur

5. Anthony Mann

6. Orson Welles

7. John Huston

8. Howard Hawks

9. Robert Siodmak

10. Otto Preminger

11. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

12. William Dieterle

13. Ernst Lubitsch

14. Preston Sturges

15. Frank Capra

 

Favorite Actors

 

1. Humphrey Bogart

2. Joseph Cotten

3. Orson Welles

4. Cary Grant

5. Edward G. Robinson

6. Dan Duryea

7. Dennis O'Keefe

8. Dana Andrews

9. James Stewart

10. Claude Rains

11. Peter Lorre

12. Walter Huston

13. Robert Ryan

14. Henry Fonda

15. Robert Mitchum

 

Favorite Actresses

 

1. Ingrid Bergman

2. Joan Bennett

3. Simone Simon

4. Linda Darnell

5. Claire Trevor

6. Barbara Stanwyck

7. Rita Hayworth

8. Dorothy McGuire

9. Laraine Day

10. Jennifer Jones

11. Gene Tierney

12. Lauren Bacall

13. Mary Astor

14. Jeanne Crain

15. Veronica Lake

[speedracer5]

 

1950 Favorites

 

Caged

The best women's prison movie. Hard and unsentimental.

 

 

I find women's prison movies strangely interesting.  I don't know why.  I'm not really into men's prison movies as much (except for I really liked The Shawshank Redemption).  

 

When I saw Caged, I watched it back-to-back with a 1933 Barbara Stanwyck ladies prison movie, Ladies They Talk About.  Stanwyck's prison was nothing like Eleanor Parker's prison.  Stanwyck got a tailored prison dress, she got to decorate her cell, put on her own clothes when she met with friends on "the outside," and many other luxuries.  The women's prison in this film was like a country club.  Poor Parker, she faced the grim realities of prison life.  I loved how realistic it was and I especially liked Agnes Moorehead's performance. 

[TopBilled]

2. RASHOMON

Kurosawa's breakthrough onto the world stage. Besides the groundbreaking story structure (the film's name has entered the lexicon to mean unreliable witness testimony), the camera work is incredible.

 

I always find it interesting (and wonder what Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz felt) when people credit Kurosawa with the eyewitness testimony way to tell a story. To a large extent, that is how CITIZEN KANE is structured-- only instead of a single act, it's a series of acts that are committed by one larger-than-life individual.

 

Of course, the fun is seeing how some versions overlap and contradict, according to who is recounting the events.

[TopBilled]

I find women's prison movies strangely interesting.  I don't know why.  I'm not really into men's prison movies as much (except for I really liked The Shawshank Redemption).  

 

When I saw Caged, I watched it back-to-back with a 1933 Barbara Stanwyck ladies prison movie, Ladies They Talk About.  Stanwyck's prison was nothing like Eleanor Parker's prison.  Stanwyck got a tailored prison dress, she got to decorate her cell, put on her own clothes when she met with friends on "the outside," and many other luxuries.  The women's prison in this film was like a country club.  

Reminds me of MADAME RACKETEER, a charming crime comedy produced by Paramount in 1932. In the very first scene, we have Alison Skipworth in prison (as a convicted criminal) pouring tea for the other women inmates. She treats the experience the way Martha Stewart might, like she's staying at a country club. When she is released a short time later, nobody wants to see her go back into society.

[LawrenceA]

I always find it interesting (and wonder what Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz felt) when people credit Kurosawa with the eyewitness testimony way to tell a story. To a large extent, that is how CITIZEN KANE is structured-- only instead of a single act, it's a series of acts that are committed by one larger-than-life individual.

 

Of course, the fun is seeing how some versions overlap and contradict, according to who is recounting the events.

RASHOMON usually just refers to differing accounts about a specific, single event, but I know what you mean, and I have heard it used to describe more broad, recollection-style narratives. Welles probably just added it to his list of injustices.

[Swithin]

I find women's prison movies strangely interesting.  I don't know why.  I'm not really into men's prison movies as much (except for I really liked The Shawshank Redemption).  

 

When I saw Caged, I watched it back-to-back with a 1933 Barbara Stanwyck ladies prison movie, Ladies They Talk About.  Stanwyck's prison was nothing like Eleanor Parker's prison.  Stanwyck got a tailored prison dress, she got to decorate her cell, put on her own clothes when she met with friends on "the outside," and many other luxuries.  The women's prison in this film was like a country club.  Poor Parker, she faced the grim realities of prison life.  I loved how realistic it was and I especially liked Agnes Moorehead's performance. 

 

Caged had the good fortune to be made during a period of bleak realism. A few years later, Hollywood made House of Women, in which the character most like Parker's in Caged gets to marry the (male) prison doctor!

[TopBilled]

Caged had the good fortune to be made during a period of bleak realism. A few years later, Hollywood made House of Women, in which the character most like Parker's in Caged gets to marry the (male) prison doctor!

HOUSE OF WOMEN was also produced by Warners, and it seems like they were in some regards recycling the script for CAGED. 

 

Not sure if people know, but CAGED was developed as a vehicle for Bette Davis & Joan Crawford in the late 40s. Davis would have done Parker's role, with Crawford playing the character Moorehead did. At least that is what Jack Warner wanted. But Bette was ready to leave the studio, and when she heard about plans for the movie, she said she wanted to have nothing to do with what she considered a drama about lesbians. 

[FrankGrimes]

1950

 

1. Night and the City

2. In a Lonely Place

3. The Asphalt Jungle

4. Gun Crazy

5. Devil's Doorway

6. Winchester '73

7. Where the Sidewalk Ends

8. Mystery Street

9. Harvey

10. D.O.A.

11. Dial 1119

12. Union Station

13. Rio Grande

14. The Furies

15. The Breaking Point

16. Sunset Boulevard

17. Edge of Doom

18. Stars in My Crown

19. Panic in the Streets

20. No Way Out

21. The Gunfighter

22. The Baron of Arizona

23. Woman on the Run

24. Dark City

25. Rocky Mountain

26. Side Street

27. House by the River

28. Stage Fright

29. Dallas

30. The Tattooed Stranger

31. Gone to Earth

32. Born Yesterday

33. Right Cross

34. Cinderella

35. No Man of Her Own

36. The File on Thelma Jordon

37. Where Danger Lives

38. Wagon Master

39. Three Secrets

40. Bright Leaf

41. The Flame and the Arrow

42. The Lawless

43. Kansas Raiders

44. The Secret Fury

45. Between Midnight and Dawn

46. Two Flags West

47. When Willie Comes Marching Home

48. Colt .45

49. Backfire

50. Quicksand

51. Guilty Bystander

52. Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion

53. The Man Who Cheated Himself

54. Borderline

55. Armored Car Robbery

56. 711 Ocean Drive

57. A Lady Without Passport

58. Broken Arrow

59. All About Eve

60. Montana

61. Madeleine

62. Comanche Territory

63. The Damned Don't Cry

64. The Second Woman

65. Crisis

66. Three Came Home

67. The Killer That Stalked New York

68. Perfect Strangers

69. Born to Be Bad

70. The Capture

71. Caged

72. American Guerrilla in the Philippines

73. Destination Murder

74. Please Believe Me

75. Father of the Bride

76. King Solomon's Mines

77. The Second Face

[TopBilled]

Louis Calhern was not a girl's best friend; Anne Baxter was honored with a Sarah Siddons Award; James Stewart and Harvey were treated by Cecil Kellaway; Barbara Stanwyck attacked Judith Anderson with a pair of scissors; Spencer Tracy gave Elizabeth Taylor away; and Gloria Swanson was ready for her mug shot.

 

***

 

My list:

1. SUNSET BOULEVARD (show biz drama)
2. ALL ABOUT EVE (show biz drama)
3. LA RONDE (French romance drama)
4. THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (heist film)
5. CINDERELLA (animated fairy tale)
6. BORN YESTERDAY (political satire)
7. WINCHESTER ’73 (western)
8. RASHOMON (Japanese drama)
9. ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (musical)
10. CAGED (prison drama) and NO WAY OUT (social message drama)

 

Honorable Mentions:

THE BIG LIFT (aviation drama war film)
THE BLUE LAMP (British police procedural)
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (comedy drama)
CYRANO DE BERGERAC (literary adaptation)
FATHER OF THE BRIDE (comedy drama)
THE FURIES (noir western)
THE GLASS MENAGERIE (drama)
THE GOLDEN GLOVES STORY (sports drama)
GUN CRAZY (crime drama)
HARVEY (fantasy comedy)
HOUSE BY THE RIVER (gothic noir)
IN A LONELY PLACE (noir)
MADELEINE (biographical crime drama)
THE MEN (social message drama)
NIGHT AND THE CITY (British noir)
NO MAN OF HER OWN (noir melodrama)
LOS OLVIDADOS (Mexican social realism)
PANIC IN THE STREETS (crime drama)
RIO GRANDE (western)
SEPTEMBER AFFAIR (romance drama)
THE SOUND OF FURY (noir prison drama)
SUMMER STOCK (musical)
TEA FOR TWO (musical)
TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE (musical)
UNDER MY SKIN (sports drama)
WAGON MASTER (western)
WOMAN ON THE RUN (noir)

Notable Performers: Judy Holliday; Louis Calhern; Betty Hutton; James Stewart; and Gloria Swanson.

[Bogie56]

For 1950 - 85 films seen

 

1.  Sunset Blvd.

2.  All About Eve

3.  The Asphalt Jungle

4.  Winchester '73

5.  King Solomon's Mines

6.  Rashomon

7.  Panic In the Streets

8.  Born Yesterday

9.  Harvey

10. The Gunfighter

 

Here are just some from my runner up list: Three Came Home, Los Olvidados, Father of the Bride, Treasure Island, Variety Lights, La Ronde, Night and the City, The Clouded Yellow and Gun Crazy.

 

Bogie's curios: Chronicle of a Love and State Secret. 

 

My current choices for performances for 1950 are:

 

Best Actor

 

Toshiro Mifune, Rashomon

 

Best Actress

 

Gloria Swanson, Sunset Blvd.

 

Best Supporting Actor

 

George Sanders, All About Eve

 

Best Supporting Actress

 

Giulietta Masina, Variety Lights

 

Juvenile

 

Alfonso Mejia, Los Olvidados

[SansFin]

My favorite Hollywood movies of 1950:

 

The Asphalt Jungle

Cinderella

Cyrano De Bergerac

The Flame and the Arrow

Fortunes of Captain Blood

Harvey

In a Lonely Place

Kim

Tension

Where the Sidewalk Ends

 

Foreign movies of 1950:

 

Les Enfants Terribles

Rashomon

[LawrenceA]

Here's my "not-seens" :

 

Swithin: THE HAPPY YEARS and SOUTH SEA SINNER.

 

speedracer: THREE LITTLE WORDS, MONTANA, SUMMER STOCK, and TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE.

 

FrankGrimes: DEVIL'S DOORWAY, DIAL 1119, EDGE OF DOOM, and STARS IN MY CROWN.

 

TopBilled: ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, THE BLUE LAMP, THE GOLDEN GLOVES STORY, SEPTEMBER AFFAIR, THE SOUND OF FURY, and UNDER MY SKIN.

 

Bogie: THREE CAME HOME, VARIETY LIGHTS, THE CLOUDED YELLOW, CHRONICLE OF A LOVE, and STATE SECRET.

 

SansFin: FORTUNES OF CAPTAIN BLOOD, and KIM, but I have the latter taped.

[film lover 293]

1950:

 

1.) "Annie Get Your Gun"

 

2.) "Gun Crazy"

 

3.) "Rio Grande"

 

4,) "Born Yesterday"

 

5.) "All About Eve"

 

6,) "Winchester '73"

 

7.) "Panic In The Streets"

 

8.) "The Asphalt Jungle"

 

9.) "So Long At The Fair"--Jean Simmons comes back to her hotel to be told that her brother, who had registered at the same time, doesn't exist.

 

Tied  for 10.) "Cinderella" & "King Solomon's Mines"

 

Oddity "Nancy Goes To Rio"--In which Jane Powell grows up & grows *****, which Dress Designer Helen Rose makes obvious by clothing Powell in a hot-pink, low-cut, cocktail dress.  Co-stars Carmen Miranda, who is starred in one of MGM's craziest musical numbers of The 50's "Caroon Pa Pa".  Miranda tries to pack the madness of "The Gang's All Here" (1943) into a three minute number, and comes close to succeeding.  Number had about one third excerpted in "That's Entertainment Part III" (1994).  Is worth sitting through the film to see, IMHO.

 

 

Films to check out: "A Lady Without Passport", "The Baron of Arizona", & "The Toast of New Orleans.  The first is a Hedy Lamarr noir; the second is based on fact, about a man who tried to buy up all of Arizona Territory--Vincent Price is fun to watch;the third is the second & final teaming of Mario Lanza & Kathryn Grayson, & is worth watching for the music.