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Post by mattgarth on May 6, 2019 14:58:12 GMT
Adding to Spider's excellent listings -- my five faves from the '50s:
DETECTIVE STORY ROMAN HOLIDAY FRIENDLY PERSUASION THE BIG COUNTRY BEN-HUR
Thanks for the thread
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Post by kijii on May 6, 2019 15:01:54 GMT
The Good Fairy (1935) is a great comedy that I have only recently discovered. Detective Story (1951) is a great ensemble work based on a Sidney Kingsley play, as was Dead End (1937). The Big Country (1958) is a big as all outdoors. Ben-Hur (1959) won 11 Oscars. Mrs. Miniver (1942) is a favorite with 6 Oscar wins. The Children's Hour (1961) is a play so nice he made it twice.
A House Divided (1931) gives me hope that I may find another gem out there that I have not yet seen.
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Post by politicidal on May 6, 2019 15:04:20 GMT
Ben-Hur
The Big Country
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biker1
Junior Member
@biker1
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Post by biker1 on May 6, 2019 15:54:07 GMT
top 5.. the little foxes the heiress wuthering heights ben-hur dodsworth
underrated pick.. these three (1936) - Samuel Goldwyn Production of the children's hour is a lot better than the 1960s version.
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Post by wmcclain on May 6, 2019 17:03:38 GMT
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Post by Aj_June on May 6, 2019 17:59:06 GMT
I like many of his films but Ben-Hur (1959) is among my all-time favourites. This scene sealed the deal for me. I fell in love with the movie when I saw this scene.
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Post by movielover on May 6, 2019 19:31:33 GMT
I've seen 13 of his movies so far, but here's my top 5:
1. The Desperate Hours 2. The Children's Hour 3. Ben-Hur 4. These Three 5. The Best Years of Our Lives
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on May 6, 2019 19:55:55 GMT
Dead End Detective Story The Little Foxes The Best Years of Our Lives
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 6, 2019 22:50:53 GMT
While I'm generally resistant to picking favorites, some words spoken about the fictional Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful could apply to Wyler:
"When they list the ten best pictures ever made, there are always two or three of his on the list."
I think all of those I view most frequently have been mentioned by others, so only a few thoughts about each seem in order.
The Good Fairy - With a script by Preston Sturges, it sparkles with mischief, tempered with the delicacy displayed by Wyler in his all-too-rare departures from serious drama, and is a delicious little whirlwind that deserves to be better known than it is.
Wuthering Heights - A romantic tragedy that's chock full of atmosphere and style. If the obsession of grand yet doomed passion is your bent, this picture is as irresistible as gravity, and guaranteed to leave you both melancholic and elated...and entirely fulfilled. The most beautiful and transporting score ever written by the prolific Alfred Newman must not miss mention.
The Best Years Of Our Lives - Earns its place on any "Ten Best" list. Incisive, honest and mature, it delivers some of the most deeply felt yet simply expressed human feeling to be found in any film, without a trace of sentimentality or artifice. And for what Alfred Hitchcock liked to call "pure cinema," the wordless "boneyard" sequence, employing the full range of cinematic tools, can't be beat as some of the most evocative, dialogue-free few minutes captured by any camera.
The Heiress - A tour de force from Olivia de Havilland anchors this emotionally brutal but satisfyingly empowering examination of discovering the strength to live on one's own terms, while acknowledging the associated costs thereof. At once bitter and bravura.
Roman Holiday - Antic one moment; gently sweet the next, it's a romantic romp with substance. Warm, witty and wise while never cloying, humanity and sincere connection between those among its members are at the heart of it. And it has heart to spare; the final scene will make any functioning one swell with everything of which it's capable.
How To Steal A Million - If this makes any sense, Wyler's penultimate film may not be among his very best, but remains one of his most endlessly enjoyable, visit after visit. Displaying up-to-the-minute freshness at a relative career period when other directors of Wyler's longevity were losing steam and only hanging on, this charmer is effortlessly au currant while avoiding the trendiness that dates others of the era or any hint of desperation for relevance to audiences other directors no longer understood. The old master still had the confidence and sure-footedness to negotiate a deft tightrope walk between silliness and sophistication that eluded others after forty years at the helm.
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Post by kijii on May 6, 2019 23:46:54 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on May 6, 2019 23:48:35 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on May 6, 2019 23:50:31 GMT
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Post by marshamae on May 7, 2019 1:54:51 GMT
The Liberation of L.B. Jones not seen 1968 Funny Girl His expérience dealing with Bette Davis might have helped him work with Barbra. She, like Davis had very strong ideas about what was right for her, and would only take suggestions if she was convinced you were right. 1966 How to Steal a Million my favorite of Audrey’s light comedies , beautifully matched with Otoole and Griffith 1965 The Collector a very complex story filmed with simplicity , letting the characters tell the story. 1961 The Children's Hour a second run at this story, now in its original form 1959 Ben-Hur one of the most exciting literate well acted of TGE biblical epics. Beautifully cast. 1958 The Big Country Another beautifully cast epic. Wyler , one after another , had the last say on many genres . This was his great Western 1956 Friendly Persuasion enjoy this film but always think it’s got something false and cold at TGE center. Can’t decide what it is. 1955 The Desperate Hours not seen 1953 Roman Holiday pure perfection. Wyler seems to have gotten Hepburn right away, as did Gregory Peck. 1952 Carrie interesting not quite successful version of this classic. I think olivier and Jones weren’t such a good match. 1951 Detective Story 1949 The Heiress probably my favorite drama. De HAVILAND was simply stunning 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives the very finest of the great Homefront films. 1942 Mrs. Miniver the other finest of the Homefront films 1941 The Little Foxes dealing with Lillian Hellman and Bette Davis in one film, with Sam Goldwyn and Dashiel Hammett as seconds. Brilliant outcome that really diliniates what made Hellman a great playwright 1940 The Letter a great collaboration with Bette Davis her cold control , her underplaying makes this work so well and Wyler kept everyone else out of the way. 1940 The Westerner 1939 Raffles (uncredited) 1939 Wuthering Heights 1938 The Cowboy and the Lady (uncredited) 1938 Jezebel 1937 Dead End - one of the great 30’s social dramas, a great transfer of a famous play. So many memorable performances. Claire Trevor, and Marjorie main were real standouts Of realism 1936 Come and Get It not seen 1936 Dodsworth 1936 These Three 1935 Barbary Coast (: (uncredited; replaced by Howard Hawks - uncredited) not seen 1935 The Gay Deception not seen 1935 The Good Fairy 1934 Glamour not seen 1933 Counsellor at Law not seen 1933 Her First Mate not seen 1933 Private Jones (uncredited) not seen 1932 Tom Brown of Culver 1931 A House Divided not seen 1930 The Storm not seen 1929 Hell's Heroes not seen 1929 The Love Trap not seen 1929 The Shakedown not seen 1928 Thunder Riders not seen 1928 Anybody Here Seen Kelly? not seen 1927 Desert Dust not seen 1927 The Border Cavalier not seen 1927 Hard Fists not seen 1927 Straight Shootin. not seen 1927 Blazing Days not seen 1926 The Stolen Ranch not seen 1926 Lazy Lightning not seen
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spiderwort
Junior Member
@spiderwort
Posts: 2,523
Likes: 9,324
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Post by spiderwort on May 7, 2019 2:36:37 GMT
While I'm generally resistant to picking favorites, some words spoken about the fictional Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful could apply to Wyler: "When they list the ten best pictures ever made, there are always two or three of his on the list."I think all of those I view most frequently have been mentioned by others, so only a few thoughts about each seem in order. The Good Fairy - With a script by Preston Sturges, it sparkles with mischief, tempered with the delicacy displayed by Wyler in his all-too-rare departures from serious drama, and is a delicious little whirlwind that deserves to be better known than it is. Wuthering Heights - A romantic tragedy that's chock full of atmosphere and style. If the obsession of grand yet doomed passion is your bent, this picture is as irresistible as gravity, and guaranteed to leave you both melancholic and elated...and entirely fulfilled. The most beautiful and transporting score ever written by the prolific Alfred Newman must not miss mention. The Best Years Of Our Lives - Earns its place on any "Ten Best" list. Incisive, honest and mature, it delivers some of the most deeply felt yet simply expressed human feeling to be found in any film, without a trace of sentimentality or artifice. And for what Alfred Hitchcock liked to call "pure cinema," the wordless "boneyard" sequence, employing the full range of cinematic tools, can't be beat as some of the most evocative, dialogue-free few minutes captured by any camera. The Heiress - A tour de force from Olivia de Havilland anchors this emotionally brutal but satisfyingly empowering examination of discovering the strength to live on one's own terms, while acknowledging the associated costs thereof. At once bitter and bravura. Roman Holiday - Antic one moment; gently sweet the next, it's a romantic romp with substance. Warm, witty and wise while never cloying, humanity and sincere connection between those among its members are at the heart of it. And it has heart to spare; the final scene will make any functioning one swell with everything of which it's capable. How To Steal A Million - If this makes any sense, Wyler's penultimate film may not be among his very best, but remains one of his most endlessly enjoyable, visit after visit. Displaying up-to-the-minute freshness at a relative career period when other directors of Wyler's longevity were losing steam and only hanging on, this charmer is effortlessly au currant while avoiding the trendiness that dates others of the era or any hint of desperation for relevance to audiences other directors no longer understood. The old master still had the confidence and sure-footedness to negotiate a deft tightrope walk between silliness and sophistication that eluded others after forty years at the helm. Really appreciate your comments, doghouse, especially re: The Best Years of Our Lives, one of greatest of the greats, imo. And I just wanted to say that I, too, generally don't like picking favorites (except for Elia Kazan, but that's a book unto itself). But today, for whatever reason, I was feeling the passing of time, aging as it were, and began to wonder which films of this great director I would select if my time were short (not saying it is, but it is passing more quickly now, alas). What films are the most meaningful to me, I guess, for whatever reason. That seems so much more important to me now than when I was young.
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Post by kijii on May 7, 2019 2:37:30 GMT
Marshamae---
Come and Get It (1936) is worth trying. It's another movie based on an Edna Ferber novel with a good cast and a fairly rare opportunity to see Frances Farmer. Edward Arnold is good in this movie about the early logging industry in WI.
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Post by telegonus on May 7, 2019 9:04:26 GMT
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Post by kijii on May 7, 2019 17:51:33 GMT
For those who would like to see The Good Fairy (1935), but have not tried it yet. There is a way to watch it on YouTube with very good images and sound: Here is the movie as shown in YouTube in 10 continuous sections: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0543B4DF2513B1E5
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Post by teleadm on May 7, 2019 18:02:47 GMT
Favorites: Dodsworth 1936 Jezebel 1938 Wuthering Heights 1939 The Westerner 1940 The Little Foxes 1941 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 Roman Holiday 1953 The Desperate Hours 1955 Friendly Persuasion 1957 The Big Country 1958 Ben-Hur 1959 The Collector 1965 How to Steal a Million 1966 Those not mentioned are either because I haven't seen them, I didn't like them or my memory is too weak to fairly judge them. I've not that long ago watched Carrie 1952, it's a very well-made drama with a good story, but also very depressive and because of that very hard to like, though absolutley not boring. Since I've recently seen Roman Holiday:
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 7, 2019 21:30:06 GMT
Really appreciate your comments, doghouse, especially re: The Best Years of Our Lives, one of greatest of the greats, imo. And I just wanted to say that I, too, generally don't like picking favorites (except for Elia Kazan, but that's a book unto itself). But today, for whatever reason, I was feeling the passing of time, aging as it were, and began to wonder which films of this great director I would select if my time were short (not saying it is, but it is passing more quickly now, alas). What films are the most meaningful to me, I guess, for whatever reason. That seems so much more important to me now than when I was young. I know what you mean about the passing and dwindling of time. It's funny, but as I've become more cognizant of it, and less willing to devote time to anything that doesn't grab me within, say, the first 15-20 minutes, I've also been taking it to catch up with films I'd never gotten around to, or giving ones of which I'd never even heard a try; some of them minor programmers, among which rewarding little gems can be found. Or, at the very least, have offered something of value. Last night, for instance, I got around to Keeper Of the Flame, the one Tracy-Hepburn film I'd never seen from start to finish. And while the whole was rather vague and unfocused, the final act provided Hepburn with a knockout monologue delivering a prescient warning that, if not dramatically compelling, serves as a wake-up call speaking directly to the dangers of current U.S. politics, and would not be at all out of place in any contemporary news or commentary, yet all the more powerful for having been written nearly 80 years ago. As to the "old reliables," a Best Years or Casablanca, Chinatown, Double Indemnity or Sunset Blvd or any number of always-welcome others I've seen countless times, it's almost as though I've absorbed them into my DNA; they're part of me (sounds like the Ben Mankiewicz TCM intro), and if I knew I was going to croak tomorrow without the opportunity of one last viewing of any of them, I wouldn't feel deprived. I have no idea if any of that makes any sense.
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Post by Sulla on May 7, 2019 22:11:32 GMT
Mrs. Miniver The Best Years of Our Lives Ben-Hur
Roman Holiday - Last month I watched this for the first time ever. It aired on TCM and I just kept watching it for Audrey. Peck was such a great choice because Joe Bradley is a class act.
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