Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
Directed by: Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
For some reason, Charlie Chaplin always got the press. But Buster Keaton was just as good, some say even better, at filming great comedy. I've seen a couple of Keaton movies, not a lot by any stretch, and this is truly his best. They called him "Stoneface" for the lack of emotion he showed, which made all of the inane situations he got into even funnier. We follow Keaton as he tries to save his girl and his train during the outbreak of the Civil War. Some of the stunts Keaton does in this film are remarkable...no stunt doubles, no trick photography. Hilariously funny and thrill-packed, a silent movie that has to be seen at least once in your lifetime.
- Buster Keaton had said this was his favourite of all his movies.
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
IMDB Rating: 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
I have long been a fan of Charlie Chaplin's. At a young age I received a 10 VHS box set of his shorts, and I would watch them over and over again. His creation of The Tramp character was absolutely brilliant. A character who got by on his street smarts, luck and innate ability to make the viewer empathize and sympathize all at once. Chaplin made some very fine movies, but City Lights, for me, was his masterpiece. Some great comedic scenes rounded out by some of the most touching scenes you'll ever see. I still say, the last scene with the blind girl is top 5 best scenes EVER!! The writing is perfect, the portrayals not too over the top (although a couple of the secondary characters go a little crazy....it was the 30's!), and Chaplin's steady way of conveying the story is fantastic. If you are to see one Chaplin film, make it this one. And then watch a bunch more, 'cause they're great, too!
- Orson Welles has said this was his favourite movie.
- Although he was under pressure to make the film a "talkie", Chaplin stuck to his guns and made it a silent film.
Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Peggy Ashcroft
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
IMDB Rating: 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favourite directors. This will be the first of many of his films on this list. Although this wasn't the first movie of his I saw, it is the best of his early British films, before he made it big in America. There is a lot going on in this one...an "everyman" tries to help a spy but gets caught up in an adventure in which he has to save himself and, really, the world! Robert Donat plays his role with such charm and charisma, and the appropriate amount of fear, that the viewer pulls for him throughout the movie. This is edge of your seat excitement handled superbly by The Master.
- Madeleine Carroll suffered welts on her arms from being handcuffed and dragged around by Robert Donat, something Hitchcock wanted for the realism of the situation.
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains
Directed by: Michael Curtiz & William Keighley
IMDB Rating: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
This is the only movie I've seen starring Errol Flynn. I figured, why watch another one? This movie has it all and there is no way I could be more impressed with his talents if I were to watch any of his others. His screen presence, his charisma, exudes from the screen. And then he starts swinging and jumping and the swords and the tumbling and EVERYTHING!! This movie is so much fun, and good for any age. Great performances from all the secondary players, but Basil Rathbone is the ultimate joy to watch! All in all, a pitch perfect film!
- The horse Maid Marian rides is none other than Roy Rogers' Trigger.
- James Cagney was set to play the title role, but quit Warner Brothers before filming began.
- This was Warner Brothers' most expensive film at the time, costing more than $2-million.
Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan
Directed by: Victor Fleming
IMDB Rating: 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
I can honestly say this was the first movie I loved. I first watched it on TV as a kid, maybe 6 or 7, and although it scared the crap out of me (nightmares about flying monkeys followed for many nights) I knew that I had just watched the best movie in the world! Although I no longer feel exactly that way, I still consider The Wizard Of Oz a true masterpiece. Everybody has seen it, everybody has an opinion, but the beauty of the film, the introduction of the colour scenes, the catchy songs and dance routines, the cast of thousands...this is a true epic that hits on all parts.
- Ray Bolger was originally cast as the tin man and Buddy Ebsen as the Scarecrow. They switched roles. Ebsen then realized he was allergic to the silver make-up, leading to the hiring of Jack Haley.
- A lot of scenes were filmed with Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch Of The West but had to be cut as the producers thought they may be too frightening for the audiences.
- MGM paid $75,000 for the rights to the book, an astronomical amount for it's time.
Well, that's it for the 1920's and 30's. Some movies I still want to see from those decades include:
Metropolis (1927)
The Thief Of Bagdad (1924)
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1927)
Greed (1924)
M (1931)
The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
The Blue Angel (1930)
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
Come back for Part II - the 1940's.
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