1939 and 1989 - Golden Years of Movies- Page 2

[VeraCharles3]

Posted: 9/2/13 at 5:37am

Besty - thank you for the recommendation, I will certainly watch Bachelor Mother. I was not aware of it but admire your taste in films - including the other thread you did about favorite films now and 15 years ago - still to list mine.

Noname3 - glad you are another Midnight fan. Thanks for the info, I had no idea Barbara Stanwyck was considered for the role. I wonder what happened? I love Barbara Stanwyck but I am glad Claudette got the part. Barbara seemed a bit more "hard-boiled" but still a terrific actress.

I have just had a look and I must admit I have not seen many Leisen films, apart from Lady in the Dark - would you recommend any others?

[NoName3]

Posted: 9/2/13 at 7:35pm

Mitchell Leisen films:

Death Takes a Holiday

Murder at the Vanities is a pre-code backstage musical murder mystery and has a famous production number "Sweet Marahuana." Campy and fun.

ETA: The Vanities in question is the Earl Carroll's Vanities, the popular poor man's (dare I say it, white trash) version of the Ziegfeld Follies. After looking at Wikipedia and IMDB, it appears that most of the showgirls are from that year's Vanities. The supporting cast includes Kitty Carlisle, Jack Oakie, Victor McLaglen, Duke Ellington and Orchestra and Toby Wing. If you don't know who these people are, well forget it. If you do, this film is so much fun AND a historical document.

Easy Living is a classic screwball comedy written by Preston Sturgis and stars Jean Arthur.

To Each His Own is a soap opera but extremely well done. Olivia de Havilland won the best actress Oscar for it.

Hold Back the Dawn is another soap opera but it's written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder and both the picture and de Havilland were Oscar nominated.

The Big Broadcast of 1937. Very hard to find because it's never been released on home video. A trifle, but the cast includes Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, and Benny Goodman and his orchestra with Gene Krupa, all at their best.

The Big Broadcast of 1938. Insane plot about two racing ocean liners, S.S. Gigantic and S.S. Colossus, one of which is owned by W.C. Fields. Along for the ride are Dorothy Lamour, Martha Raye, Ben Blue, Bob Hope introducing "Thanks for the Memory" and Kirsten Flagstad singing Brunnhilde's war cry "Ho Jo To Ho!" from Wagner's Die Walküre. Could I make this up?

Remember the Night. Bittersweet romantic comedy-drama written by Preston Sturgis starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Like Wilder with Midnight, Sturgis decided to become a director because he was so upset with the changes Leisen made to his script.

Swing High, Swing Low. Romantic drama starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray as a struggling saxophone player. Based on the Broadway hit Burlesque with screenplay co-written by Oscar Hammerstein.


I'd start with Easy Living.



Updated On: 9/3/13 at 07:35 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/2/13 at 7:57pm

Another vote in favor of FIELD OF DREAMS as one of the true greats of its year. The combination of score, direction and simple beautiful idea make the last 10 minutes among the most perfect final scenes ever filmed.

[VeraCharles3]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 3:43am

NoName3 - WOW! Thank you so much for taking the trouble to post all that.

I will start with Easy Living as you suggest. love Jean Arthur and Preston Sturgis. Going back to Claudette Colbert - I loved The Palm Beach Story too - but I digress.

I had no idea what the Vanities were - I would probably have been more likely to go see them than the Ziegfeld Follies if I'd lived back then, lol. I recognise most of the names from Murder of the Vanities, possibly because of Mae West.

Anyway, every film you mention appeals to me. Thank you again.
I really appreciate all the trouble you have went to.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 8:34am

Obviously bestie's claims of '39 and '89 can't be argued.

I'm also strongly with strummer on '60 and henrik on '05.

I've always thought of 1996 as one of the more remarkable movie years of my lifetime, the year that independent movies (back when that term actually meant something) really flexed their muscles.


On the low side of great:

Bottle Rocket
The Frighteners
Scream
The Birdcage
Primal Fear
The Crucible
Evita (this is my list, not yours; shh)


Then the middle side of great:

Everyone Says I Love You
Tin Cup
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Citizen Ruth
Hamlet
Star Trek: First Contact
Jerry Maguire


And finally these so-so little movies:

Fargo
Secrets & Lies
Shine
That Thing You Do!
Kolya
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Fly Away Home
Trainspotting
Breaking the Waves
The English Patient
Sling Blade
The King of Masks
Trees Lounge
Lone Star


For me, that last set represents some of cinema at its absolute finest; I'd put them up against anything released in 1939. And if that kind of quality isn't enough for you, consider that 1996 was also the year that gave us these five mega-blockbusters:

Independence Day
Mission: Impossible
The Rock
The Nutty Professor
Twister


It was a neat year.

Updated On: 9/3/13 at 08:34 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 9:10am

Obviously bestie's claims of '39 and '89 can't be argued.

Well, 1939 isn't "my claim." It is widely considered by film historians and critics alike to be the best all-around year for movies ever.

I just added 1989 to it. That's "my claim."



EDIT: I really like so many of these other banner years, though. At the time, they might not have seemed like a golden year, but they sure do, looking back on them now.

Updated On: 9/3/13 at 09:10 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 9:27am

Oh, I meant "claim" as in something you stated, not something you purported, because I swear I've seen other people put forth 1989 specifically in comparison to 1939 before, noting especially they are exactly 50 years apart.

Or maybe, having seen you illustrate it so clearly here, it seems like a no-brainer.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 9:49am

I'm glad to hear others recognize 1989.

Not that I would ever seriously think it's a unique idea, or start one of those "Am I the only one who ...?" threads.

Because that's just dumb.

[Patronus]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 9:58am

1989 was fantastic.

While it may not be the best year, I always think of 1997 because of a ton of films that I just love. Not necessarily "great" films, but ones I absolutely enjoy.

As Good As It Gets
Boogie Nights
Chasing Amy
Conspiracy Theory
Contact
The Devil's Advocate
Donnie Brasco
Face/Off
The Fifth Element
The Full Monty
Gattaca
Good Will Hunting
Grosse Point Blank
In & Out
The Ice Storm
Jackie Brown
Kiss the Girls
I Know What You Did Last Summer
LA Confidential
Life is Beautiful
Lost Highway
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Men In Black
My Best Friend's Wedding
Orgazmo
Princess Mononoke
Private Parts
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
Scream 2
Spawn
Titanic
Vegas Vacation
Wag the Dog
Waiting for Guffman

and of course....Different Strokes starring Dana Plato.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 10:00am

I'm 100% with you, Patronus. Actually, several of my all-time favories were made during 1995-1997. Those were my 14-16-year-old years. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 10:01am

themysteriousgrowl, The Hunchback of Notre Dame wasn't a "little movie." It had a production budget of $100 million, which by 1996 standards was astronomical. To put it in perspective, all of the five blockbusters you mentioned cost at least $20 million less than Hunchback.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 10:03am

I was being sardonic.

I also called them "so-so."

Posted: 9/3/13 at 12:18pm

So James Earl Jones is a reclusive civil rights activist (civil rights activist) who is lured back to society because he longs to watch segregated baseball teams play again? And watching those all-white teams play not only heals his pain but makes him soliloquize about how things were just better back then?

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 12:34pm

News flash: people are complicated. They aren't all one thing. They aren't programmed like robots. It's possible to work actively toward the future while missing elements from the past. Even elements that stand in direct conflict to "who you are."

His retired activist character is trying to come to terms with who he is, who he was, what he did, and what he should do now. He is lost.

He is also completely disillusioned by his former activist self and everything that has happened to the world since. He has withdrawn from it.

But if your summary is all you took away from Field of Dreams, so be it. I think it's a shame.

Updated On: 9/3/13 at 12:34 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 12:37pm

- Is this heaven?

- No. It’s Broadway World.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 12:40pm

LOL

Did you just plow over your major crop?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 12:56pm

If that's a euphemism...




...yeah.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 1:29pm

In the book Field of Dreams is based on (Shoeless Joe), the reclusive writer that Ray seeks is none other than J.D. Salinger, but Salinger threatened to sue if his name or likeness were used, so the character was changed to a fictional African-American writer.

So there.

Posted: 9/3/13 at 1:31pm

If you build it, He will come.

And as Libby Gelman-Waxner of Premiere said "If you built a clean Ladies Room, everyone would show up."

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 1:32pm

for your consideration: 2002

Far From Heaven
Chicago
The Road to Perdition
Talk to Her
Y Tu Mama Tambien
The Magdalene Sisters
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Nowhere in Africa
Minority Report
Bloody Sunday
Spirited Away
Catch Me If You Can
About Schmidt
The Pianist
The Hours
Adaptation
The Quiet American
Bowling for Columbine
City of God
Punch Drunk Love
The Cockettes
Auto Focus
The Piano Teacher
Secretary
Real Women Have Curves
Thirteen
Capturing the Friedmans
Monsoon Wedding
Rabbit Proof Fence
Russian Ark
Spider Man
The Bourne Identity
Yossi & Jagger
Bend it Like Beckham
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Updated On: 9/3/13 at 01:32 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 5:30pm

Resurrecting this thread right now because of "Midnight" (1939). Watching it again now ...

Holy CRAP, this should be required viewing by every person reading this board.

It's not just good, it's as good as any screwball comedy you've ever seen. Actually, it's BETTER than any screwball comedy you've ever seen.

Buy the DVD (cheap now, probably), stream it, DVR it, attend a screening, watch it on TCM.

But you have to see it. No excuses. No delays.

Operators are standing by.

Updated On: 9/6/13 at 05:30 PM

[Playbilly]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 5:54pm

To answer a question from a while back, Herbert Ross directed The Turning Point and The Goodbye Girl, and both were Best Picture nominated. And, 1977 is one of my favorite movie years.

The Goodbye Girl
Star Wars
Close Encounters
Annie Hall
Looking For Mr. Goodbar
The Turning Point
Equus
Three Women
Julia
Saturday Night Fever
High Anxiety
That Obscure Object of Desire
A Special Day

And many more. It was a year of movies that couldn't/wouldn't be made a few years earlier or later.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 6:25pm

I agree. I don't think the list is quite as extensive, but 1977 is one of my favorite movie years ever.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 10:25pm

May be my favorite line from any movie ever:

"When I married, I didn't realize that in the Czerny family there was a streak of... shall we say, eccentricity? And yet, I had warning. Why else should his grandfather have sent me, as an engagement present, one roller skate - covered with Thousand Island dressing?"

Eve Peabody, MIDNIGHT (1939)



Updated On: 9/7/13 at 10:25 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/7/13 at 7:54am

So many wonderful lines.

EVE: ... and me, all set to jump for that tub of butter.

GEORGES: We've landed in something all right, but it isn't butter.

Also ...

SIMONE: It WOULD be raining tonight. Every time Stephanie throws one of her parties, nature weeps.

Updated On: 9/7/13 at 07:54 AM