1940's Hall Of Fame Part I

As well as Pursured and Scarlett Street the other main one i was considering nominating was Come Live With Me (1941).

This looks like a really great list; several I haven't seen a few favorites: Arsenic, Rope and Fantasia (though like Cosmic I only remember the brooms as well)
Should be VERY intriguing how this one comes out.

I found Laura on Netflix so I'll be watching that tonight and I did find mine on youtube, it's on a playlist but its a very good copy and runs pretty smoothly through if you can't find it anywhere else.

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Seen

Laura - Great film.

Shadow of a Doubt - Somewhere between very good and great film. It's been a while.

Fantasia - One of my favourite childhood films that I watched a lot back then.

How Green Was My Valley - Masterpiece, of course

Rope - Good film but don't love it like some, haven't seen in ages though.

Not Seen

Pursued - Not heard of this one specifically, but really been looking forward to eventually getting to Raoul Walsh who looks like a great director.

Murderers Are Among Us - Not heard of it, but looks really interesting. Got me thinking as to how I couldn't really name many post-war German films bar Fassbinder and Herzog.

The Suspect - Not heard of but Siodmak seems really interesting.

The Little Foxes - Not heard of but the description seems really interesting. Amazing how William Wyler made so many different films.

The Thief of Bagdad - Heard it's great.

Arsenic and Old Lace - Cary Grant is one of my favourite actors so I think I'll really enjoy this.

Waterloo Bridge - Not heard of it and a director I know nothing about, plot sounds really interesting.

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I've only seen Laura, which I didn't like, and Shadow of a Doubt, which is a good film!!

How Green Was My Valley: I quite enjoyed this. Unfortunately I know for cinephiles quite enjoying John Ford isn't enough, we must revere him, I can't seem to get there. This one would be about on par with Quiet Man for me as my favorite so far. It is very good storytelling. Ford puts you squarely in his world. There is never anything objectionable. He seems to have a great love for a simple way of life and the working class in particular. Every single character in this is easy to love except for one. Unfortunately I don't think I will have a long term takeaway from this film. I don't think it will be something I am too interested in returning to. The narration here felt like it could have been the inspiration for The Waltons. It had the same tone and structure. In the end that is exactly how I felt about the film, it was a long episode of The Waltons. Not bad, not great, not objectionable, and not particularly inspired. Just a nice way to spend a couple hours. Could end up towards the end of my 40's list.

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“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

I'm putting that^^on shortly. I've been really digging John Ford. So far my favorites are The Quiet Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Grapes of Wrath, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I did not care for The Searchers.

We all know how big of a Ford fanboy I am. But How Green Was My Valley is currently my least favorite Ford. But I haven't seen it in awhile. I will say that I almost nominated The Grapes of Wrath, my favorite Ford although Quiet Man is nearing it with every watch.

I just have 2 films left to watch for the Animation HoF, so I'm going to finish that before watching anything for this. When I do, I think I'll start with that rewatch of The Thief of Bagdad, considering I wanted to watch it earlier this week but didn't get around to it.

Ended up falling asleep last night so i didn't watch anything. Just about to watch Treasure Planet then Pursued. Think after Pursued i'm going for the two Hitchcocks since i have both ready to watch.

when i watch this movie that is gonna be SO in my head; having watched The Waltons as a kid faithfully

Let me know. I got that feeling the whole way.

Yea! another Walton's fan. Like Ed I use to watch The Waltons all the time.

I have seen a whole lot of it. My mom's favorite. I don't love it but it is a nice easy show to watch and not boring.

I'll definitely let you know sean.
I remember worrying I may be too cynical to do a revisit and found an episode - somewhere, possibly youtube - about a year or three ago and just got all nostalgic and warm. Was very relieved by that.
If I remember it was one where property was being bought up (by a bank possibly) and the Waltons were concerned for the safety of some neighbors who were looking to fight it with shotguns.

I watched She Wore a Yellow Ribbon for the first time the other night and absolutely loved it. I think The Searchers is something that gets better the on rewatches, with the more Ford films you have seen.

I actually think The Grapes of Wrath is my second to last favourite Ford film, although I still think it is a good film.

I'm glad we have new people in this Hof...As always, I will NOT spoil the film or give away any of the main story lines in my write ups.

I mostly talk about the actors, the cinematography, directing, stuff like that. I don't go into the story itself much...so everything I write is safe to read if you haven't seen the film yet

Laura (Otto Preminger 1944)

Damn! Gene Tierney is a stunner in that dress! Kudos to the wardrobe department That photo says it all...Laura is a study of beautiful people and the obsession and self absorbedness that comes with that.

Laura isn't the only picture perfect person, so is Shelby (Vincent Price)...a handsome southern dandy who's as shallow is he's handsome. Juxtaposed is Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) who laminates over his puny body and is angry that his intelligent and wit can't win Laura's love.

That's what I found interesting about Laura, much more so than the criminal investigation into a murder. Otto Preminger uses the investigation as a means to study the people involved. And what a cast!

Gene Tierney is one of a kind, sure she's beautiful but more than that she has this aloof, million miles a way look in her eyes, that makes her seem as if she's looking into another world. And that really works for her in this movie. She played a similar character in a similar movie, Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Vincent Price was in that movie too and like in Laura, he played a very similar character.

Clifton Webb is one of the greats and is the catalysis as the obsessed friend/patron of Laura. He's the pain that comes from not having the beauty.

Dana Andrews, I swear he gets better every movie I see him in. Here he's the everyday guy, that also falls for Laura. He's our avenue into the movie, we see the story mainly from his viewpoint and as he's both an outsider and an average person, we can relate to him. Brilliant casting in the entire movie. And for me it's more about watching the actors/characters interact than the actual story.

Otto Preminger takes the Film Noir 'genre' and gives it an early Hitchcock murder mystery feel. Though Preminger has a lighter hand in telling the story than Hitchcock would of. Nothing is rushed, yet the story never drags as it's rich in detailed nuances and that's a reward for the viewer. In some ways Laura has a stage play feel about it. The would-be suspects tag along with the detective as he goes about investigating the murder. That way they can all interact. Almost all the shots are interiors, no car chases, no dark shadows down an alley, pure character study.

Fantasia

I was glad this was nominated because it was something I have always wanted to see but have put off. Unfortunately, the reason I put it off is the same reason I didn't end up liking it very much. It feels like a novelty that would be fun at a show in Disney World for twenty minutes. Definitely not something to hold my interest for two hours. The dinosaur and my little pony segments were especially bad for me. I did like the finale a bit and Sorcerer's Apprentice is fantastic. Unfortunately that is a very very small part of this much too long film.

Just kidding about My Little Pony by the way. Wouldn't be surprised if that is where the idea came from though. Weirdly similar right down to the rainbows.

You guys got off to a flying start, didn't you? Well, I can make this short:

Seen:

The thief of Bagdad: Saw it years ago, remember liking it but nothing else.

Fantasia: Seen it I don't know how many times, allways find it amazing. Often compare it to Sleeping Beauty when talking about why I watch it (for more info, see coming review).

The rest of them I've never seen, all but three I've never heard of. John Ford who?

I've got my own nom left on the Animation HoF, probably going to see that tomorrow. After that I've got Thief waiting for me at the library and I saw both Arsenic and Rope in my local moviestore when I was there a few days ago. As for the rest I'm starting at the library and working my way from there. Probably not gonna be as efficient as you guys to start with, as the song tournament started at a even higher speed than the last one for some reason and I'm finding it hard to keep up as is. Wont be long though until I'm back to my former pace (I think).

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