1940's Hall Of Fame Part I

A very pleasant surprise! I began watching this quite unsure because how dated this movie felt. However, it keeps a timeless charm that's due to its amazing cinematography, colours and sets!
I loved the story, the characters (especially Abu) and the sountrack!

Jaffar is also an amazing character. He was already my favourite Disney villain and here shows a dark and menacing tone that makes it a huge force in the screen!

Nice nom, raul!!!

Unfortunately I still haven't been able to get my computer looked at (end of January is the goal - February for sure). But I want to just make a couple of comments about some of the movies, if I may.

Movies that I have never seen:
Pursued
Murderers Are Among Us
The Suspect

Movies that I have seen:
*Shadow Of A Doubt - One of higher Hitchcock films for me. I like Teresa Wright in it (although I don't know if I dislike her in anything, to be honest) and I like Joseph Cotten no matter what he's in, but I think I may have said that when we watched "The Magnificent Ambersons". My only thing with this story is that I always questioned the way she felt about him. That part always seemed a little peculiar to me.
*Fantasia - I watched this for the Animated Musical Hall of Fame. It was a rewatch then. I remember that I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I should've been, but it was an alright film. What my exact rating was, I don't know. I would have to look through that thread to find it, but I am too lazy to do it now.
*The Thief Of Bagdad - I saw this years ago when I was a kid and I honestly don't have too much memory about it to give an opinion. I don't really have any real reason for why I haven't rewatched it by now, but I just haven't. Seeing it listed here, I should give it a try again.
*How Green Was My Valley - I saw it again not that long ago. I really like this one. I really like Walter Pidgeon, anyway. And I have always been a fan of Maureen O'Hara. I've never read the story, but if I am correct, the ending to the film is different. I'll have to read that at some point and see how I feel about the the change to the ending.
*Rope - I've always been a fan of "Rope". Always. I really like this one. But if you've seen this one, you should also watch "Compulsion". That was my number one movie on the 1950's list. Anyway, "Rope" is based on the idea of the Leopold and Loeb case. Whereas, even though names are changed, "Compulsion" is more the actual story.
*Arsenic and Old Lace - I know this movie isn't going to be everyone's big favorite, but I have always loved it. It is definitely one of my top films of the 40's. I think it is pretty funny. And I like how Grant's character is the craziest of the bunch when he is supposed to be the sanest. I just think it is a silly, fun film.
*Waterloo Bridge - This was a pleasant surprise. It honestly never would've entered my head to nominate this one, which is odd because I really like it. I've always felt that Vivien Leigh was much more deserving for this than GWTW. And, of course, Robert Taylor always makes a film enjoyable for me to watch.
*The Little Foxes - When I originally thought I could join this HoF - before my computer woes - I was going to nominate "The Picture of Dorian Gray", but I could not find that anywhere to make sure others could see it, too. That was very odd to me, but it was what it was. Then I decided on my second choice. That choice was "The Little Foxes". This is now the second time where I had a movie picked for a HoF that I didn't join in the end, but cricket had actually gotten to that nomination first. The other was "Smiles of a Summer Night", in case you're curious. But, needless to say, as this was the one that I planned on nominating, it is also the one that I am pulling for the win.

Edit: I just realized that I forgot "Laura" on this list. Not a fan of the film, to be honest. But not everyone is going to like everything.

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Wow Vamp that is so odd for that to happen twice with us.

Glad you liked it Neiba! I'm totally on board with what you wrote. Vivian Leigh to me is captivating, but not because of her beauty but for her inner passion. I'm not a big fan of Robert Taylor, I've not liked him in the few movies I've seen him in. This is by far his best role and he though so to and accredited that to Vivian Leigh bringing out the best in him.

Very happy to hear you're considering Waterloo Bridge for your 40s list.

I instantly knew it was your nomination when I was watching it!

Can I get an update from those still watching?

I will be honest, I don't feel like tagging the last dozen pages since the conversation has slowed so much. If I get a few of you who want that I will do it though.

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Letterboxd

I'm at 9/12. I'm going to rewatch Arsenic and Old Lace tomorrow and then I will only have the two Hitchcocks left. And Rope will be a rewatch too.

i've done reviews for Pursued and Rope and just have Murderers Among Us which puts me at 11/12


great lil write ups, neiba!

loved your notes, vamp!

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Just Murderers and Little Foxes left!

How Green Was My Valley

I've always been a fan of Roddy McDowell, but I haven't seen any of his early movies, so I really wanted to like this, but sadly, it didn't do much for me. It looks nice visually, but there's not much about the story that I liked. It just seems like a story about a lot of tragedy that happens to a family that I never really cared about in the first place. I kind of liked the preacher, and the parents a little bit, but there's not enough about the brothers to really get to know them. I liked Roddy McDowell's character until he chose not to go away to school. That just totally put me off his character. He got a scholarship to a university, but he chose to stay and work in the mines? Not only didn't it make any sense, but they didn't even give a reason for his decision.

It just felt like with so much tragedy in the movie, I should have felt bad for some of these people, but I never really felt anything for them. With the exception of Roddy McDowell's character, it just seemed to lack the character development to really care what happens to them.

I didn't dislike the movie, but I didn't like it either. I don't know what I missed about this movie, but it just seemed boring to me.

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OPEN FLOOR.

The Suspect

I liked this movie a lot, but there were a few minor things that bothered me, all of which could have been fixed if the movie had just been a little bit longer.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the relationship building between Philip and Mary. It seemed liked they just met, and within a few minutes, they were in a serious relationship.

I also thought it was strange that the inspector immediately thought that Philip's wife's death was murder. There didn't seem to be any reason for him to think that based on what we saw in the movie. He just seemed to come into the house with that already in his mind. I would have liked to see something that gave him that little "push" to think that, when everyone else seemed satisfied that her death was an accident.



But those things were all minor issues that didn't really detract much from the story. I liked the way they immediately made us dislike Philip's wife, making it easy for us to understand why Philip did what he felt he had to do. Even as the story continues, and things seem to go wrong for him, we still like him and sympathize with him. Overall this is a great movie, and a real hidden gem.

Arsenic and Old Lace



I really do want to love this movie being a Capra movie and all. After all, It Happened One Night is one of my favorite movies of all time and It's a Wonderful Life is on the precipice of my 100. But this movie is nothing like either of them. It falls flat for me in many ways. First off, I feel like Cary Grant is miscast. I feel there isn't much a point to the Teddy character. I feel the aunts being annoying at times. I feel as if there was enough screentime for the most intriguing characters. I laughed at times, but many jokes fell flat with me. I feel like the movie has a nice charm to it and I can certainly see why people would like it, but I feel it's not a movie that completely tailors to what I usually like. It may be my least favorite Capra so far and I feel like I have downgraded it on my second watch a tad bit.

glad to hear you enjoyed The Suspect, GB. I get what you're saying about the inspector's mindset "This is a murder". From what I remember, I think he remarks on a few oddities that catch his attention - can't remember. But it is something I'll have to watch for on my next rewatch of it.

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Arsenic and old lace, raul. Especially being a fan of Capra. What did you think of Capra's You Can't Take It With You?

I'm sorry that you didn't like Arsenic and Old Lace, but if it makes you feel any better, Cary Grant said it was his least favorite of his movies.

I don't remember the inspector saying anything about why he thought it was murder, but I'll watch for it when I rewatch the movie. The only thing I remember him mentioning was that the step wasn't fixed, but the handrail was fixed, but he didn't see that until after he was inside the house, and he seemed to already think it was murder before that.

But like I said, it didn't take anything away from the movie. It was just one of those little things that bugged me a little bit. (Maybe I just watch a little too much "Columbo". He always tells us what's bothering him, so we know why he thinks whatever he's thinking, that nobody else seemed to notice.)

Uh... gbgoodies, just one more thing... and I'm sorry to take up any more of your time, but what you just said reminded me of something my wife told me over breakfast this morning... don't worry, this shouldn't take more than a minute... my wife, you see, she's always reminding me to wear my raincoat... and I apologize for harping on this same thing so many times... but I couldn't help but wonder why it was your fingerprints found on the handle of the gun that was kept in a safe that you claimed you had no way to get into because you didn't know the combination. But one thing kept bothering me... over and over I kept thinking about that lottery ticket you'd purchased... where you selected the numbers... which just happened to be your birthdate... and was the exact same set of numbers that made up the combination to the safe you said you could never have gotten into... which held the gun that killed Mr. McMillan and his wife... that just happened to have your fingerprints on it.

I see somebody else watches a little too much "Columbo" too.

It's still ok, just not something I'd consider as great as his other works.

Just a pair of Hitch's left for me. That's not how I drew this one up, but that's just how it played out!