+7
And we've got our Reveal!
Sherlock Jr. - our earliest film, Sherlock Jr ranks int he IMDB top 250, this is the only Buster Keaton film to receive a nomination and the second silent film. It's also the shortest film of the group clocking in under an hour.
Monkey Business - Is the first of the Marx brothers nominations a film that registered on the AFI top 100 for comedy. It was one of the more successful film from the brothers.
Trouble in Paradise - is our only Ernest Lubitsch film the film was selected to be perserved by the Library of Congress in 1991. The film also has a Criterion release.
Duck Soup - We got ourselves a film in the proper AFI top 100 as Duck Soup finished at #85. Our second Marx Brothers film it is the second shortest film of the pool running in over just 1 hour.
It's a Gift - WC Fields makes his only entry in this AFI Comedy ranked film from 1934, this ties with Duck Soup as one of the shorter entries but for those that haven't experienced Fields this is a great indroduction to his work.
Top Hat- And here we get a film that is considered the best of Astaire and Rodgers oeuvre. Top Hat received a best picture nomination in 1935 and was the second highest grossing film from that year.
Modern Times - From 1936 one of the last truly great Silent films from Charlie Chaplin. This film ranks in the IMDB top 250, on the AFI top 100 proper list and received a Criterion Collection release. For the only Chaplin nomination this is a great one.
Nothing Sacred and True Confession- Citizen Rules decided to buck the trend by nominating a pair of Carole Lombard films. Ironically enough. David O. Selznick, producer of "Nothing Sacred," was concerned that the release of "True Confession" would harm his film at the box office because both star Carole Lombard as a woman involved in a well-publicized hoax. Nothing Sacred is our only color film and while I haven't seen either one of them they both have strong reviews on IMDB.
Kind Hearts and Coronets did not rank on the AFI list...it ranked on the BFI list and in the top ten. This is a film well known for a tour-de-force performance by Alec Guinness. This film also received a Criterion release.
Harvey is yet another film that registered on the 100 years 100 laughs list (and on the fantasy list). James Stewart received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film.
The Lavender Hill Mob is our last and latest entry an Oscar winner and film that rank's highly on the BFI list. Guinness who some might not have considered a comic actor managing two noms is going to be very interesting to see how they rank amongst the goliaths that have been nominated today.
Moderator's note -
This looks like a great Hall of Fame while I was a little iffy of going forward with this with such low turnout the actual group looks incredibly solid. My only regret is that we didn't get a Hepburn, Tracy or Grant film in the pool and I almost nominated a Preston Sturges film but after seeing Lubitsch nom I decided to go in a different direction.