The MoFo Top 100 of the Forties: The Countdown

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Lots of good ones since I last checked in, though only four that were on my list. The Noir masterpiece Out of the Past was way up at number four on my own list. I had lost hope that the wacky dark comedy from Ealing Kind Hearts & Coronets was going to make it, so bravo. It was toward the bottom of my list at twenty-three. And I had the two Hitchcocks in my top ten. The delightfully wicked Shadow of a Doubt was number seven, and the elegantly tense Notorious was my number ten. That is eleven of mine, to this point.

I still think I have eleven of the remaining fourteen on my list, but we shall see.

4. Out of the Past (#32)
5. The Ox-Bow Incident (#39)
7. Shadow of a Doubt (#17)
8. Stray Dog (#64)
9. Gaslight (#41)
10. Notorious (#15)
14. Odd Man Out (#55)
16. The Philadelphia Story (#37)
20. Rome, Open City (#74)
23. Kind Hearts & Coronets (#26)
25. Black Narcissus (#79)

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
These are the remaining 16 right?:

casablanca
citizen kane
it's a wonderful life
double indemnity
the maltese falcon
his girl friday
the third man
rope
bicycle thieves
rebecca
laura
the grapes of wrath
the great dictator
the treasure of the sierra madre
notorious
the best years of our lives

If so then i've seen them all except Bicycle Thieves which i own but haven't watched yet. Meaning i've seen 58/100.

It will be 50/100 for me. Just not seen The Third Man of these last 16.



It will be 50/100 for me. Just not seen The Third Man of these last 16.
Seriously? Should when you get the chance. We don't agree all the time but you liked Odd Man Out alot so i don't see you hating it at least.

Since i'm here, prediction for today:

14. The Bicycle Thieves
13. The Great Dictator



Save the Texas Prairie Chicken
~14~


1940

Director: Howard Hawks
Producer: Howard Hawks
Distributor: Columbia Pictures





291 Points - 21 Lists
(1st; 2nd; 3rd; 5th; 6th; 7th; 9th; 10th; 11th; 13th-2x; 14th; 15th-3x; 16th-2x; 18th; 21st; 22nd; 23rd)
__________________
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe



Save the Texas Prairie Chicken
~13~


1940

Director: John Ford
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck & Nunnally Johnson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox





294 Points - 22 Lists
(2nd; 3rd-2x; 5th-2x; 6th; 7th; 9th-2x; 11th; 12th; 13th-2x; 16th; 17th-2x;
19th; 20th; 21st; 22nd; 23rd; 25th)



The Grapes of Wrath was pretty good, didn't love it though think i gave it
+.

His Girl Friday however i had at #7. It's one of my very favourite films and i easily could have had it higher. I made this short post about it during the hall of fame, i was going off of memory tho so wasn't able to go into all the things i love about it properly:

His Girl Friday




Thinking about it i just decided to do my write-up of this now even though i might watch it again. Firstly because my mind isn't going to change, i've seen it three times and it's one of my very favourite films. Mostly because i think it's a difficult film (for me at least) to write about and i doubt a fresh watch will add much. Well the obvious thing to talk about is the dialogue: the actual script but more than anything the speed in which it's delivered. I've never seen a film like this, it's a very straight forward hollywood film but it could challenge just about anything in it's difficulty due to the lightning quick delivery. It barely lets up and i love it for it. Someone here said they hated it because it gave them a headache, i can totally understand that and i think it will probably have a mixed response here because of that but i love it. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell are really outstanding here. Their chemistry is immense but not in a romantic sense as neither of them have a romantic bone in their body. While watching them you just kind of think these two need to be in each others lifes in some capacity, they are both hard-nosed very ambitious people who are clearly not pleasant to be around; it's like they were created to challenge and argue with each other yet never be around any other human in a not neccessary situation. There's also an element of schadenfreude there as i could watch them all day yet i know there's a strong possibility their relationship is going to end in murder-suicide haha.

Anyway yeah, amazing film. Don't want to ruin anything but i'll just say it will be difficult for this not to end up taking my #1 spot.
Seen: 47/88

My List: 14/25

01.
02. Letter From An Unknown Woman
03. The Shop Around The Corner
04. How Green Was My Valley
05. Notorious
06.
07. His Girl Friday
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.
13. Bambi
14. Day of Wrath
15. My Darling Clementine
16. Shadow of a Doubt
17. Meet Me In St. Louis
18. Red River
19.
20. Nightmare Alley
21.
22.
23. The Philadelphia Story
24. Pinocchio
25.



His Girl Friday is way too high at #14. It was only #15 on my list. The Grapes of Wrath is just right, #13 on both my list and the countdown.

My List:

2. Shadow of a Doubt (#17)
8. Notorious (#15)
10. Out of the Past (#32)
11. The Philadelphia Story (#37)
12. Stray Dog (#64)
13. The Grapes of Wrath (#13)
15. His Girl Friday (#14)
17. Drunken Angel (#54)
18. The Ox-Bow Incident (#39)
19. Sullivan’s Travels (#68)
22. Gaslight (#41)
24. The Lost Weekend (#24)
25. Five Graves to Cairo (1-pointer)
__________________
I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.



His Girl Friday is just ok for me and The Grapes of Wrath is my #17

My list-

#2 Children of Paradise (30)
#3 How Green Was My Valley (40)
#4 The Ox-Bow Incident (39)
#5 Letter From an Unknown Woman (28)
#6 The Little Foxes (43)
#7 Brief Encounter (21)
#8 Late Spring (25)
#9 My Darling Clementine (58)
#11 White Heat (42)
#12 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (31)
#14 Kind Hearts and Coronets (26)
#15 Scarlet Street (73)
#17 The Grapes of Wrath (13)
#19 The Devil and Daniel Webster (46)
#20 Mildred Pierce (45)
#21 Key Largo (77)
#22 Red River (56)
#23 The Best Years of Our Lives (16)
#24 Pride of the Yankees (59)
#25 Sergeant York (50)



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Two great movies! Though, somehow, both did not make the list.




His Girl Friday

Don't blink, or you WILL miss dialogue!!

It's kinda funny that the SPEED of the words being said out weighs almost everything else that this movie has to offer.
And it DOES have a lot to offer. Which, to keep up with the dialogue does go at a break-neck speed.
The speed never really bothered me. Just as long as there were no distractions around me so that I could keep my full attention to this movie and truly enjoy all that it had to offer.

There are some great comedic bits in this. In particular, the side remarks among the other reporters stationed out at the prison. While at the same time it WAS a bit of a scary mirror to hold up to what the news was allowed to do without little to no responsibility or repercussions. But dwelling on such things is a bit counter productive for the film itself and its wit and speedy deliveries. So, enough of that.

This is one of the few films that I've been able to see a young Rosalind Russell and always knew her as Auntie Mame which she is truly great in; so it was a great pleasure to see her in this. Going toe to toe with Cary Grant for savvy and quick thinking. Making a great and very diabolical team.
I must say, I really felt sorry for Bellamy's character who played the nice, understanding guy very well.

Another stand out enjoyment was this rotund messenger in the photo above. LOVED his scenes.

A very, very fun film and so glad I FINALLY got to see it!
EXCELLENT call @SilentVamp!

Seen: 58/88

My List:
#1 Top 3
#2 Top 3
#3 Top 5

#4 Arsenic and Old Lace (18)
#5 Top 5-10
#6 The Big Sleep (22)
#7 Top 10
#8 Shocked to see it make it
#9 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (33)
#10 High probability of still mankig it
#11 Could go either way

#12 Odd Man Out (55)
#13 Shocked if it DOESN'T make the list
#14 Pinocchio (23)
#15 Kind Hearts and Coronets (26)
#16 Now, Voyager (78)
#17 The Suspect (70)
#18 Waterloo Bridge (93)
#19 A new favorite, don't see it making it
#20 highly doubted it was gonna make the list

#21 The Pride of the Yankees (59)
#22 Little Foxes (43)
#23 This REALLY should make it - hopefully
#24 Gilda (72)
#25 Arch of Triumph (1 Pointer)



The Grapes of Wrath was #9 on my list. That means 11 of the Top 12 will be from my list.

My list so far (with predictions):
1. Top 3 (title contender)
2. Late Spring (#25)
3. Top 5
4. Top 10
5. Top 3 (title contender)
6. Top 12
7. Top 12
8. Meshes of the Afternoon (#69)
9. The Grapes of Wrath (#13)
10. The Big Sleep (#22)
11. Brief Encounter (#21)
12. Top 12
13. Won't make it
14. Stray Dog (#64)
15. Shadow of a Doubt (#17)
16. Top 12
17. White Heat (#42)
18. Won't make it
19. Cat People (#49)
20. Top 12
21. Top 5
22. Gaslight (#41)
23. Won't make it
24. Gilda (#72)
25. Top 8



The Grapes of Wrath was my #13... I do have more films on my list that will show up, but sadly there's 4 of my favorite 40s films that don't have a chance.

His Girl Friday, wasn't on my list but I really enjoyed that one!



14. His Girl Friday---is #21 on my list. Love this movie. Just the epitome of the "fast-talking" comedies of the 40's, with some drama thrown in for good measure.
13. The Grapes of Wrath---Sad to say that I have yet to see this film though I really want to. So, needless to say, it didn't make my list.

#3 Arsenic and Old Lace
#6 Yankee Doodle Dandy
#8 Sergeant York
#9 The Pride of the Yankees
#10 The Shop Around the Corner
#11 The Best Years of Our Lives
#13 The Philadelphia Story
#14 Red River
#15 Notorious
#17 The Big Sleep
#19 Great Expectations
#21 His Girl Friday
#22 The Ox-Bow Incident
#23 Pinocchio
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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."



Seen both, would've needed rewatches of both, didn't happen, my bad.



the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
His Girl Friday is the first, and probably only, film on the list that I've seen and didn't particularly like. It just felt a bit too madcap for me. Grapes of Wrath I really like although just checking, I don't think it made my list. If I made another one today it would probably make it.
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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.



Howard Hawks' perfect screwballer is number two on my list, and it remains one of the funniest movies ever made. Complaining that a screwball comedy is too madcap seems akin to complaining that there are too many horses in a Western or too much nudity in a porno, but to each their own. I have seen His Girl Friday probably close to a hundred times, and if I am lucky I will see it at least a hundred more before I die.

That makes a dozen of mine, and I should have ten of the remaining twelve left.

MY LIST
2. His Girl Friday (#14)
4. Out of the Past (#32)
5. The Ox-Bow Incident (#39)
7. Shadow of a Doubt (#17)
8. Stray Dog (#64)
9. Gaslight (#41)
10. Notorious (#15)
14. Odd Man Out (#55)
16. The Philadelphia Story (#37)
20. Rome, Open City (#74)
23. Kind Hearts & Coronets (#26)
25. Black Narcissus (#79)