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The
next time you rent a movie, consider some of these titles. They are
wonderfully entertaining and safe
f A Streetcar Named Desire
- 1951 - Drama.
Starring Vivien Leigh as Blanche Dubois, Marlon Brando as Stanley
Kowalski, Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski, and Karl Malden as Harold
"Mitch" Mitchell, this classic film was nominated for twelve
Academy Awards and won four including Best Actress, Best Supporting
Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Blanch Dubois, a neurotic woman Adam's
Rib - 1949 - Comedy.
This
film pits husband and wife attorneys against each other in an attempted
murder case. Katharine Hepburn portrays Amanda, a lawyer who defends a woman
Arsenic and Old Lace
- 1944 - Comedy.
Directed by Frank Capra, this is a wonderfully hilarious film.
Cary Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, a confirmed bachelor who has just
married Elaine Harper, portrayed by Priscilla Lane. When he takes
his new bride home to tell his two eccentric
Casablanca
- 1943 - Drama. Many
believe that this is the best movie ever made. I would have a
very hard time Citizen
Kane - 1941 - Drama. This
classic film was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best
Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. It won one Oscar for Best
Writing, Original Screen Dark Victory
- 1939 - Drama.
Directed by Edmund Goulding, this tear-jerker was nominated for three
Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for its star, Bette
Davis. The film Dial M for Murder
- 1955 - Drama/Suspense.
Grace Kelly (as Margot Wendice), Ray Milland (as Tony Wendice), and
Robert Cummings (as Mark Halliday) star in this great film as the three From Here to Eternity
- 1953 - Drama.
Nominated for thirteen Oscars, this film won eight including Best
Picture, Best Director for Fred Zinneman, Best Supporting Actor for
Frank Sinatra and Best Sup Gaslight
- 1944 - Drama/Suspense.
This
film features the great Ingrid Bergman as Paula Alquist Anton, a woman
who is deliberately and systematically convinced by her husband that she
Gone With the Wind
- 1939 - Drama.
This film,
based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, is a story told from the
Southern point
His
Girl Friday - 1940 - Romantic Comedy.
This delightfully entertaining film stars Cary Grant as Walter Burns, a
newspaper editor, Rosalind Russell as his ex-wife and star reporter,
Hildy Joh It Happened One Night
- 1934 - Comedy. Winner of
five Oscars, Best Picture, Best Actor-Clark Gable, Best
Actress-Claudette
North
By Northwest - 1959 -
Drama/Suspense.
Starring
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason, this film is one of the Notorious
- 1946 - Drama/Suspense.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this is one of the best suspense films
ever made. Starring Cary Grant as Devlin, an American agent and
Ingrid Bergman as On the Waterfront
- 1954 - Drama.
This film deals with important issues such as poverty, Petrified
Forest - 1936 - Drama.
Starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart, and
directed by Archie Mayo, this film is widely considered to be Bogart's
big break. Howar Philadelphia Story
- 1940 - Romantic Comedy.
Screenwriter Donald Ogden won an Academy Award for adapting this play by
Spellbound
- 1945 - Drama/Suspense.
This film is one of director, Alfred Hitchcock's best. Nominated
for six Oscars, it is filled with plot twists that will surprise at
every turn. Ingrid Bergman
All content on this website written by Kim Everett.
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poised on the edge of insanity goes to stay with her sister in New
Orleans because she is fleeing Mississippi because of inappropriate
behavior with a seventeen year old student in the English class that she
teaches. Stanley and Blanche are instant enemies because she has
mortgaged family property that also belonged to Stella and spent the
money, and Stella is caught in the middle. Two of the American
Film Institute's Top 100 Movie Quotes come from this film, Blanche Dubois'
"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers," and
Stanley Kowalski's "Stella, hey, Stella." Directed by
Elia Kazan, this film is a superb example of the talent of Vivien Leigh,
Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter.
aunts (played by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) about his marriage, he
accidentally discovers that they have been poisoning lonely old
bachelors and burying them in the basement. They call it "one
of their charities." Matters are further complicated by his
Uncle Teddy (played by John Alexander) who believes himself to be
Theodore Roosevelt, and the arrival of Mortimer's brother Jonathon
(portrayed by Raymond Massey) who is a killer looking for a place to
dispose of a body. Mortimer's very complicated job of keeping
control of the situation becomes more and more difficult. Cary
Grant's talent for comedy is the most delightful thing about this
film. His physical comedy and facial expressions are priceless.
disagreeing. Directed by Michael Curtiz, it stars Humphrey Bogart
(as Rick Blaine), Ingrid Bergman (as Ilsa Lund Laszlow), and Paul
Henreid (as Victor Laszlow). Rick, a
cynical bar owner in Casablanca becomes conflicted when his former
love shows up in Casablanca with her husband, a resistance leader
fighting against the Nazis. Does he help his former love, Ilsa,
and her husband continue the fight against the Nazis or take this
opportunity to reunite with his beloved. This film won three
Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Several memorable quotes
came from this movie. Among them are, "Play it, Sam.
Play 'As Time Goes By'," which is often misquoted as "Play it
again, Sam." Also from Casablanca come the famous
quotes, "We'll always have Paris," and "Of all the
gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." All
of these are on the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movie Quotes
list. This is one of my three favorite movies, even
though I cry every time I see it.
play.
Orson Welles, who co-authored the screenplay also starred in and
directed the film. The story is fictional, but it is widely
believed to be a portrayal of the life of William Randolph Hearst.
The film consists of a series of interviews conducted by a reporter who
is trying to find the meaning of Kane's dying word,
"Rosebud." The interviews are shown as flashbacks, and
they tell the story of Charles Foster Kane who starts out as a
well-meaning, idealistic character, but ends up a ruthless, power-hungry
man. Kane, whose overbearing personality eventually ruins his two
marriages becomes increasingly bitter and hateful. This movie is
one of the best ever made, and the lessons to be learned from it are
timeless.
also
stars George Brent as Dr. Frederick Steele, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Ann
King, and Humphrey Bogart as Michael O'Leary. Bette Davis'
character, Judith Traherne, is a young socialite who loves horses and
partying. When she begins to suffer from dizziness, headaches, and
double vision, she tries to ignore it, but must face the reality that
something is wrong. She is diagnosed with an inoperable brain
tumor, and the doctor predicts a painless death in about a year.
He does not tell Judith the news at first. He becomes romantically
involved with her, and soon she finds out the truth about her
condition. This movie is what would be called a chick flick today
- and for good reason. It is a multiple hanky story. The
performances of Davis, Brent, and Fitzgerald are wonderfully convincing
and warm.
characters in a romantic triangle. Margot's husband, Tony, knows
that she has had an affair with Mark, so he comes up with an elaborate
plot to have her murdered, partly for her money, and partly for the
affair. She, however, surprises him by saving herself and killing
her would-be murderer. When she stands trial for murder and is
sentenced to death, it looks as if Tony will prevail after all.
But the police inspector (played by John Williams), convinced of her
innocence, helps prove that she was set up by her husband. John
Williams is very entertaining as the inspector, and Grace Kelly is
superb as always. This film is yet another shining example of
director Alfred Hitchcock's talent for suspense and surprises.
porting
Actress for Donna Reed. The film stars Burt Lancaster as 1st Sgt.
Milton Warden, Montgomery Clift as Priv. Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Deborah
Kerr as Karen Holmes, Donna Reed as Lorena Burke, Frank Sinatra as Priv.
Angelo Maggio, and Philip Ober as Capt. Dana Holmes. Sgt. Warden
is having an affair with Karen Holmes, the wife of his Commanding
Officer. She is deeply unhappy in her marriage and asks Warden to
apply for officer training so that she can divorce Holmes and marry
him. He eventually admits that he has no desire to become and
officer, and she ends the affair. There are also sub-plots
involving Priv. Prewitt and his unwillingness to join the boxing team
and Priv. Maggio's time spent in the stockade under a brutal, cruel
guard (played by Ernest Borgnine). The guard ends up causing
Maggio fatal injuries and Maggio's friend Prewitt kills the guard in
retaliation. 
is
going insane. She meets and marries Gregory Anton (played by
Charles Boyer) in Italy, and they return to London to live in the house
that she lived in with her aunt when she was younger. As soon as
they settle in, Paula begins to misplace things, hear things, etc.
She also keeps noticing that the gaslight goes down all the time.
Just as she starts to give in to the idea that she is losing her mind,
the terrifying truth is exposed. This film directed by George
Cukor is a great tale of human vulnerability as well as human
strength. It won two Oscars, including Best Actress for Bergman,
and was nominated for another five, including Best Picture.
Gentleman's
Agreement
of view during and after the Civil War. Directed by Victor
Fleming, it stars Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Clark Gable as Rhett
Butler, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes, and Olivia de Havilland as
Melanie Hamilton. Scarlett, the spoiled, self-centered, rich girl
is in love with Ashley, the upstanding, honorable young man.
Ashley is engaged, then married to Melanie, a sweeter-than-humanly-possible young woman. Rhett is
tough and arrogant, and he mistakenly thinks that he can win
Scarlett's heart. He realizes too late that she will never
truly love anyone but Ashley. This film is thought by many to
be the best ever made and is #4 on the American Film
Institute's List of Top 100 Greatest Movies. Several quotes on the
AFI's list of Top 100 Movie Quotes came from this film including,
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," and "After all,
tomorrow is another day."
Harvey
nson,
and Ralph Bellamy as Bruce Baldwin, Hildy's soon-to-be second
husband. Hildy is looking forward to a quiet life in upstate New
York with Bruce, but Walter has significantly different ideas. He
is still in love with her and will do whatever is necessary to stop her
marriage to Bruce. He is able to convince Hildy to cover one last
story which he knows will rekindle her love for reporting and take
precedence over her upcoming marriage. This dialogue rich film is
hilarious from start to finish. Director Howard Hawks found
exactly how to maximize the chemistry between Russell and Grant in this
fun, classic comedy.
Colbert, Best Director-Frank Capra, and Best Screenplay-Robert Riskin,
this film is funny from beginning to end. The adventure begins
when Colbert's character, Ellie Andrews, a spoiled, rich heiress runs away before her
wedding and meets up with Gable's character, Peter Warne, an arrogant,
out-of-work reporter.
During the ensuing bickering and fighting, they fall in love. Both
characters learn valuable lessons about themselves and each
other. The acting is superb, and the chemistry between Gable and
Colbert is undeniable. This was the first movie to be honored
with Oscars in five major categories.
Maltese
Falcon
American Film Institute's Top 100 American Films. This is Cary
Grant's fourth and final film with director Alfred Hitchcock. Cary
Grant, plays Roger O. Thornhill, an advertising executive who, through a case of mistaken
identity, is abducted and framed for murder by international spies.
While trying to clear his name, he is thrown into one dangerous
situation after another, and he meets and falls in love with a
counterspy, Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint. James Mason is
superb as Phillip Vandamm, the cold-hearted, greedy villain. This film is famous for the
scene in which a crop-duster chases Grant across a field as well as for
the suspense-filled Mt. Rushmore chase scene. Cary Grant is one
of the most beloved actors of all time, and this is one
of his most remarkable performances. His suave sophistication is perfect for this role.
Alicia Huberman, the daughter of a Nazi spy convicted of
treason. Devlin convinces Alicia to use her connections to
help him trap a Nazi mastermind by making him fall for her.
Because she is in love with Devlin, she agrees, and puts her life in
danger. He admits to himself, almost too late, that he has fallen in love with her,
and the
danger that he has put her in could end her life. This movie was nominated for two Academy
Awards. The fast pace of this film adds to its already taut
suspense. Bergman and Grant are a talented and beautiful
combination.
homelessness, and corruption. It won eight Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando, and Best Director
for Elia Kazan. Terry Malloy ( portrayed by Marlon Brando), an
ex-prizefighter, is unwittingly involved in the mob ordered murder of a
childhood friend. He later becomes involved with the dead friend's
sister, Edie Doyle, (portrayed by Eva Marie Saint). Edie and the
neighborhood priest (played by Karl Malden) work together to convince
Terry to testify against the mob. Eva Marie Saint also received an
Oscar for her wonderful performance in this film. The famous line,
"I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
I could have been somebody," came from this film. Brando's
portrayal of the conflicted Terry Malloy is superb with just the right
mix of toughness and vulnerability. 
d
and Bogart had starred together in the Broadway version, and Howard
refused to do the film without Bogart. Bette Davis plays Gabby,
who is unfulfilled in her life and dreams of going to France.
Leslie Howard portrays Alan Squier, an intellectual, weary British
writer, and Humphrey Bogart plays Duke Mantee, a ruthless escaped
murderer. Alan stops at the diner owned by Gabby's father on his
way West, and he and Gabby share dreams of getting away from the reality
of their lives. He, along with Gabby, her father, her annoying,
immature boyfriend, a wealthy couple and their chauffeur who were just
passing through, all become hostages of Duke Mantee and his gang.
This film is about the stark difference between reality and dreams.
Philip Barry for the screen. Voted one of the Top 100 American
Films of all time by the American Film Institute, this movie stars
Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven, James
Stewart as Macaulay Connor, and Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth Imbrie.
Directed by George Cukor, this is one of the funniest films ever made.
Stewart has a hilarious scene in which he supposed to be drunk,
and he plays it very convincingly. Katharine Hepburn plays a rich, spoiled,
judgmental socialite who, by the end of the movie, learns much about
life and love. Cary Grant plays the part of Katharine Hepburn's recovering alcoholic,
marginally self-righteous ex-husband brilliantly. This is another of my three favorite movies.
It is fun,
entertaining, makes me laugh out loud, and stars three of my
favorite actors.
Rear
Window
Roman
Holiday
plays Dr. Constance Petersen, a psychiatrist trying to help
Gregory Peck, an amnesiac, who is mistakenly believed to be famous
psychiatrist, Dr. Edwards. He must regain his memory and solve the mystery of what happened to the real
doctor. Bergman and Peck give superb, convincing performances, and
Hitchcock never disappoints. I especially like the strength,
dedication, and determination of Bergman's character and the trusting
nature of Peck's character.
The
Thin Man
The
Three Faces of Eve
To
Have and Have Not
To
Kill A Mockingbird - 
Treasure
of Sierra Madre
Vertigo
