My 100 Favorite Films: From 90 to 81

Last month, I covered 100-91 of my favorite movies. This month, the countdown continues with a mix of suspense, comedy, horror, and romance! (An underlined title means there's a hyperlink to a full review at the Cafe.)

Gene Tierney's Ellen--so lovely
and apparently normal.

90. Leave Her to Heaven - Gene Tierney as a possessive, cold-hearted murderer? It's brilliant casting in a film with some genuine chilling moments (e.g., the drowning scene). It may be Tierney's best performance, as she slowly reveals her character’s true nature. Her most impressive feat, though, is that despite what her character has done, we never doubt that she really does love her husband.

89. A Shot in the Dark - Peter Sellers first appeared as Inspector Clouseau in a supporting role in The Pink Panther. But he perfected Clouseau in this perfect farce, which amazingly was based on a stage play without Clouseau. The scene of Clouseau bungling through a nudist camp is a comedy classic--but Sellers is just as funny trying to walk through a door. Herbert Lom is delightful as Chief Inspector Dreyfus...who would have thought he could be so funny?

88. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave - As many of you know, I'm a fan of Hammer's horror films. This fourth entry in the studio's Dracula series features well-developed characters, a lively story, interesting themes, and stunning color photography (the director was award-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis). It's not my favorite Hammer vampire film, but closely edges out Kiss of the Vampire and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter.

Uncle Charlie and his favorite
relative.

87. Shadow of a Doubt - Alfred Hitchcock collaborated with Thorton Wilder to create this fascinating portrait of a "Merry Widow" killer hiding out with his sister's family in a small California town. Alternatingly charming and creepy, Joseph Cotten gives his finest performance, but it's the naturalness of the supporting players--especially Teresa Wright as Cotten's niece--that makes the film work. Its power, though, comes from its theme of evil laying underneath of the surface of small town Americana.

86. Enchanted April - Four British women, who desperately need a break from their monotonous lives, rent an Italian villa. During the month they spend together, they learn about each other, gain insight into themselves and their loved ones, and emerge with a new outlook on life. This uplifting film makes its points subtly and benefits from an ideal cast featuring Miranda Richardson and Joan Plowright. I love how the London scenes are photographed in drab, brownish tones, while the color seems to explode when the story shifts to Italy. As for the setting, my wife and I want to take a vacation there!

85. 12 Angry Men – I read the play in high school long before I saw the film adaptation—and yet, knowing the plot’s outcome didn’t lessen its impact at all. I’m always amused when a film critic notes that a movie adaptation of a play failed to “open it up.” To me, a movie can take place entirely in one room—as this one mostly does—and be utterly gripping. Henry Fonda shines as an Everyman forced to take a stand against the rest of a jury, but there are many superb performances in this insightful examination of our justice system.

Does her daughter Bunny
really exist?

84. Bunny Lake Is Missing – A young American woman, recently transplanted to London, claims that her daughter has been kidnapped…but no one can remember having seen the girl. Director Otto Preminger’s last great film surprisingly recalls his first classic, Laura. Both films begin as conventional crime dramas dealing with kidnapping or murder. But an unexpected plot twist takes each film in a different direction. An underrated gem.

83. A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven) – Because of a Heavenly mistake, an RAF pilot (David Niven) survives a crash and falls in love. Unwilling to go to Heaven, he argues before a celestial tribunal that he should be allowed in live out his life on Earth. This perceptive, haunting fantasy from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger lingers long after the closing credits. The incredible set design and Powell’s use of color are justifiably famous, but it’s the performances—especially those by Niven and Roger Livesey as his friend-turned-lawyer—that give the film its heart.

Lady and the Tramp dine to the
lovely song "Bella Notte."

82. Lady and the Tramp – Disney’s canine twist on Romeo and Juliet is an animated delight, with brilliant animation, sparkling characters, and memorable songs (courtesy of Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke).  What I love most about it is the film’s “dog’s-eye view” of the world, such as the way that Tramp gets his dinner.

81. Whistle Down the Wind - In rural England, three children discover a fugitive in their barn and come to believe that he is Jesus. This unique film works as both a religious allegory and an intelligent look into the world of children. Hayley Mills and Alan Bates give powerful performances. Based on the novel by Hayley's mother, Mary Hayley Bell, who also wrote the screenplay. Andrew Lloyd Webbers transformed it into a stage musical that never made it to Broadway.

Next month, I'll count down 80-71, which will include the first of multiple list appearances by Errol Flynn, plus a made-for-TV horror film, Dirk Bogarde, and Sam Peckinpah.

Feel Good Movies: A Life-Affirming Month is Shared in "Enchanted April"

While sitting on a bus in dreary, rainy 1920s London, Lotty Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) spies the following newspaper advertisement:

TO THOSE WHO APPRECIATE
WISTERIA AND SUNSHINE
SMALL MEDIEVAL ITALIAN CASTLE
on the shores of the Mediterranean to
be Let furnished for the month of April.

When she spots an acquaintance, Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson), reading the same ad at the Nightingale Women’s Club, Lotty decides it must be providence. She sees in Rose a soulmate who also needs a break from her monotonous everyday existence. Lotty proposes that they rent the castle and take a vacation just for themselves. As she explains to Rose: “I’ve been doing things for other people since I was eleven and I don’t feel any better for it.”

To defray the costs, they advertise for two other roommates. Only two women respond: Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright), a lonely, elderly woman who wants to “sit in the shade and remember better times” and Caroline Dester (Polly Walker), an attractive socialite tired of being relentlessly pursued by men.

During the month they share together in their lovely chateau surrounded by verdant splendor, these four women learn about each other, gain insight into themselves and their loved ones, and emerge with a new outlook on life. Perhaps everything works out too neatly in the end, but Enchanted April is a joyous, life-affirming film and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The cast is impeccable, with the four leading ladies receiving excellent support from Alfred Molina as Josie’s business-minded husband and Jim Broadbent as Rose’s feckless, but redeemable, husband. Michael Kitchen charmingly plays the owner of the castle, the visually-impaired George Briggs.

Equally impressive is Mike Newell’s subtle direction. The London scenes are photographed in drab, brownish tones, while the color seems to explode with brilliance when the action shifts to Italy. Newell also makes effective, constrained use of voiceovers that let us eavesdrop into each character’s thoughts.

Enchanted April was made for BBC television, but released theatrically in the U.S. Its source novel was first adapted for the screen in 1935, but I’ve never seen that version. This one is a film to be cherished.