Here is a continuing look at my picks of the best films of the decade. As the country entered war many box office stars left their careers briefly behind to enter the Army while most actresses did their part doing live shows and collecting goods and money for the Red Cross and other organizations. Naturally war movies became hugely popular in the decade while Westerns followed a close second.
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Gary Cooper were the top 3 box office stars of the decade.
Here are my choices for the ten best films of the decade listed in alphabetical order.
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE – One of the first and greatest of all black comedies is this Frank Capra classic starring Cary Grant as a newly married man who comes home to visit his two aunts, unsuspecting of the fact that they poison lonely gentlemen by having them drink tainted Elderberry wine and then burying the bodies in the cellar. Once Mortimer (Grant) finds out he first mistakes his Uncle Teddy, whose delusional state of mind has him believing he is Teddy Roosevelt, as the culprit. Complicating matters is the unexpected arrival of his murderous brother Jonathan and equally psychotic sidekick Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre). This fast paced, frantic comedy is hysterical and shocking at the same time and made the “black comedy” what it is today.
CASABLANCA – One of the greatest films of all time is also regarded as one of the great romance films as well. Set in a café in North Africa, the film has thrills, excitement, political intrigue and romance all rolled into one. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick, the owner of the café which is nightly filled with refugees, thieves, smugglers and Nazi’s. In one night comes the love of his life (Ingrid Bergman) who left him after a whirlwind romance in Paris and is now married. Trying to escape the Germans, she tries to woo Rick into giving up two letters of transit that will help them escape. The film is nearly perfect as it weaves all the ingredients together with the aid of career making performances by Bogart, Bergman and Claude Rains. The film ends with perhaps the greatest last line ever put in a movie.
CITIZEN KANE – Considered by many to be the greatest film of all time, it certainly is noteworthy for being the brainchild of 25-year-old Orson Welles, making his film debut as writer/director/actor. The film became famous for its odd (now common) camera angles, quick cuts, limited close-ups and dissolves from one scene to the next, all of which had never been used before. The film is also famous for the identity of “Rosebud,” which is the first line of the film and what it is is revealed in the very last shot. The basic story, told in flashbacks, is that of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane (Welles), and how he rose to fame and fortune while losing his soul along the way.
DOUBLE INDEMNITY – One of the great film noir films of all time is this tale of lust, greed and murder directed by Billy Wilder. Inspiring such films as “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Body Heat,”“Indemnity” tells the story of an insurance agent (Fred MacMurray, playing against type as a villain) who falls in love with a sexy housewife (Barbra Stanwyck) and is then enticed by her into a scheme to murder her husband to collect the insurance double indemnity policy. Edward G. Robinson co-stars as a claims agent who smells a rat and begins to investigate leaving the lovers to begin plotting against one another. This suspenseful thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat with a tightly written script (by Raymond Chandler and Wilder) and a powerful ending.
FANTASIA – Walt Disney’s animated masterpiece was years ahead of its time and was a box office flop at the time but would find an audience in the 60’s and 70’s when young audiences apparently found the film and would view it while chemically altered and discovering hidden meanings in every scene. The film is basically 8 short features with no connection that are visually imaginative and set to beautiful pieces of music including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Nutcracker Suite. While most children are likely bored after awhile, this is a film for adults to sit back, relax and take it all in.
THE GREAT DICTATOR – Charlie Chaplin’s first out and out talkie is this comic masterpiece with Chaplin playing dual roles, one as a dictator much like Hitler (Chaplin would later regret lampooning Hitler as he, along with the world, was unaware of the atrocities being committed at Hitler’s behest) and that of a Jewish barber. Classic set pieces include the opening battle sequence in which Chaplin is chased by a bomb, Chaplin in a plane that is upside down, and the most famous of all as the dictator plays with a world globe as if it is a balloon. The film ends with a long unbroken shot of the barber (now impersonating the dictator) giving an impassioned speech hope for the human condition.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – Perhaps the most famous of Christmas classics, this 1946 Frank Capra film was a flop at the time of its release but would begin finding an audience in the mid 1970’s with its multiple showings on multiple stations after the copyright expired and fell into public domain where any TV station could air it for free. Rights were again secured in 1993 and are now shown only once or twice each December on NBC.
LAURA – A terrific film noir murder mystery with one of those fantastic, unexpected twists that makes the film all the more memorable. Told in flashback, the story is of a police detective (Dana Andrews) investigating the murder of the beautiful Laura (Gene Tierney), whose portrait hangs hauntingly on the wall until the detective soon finds himself falling in love with her as details of her life are infolded. This is a must see for any mystery buff as the clues unfold and lead to a shocking conclusion.
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE – John Huston’s masterpiece is the ultimate tale of what greed does to a man as the story tells of three prospectors who team up to look for gold and soon find their fortune and more trouble from bandits to each other’s greed and paranoia. Humphrey Bogart gives the performance of his career as the most psychotic and paranoid one of the group. The film also contains the classic line, “We don’t need no stinking badges.”
WHITE HEAT – James Cagney gives his best performance as a psychotic killer with a mother fixation. Cagney returned to the gangster film and was never more frightening then he is here. One of the most memorable endings with the classic line, “Top of the world, Ma!” and a shocking amount of violence (for its day) keep the viewer on edge.
