#27 High Noon

1952
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges

Ok, so I guess I really just don't like westerns.  Not one, aside from Unforgiven, on the list that I've liked.  It wasn't TERRIBLE... I just wasn't impressed.  I did like the concept of the movie and how is occurs in real time.  The movie follows Will Kane (played by Gary Cooper), a sheriff who has kept his little town safe for years and is finally ready to get married (to Grace Kelly) and retire.  On the day of the wedding, the town hears of a gang with a big meanie, Frank Miller, who is headed their way.  Kane feels responsible, since he sent him to jail in the first place, and seems to be the only one who will stand up to Miller when he and his crew get in on the noon train.  The whole movie builds up to the end scene.  You want to stick with it so you see the end, but for me, the whole western movie is just something I don't get!  Onto the next...

Up Next: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

#28 All About Eve

1950
Director:  Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe

One of my personal all time favorites, I can watch this movie over and over.  The story is great, and the acting (especially by Davis and Baxter) is perfection.  The movie follows acting hopeful Eve Harrington as she obsesses over and eventually starts working for theater-diva Margo Channing.  Theater actors in this movie are revered as the ultimate celebrity.  Eve's motives are not what they seem, and she eventually tries to take over Margo's life.  The movie had 14 Oscar Nominations and won 6.  

Trivia: One scene in the movie shows a very young Marilyn Monroe in one of her first on-screen roles and the famous line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

Up Next: High Noon

#29 Double Indemnity

1944
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

LOVE this movie... I saw it once many moons ago, but didn't remember the details, or liking it this much.  What a classic representation of film noir.  I love the lighting, the mood... Barbara Stanwyck is amazing, and dark.  Perfect.

 I love how the last thing Neff looks at before he leaves her lying on the couch is her anklet.  Details like this make the movie.


Up Next: All About Eve

# 30 Apocalypse Now

1979
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall

Maybe I just don't like Vietnam War movies, I haven't liked one yet.  And this one was really no different... I didn't HATE it, I just didn't like it.
The movie follows Sheen's Capt. Willard and he goes into the jungle on a mission to kill rogue Colonel Kurtz, who views himself as a god and lives among a local tribe.

Up Next: Double Indemnity

#31 The Maltese Falcon

1941
Director: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre

Classic film noire movie starring one of the best, Humphrey Bogart.  The movie begins as Mary Astor's character, Brigid O'Shaughnessy,  shows up at the Detective agency of Spade and Archer.  Before long, Archer is dead and Sam Spade is tangled up in the search for the mysterious statue known as the Maltese Falcon.  Peter Lorre's character is classic villain for the film type.  I could watch this movie over and over...

Trivia: John Huston had Mary Astor run around the set several times before each of her scenes in order to give her a breathless, nervous appearance on screen.

Up Next: Apocalypse Now

#32 The Godfather Part II

1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton

I had only seen this movie once before and it seems like a million years ago.  I love the telling of the two stories.  I especially loved seeing the young life of Vito Corleone. It's funny how you find yourself rooting for the bad guy- he's becoming the head of the mafia but you want him to go back to Italy to seek revenge for his family.  Pacino and De Niro at their finest! Is it better than the first? I can't say- that's #2 on the list so I'll decide when I watch it again!




Trivia: Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are the only two actors to win separate Oscars for playing the same character.

Up Next: The Maltese Falcon

#33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1975
Director: Milos Forman
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher

I really liked this movie a lot... Another one I haven't seen but knew references about, knew a little about the story... and that was it.  Nicholson plays RP McMurphy, a convict who tries to fake insanity to get out of prison work detail.  He arrives on the floor of the Nurse Ratched's ward and witnesses (and unfortunately is subject to) the physical and emotional abuse of the patients.  McMurphy riles up the other patients to take a stand against Ratched and the outcomes are unexpected.  Excellent acting all around, and loved seeing the faces of Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito & Vincent Schiavelli. And I loved Brad Dourif as Billy (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.)
This movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Trivia: With the exception of the fishing segment (which was filmed last), the film was shot in sequence.