360 Dodge City (1939 / Michael Curtiz)
Errol Flynn stars as a sheriff intent on cleaning up a lawless town in a classic piece of old fashioned entertainment, mixing action and comedy to great effect. Would probably be rated higher if it hadn’t come out in year packed full of films considered classics. Flynn once again is paired with Olivia de Havilland, in all they starred in 9 films together, and Ann Sheridan is equally as good as a local showgirl.
359 Nixon (1995 / Oliver Stone)
The second of 3 films made by Stone that centered on US presidents, and, in my opinion, the best of them. Anthony Hopkins portrayal of the disgraced leader may have been bettered by Frank Langella since but it is still a great piece of physical acting. The supporting cast is fantastic – Joan Allen, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, David Paymer, David Hyde-Pierce, Paul Sorvino and James Woods are all reliable performers and the story compelling, even if you know it well.
358 Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936 / Frank Capra)
Gary Cooper is probably better remembered for his serious roles but he was also a light comedian of some skill. Here he plays a naive small town man who inherits a fortune, moves to the big city and has to cope with people manipulating him for his money. Jean Arthur plays the reporter who poses as a helpless girl in order to get Deeds’ story, only to fall for him.
357 Too Hot to Handle (1938 / Jack Conway)
Comic adventure movie starring Clark Gable and the incomparable Myrna Loy searching for Loy’s missing brother in the Amazon. Manages to mix the humour with the action well, with an added dash of romance. This became one of the most successful films out of Hollywood in the late 30s.
356 Broadway Danny Rose (1984 / Woody Allen)
Woody Allen had a great creative spell in the 80s. Here he also stars as a talent agent specialising in second rate acts such as a one-armed juggler, a stuttering ventriloquist and a one-legged tap-dancer, who gets mixed up with gangsters. Its a treat seeing some old school comedians, Milton Berle for example, playing themselves and it takes a number of viewings to catch all of the fast and funny dialogue.
355 Spartacus (1960 / Stanley Kubrick)
Spartacus arrived in the middle of Kubrick’s most creative period which started with Killer’s Kiss in 1955 and ended with Dr Strangelove in 1964 and at a time when Roman epics were very fashionable. The story of a slave uprising is told with great style and features a career best performance from Kirk Douglas.
354 The Cat and the Canary (1939 / Elliott Nugent)
A remake of a popular silent movie, this is a deft mixture of comedy and horror involving a disparate group of relatives meeting in an old house for the reading of a will. The 2 leads, Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, make a great pairing and went onto feature in other films together, including the similarly plotted ‘Ghostbreakers’ which is number 397 on my list.
353 Beau Geste (1939 / William A Wellman)
Yet another release from 1939, this is the best version of the famous tale of brothers joining the Foreign Legion. Great action sequences and well plotted mystery elements, with a stand out performance from Brian Donlevy as a sadistic sergeant.
352 Ice Cold in Alex (1958 / J Lee Thompson)
One of the most famous of all British Second World War movies featuring crisp cinematography by Gilbert Jackson and efficient direction by Thompson really bringing the story of a trek across a North African desert to life. Unsurprisingly , John Mills heads the cast and is solidly supported by Sylvia Sims and Harry Andrews.
351 Lifeboat (1944 / Alfred Hitchcock)
Much like Rope (number 459 on this list), Lifeboat is a great technical achievement by Hitchcock, but also very suspensful. Survivors from a U Boat attack congregate in a lifeboat. They are faced with a dilemma when deciding whether to pick up the captain of the destroyed U Boat. Set entirely on the lifeboat. Hitchcock ingeniously still manages to feature his usual cameo appearance.
350 42nd Street (1933 / Lloyd Bacon)
A rare appearance for a musical in my top 500. A producer setting up a show has to replace the star at the last moment with a chorus girl. Pretty basic plot then, and one that has been imitated countless times since, but 42nd Street boasts probably Busby Berkeley’s best dance sequences. It is an important film in the history of movies as well as highly entertaining.
349 Green for Danger (1946 / Sidney Gilliat)
Alastair Sim was truly a one off. He may have not had much range as an actor but he lit up every film he appeared in and this is one of my favourites of his. He plays a Scotland Yard inspector investigating strange deaths at a hospital. A great murder mystery with lots of twists and, with Sim involved, inevitably laughs as well.
348 Separate Tables (1958 / Delbert Mann)
Quintessential 1950’s romantic drama about a group of long terms residents at a Bournemouth hotel. Brilliantly adapted by Terrence Rattigan from his own play with David Niven the best of a terrific ensemble cast.
347 Paris, Texas (1984 / Wim Wenders)
Enigmatic and strange tale about a man who walks out of a desert having lost his memory. It will, however, remain long in your’s, thanks to stunning cinematography by Robby Muller and a marvellous central performance by Harry Dean Stanton. On the whole, I think Wenders is a hugely overrated director and this is by far my favourite film of his.
346 They Won’t Forget (1937 / Mervyn Le Roy)
Loosely based on a true story, this film should be way more famous than it is. Probably only remembered for the first speaking role for Lana Turner, the plot of a man being wrongly accused of murder by politicians and reporters looking to further their careers still resonates today in this searing drama.
345 Gunga Din (1939 / George Stevens)
Vying with Beau Geste, amongst others, to be the best action movie of 1939, you might consider Gunga Din to be old fashioned and a little politically incorrect these days. However, the story of an uprising in 19th century India being quelled by the British remains rousing stuff if you take it as a piece of boy’s own fayre. It’s a bit of shock to see Cary Grant a long way from his normal urbane persona but he is excellent and is ably supported by Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Joan Fontaine.
344 To Have and Have Not (1944 / Howard Hawks)
Humphrey Bogart who runs a boat for hire agrees to transport a resistance leader during the second world war., whilst trying to maintain a relationship with a young nightclub singer. This is the first film to pair Bogart with Lauren Bacall and signalled the start of their real life relationship. They made better films together later, but the chemistry between the two is palpable and Hawks does his usual great job with keeping the plot moving.
343 Monkey Business (1931 / Norman Z McLeod )
The Marx Brothers get up to their usual antics as stow always on a ship. Ignore the poor musical numbers and enjoy the brothers each attempting to pass themselves off as Maurice Chevalier in one of the funniest scenes in any of their movies. Not to be confused with the funny Marilyn Monroe film made twenty years later.
342 Dinner at Eight (1933 / George Cukor)
The interwoven stories of the hosts and guests at a dinner party are told with great style by Cukor in this enduring drama. Some of the acting may seem a little stilted to modern audiences but not that by Jean Harlow who lights up this film as she did with many others throughout her tragically short career.
341 Husbands and Wives (1992 / Woody Allen)
Allen in serious mode directing this story of a couple who begin to question their own marriage when 2 friends of theirs announce they are splitting up. Outstanding performances from a great ensemble cast, especially by Sydney Pollack and Juliette Lewis, this is a beautifully observed, honest and poignant movie.
