420 The Odd Couple (1965 / Gene Saks)

Both Neil Simon’s best loved play and probably the most well known pairing of those great comedic talents Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau. They starred in 8 films together over a 30 year period, and their natural chemistry and timing was never better than in this very funny film. The TV sitcom spin off, though featuring neither Lemmon or Matthau was surprisingly good.

419 Nobodys Fool (1994 / Robert Benton)

At this stage of his career, Paul Newman was adept at playing old rascals, who still have a twinkle in their eye. In this low key but touching drama, he gives his best performance of the 1990s as Sully Sullivan, nearing retirement and coping with family dramas and a burgeoning romance. Surprisingly little known, despite a supporting cast that includes Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Jessica Tandy and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

418 Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1989 / David Zucker)

Spun off from the hilarious but unsuccessful TV show, Police Squad, this film completed Leslie Nielsen’s transformation from stoic performer in mostly TV movies to major comedy star. Although, a lot of the characters and jokes had already been seen in the TV series this is still uproariously funny, and two decent sequels followed. It does feel strange seeing O.J Simpson back when he was a beloved ex American Football star rather than a notorious criminal!

417 Play Misty for Me (1971 / Clint Eastwood)

Eastwood’s directorial debut is a, by today’s standards, a low key shocker about a disc jockey (Eastwood) being stalked by a crazed female fan (Jessica Walter). So keen was Eastwood to direct this that he persuaded the studio to let him by agreeing to star in it without being paid. There’s long been talk of a remake, which I’m sure will be more shocking and gory, but probably not as suspenseful as this effort.

416 Looking for Richard (1997 / Al Pacino)

Most people wouldn’t associate Al Pacino with Shakespeare, but this curious film shows his passion for the Bard, and for the play Richard III in particular. A mix of scenes from a stage version of the play, scenes from rehearsal and interviews with actors, this is a fascinating look at one man’s obsession. Scenes of Pacino playing the titular character here and his performance as Shylock in Michael Radford’s Merchant of Venice seven years later demonstrate that he is one of the few American actors able to get to grips with the difficult verse.

415 Harper (1966 / Jack Smight)

Also known as ‘Moving Target’, this is the first of 2 appearances by Paul Newman as the ultra cool private investigator Lew Harper. Its a fairly standard case of searching for a missing husband, but the story has enough twists and turns to keep you hooked and the style, Newman’s effortless performance and a supporting cast of Hollywood stalwarts make this an engrossing watch. It was nine years before Newman reprised the role in the less successful but still enjoyable The Drowning Pool.

414 The Hospital (1971 / Arthur Hiller)

Hospital dramas are a perennial favourite on TV but have fared less well on film. This mixture of typical 1970s black comedy/satire of a depressed doctor struggling to cope with the demands of his profession and a thriller about a killer at large in the hospital, is arguably the best attempt at presenting this genre on film. The great Paddy Chayevsky wrote the typically angry script and George C. Scott, fresh from his Patton Oscar win, is excellent in the lead role.

413 The League of Gentlemen (1960 / Basil Dearden)

Terrific British comedy crime film, concerning a group of ex soldiers teaming up for a bank robbery. Effortless stuff by a cast headed by Jack Hawkins and Richard Attenborough, peerless entertainment for a wet afternoon!

412 The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950 / Frank Launder)

Made four years before the more celebrated Belles of St Trinians, this is another British school set comedy. In wartime, an all girls school is billeted with an all boys school with the expected frenetic and funny results. Sharing both the director and much of the cast (including Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, Richard Wattis) of the debut St Trinians film, it also benefits from having the wonderful Margaret Rutherford in a leading role.

411 One Day in September (1999 / Kevin MacDonald)

A fascinating documentary about the hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics that really captures the horror of the proceedings and highlights some catastrophic errors made by the German police and security services. Moving and eye opening, would make a great double bill with the underrated Spielberg directed Munich.

410 The King of Comedy (1982 / Martin Scorsese)

No surprise that this is the only Jerry Lewis film on this list! Lewis plays a talk show host who is stalked by a wannabe comedian who idolises him. Robert De Niro plays the stalker, Rupert Pupkin, in one of his best and most disturbing performances. Scorsese still has a stellar reputation but he doesn’t make films of this quality anymore.

409 Local Hero (1983 / Bill Forsyth)

Forsyth announced himself as a fresh directing talent in the 80s with That Sinking Feeling, Comfort and Joy, Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero. After an unhappy spell in Hollywood his career petered out, but his small legacy of films remain. Local Hero features Burt Lancaster as an American oilman sent to a small Scottish village to arrange to buy it completely to allow a refinery to be built. Warm, touching and funny, you would need a heart of stone not to be affected by this film.

408 The Sea Hawk (1940 / Michael Curtiz)

Errol Flynn was the big action star of the 30s and early 40s, appearing in a string of successful all action movies. Swashbuckling tales of pirates on the high seas were particularly popular at the time and this is one of the best examples of that genre. Flynn plays a pirate, attacking Spanish ships at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I until he meets and falls in love with a Spanish princess.

407 The Hudsucker Proxy (1994 / Joel Coen)

This film isn’t held in as high esteem as many of the other Coen brothers films, but it is a favourite of mine because of the fast paced dialogue reminiscent of a screwball comedy of the 30s or 40s and a brilliant performance by the underrated Jennifer Jason Leigh as a reporter investigating dubious practices in Hudsucker Industries. The whole cast, including Tim Robbins, Paul Newman, Charles Durning and John Mahoney are outstanding.

406 Quo Vadis (1951 / Mervyn Le Roy)

I think my parents knew I had been bitten by the film bug when they found me, aged 10 or 11, tucked away in a spare room on my own watching Quo Vadis whilst Christmas festivities were going on in the rest of the house! One of the best of the Roman / Biblical epics produced in the 50s and 60s, featuring all the visual spectacle you would expect but also a better than average script and a fabulous performance by Peter Ustinov as Nero.

405 Chariots of Fire (1981 / Hugh Hudson)

Sports movies are too often clichéd and formulaic. Despite taking a number of liberties with the true story it is telling, Chariots of Fire largely avoids those pitfalls when telling the story of 2 British athletes with different religious backgrounds competing at the 1924 Olympics. Stirring stuff with Ian Holm giving a particularly memorable performance as coach Sam Mussabini. Legend has it that Kenneth Branagh and Stephen Fry are extras in the crowd scenes but you will need a more eagle eye than mine to spot them!

404 The Last Resort (2000 / Pawel Pawlikowski)

A heartfelt and compassionate film about Russian asylum seekers in the UK. The central relationship between Tanya, staying in a detention camp and Alfie who works in a shop there is sensitively portrayed, especially by the impeccable Paddy Considine.

403 Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948 / John Paddy Carstairs)

There aren’t a lot of remakes on this list, and especially not remakes of films that also appear but this is an exception. Moving the setting from the Rome Express to the more glamorous Orient Express, the story of spies hunting a lost and crucial diary on the train rattles along a good pace thanks to Carstairs who was better known for directing comedies, particularly Norman Wisdom vehicles.
Sleeping Car To Trieste [DVD]

402 Memento (2000 / Christopher Nolan)

Nolan’s breakthrough film when described as a man searching for his wife’s murderer sounds straightforward. However, when factoring in the man’s inability to build any new memories since her death, and the fact that most of the film is presented in reversed chronology, it is anything but straightforward. It is a testament to Nolan that the story remains coherent and gripping, and, along with Inception, shows that he is so much more than the Batman director.

401 What’s Up Doc? (1972 / Peter Bogdanovich)

For pure laughs, this film is hard to beat. A farcical plot involving mixed up identical suitcases culminates in a fantastic chase sequence through San Francisco and a riotous courtroom scene. Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal are the stars but Madeline Kahn and Austin Pendleton steal the movie in key supporting roles.