Review: The Rainmaker (1956)

IMDb Synopsis: Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain. Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck ... profession: Rainmaker.


For no particular reason, I really enjoy watching films adapted from plays. Some of the best ones include A Streetcar Named Desire, 12 Angry Men and The Petrified Forest. The Rainmaker was adapted from the N. Richard Nash play and stars Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in the title role. A lot of reviews for this film are mixed, but I really enjoyed it.


I personally think a lot of people miss the point of The Rainmaker. The fact that it's a bit over-the-top and unbelievable at times it what gives it so much depth. Most of us have probably heard the term that you have to love yourself before anyone else can love you in return, and that's exactly what this film is about: Hepburn plays a repressed woman who fears she'll remain a spinster for the rest of her life, and Lancaster is the man who finally makes her believe in herself.


Some of the more skeptical viewers may find The Rainmaker to be unrealistic, but I thought it was quite lovely and inspiring. At least give it a viewing before you judge.

5/5 stars

Review: The Searchers (1956)

IMDb Synopsis: As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

The 1950's was a great decade for films, particularly westerns. During this time, westerns such as High Noon, Shane, and Giant were all released. Another western from the fifties was John Ford's The Searchers, which the American Film Institute named the greatest western of all time, and for good reason. 

Two of the biggest names in westerns are John Ford and John Wayne, who made 24 films together over the course of 35 years. Up until the last few months, I'd never cared much for Wayne but he's definitely beginning to grow on me with every film I watch. John Ford is one of my favorite directors, and he definitely doesn't disappoint with this film.


Overall, The Searchers isn't my favorite western (that spot is reserved for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), but it deserves to be considered one of the greatest films of all time.

4.5/5 stars  

Review: The Haunting (1963)

IMDb Synopsis: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways.


When it comes to horror movies, ghosts and/or haunted houses are usually popular topics. Some ghost stories are just awful, while others are fantastic. Fortunately, The Haunting is part of the latter.


One of the things I love about classic horror films is that they (for the most part) rely on imagination to scare you, unlike today's horror films which are usually filled with gore. This film is scary in the psychological sense, which is what makes it so terrifying. An example: Nell (Jullie Harris) and Theo (Claire Bloom) are in their room when Nell hears noises outside of the bedroom door, causing Nell to grab Theo's hand. Nell starts screaming and wakes up Theo, who was asleep on the other side of the room and was obviously not the one holding her hand. There are many scenes like this one in The Haunting, but I found this one by far to be the most frightening.


Overall, The Haunting contains no blood or monsters, but it still remains to be utterly horrifying even forty-eight years after it's release. Don't skip this one.

5/5 stars

My Picks: Top 10 Pre- Codes

One of my favorite things about classic films are Pre-Codes. If you're not familiar, the Pre-Code era was a period between 1929 (two years after talking pictures began) and 1934 (before the Hays Code was put into affect) when  many controversial subjects were allowed to be discussed in films- drugs, infidelity and abortion, to name a few. Needing a post idea, I made a list of my top ten Pre-Code films that I think are essential for every classic film buff. These are listed by year and in alphabetical order:

Night Nurse (1931)

Possessed (1931)

Waterloo Bridge (1931) 

Freaks (1932)

Scarface (1932)

Three On a Match (1932)

Baby Face (1933)

Bombshell (1933)

King Kong (1933)

It Happened One Night (1934)

I originally wanted to include City Lights as it's one of my favorite films, but left it out since it's a silent film and wasn't really controversial compared to other films released at the time. I also wanted to add a brief description about each of these films and why I like them, but didn't since this was a bit of a rushed post.

Decades Meme: 1960s

The fourth post in my decades meme, this one featuring films from the 60's. Previous installments: 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

1960: The Apartment

1961: Judgement at Nuremberg

1962: To Kill a Mockingbird

1963: Charade

1964: Marry Poppins

1965: A Patch of Blue

1966: Harper

1967: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

1968: The Lion In Winter

1969: A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Review: Psycho (1960) + Blogathon Update

IMDb Synopsis: A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother.


Every time I see bloggers or film critics post lists of what they consider to be "must see" films, it seems as if Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is always included. Since it's primarily a horror film, I figured Halloween night would be the best time to finally watch it. Now I wonder why I waited so darn long to see it.


It's no surprise that Psycho is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.Hitchcock's directing, the actors, the score and the cinematography are all what make it such a masterpiece. As far as horror films go, I did think it was quite scary. And as for the shower-stabbing scene (which shouldn't be a spoiler since almost everyone knows Janet Leigh dies), I actually found "Mrs. Bates" opening the shower curtain to be scarier than the stabbing itself. I also thought what Vera Miles discovered in the cellar (I'll save you from a spoiler) was equally terrifying.


The star of the show here is definitely Anthony Perkins. His stunning performance as Norman Bates makes characters like Norma Desmond and Harry Powell seem almost normal, and the stare he gives at the end of the film is guaranteed to give you chills.


Overall, if you've never seen Psycho, you should change that immediately. 

5/5 stars

I also wanted to give an update on the Humphrey Bogart blogathon I announced last month, which you can read about here. So far, 20 people have already signed up, so a big thanks to all of you planning to take part. I also got a comment asking what you had to do to secure a place in the blogathon, and all that's necessary is just to let me know in the linked post. I'll be posting another update soon with all the blogs signed up to participate. Thanks for reading!

Review: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

IMDB Synopsis: A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.


I've never been very familiar with zombie films (or zombies in general), so I decided to start off with the film that is remembered for starting the zombie phenomenon: George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.


I obviously knew prior to viewing that this was a horror film, but I had no idea what I was in for. It's gruesome, violent and probably the most disturbing film I've ever seen. It's no surprise that it's still considered to be a masterpiece among the horror genre.


While the film contains a great cast (Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman, just to name a few), the main thing that makes it unique is Romero's direction and the special effects. The film doesn't necessarily contain "constant gore", but during the few scenes that it does, it's terrifying. I'll admit I had to cover my eyes several times, particularly during the last half.


Overall, Night of the Living Dead deserves to be ranked with the greatest horror films of all time. For anyone interested, TCM is airing it on Halloween night at 8:00PM EST.

5/5 stars