Joanne Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> favorite old movies are:
>
> 1. Godzilla
> 2. Sign of the Pagan (Jack Palance deserved an
> Oscar!)
> 3. The Day the Earth Stood Still
> 4. Citizen Kane
> 5. The African Queen
> 6. Duck Soup
> 7. The Maltese Falcon
> 8. International House (W.C. Fields, Burns and
> Allen, Bela Lugosi)
> 9. The Time of Their Lives (best thing Abbott and
> Costello ever did)
> 10. Z

V e r y interesting list, Joanne. Let's see...

I watched The Day the Earth Stood Still a few months ago all because of your comments on it, and I think I got more out of it then than I ever did before. Thank you!

I can't believe you put Z on your list.. well done! That's a fantastic film. Have you also seen Nine Days in September?

May I ask you to say more about Sign of the Pagan and why Palance deserved an Oscar? Also, did you know that Palance played the American film producer in Godard's great film Contempt, with Bridget Bardot and Michel Piccoli, with the amazing Fritz Lang playing himself. One thing I loved about that movie was the scenery and the artistry of the natural sets and interior design... though it's a masterpiece in every other way as well.

I'm always intrigued when an American actor plays a tour de force role in a foreign masterpiece... especially actors like Palance and Burt Lancaster, who are generally thought of as cowboys. I think you already know what I think about The Leopard and Lancaster's masterly performance in that film, along with my newfound realization of what a class act Lancaster was in life as well as in film art. He also gave an astounding portrayal of a French Resistance leader in The Train, doing all of his own stunts and even acting as a stuntman for another actor! Those were the days, eh... I guess they didn't have to worry about those pesky insurers so much then.

Anyway, thanks for the list.

At the top of mine goes The Quiet Man for sure. I'll have to get back to you about the next nine, though I would definitely put The Leopard somewhere on that list, and some Bergman and Tarkovsky. If I stick to American films, I also feel I must include the original Manchurian Candidate with an encouragement to watch the recent version for comparison.. most interesting.

And then there's Picnic... gawd, just thinking about William Holden doing yardwork without a shirt...

Sue, reliving that old nostalgic glow

"And when you find yourself in that nostalgic rage, honey, jump right up and shooowwww youuurrr aaaaggge. I wish I had a pencil thin mustache, the Boston Blackie kind, and a two tone Ricky Ricardo jacket, and an autographed picture of Andy Devine..." Jimmy Buffett, Living and Dying in Three-Quarters Time