Category Archives: 1940’s Cinema

John Charet’s Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

31 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by in 1920's Cinema, 1930's Cinema, 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, 1980's Cinema, 1990's Cinema, 2000's Cinema, 2010-Present Cinema, Cinema, Greatest, Lists, Pre-1920's Cinema, Silent Cinema

≈ 12 Comments

Hey there dear readers 🙂 Before I say anything else, let me say that I am aware that some television episodes of horror items are missing and I intend to periodically update this list to include them when I am not so busy. I put this list together fast that is why. Also, I have been enjoying myself this month by watching nothing but horror films 🙂 So I hope all of you enjoy this list that I composed by each decade in chronological order. Enjoy the list and last, but not least, I would love to wish all of my dear readers a Happy Halloween 🙂

1896-1920

1. The House of the Devil (1896) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(a.k.a. The Haunted Castle)
(a.k.a. The Devil’s Castle)
(Short Cinema)
2. A Nightmare (1896) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(Short Cinema)
3. The Bewitched Inn (1897) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(Short Cinema)
4. The Astronomer’s Dream (1898) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(Short Cinema)
5. The Four Troublesome Heads (1898) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(Short Cinema)
6. Bluebeard (1901) (Dir: Georges Melies)
(Short Cinema)
7. The House of Ghosts (1908) (Dir: Segundo de Chomon)
(Short Cinema)

1920’s

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (Dir: Robert Wiene)
2. The Haunted Castle (1921) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
3. The Phantom Carriage (1921) (Dir: Victor Sjostrom)
4. Haxan (1922) (Dir: Benjamin Christensen)
5. Nosferatu (1922) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
6. Waxworks (1924) (Dir: Paul Leni)
7. Faust (1926) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
8. The Cat and the Canary (1927) (Dir: Paul Leni)
9. The Unknown (1927) (Dir: Tod Browning)
10. The Last Warning (1928) (Dir: Paul Leni)
11. The Man Who Laughts (1928) (Dir: Paul Leni)
12. Un Chien Andalou (1929) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
(Short Cinema)

1930’s

1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
2. Frankenstein (1931) (Dir: James Whale)
3. Freaks (1932) (Dir: Tod Browning)
4. Island of Lost Souls (1932) (Dir: Eric C. Kenton)
5. The Old Dark House (1932) (Dir: James Whale)
6. Vampyr (1932) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
7. The Invisible Man (1933) (Dir: James Whale)
8. King Kong (1933) (Dir: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack)
9. The Black Cat (1934) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
10. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Dir: James Whale)

1940’s

1. Cat People (1942) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
2. The Ghost Ship (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
3. I Walked with a Zombie (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
4. The Leopard Man (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
5. The Seventh Victim (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
6. Bluebeard (1944) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
7. The Curse of the Cat People (1944) (Dir: Robert Wise)
8. The Uninvited (1944) (Dir: Lewis Allen)
9. The Body Snatcher (1945) (Dir: Robert Wise)
10. Dead of Night (1945) (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer)
(Anthology Film)
11. Isle of the Dead (1945) (Dir: Mark Robson)
12. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) (Dir: Albert Lewin)
13. Bedlam (1946) (Dir: Mark Robson)
14. The Spiral Staircase (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak)
15. Fireworks (1947) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
(Short Cinema)
16. The Queen of Spades (1949) (Dir: Thoroid Dickinson)

1950’s

1. The Man from Planet X (1951) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
2. The Thing from Another World (1951) (Dir: Christian Nyby)
3. House of Wax (1953) (Dir: Andre De Toth)
4. It Came from Outer Space (1953) (Dir: Jack Arnold)
5. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) (Dir: Jack Arnold)
6. Godzilla (1954) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
7. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
(Short Cinema)
8. Them! (1954) (Dir: Gordon Douglas)
9. Diabolique (1955) (Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
10. Tarantula (1955) (Dir: Jack Arnold)
11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (Dir: Don Siegel)
12. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) (Dir: Jack Arnold)
13. Night of the Demon (1957) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
14. Dracula (1958) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
(a.k.a. Horror of Dracula)
15. The Testament of Doctor Cordelier (1959) (Dir: Jean Renoir)
(Television)

1960’s

1. Black Sunday (1960) (Dir: Mario Bava)
2. Eyes Without a Face (1960) (Dir: Georges Franju)
3. The Housemaid (1960) (Dir: Kim Ki-young)
4. Jigoku (1960) (Dir: Nobuo Nakagawa)
5. Peeping Tom (1960) (Dir: Michael Powell)
6. Psycho (1960) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
7. Village of the Damned (1960) (Dir: Wolf Rilla)
8. Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) (Dir: Mario Bava)
9. The Innocents (1961) (Dir: Jack Clayton)
10. Carnival of Souls (1962) (Dir: Herk Harvey)
11. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (Dir: Robert Aldrich)
12. The Birds (1963) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
13. Black Sabbath (1963) (Dir: Mario Bava)
(Anthology Film)
14. The Haunting (1963) (Dir: Robert Wise)
15. Matango (1963) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
16. These Are the Damned (1963) (Dir: Joseph Losey)
(a.k.a. The Damned)
17. The Whip and the Body (1963) (Dir: Mario Bava)
18. Blood and Black Lace (1964) (Dir: Mario Bava)
19. Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) (Dir: Robert Aldrich)
20. Kwaidan (1964) (Dir: Masaki Kobayashi)
21. The Masque of the Red Death (1964) (Dir: Roger Corman)
22. Onibaba (1964) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
23. Planet of the Vampires (1965) (Dir: Mario Bava)
24. Repulsion (1965) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
25. Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) (Dir: Mario Bava)
26. Punch and Judy (1966) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
27. The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
28. Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot! (1967) (Dir: Giulio Questi)
(Horror/Western)
29. Viy (1967) (Dir: Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov)
30. The Flat (1968) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
31. Hour of the Wolf (1968) (Dir: Ingmar Bergman)
32. Kuroneko (1968) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
33. The Living Skeleton (1968) (Dir: Hiroshi Matsuno)
34. Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Dir: George A. Romero)
35. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
36. Shogun’s Joys of Torture (1968) (Dir: Teruo Ishii)
(Anthology Film)
37. Spider Baby (1968) (Dir: Jack Hill)
38. Spirits of the Dead (1968) (Dir: Federico Fellini)
(Segment: “Toby Dammit”)
(Anthology Film)
39. Witchfinder General (1968) (Dir: Michael Reeves)
40. Blind Beast (1969) (Dir: Yasuzo Masumura)
41. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969) (Dir: Teruo Ishii)
42. Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
(Short Cinema)

1970’s

1. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) (Dir: Dario Argento)
2. Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) (Dir: Mario Bava)
3. The Ossuary (1970) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Documentary)
(Short Cinema)
4. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) (Dir: Jaromil Jires)
5. A Bay of Blood (1971) (Dir: Mario Bava)
(a.k.a. Twitch of the Death Nerve)
6. The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) (Dir: Piers Haggard)
7. Daughters of Darkness (1971) (Dir: Harry Kumel)
8. The Devils (1971) (Dir: Ken Russell)
(I watched it online)
9. What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971) (Dir: Curtis Harrington)
10. Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) (Dir: Curtis Harrington)
11. The Devil (1972) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)
12. Images (1972) (Dir: Robert Altman)
13. The Last House on the Left (1972) (Dir: Wes Craven)
14. Sisters (1972) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
15. The Baby (1973) (Dir: Ted Post)
16. Blood for Dracula (1973) (Dir: Paul Morrissey)
17. The Crazies (1973) (Dir: George A. Romero)
18. Don’t Look Now (1973) (Dir: Nicolas Roeg)
19. The Exorcist (1973) (Dir: William Friedkin)
20. Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) (Dir: Paul Morrissey)
21. Ganja & Hess (1973) (Dir: Bill Gunn)
22. Lisa and the Devil (1973) (Dir: Mario Bava)
23. Messiah of Evil (1973) (Dir: Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck)
24. Theatre of Blood (1973) (Dir: Douglas Hickox)
25. The Wicker Man (1973) (Dir: Robin Hardy)
26. Black Christmas (1974) (Dir: Bob Clark)
27. It’s Alive (1974) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
28. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
29. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
30. Young Frankenstein (1974) (Dir: Mel Brooks)
31. Deep Red (1975) (Dir: Dario Argento)
32. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) (Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini)
33. Shivers (1975) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
(a.k.a. They Came from Within)
34. Trilogy of Terror (1975) (Dir: Dan Curtis)
(Segment: “Amelia”)
(Anthology Film)
(Television)
35. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) (Dir: Alfred Sole)
36. Carrie (1976) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
37. God Told Me To (1976) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
38. The Tenant (1976) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
39. Castle of Otranto (1977) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
40. Demon Seed (1977) (Dir: Donald Cammell)
41. Eraserhead (1977) (Dir: David Lynch)
42. Martin (1977) (Dir: George A. Romero)
43. Rabid (1977) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
44. Suspiria (1977) (Dir: Dario Argento)
45. Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Dir: George A. Romero)
46. Empire of Passion (1978) (Dir: Nagisa Oshima)
47. The Fury (1978) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
48. Halloween (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
49. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) (Dir: Philip Kaufman)
50. Someone’s Watching Me! (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
(Television)
51. Alien (1979) (Dir: Ridley Scott)
52. The Brood (1979) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
53. Legend of the Mountain (1979) (Dir: King Hu)
54. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) (Dir: Werner Herzog)
55. Phantasm (1979) (Dir: Don Coscarelli)
56. Salem’s Lot (1979) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
(Miniseries)
(Television)

1980’s

1. Altered States (1980) (Dir: Ken Russell)
2. The Changeling (1980) (Dir: Peter Medak)
3. The Fall of the House of Usher (1980) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
4. The Fog (1980) (Dir: John Carpenter)
5. Inferno (1980) (Dir: Dario Argento)
6. The Ninth Configuration (1980) (Dir: William Peter Blatty)
7. The Shining (1980) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
8. Zigeunerweisen (1980) (Dir: Seijun Suzuki)
9. An American Werewolf in London (1981) (Dir: John Landis)
10. The Beyond (1981) (Dir: Lucio Fulci)
11. The Evil Dead (1981) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
12. Possession (1981) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)
13. Scanners (1981) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
14. Basket Case (1982) (Dir: Frank Henenlotter)
15. Creepshow (1982) (Dir: George A. Romero)
(Anthology Film)
16. The Entity (1982) (Dir: Sidney J. Furie)
17. Next of Kin (1982) (Dir: Tony Williams)
18. Poltergeist (1982) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
19. Q (1982) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
20. Tenebrae (1982) (Dir: Dario Argento)
21. The Thing (1982) (Dir: John Carpenter)
22. Vincent (1982) (Dir: Tim Burton)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
23. The Dead Zone (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
24. Down to the Cellar (1983) (Dir: Jan Svanmajer)
(Animation)
25. The Fourth Man (1983) (Dir: Paul Verhoeven)
(Short Cinema)
26. Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983) (Dir: John Landis)
(Music Video)
(Short Cinema)
27. The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope (1983) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
28. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) (Dir: George Miller)
(Segment: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”)
(Anthology Film)
29. Videodrome (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
30. Frankenweenie (1984) (Dir: Tim Burton)
(Short Cinema)
31. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (Dir: Wes Craven)
32. Day of the Dead (1985) (Dir: George A. Romero)
33. Phenomena (1985) (Dir: Dario Argento)
34. Re-Animator (1985) (Dir: Stuart Gordon)
35. The Return of the Living Dead (1985) (Dir: Dan O’Bannon)
36. The Stuff (1985) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
37. The Fly (1986) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
38. From Beyond (1986) (Dir: Stuart Gordon)
39. Gothic (1986) (Dir: Ken Russell)
40. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) (Dir: John McNaughton)
41. Manhunter (1986) (Dir: Michael Mann)
42. Angel Heart (1987) (Dir: Alan Parker)
43. Bad Taste (1987) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
44. A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) (Dir: Ching Siu-tung)
45. Epidemic (1987) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
46. Evil Dead II (1987) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
47. Hellraiser (1987) (Dir: Clive Barker)
48. Near Dark (1987) (Dir: Kathryn Bigelow)
49. Opera (1987) (Dir: Dario Argento)
50. Prince of Darkness (1987) (Dir: John Carpenter)
51. The Stepfather (1987) (Dir: Joseph Ruben)
52. White of the Eye (1987) (Dir: Donald Cammell)
53. Dead Ringers (1988) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
54. Lair of the White Worm (1988) (Dir: Ken Russell)
55. Manly Games (1988) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
56. Monkey Shines (1988) (Dir: George A. Romero)
57. They Live (1988) (Dir: John Carpenter)
58. Flora (1989) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Animation)
(Short Cinema)
59. Society (1989) (Dir: Brian Yuzna)

1990’s

1. Jacob’s Ladder (1990) (Dir: Adrian Lyne)
2. The Reflecting Skin (1990) (Dir: Philip Ridley)
3. Two Evil Eyes (1990) (Dir: Dario Argento and George A. Romero)
(Anthology Film)
4. Army of Darkness (1992) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
5. Candyman (1992) (Dir: Bernard Rose)
6. Dead Alive (1992) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
(a.k.a. Braindead)
7. Raising Cain (1992) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
8. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) (Dir: David Lynch)
9. Body Bags (1993) (Dir: John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper)
(Anthology Film)
(Cable/Television)
10. Cronos (1993) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
11. The Dark Half (1993) (Dir: George A. Romero)
12. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) (Dir: John Carpenter)
13. Cemetery Man (1994) (Dir: Michele Soavi)
14. The Kingdom (1994-1997) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
(Miniseries)
(Television)
15. Cure (1997) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
16. Mimic (1997) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
17. Perfect Blue (1997) (Dir: Satoshi Kon)
(Anime)
18. Ringu (1998) (Dir: Hideo Nakata)
19. Vampires (1998) (Dir: John Carpenter)
20. Audition (1999) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
21. eXistenZ (1999) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
22. Ravenous (1999) (Dir: Antonia Bird)

2000’s

1. Bruiser (2000) (Dir: George A. Romero)
2. Ginger Snaps (2000) (Dir: John Fawcett)
3. Little Otik (2000) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(a.k.a. Greedy Guts)
(Live-Action/Animation)
4. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
5. Ichi the Killer (2001) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
6. Pulse (2001) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
7. Trouble Every Day (2001) (Dir: Claire Denis)
8. Blade II (2002) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
9. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) (Dir: Don Coscarelli)
10. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002) (Dir: Guy Maddin)
11. May (2002) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
12. Shaun of the Dead (2004) (Dir: Edgar Wright)
13. Three… Extremes (2004) (Dir: Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook and Takashi Miike)
(Anthology Film)
14. The Descent (2005) (Dir: Neil Marshall)
15. Land of the Dead (2005) (Dir: George A. Romero)
16. Lunacy (2005) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
(Live-Action/Animation)
17. Masters of Horror (2005) (Dir: John Carpenter)
(Episode: “Cigarette Burns”)
(Cable/Television)
18. Masters of Horror (2005) (Dir: Joe Dante)
(Episode: “Homecoming”)
(Cable/Television)
19. Masters of Horror (2005) (Dir: Don Coscarelli)
(Episode: “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road”)
(Cable/Television)
20. Bug (2006) (Dir: William Friedkin)
21. The Host (2006) (Dir: Bong Joon-ho)
22. Masters of Horror (2006) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
(Episode: “Imprint”)
(Cable/Television)
23. Masters of Horror (2006) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
(Episode: “Pick Me Up”)
(Cable/Television)
24. Masters of Horror (2006) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
(Episode: “Sick Girl”)
(Cable/Television)
25. The Woods (2006) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
26. American Zombie (2007) (Dir: Grace Lee)
(Mockumentary)
27. Diary of the Dead (2007) (Dir: George A. Romero)
28. Inside (2007) (Dir: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo)
29. Rec (2007) (Dir: Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza)
30. Trick ‘r Treat (2007) (Dir: Michael Dougherty)
(Anthology Film)
31. Let the Right One In (2008) (Dir: Tomas Alfredson)
32. Antichrist (2009) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
33. Coraline (2009) (Dir: Henry Selick)
(Animation)
34. Drag Me to Hell (2009) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
35. Heartless (2009) (Dir: Philip Ridley)
36. Jennifer’s Body (2009) (Dir: Karyn Kusama)
37. The Loved Ones (2009) (Dir: Sean Byrne)
38. Splice (2009) (Dir: Vincenzo Natali)
39. Survival of the Dead (2009) (Dir: George A. Romero)

2010’s

1. Let Me In (2010) (Dir: Matt Reeves)
2. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) (Dir: Eli Craig)
3. The Cabin in the Woods (2011) (Dir: Drew Goddard)
4. The Woman (2011) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
4. The Babadook (2014) (Dir: Jennifer Kent)
5. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) (Dir: Ana Lily Amirpour)
6. It Follows (2014) (Dir: David Robert Mitchell)
7. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (Dir: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi)
(Mockumentary)
8. Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
(Episode: “El Jefe”)
(Cable/Television)
9. Crimson Peak (2015) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
10. The Devil’s Candy (2015) (Dir: Sean Byrne)
11. The Invitation (2015) (Dir: Karyn Kusama)
12. Southbound (2015) (Dir: Chad, Matt & Rob, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner and Patrick Horvath)
(Anthology Film)
13. We Are Still Here (2015) (Dir: Ted Goghegan)
14. The Witch (2015) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
15. The Love Witch (2016) (Dir: Anna Biller)
16. Raw (2016) (Dir: Julia Ducournau)
17. Under the Shadow (2016) (Dir: Babak Anvari)
18. Gerald’s Game (2017) (Dir: Mike Flanagan)
19. Get Out (2017) (Dir: Jordan Peele)
20. Little Evil (2017) (Dir: Eli Craig)
21. Mother! (2017) (Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
22. XX (2017) (Dir: Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin and Karyn Kusama)
(Anthology Film)
23. Annihilation (2018) (Dir: Alex Garland)
24. The Haunting of Hill House (2018-Present) (Dir: Mike Flanagan) (Anthology Series)
(Netflix Streaming Series)
25. Hereditary (2018) (Dir: Ari Aster)
26. Mandy (2018) (Dir: Panos Cosmatos)
27. A Quiet Place (2018) (Dir: John Krasinski)
28. The Dead Don’t Die (2019) (Dir: Jim Jarmusch)
29. Midsommar (2019) (Dir: Ari Aster)
30. The Lighthouse (2019) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
31. Ready or Not (2019) (Dir: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett)
32. Us (2019) (Dir: Jordan Peele)

My Favorite Richard Fleischer Films

24 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, Action, Adventure, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Biography, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, History, Lists, Mystery, Richard Fleischer, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Mandingo (1975)

2.   The Narrow Margin (1952)

3.   The Boston Strangler (1968)

4.   10 Rillington Place (1971)

5.   The Vikings (1958)

6.   20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Compulsion (1959)

2.   The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955)

3.   Violent Saturday (1955)

4.   So This Is New York (1948)

My Favorite John Huston Films

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, Adventure, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, John Huston, Lists, Mystery, Sport, Thriller, Top 314

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Wise Blood (1979)

2.   The Maltese Falcon (1941)

3.   Fat City (1972)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

2.   The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

3.   The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

John Charet’s Take On: Cat People (1942)

03 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Cinema, Fantasy, Horror, Jacques Tourneur, Thriller

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Warning: This review contains potential spoilers. If you have not seen the film yet, I suggest you read no further.

In a desperate attempt to recoup from the back-to-back costly failures recently brought on by legendary director Orson Welles twin masterpieces of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, newly hired RKO Pictures executive Vice President Charles Koerner (read here) appointed former novelist Val Lewton as head producer for a series of B horror films that would give the hugely popular Universal monster movies a run for their money. Directorial duties would be individually assigned to Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson and Robert Wise respectively. Cat People (directed by Tourneur) was the first of the nine entries Lewton produced for that genre and today, it is generally (If quietly) recognized (and rightfully so) as one of the most influential horror films ever made.

Fascinated by her sketches of black panthers at a New York City zoo, marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) befriends a Serbian-born fashion sketch artist named Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) and not too long afterwards, the two of them begin a semi-romantic relationship. Back at her apartment, Oliver is equally intrigued by her figurine of a knight impaling a cat and we learn from Irena that he is King John of Serbia (a.k.a. Jovan Nenad). According to Irena, the cat represents evil as she tells him a historical tale involving Satanism and witchery, but Oliver dismisses it as pure nonsense. When Oliver tries to buy a kitten for Irena, the animal just hisses at her and when they go together to the pet store to exchange it, all of the animals freak out over her presence. Suddenly, Irena thinks that she may be cursed as one of the cat people that was spreading chaos in that aforementioned story she told Oliver. Unfazed by all of this, Oliver proposes to Irena and she reluctantly accepts. While celebrating her wedding dinner at a small restaurant, a mysterious lady comes up to Irena and calls her “moya sestra” (translation: “my sister”), which only confirms her realization that she is indeed a member of the cat tribe.

Predictably, Oliver’s marital relationship with Irena proves to be a troubled one from the start. Terrified that feeling even the slightest bit of intimacy for him will transform herself into a vicious panther, Irena thinks that it would be best for both she and Oliver to sleep in separate rooms. Worried that their marriage is hitting rock bottom, Oliver advises Irena to see local Psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) so she can talk freely about this phobia to someone within the medical profession. After going to Dr. Judd, who believes that her concerns are little more than fears rooted in childhood, Irena stops attending most (If not all) of her sessions with him. Upon discovering that Oliver’s colleague Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) was the one who recommended Dr. Judd for her, Irena gets upset at Oliver for sharing her personal problems (especially without her consent) to those whom she views as complete strangers. Disillusioned with the seemingly deteriorating status of his married life, Oliver grows more intimate with Alice, who shares similar feelings for him. Shortly afterwards, a mysterious chain of events break out involving dead sheep and three failed attempts on Alice’s life involving one with Oliver as a target.

Allegedly adopting the motto of “showmanship in place of genius” or “showmanship instead of genius” (read here and here) coined by the studio’s then executive Vice President Charles Koerner, everybody at RKO Pictures must have been under the impression that Cat People was just going to a profitable low-budget horror film and nothing more. While it’s commercial success can most certainly be credited for significantly improving RKO’s then notorious financial status, one must not overlook some of the surprising artistic qualities that shape Cat People as a whole.

Despite being shot on a shoestring budget of $134,000 (even lower today by Hollywood standards), Cat People overcomes that limitation in a rather creative way. Unable to show viewers a convincing looking monster obviously due to budgetary restraints, producer Val Lewton slyly places the emphasis on atmosphere alone; suggesting that our deepest darkest fears are scarier when left to the imagination. Visually, Lewton achieves this with his use of lighting to generate a true feeling of dread on the part of the audience. As with any great horror film, this one contains a fair share of standout set pieces. The first one comes in the form of Irena carefully stalking Alice at nighttime; the camera cuts back and forth from Alice’s footsteps to Irena’s and back again to build suspense. Suddenly, a bus arrives scaring Alice out of her mind before ending with her going on it. Next up is the renowned swimming pool scene, which starts off on a lighthearted note with Alice noticing a rascally kitten, but after running off, the inevitable terror begins. When Alice hears the roar of the panther, she makes a run for it and then dives into the swimming pool while remaining terrified of both the panther’s roars and where the animal may be hiding. Eventually, the lights in the pool room are turned on by a calm Irena, who wants to know where Oliver is. Soon enough, Alice gets out of the pool to grab her robe; only to discover that it has been “torn to ribbons” as said by the receptionist of the club/gym. Other notable scenes involve slaughtered sheep, Oliver and Alice fending off the shadowy panther with a Christian cross and later on, the offscreen mauling of a victim by the aforementioned unseen creature. To top it all off, we get brief surrealistic imagery courtesy of a dream sequence involving panthers.

Undoubtedly, all of the cinematic trademarks on display in Cat People belong to it’s producer Val Lewton, but credit should also be given to it’s director Jacques Tourneur for bringing his intended vision to life. Following in the footsteps of his then prestigious (If now similarly overlooked) father Maurice Tourneur (read here), Jacques Tourneur began his career as a filmmaker three years earlier in 1939 with They All Come Out, a socially conscious crime drama. I have not seen that one, nor have I seen the three films of his that followed, which include: Nick Carter, Master Detective, Phantom Raiders and Doctors Don’t Tell. Roughly a year and (almost) three months after that last title, Tourneur would finally hit pay dirt in 1942 with his fifth feature-length film (i.e. Cat People). Courtesy of Nicholas Musuraca’s black-and-white cinematography, Tourneur utilizes lighting and shadows to further emphasize the visual elements that are now officially rooted in the film noir genre (or sub-genre). At the same time, the script allows Tourneur to briefly explore some of the themes that he would expand upon in some of his later works including but not limited to Christianity as a force of good (Stars in My Crown) and Satan worship (Night of the Demon).

Contrary to it’s schlocky title, there is actually much more going on in Cat People than viewers might realize at first. For starters, producer Val Lewton had a phobia of cats (read here) and it is possible that his screenwriter Dewitt Bodeen may have picked up on this aspect while writing the script. The character of Irena Dubrovna obviously symbolizes these fears of his, which in turn, drives the horror elements of this film. As it slowly unfolds behind it’s disguise as a crowd pleasing horror thriller, Cat People ultimately reveals itself as an insightful yet tragic social commentary on sexual repression. Irena’s fear of sexual arousal confirms this, which distances herself more and more from Oliver. Irena loves him dearly, but at the same time, she does not want to accidentally kill him given that those kinds of thoughts can transform her into a vicious black panther. When Oliver starts seeing Alice more frequently, Irena’s feelings of resentment turn her into a panther, who stalks Alice with the intention of murdering her. Along the way, the panther inadvertently kills a bunch of sheep. Later on, Irena comes home and locks herself in the bathroom and shortly after, she is seen crying in a bathtub. Irena’s sadness may be due to Oliver’s betrayal of her and her guilt for either genuinely emoting for the first time or for expressing those forbidden emotions. After having a weird dream with a voice exclaiming “the key”, Irena goes to the zoo and steals the key to the panther’s cage. Irena’s action represents the unleashing of her sexual freedom and the elimination of some of her insecurities. Even though Irena (in panther form) still fails in her attempts to kill Alice, she feels more confident about herself as a human. This feeling of happiness does not last long however when Oliver announces that he is divorcing her. Outraged, Irena (as a panther) now tries but backfires in killing both Oliver and Alice. After transforming into a panther for one last time and leaving a casualty behind, Irena stumbles over to the zoo to place the stolen key in the hole to unlock the panther’s cage resulting in her death by the zoo panther, who is run over by Oliver’s car shortly afterwards. I do not know about everyone else, but I see Irena’s death as a sacrifice. In other words, it serves as her way of dying for her sins. No doubt, Irena was not totally at fault for all of her actions, but even when she got some form of revenge, she always seemed to carry around a moral compass at the same time. If Cat People has one performance that can be singled out for praise, it would easily be it’s leading French actress Simone Simon, who perfectly balances sexiness with childlike playfulness in her role of Irena. Regardless of whether or not readers will echo my sentiments here, their is no denying that it does stand as one of many interesting ways to look at it.

Even If it still (annoyingly) remains a little known fact to this day, producer Val Lewton (not the equally masterful director Alfred Hitchcock) stands as the real grandfather of psychological horror and Cat People serves as the perfect entry for unfamiliar viewers to begin their journey with. Similar to how it concluded in 1946 with Bedlam, Cat People began Lewton’s cycle of RKO horror films with a bang. Also worth checking out is the 1944 sequel entitled The Curse of the Cat People directed by Robert Wise instead of Jacques Tourneur and despite it’s differences (that one plays out more like a supernatural drama), I personally feel that it is every bit as spellbinding as this one is.

-Star Rating-
* * * * (Out of * * * *)

My Favorite Robert Wise Films

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, Horror, Lists, Mystery, Robert Wise, Romance, Science Fiction, Sport, Thriller, Top 306

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Set-Up (1949)

2.   The Haunting (1963)

3.   The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

4.   The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

5.   The Body Snatcher (1945)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   This Could Be the Night (1957)

2.   Executive Suite (1954)

3.   Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

4.   The Andomeda Strain (1971)

My Favorite Billy Wilder Films

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Austrian Filmmakers, Billy Wilder, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, Italian Cinema, Lists, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Top 306, War

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Avanti! (1972)

2.   Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

3.   Some Like It Hot (1959)

4.   Ace in the Hole (1951)

5.   Sunset Boulevard (1950)

6.   Double Indemnity (1944)

7.   Fedora (1978)

8.   The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

2.   The Major and the Minor (1942)

3.   Stalag 17 (1953)

4.   The Fortune Cookie (1966)

5.   One, Two, Three (1961)

6.   The Apartment (1960)

My Favorite Orson Welles Films

02 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, British Cinema, Cinema, Crime, Docufiction, Documentary, Drama, Film Directors, Film Noir, French Cinema, German Cinema, Greatest, History, Iranian Cinema, Italian Cinema, Lists, Mystery, Orson Welles, Short Cinema, Spanish Cinema, Swiss Cinema, Television, Thriller, Top 306, War

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Chimes at Midnight (1965)

2.   F for Fake (1973)

3.   Othello (1951)

4.   The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

5.   The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

6.   The Trial (1962)

7.   The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

8.   Touch of Evil (1958)

9.   Citizen Kane (1941)

10. Mr. Arkadin (1955)

11. The Immortal Story (1968)

12. Filming Othello (1978)
(Documentary)

13. Macbeth (1948)

14. The Stranger (1946)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   The Fountain of Youth (1956)
(I watched it on youtube)
(Television)

2.   Around the World with Orson Welles (1955)
2a. Episode: “Pays Basque I (The Basque Country)”
2b. Episode: “Pays Basque II (La Pelote basque)”
2c. Episode: “Revisiting Vienna” (a.k.a. “The Third Man Returns to Vienna”)
2d. Episode: “St. -Germain-des-Pres”
2e. Episode: “Chelsea Pensioners”
2f. Episode: “Madrid Bullfight”
(Television)

Note: In case any of you readers are interested, Netflix is going to premier Orson Welles last film The Other Side of the Wind (1972-1976) in November (November 2, 2018). The film can best be described as both completed and uncompleted (read here for more info). Here is the link to the trailer in case any of you readers are interested below 🙂

My Favorite Raoul Walsh Films

01 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in 1920's Cinema, 1930's Cinema, 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, Action, Adventure, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Biography, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, History, Lists, Music, Musical, Mystery, Pre-1920's Cinema, Raoul Walsh, Romance, Silent Cinema, Sport, Thriller, Top 306, War, Western

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   White Heat (1949)

2.   The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

3.   The Roaring Twenties (1939)

4.   Regeneration (1915)

5.   Band of Angels (1957)

6.   Sadie Thompson (1928)

7.   Gentleman Jim (1942)

8.   Going Hollywood (1933)
(I watched it on TCM)

9.   High Sierra (1941)

10. The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

11. Pursued (1947)

12. Colorado Territory (1949)

13. They Drive by Night (1940)

14. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

15. Me and My Gal (1932)

16. The Big Trail (1930)

17. The Man I Love (1947)

18. Dark Command (1940)

19. Manpower (1941)

20. Big Brown Eyes (1936)

21. Cheyenne (1947)
(I watched it on TCM a few years ago)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)

2.   The World in His Arms (1952)

3.   Along the Great Divide (1951)

4.   The Tall Men (1955)

5.   Distant Drums (1951)

6.   Battle Cry (1955)

7.   The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)

8.   The Naked and the Dead (1958)

9.   A Distant Trumpet (1964)

10. Saskatchewan (1954)

11. The Lawless Breed (1953)

12. The King and Four Queens (1956)

13. Gun Fury (1953)

14. Blackbeard the Pirate (1953)

15. The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)

My Favorite Josef von Sternberg Films

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in 1920's Cinema, 1930's Cinema, 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, Adventure, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Austrian Filmmakers, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Film Directors, Film Noir, German Cinema, Greatest, History, Japanese Cinema, Josef von Sternberg, Lists, Music, Romance, Silent Cinema, Top 306, War

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Scarlet Empress (1934)

2.   The Docks of New York (1928)

3.   The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

4.   Anatahan (1953)

5.   Morocco (1930)

6.   The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

7.   Shanghai Express (1932)

8.   The Blue Angel (1930)

9.   Thunderbolt (1929)

10. The Last Command (1928)

11. Underworld (1927)

12. The Salvation Hunters (1925)
(I watched it on youtube. Choose the link that gives a running time of 1:25:43)

13. Blonde Venus (1932)

14. Dishonored (1931)

15. An American Tragedy (1931)

My Favorite Luchino Visconti Films

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, Anthology, Biography, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Film Directors, French Cinema, German Cinema, Greatest, History, Italian Cinema, Italian Filmmakers, Lists, Luchino Visconti, Mystery, Romance, Short Cinema, Top 306

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* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Leopard (1963)

2.   Senso (1954)

3.   Death in Venice (1971)

4.   Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

5.   Bellissima (1951)

6.   La Terra Trema (1948)

7.   White Nights (1957)

8.   Ossessione (1943)

9.   Ludwig (1972)

10. Conversation Piece (1974)

11. The Damned (1969)

12. The Innocent (1976)

13. The Stranger (1967)
(I watched it on youtube)

14. Sandra (1965)
(I watched it on youtube)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   Boccaccio ’70 (1962)
(Segment: “Il Lavoro”)
(Anthology Film)