Gems
Oscar’s Best
It’s been said that the present is no time to judge a movie’s quality or importance. Indeed, there have been many films which have suffered from (e.g.) bad timing that have not done well or have gone unnoticed until years later. And, many films that “bomb” at the box office (most notably Citizen Kane (1941)) are regarded as great movies of their time or of all time.
There are a lot of terrific films I know that I would have never seen were they not shown in primetime on TCM. Here is a list of some of those films which I don’t believe were well known or well respected at the time of their release, but which over the course of time have come to be regarded as very good and/or important films, at least according to Robert Osborne (TCM’s host). And, I enjoyed them too … if that counts for anything:
- The Killing (1956) – very early Kubrick which is actually now listed in imdb’s top 200!
- The Hill (1965) – an unusual film for Sean Connery, directed by Sidney Lumet, about a British disciplanary camp during World War II.
- Point Blank (1967) – Lee Marvin/Angie Dickinson film later redone as Payback (1999)by Mel Gibson
- Fail-Safe (1964) – a film which was unfortunately overshadowed by a spoof, with a similar plot, by Stanley Kubrick
- Crossfire (1947) – a thriller with a hard look at anti-Semitism and a great cast
- Scaramouche (1952) – a terrific swashbuckling film featuring Stewart Granger and the longest screen sword battle up to that time (I have no idea if, e.g. Star Wars (1977)fights count or are longer)
- The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – I’ve always loved this film which was initially panned and yet now is listed in imdb’s top 250 movies of all time (FWIW)
- The Train (1964) – underrated war film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer and Arthur Penn
- The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) is a surprisingly timely film about a divided Nation (set during the Civil War)!
- The Clock (1945) – see Judy Garland act!
- Narrow Margin (1952) – no one you’ve ever heard of is in it, but it did receive a Best Writing Oscar nomination
- Edge of the City (1957) – early John Cassavetes & Sidney Poitier
- What Every Woman Knows (1934)