World On Edge During Cuban Missile Crisis

Believe it or not, some people have declared 1962 a great year for movies.  Really?  I could have sworn it was in the middle of one of the worst periods in Hollywood history.

What does Jesse Walker think?

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/sixty-two-skidoo-weve-toured-my.html

Here's his top ten:

1. The Exterminating Angel

2. The Music Man

3. La Jetee

4. Ride The High Country

5. The Manchurian Candidate

6. The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

7. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

8. Sanjuro

9. An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge

10. Carnival Of Souls

Some good stuff here, though not necessarily great stuff.  For instance, I consider The Exterminating Angel second-tier Bunuel, but that's nothing to be sneezed at.  Same for The Music Man--not a classic movie musical, but a very enjoyable adaptation of a great Broadway musical.

I don't think La Jetee is a feature, but it's certainly something special. Same for Owl Creek, I guess.

Ride The High Country is either the last of the old Westerns or the first of the new ones (and maybe Peckinpah's best). 

I've never seen the 1962 Munchausen film, but I've wanted to for years (so what's stopped me?).

The Manchurian Candidate is odd and flawed, but I'll give it credit for being different (especially in 1962).

Baby Jane is modern gothic.  I've never known quite what to make of it--it seems like camp, but I admit it's fascinating.

Sanjuro is Kurosawa's lighter take on Yojimbo, and well worth it.

Carnival Of Souls captures a mood in an era when plenty of horror falls flat.

Here are the honorable mentions.

11. Pitfall

12. Cleo From 5 to 7

13. Lolita

14. Lawrence Of Arabia

15. The House Is Black

16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence

17. The Trial

18.  Knife In The Water

19.  Hell Is For Heroes

20. The Tom And Jerry Cartoon Kit

11 is pretty memorable.  12 is a fine film (even if critics are overrating it on the S&S poll). 13 has a great first half but runs out of steam--and is way too long--but is still worth watching. 14 also runs out of steam, but I'm less enamored of the project as a whole. Never seen 15.

16 may be Ford's most overrated Western, which takes some doing. 17 may be Welles most underrated--it has a lot of flaws, but is still fun to watch. 18 is a major talent announcing himself to the world. 19 is a passable war film with a bizarre mix of a cast. 20 is a short.

Here are other films that would make my top ten:

Le Doulos

Jules And Jim

The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

Here are other films from the year I liked:

David And Lisa, The Day Of The Triffids, Dr. No, The Intruder, Hatari!, It's Only Money, It's Trad, Dad!, The L-Shaped Room, The Miracle Worker, Only Two Can Play, The Tale Of Zatoichi

Other films of note:

The 300 Spartans, 40 Pounds Of Trouble, Advise & Consent, All Fall Down, Any Number Can Win, The Awful Dr. Orlof, Bachelor Flat, Billy Budd, Billy Rose's Jumbo, Birdman Of Alcatraz, Boccaccio '70, Boys Night Out, Cape Fear, Carry On Cruising, Cartouche, The Chapman Report, Confessions Of An Opium Eater, Days Of Wine And Roses, L'Eclisse, Eegah, Experiment In Terror, Five Finger Exercise, Follow That Dream, Gigot, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Gypsy, How The West Was Won, The Interns, The Intruder, It Happened In Athens, Jack The Giant Killer, Kid Galahad, A Kind Of Loving, Light In The Piazza, Lonely Are The Brave, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Longest Day, Merrill's Marauders, Mondo Cane, Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation, Mutiny On The Bounty, My Geisha, The Notorious Landlady, Panic In The Year Zero!, Period Of Adjustment, The Pigeon That Took Rome, Requiem For A Heavyweight, The Road To Hong Kong, Sergeants 3, State Fair, Sweet Bird Of Youth, Taras Bulba, Tender Is The Night, That Touch Of Mink, This Is Not A Test, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, To Kill A Mockingbird, Two For The Seesaw, Two Weeks In Another Town, The Vendetta, Walk On The Wild Side, Waltz Of The Toreadors, We Joined The Navy, The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm, The World's Greatest Sinner, Zotz!