The Rest Is Silents

I feel like I used this title before, but it's good enough I don't care. (Don't even care that I broke the rule of using "year" in each title.)

Jesse has gone back so far he can't go any further.

Here's his entire entry for 1923:

THE POWER OF THREE: I have listed the best motion pictures of 2013, 2003, 1993, 1983, 1973, 1963, 1953, 1943, 1933.  And now...

...well, now we stop.  Sorry, I just haven't seen enough exceptional movies from 1923 to fill a top 10 list.  For the record, my favorite film of 1923 is Safet Last! and my favorite from 1913 is the opening chapters of Fantomas. (That isn't a putdown of the later chapters--it's just that they didn't come out until 1914.) Hang tight til December; we''ll start on the 4 years then.

Feel free to check out all those lists at:

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

I actually was able to find an old post about Jesse not talking much about silent films--guess he hasn't seen too many 1923 films in the interim.  Let me reproduce it, illustrations and all, back when I knew how to do that:

His favorite film of 1923 is Harold Lloyd's Safety Last! Can't argue with that, but that's the only title Jesse lists.  I'm not asking for a top ten here, but there are a few more he might mention.  For instance, Lloyd, who was doing two features a year then, also did Why Worry?, another classic (and another title with its own punctuation).

Even more productive in 1923 was Buster Keaton, who made his last two silent shorts, The Balloonatic and The Love Nest (like them both, especially the latter), and his first two true Keaton features--Three Ages and Our Hospitality (like them both, especially the latter).

Another film I like is Cecil B. DeMille's silent The Ten Commandments, which, unlike his sound version, is mostly set in the present.

Other films of note in 1923 include The Covered Wagon, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Rosita, Scaramouche, The White Rose and A Woman Of Paris.  The last is by Chaplin, but doesn't star Chaplin--some call it a classic, which is vastly overrating it.

Going back ten years to 1913--a century ago in cinema--Jesse likes the Fantomas serial.  I've never seen any of it.

The film world was a wild place in 1913, with moviemakers still developing techniques and trying to establish an industry.  You had early versions of Ivanhoe, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, A Christmas Carol, Hamlet, The Sea Wolf, David Copperfield and other titles that would be remade over and over.  You had D. W. Griffith making a film a week, some of which are still pretty entertaining.  You had Keystone Studios, where they made wild comedies, and where boss Mack Sennett hired some stage comic named Charles Chaplin, though he didn't appear in anything until 1914.

And that's where Jesse ends.  Odd, actually, since 1903 has some well-known stuff I bet he's seen--Electrocuting An Elephant, The Music Lover, Life Of An American Fireman and, above all, The Great Train Robbery.  And 1893 is the beginning of film as we know it, with Edison's famous Blacksmith Scene made at the Black Maria studio.

Depression Year

Jesse Walker has now reached all the way back to the 1933.

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

Sound had been licked, but Hollywood was in trouble.  It's a popular myth that movies were recession  (and Depression) proof. In fact, the studios were in bad shape in 1933--when the public needs to tighten its belt, the entertainment budget is an easy cut.

Also notable--1933 was the last year before the Production Code was strictly enforced.

So let's see what Jesse says are the top ten:

1. Duck Soup

2. Zero For Conduct

3. Snow-White

4. Land Without Bread

5. Hallelujah, I'm A Bum

6. I'm No Angel

7. Design For Living

8. Outskirts

9. Alice In Wonderland

10. International House

It's hard to argue Duck Soup wasn't number one. In fact, it'd be hard to argue it's anything else.

Zero For Conduct makes you wonder what Jean Vigo would have done if he hadn't died so young. (And though it's not that long I'm going to call it a feature.)

Snow-White is a fun Betty Boop short.

Land Without Bread is an amazing sort-of documentary (which I'm also going to call a feature--I'm being very generous today).

Hallelujah I'm A Bum is an unusual musical starring Al Jolson.  Its best feature is its Rodgers and Hart score (including rhyming dialogue). It's odd to see it on a top ten list, especially since the list is missing some very notable musicals from Warner Brothers.

I'm No Angel is one of two 1933 Mae West films that saved Paramount from bankruptcy. (Her career was arguably destroyed next year by the Production Code.) I like these films, but don't think I'd put them in the top ten.

Design For Living is a pretty solid Lubitsch comedy (though nowhere near as good as 1932's Trouble In Paradise).

I've never seen Outskirts, though I'd like to.

Alice In Wonderland is an oddity. (While Mae West was saving Paramount, this film was destroying it.) I'd call it more fascinating than entertaining.

International House is a surprisingly entertaining grab bag, stolen by W. C. Fields.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. 42nd Street

12. Gold Diggers Of 1933

13. Baby Face

14. Lost In Sodom

15. Is My Palm Read

16. The Wizard Of Oz

17. The Mad Doctor

18. Three Little Pigs

19. The Sin Of Nora Moran

20. The Fatal Glass Of Beer

I'm glad to see 11 and 12 made it, but they should be in the top ten. (And the third big Warner Brothers musical, Footlight Parade, should be in the top twenty).

13 should maybe be in the top ten--perhaps the ultimate example of a pre-Code film.

14 is an experimental short (that I've never seen).

15 is another Betty Boop short. Director Dave Fleischer made over 30 cartoons in 1933, a number of them pretty good--yet another reason not to deal with shorts, especially in the 1930s.  Throw in Walt Disney, Laurel and Hardy, and a bunch of others, and where does it end?

Speaking of Disney (and others), 16, 17, 18 (Oscar winner) and 20 are shorts.

Haven't seen 19, though it looks like fun. 

Film that would make my top ten (or twenty):

Counsellor At Law

Employees Entrance

Footlight Parade (as mentioned above)

King Kong (surprised not to see this)

Sons Of The Desert

Other films I liked:

Bombshell, Dinner At Eight, Female, Flying Down To Rio, Heroes For Sale, Lady For A Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse, Wild Boys Of The Road

Other films of note:

Ann Vickers, The Bitter Tea Of General Yen, Cavalcade (Oscar winner for some reason), Christopher Strong, College Humor, Dancing Lady, Ecstasy, Elmer The Great, The Emperor Jones, Ex-Lady, Gabriel Over The White House, The Ghoul, Going Hollywood, Hard To Handle, Hold Your Man, The Invisible Man, The Kennel Murder Case, Ladies They Talk About, Lady Killer, The Little Giant, Matinee Idol, Morning Glory, Night Flight, Night Of Terror, Our Betters, Passing Fancy, Penthouse, The Power And The Glory, The Prizefighter And The Lady, Queen Christina, Reunion In Vienna, Roman Scandals, So This Is Africa, State Fair, Tillie And Gus, Today We Live, Topaze, Tugboat Annie, The Vampire Bat, Voltaire, What! No Beer?

War Year

Jesse Walker now brings us back to the year of 1943 in film.

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

The world was on the brink then, but Hollywood kept making movies.  Often about the war.

Here's his top ten movies:

1. Shadow Of A Doubt

2. Meshes Of The Afternoon

3. Le Corbeau

4. Red Hot Riding Hood

5. Ossessione

6. The Ox-Bow Incident

7. I Walked With A Zombie

8. Five Graves To Cairo

9. Day Of Wrath

10. The Eternal Return

Even though Europe was engulfed in flames, Jesse has a fair number of picks from there.

Shadow Of A Doubt was Hitchcock's personal favorite. I don't think quite so highly of it, but I like it.

Meshes is a short. (I agree with Jesse that it looks like it could have been made last week, but that doesn't necessarily make it good.)

Le Corbeau is pretty good.

Red Hot Riding Hood is a (classic) Tex Avery short.

Ossessione is a well-done crime drama.  Maybe a bit too long.

The Ox-Bow Incident is an earnest message picture--not the greatest Hollywood genre. But it's well done for what it is, and at 75 minutes doesn't overstay its welcome.

I Walked With A Zombie is one of the best of the Val Lewton horror B-pictures.

Five Graves To Cairo may may not make the top five Billy Wilder list, but it's one of his most underappreciated titles.

Day Of Wrath is Dreyer being Dreyer (which is a good thing).

I haven't seen The Eternal Return.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Tortoise Wins By A Hare

12. Journey Into Fear

13. Lumiere D'Ete

14. Dumb-Hounded

15. Stormy Weather

16. The Seventh Victim

17. The Fallen Sparrow

18. Tin Pan Alley Cats

19. Falling Hare

20. Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs

It's hard to miss that 11, 14, 18, 19 and 20 are cartoon shorts.

I believe much of 12's reputation comes from the presence of Orson Welles, in front of (and some thing behind) the camera.  Haven't seen 13.  15 is a novelty for the time--a big studio all-black musical--and is worth it for all the tremendous talent. 16 is an unusual film for the time about a Satanic cult--only wish it were better (though it's quite something to see Hugh Beaumont as part of the fun--playing a character named Ward!--also, a big year for Tom Conway, isn't it?).  Haven't seen 17.

Other films that would have made my top ten:

Casablanca (I'm dumbfound it's not on the list) (see comments below on this bizarre mistake of mine)

The Sky's The Limit

Other films I liked:

Air Force, The Gang’s All Here, Heaven Can Wait, Higher And Higher, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, The More The Merrier


Other films of note:

Best Foot Forward, Coney Island, Corvette K-225, The Count Of Monte Cristo, Crazy House, The Dancing Masters, The Desert Song, Destination Tokyo, Dixie, Dubarry Was A Lady, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, Gildersleeves On Broadway, Gung Ho!, A Guy Named Joe, Hangmen Also Die!, Hit The Ice, The Human Comedy, I Dood It, Jane Eyre, Jitterbugs, Keeper Of The Flame, Kid Dynamite, Lady Of Burlesque, Madame Curie, Mission To Moscow, Mr. Lucky, My Friend Flicka, The North Star, The Outlaw, Passport To Suez, The Phantom Baron, Presenting Lily Mars, Riding High, Sahara, So Proudly We Hail!, Son Of Dracula, The Song Of Bernadette, Stage Door Canteen, Star Spangled Rhythm, Tender Comrade, Thank Your Lucky Stars, This Is The Army, This Land Is Mine, Thousands Cheer, Watch On The Rhine

The Year Neither Here Nor There

Jesse Walker's movie list is back to 1953.

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

Interesting things were being done internationally in the 50s, but Hollywood was running scared over television. Let's see what Jesse thinks:

Here's his top ten:

1. Glen Or Glenda

2. Duck Amuck

3. The Naked Spur

4. Tokyo Story

5. Eaux d'Artifice

6. Ugetsu Monogatari

7. El

8. Niagara

9. Stalag 17

10. Summer With Monika

Glen Or Glenda is classic Ed Wood, which makes it special, though not great by normal standards.

Duck Amuck is a classic, but a short.

I've grown to appreciate Westerns more over the years, and I enjoy the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart series including The Naked Spur, but I don't know if any of them are top ten material.

Tokyo Story is top ten, even if international film critics have been rating this film too highly for decades now.

Eaux d'Artifice is an experimental short.

Ugetsu Monogatari used to be what Tokyo Story is now--a reflexive top ten vote for critics.  Now it's barely hanging on to the top 100.  That's the game of reputation.  But the film is still the same, and deserves a top ten slot for 1953.

El is one of the better films Bunuel churned out during his low-budget Mexican period, and deserves a top ten slot.

Niagara is a minor melodrama most notable for Marilyn Monroe's presence.

I like Stalag 17 even more than Jesse, and would put it in the top five.

Summer With Monika is minor, if not uninteresting, early Bergman--sold in America as hot stuff, due to its nudity.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. The Wages Of Fear

12. The Big Heat

13. Pickup On South Street

14. The Band Wagon

15. The Little Fugitive

16. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

17. Mr. Hulot's Holiday

18. Daybreak Express

19. The Tell-Tale Heart

20. Eneri

I've never quite cottoned to 11, even if I like it better than Sorcerer. 12 is a classic film noir, and should be in the top ten.  13 is even better than 12, and my favorite Fuller.  14 is one of Astaire's best with without Ginger Rogers, and should be top ten.  Haven't seen 15, though it looks intriguing.  16 is not great Hawks, but still pretty interesting. 17 is probably Tati's best known title--good, if not as great as its reputation.  18, 19 and 20 are shorts.

Other films that would make my top ten (or twenty):

I Vitelloni

Roman Holiday (Jesse says he hasn't seen it--okay, but it's not that hard to find)

The 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T

Other films of 1953 I like:

Beat The Devil, El Bruto, The Caddy, Calamity Jane, Call Me Madam, The Earrings Of Madame De..., Kiss Me Kate, Lili, The Wild One

Other films of note:

99 River Street, Abbott And Costello Go To Mars, Abbott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis, Appointment In London, Barabbas, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Beggar’s Opera, By The Light Of The Silvery Moon, The Captain’s Paradise, City That Never Sleeps, Dream Wife, Easy To Love, The Eddie Cantor Story, Escape By Night, The Farmer Takes A Wife, Fear And Desire, From Here To Eternity (Oscar winner), Here Come The Girls, Houdini, House Of Wax, How To Marry A Millionaire, I Confess, I Love Melvin, I The Jury, Invaders From Mars, Island In The Sky, It Came From Outer Space, It’s Never Too Late, The Joe Louis Story, Julius Caesar, Knights Of The Round Table, The Living Desert, Mogambo, The Moon Is Blue, No Escape, Peter Pan, Pony Express, The Robe, Robot Monster, Sawdust And Tinsel, Scared Stiff, Shane, The Story Of Gilbert And Sullivan, The Three Musketeers, Thunder Bay, Titanic, Tonight We Sing, The War Of The Worlds

A Very Good Year? (No)

Welcome to 2024.  And what better way to start than to look back 61 years ago to see what Jesse Walker thinks are the best films of 1963. (Boy is that a bad segue.

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

Back in 1963, Hollywood was churning out the same old product it had been doing for years, not keeping up with the times.  Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, they were trying new things. (Hollywood was about ten years later to the party.  Scroll down to Jesse's top ten for 1973 and see what happened.)

Anyway, here's his top ten list for 1963:

1. The Birds

2. Ikarie XB-1

3. The Silence

4. The Haunting

5. This Sporting Life

6. The Leopard

7. The Great Escape

8. Scorpio Rising

9. Judex

10. Muriel, Or The Time Of Return

The Birds is fun, and one of Hitchcock's best-known titles.  But I think by the 60s we're beginning to see his powers waning.

The Silence is getting to the core of what Bergman is about.  If you consider that a good thing (and I do), you'd put it in your top ten.

The Haunting is a well-done horror film--classy, but no classic.

This Sporting Life is yet another example of the exciting things they were doing in England (though a bit too long).  But if I were to choose a British New Wave film from 1963 it would be Billy Liar.

In its day, many found fault with The Leopard and Burt Lancaster's perfomance.  It's now universally recognized as a classic.  I think the truth is somewhere in between.

The Great Escape is an enjoyable movie, but (I'm sure this is getting tiresome) no classic.  Call it "The Good Escape."

Muriel is another one of those not-quite classics.

I haven't seen Ikarie XB-1,or Judex, though I'd like to.  Scorpio Rising is an experimental, influential short.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Winter Light

12. The Servant

13. Mediterranee

14. Hud

15. Renaissance

16. An Actor's Revenge

17. High And Low

18. Moth Light

19. To Parsifal

20. Charade

11 is part of the same trilogy as The Silence and should probably be in the top ten (and almost is). I've always found 12 to be pretentious.  13 is a (long) short. 14 strains too hard--Pauline Kael's (unfair) review is far more enjoyable.  15 is a short.  Haven't seen 16.  17 is one of Kurosawa's best and should be in the top ten. 18 is a Stan Brakhage short which I thought was one word. 19 is a short. (The early 60s was a big time for experimental shorts.) 20 is fun, and maybe the most influential film of the decade--a ton of one-word mystery/comedy/romances would follow.

Here are some other film from 1963 I like:

Beach Party, Billy Liar (as mentioned above), Bye Bye Birdie, From Russia With Love, Jason And The Argonauts, The Nutty Professor, The Pink Panther, Shock Corridor.

Other films of note:

4 For Texas, 8 1/2, 55 Days At Peking,  Act One, America America, Call Me Bwana, Captain Newman M.D., The Carbineers, The Cardinal, The Caretaker, Clash By Night, Cleopatra, Come Blow Your Horn, Come Fly With Me, Contempt,  The Cool World, The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father, Critic’s Choice, The Day The Earth Caught Fire, Dementia 13, Donovan’s Reef, Flipper, Fun In Acapulco, Irma La Douce, It Happened At The World’s Far, It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The King Of Kings, Lilies Of The Field, The List Of Adrian Messenger, Lord Of The Flies, Love With A Proper Stranger, The Man From Diner’s Club, Mary Mary, McLintock!, The Mouse On The Moon, A New Kind Of Love, Papa’s Delicate Condition, PT 109, The Raven, The Sadist, Soldier In The Rain, Son Of Flubber, Summer Holiday, Sunday In New York, The Sword In The Stone, Take Her She’s Mine, The Terror, The Three Stooges Go Around The World In A Daze, The Thrill Of It All, Tom Jones (Best Picture Oscar), Toys In The Attic, The Ugly American, Under The Yum Yum Tree, The V.I.P.s, The Wheeler Dealers, Who’s Minding The Store?