"Stage Fright" (1950)

For years afterward, Alfred Hitchcock would give this fine little film of his short shrift, saying he'd made a structural plot mistake that adversely affected the viewer's following of the story. He felt he didn't play fair with the audience. Yes...and no. I think the plot device he's referencing doesn't make or break one's appreciation for the film at all. There are too many other delightful ingredients in the mix here to dismiss it out of hand. Jane Wyman is an aspiring actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She's got a crush on another actor (Richard Todd) who the police believe has murdered the husband of London's biggest musical theatre star, Marlene Dietrich. Wyman turns into an amateur Nancy Drew trying to get the goods on Dietrich by going undercover as her maid to prove the diva did it. She even enlists the help of her doting father, the good-natured Alistair Sim, while she gets romantically involved with the dashing detective working on the case, a very likable Michael Wilding. There are lots of comic bits and scenes in the ambling plot, all infused with a light British sense of underplayed humor. But undoubtably the reason to see the picture is La Dietrich playing the prima donna role to the hilt. She's sly, sexy, suspicious, and irresistible to watch, stealing the picture right out from under everybody. Cole Porter even wrote a big number for her ("The Laziest Gal in Town") that would later become one of her signature concert staples. Who can resist her purring a number like that in a Dior original? It's obvious Hitchcock couldn't, he films her throughout in the most flattering closeups imaginable.

"Made For Each Other" (1939)

One of those movies that gives testament to the strength of Star Power. It starts off as an amiable, almost screwball comedy where a young lawyer (Jimmy Stewart) on the rise in his stuffy firm meets and marries an attractive girl (Carole Lombard) after knowing her for less than a week. But the story ambles and meanders from there as the newlyweds deal with all the tribulations of married life. The thwarted honeymoon, the overbearing mother-in-law, the important boss-comes-to-dinner-that-goes-all-wrong...we've seen it all before, but the leads make it seem so effortless (and fresh) that by the odd third act plot switcheroo that turns the whole enterprise into a weepy melodrama, you've bought into the whole shebang hook, line, and sinker. And that's due to our love for Stewart, the most gosh-darn likable guy ever to grace the screen, and Lombard, the ultimate mix of sexy, smarts, strength, and vulnerability. Wrap it all in David O. Selznick's luxe production and you've got a keeper.

"Keeper of the Flame" (1942)

This solid Tracy/Hepburn vehicle is one of their lesser known pairings. Does it reach the stellar heights of "Adam's Rib", "Woman of the Year", or "Pat and Mike"? Not nearly. But some aspects make it worth a looksee. Essentially a quasi-remake of Hitchcock's "Rebecca", we have another naive outsider entering a ridiculously imposing mansion and getting involved with the spouse of a recently deceased person who looms large in everyone's memory. Tracy is an ex-war correspondent who wants an exclusive interview with widow Hepburn. Her husband was a benevolent businessman and national war hero, a mashup of William Hearst and George Patton. But something seems Not. Quite. Right. As Tracy unpeals this mysterious onion you get both stars' undeniable screen presence under the deft direction of George Cukor and cloaked in ace cinematographer Billy Daniels' almost noir-like blacks and whites. If the denouement doesn't really hang together by the last reel, you have to consider the time the picture was filmed. Watch it for the star power and the sumptuous MGM production instead...and the film debut of Percy Kilbride!

"High Society" (1956)

On first blush this was a terrible idea. To turn "The Philadelphia Story", one of the most deliciously urbane romantic comedies of all time, into a musical. Hmmm. But then they got one of the century's premier tunesmiths (Cole Porter), no slouch he in the wit department, and, not one, but two of the greatest voices in American popular song (Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra). And if that wasn't enough, they tossed in the 50's most elegant beauty (Grace Kelly) and the man who practically invented the art form known as jazz (Lous Armstrong). Okay, 'uncle'. It all works.  Now, this story of a privileged heiress on the eve of her  Newport wedding to a upper crust stiff and the complications that ensue when she has second thoughts about the altar has lost a lot of it's acerbic bite in the translation. But what went in are some glorious songs sung right by Ol' Blue Eyes, der Bingle , and company that are like manna from movie heaven. The "Now You Has Jazz" number with Crosby and Satchmo is, well, almost too good for words. Just. See. It.

"Baby Face" (1933)

Here's one of those Hollywood rags-to-riches stories that must have been so inspiring in the darkest days of the Great Depression. You too could overcome the nation's hard times and make it to the other side of prosperity. But another questionable message was being sent too, and that's the one that makes this Pre-Code artifact so fascinating. Tough as nails Barbara Stanwyck is a barmaid in her father's greasy spoon speakeasy. They run the place out of their grimy apartment and it's insinuated that good ol' Dad serves the factory worker clientele not just beers and hash but his good looking daughter too. One of her regulars gives the fed-up girl some advice, "You've got to use men for your own good!" And so she does. And does. And does. Stanwyck brazenly teases and flirts and beds every man that can get her one step higher on the social ladder, ultimately ending up a high class Park Avenue denizen. But at what price? It's a little creepy nowadays to watch a smart woman character whore her way to wealth and respectability but Stanwyck is so good having a high time controlling all those horned up dupes you can't help but admire her moxie by the end of the picture.

"Baby Doll" (1956)

Let's see, Tennessee Williams' first original screenplay. Does he serve up his usual steamy stew of Southern Gothic sexuality, libidinous and repressed in equal measures? Well, for starters there's a 19 year old virgin bride (Carroll Baker) who sleeps in a crib and sucks her thumb like she's longing for, ahem, well let's keep going...she's just three days away from consummating her arranged marriage to a braying lunkhead (Karl Malden) who's so pent up he takes to leering at her through holes in the bedroom wall. Then there's the arch rival to Malden in the cotton gin game (Eli Wallach in a sly film debut). He sets his Big Bad Wolf lothario moves on Baker soon enough, but is he really after her post-pubescent charms or trying to get information on the culprit who burned down his cotton mill? This film detonated like an A-bomb in the middle of the buttoned down 1950's. Banned at the time by numerous cities and the Catholic League, it still has the audacious power to shock and titillate, all told with William's patented blend of hyper emotional dialogue dipped in sorghum soaked drawls. A first rate production design by twins (!) Richard and Paul Sylbert and canny direction by Elia Kazan are the icing on the whole sweet 'n salacious outing. Prepare to clutch your rosary.

"The Big Country" (1958)

What's in a name? Everything if you're talking about this quality western. Big story. Big cast. Big music. Big widescreen vistas. And most importantly, Big Theme. Gregory Peck, doing his stoic and taciturn best, is an educated gentleman from back East who comes out West to marry his fiancé (Carroll Baker), the bratty scion of a wealthy cattleman with a big ranch (Charles Pickford). How big? BIG. You know that because every character in the movie tells him. But trouble starts when Peck realizes he's caught in the bickering crossfire between his future father-in-law and another rival rancher (Burl Ives). These two old coots go at it tooth and nail, threatening and insulting each other 'til things get really dicey. Each has a son figure by his side, Charlton Heston and Chuck Connors, to further goad pacifist Peck into manning up and takin' sides. Now, given the era it was filmed, the whole movie can be read as a Cold War allegory (Will these two warring factions fight to the death and kill everybody along with them?), but it's just more fun to sit back and watch all these great actors play out the story against director William Wyler's wide screen panoramas. Lovely schoolteacher Jean Simmons is around to vie for Peck's heart, and Ives steals the picture--and took home the Oscar--for his blustery patriarch turn. Major points for some great Saul Bass titles and the justifiably iconic score by Jerome Moross. Just try and get the recognizable title theme out of your head. You will lose.