D.O.A.

Here’s a link to stream the classic film noir: D.O.A. (1950). A man is desperately trying to find out who gave him a slow-acting poison. He doesn’t have much time, as the poison will kill him in just a few days. This is one of the top film noirs and not to be confused with the lesser 1969 and 1988 remakes. D.O.A. is an abbreviation for “Dead on Arrival.”

Here’s a choice bit of dialogue from the movie:

Homicide Detective: Can I help you?
Frank Bigelow: I’d like to see the man in charge.
Homicide Detective: In here…
Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder.
Homicide Captain: Sit down. Where was this murder committed?
Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night.
Homicide Captain: Who was murdered?
Frank Bigelow: I was.

If you prefer to download this public domain feature, you can visit here.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Stoddard: You’re not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
Scott: This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

– Dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Early Superman

Production photo from Superman (1948)

Before Superman Returns (2006), Superman (1978), and even the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958), there was the movie serial Superman (1948), starring Kirk Alyn in the title role. Though it may spoil the magic, this image reveals some of the technical wizardry that allowed him to fly through the air unaided by wires or trampolines. Alyn made a cameo appearance in the 1978 Superman movie as young Lois Lane’s father (they’re on a train together).

Longest Theatrical Run?

What movie has played continuously in a theater for the longest time? That depends on what you consider to be a movie. The 34-minute Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot has run in Colonial Williamsburg since 1957. In 2002, it was shown to its 30 millionth person.

Among feature-length movies, the record may go to the Indian-film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). It had played in a Bombay theater for more than 500 weeks, as of May 2005. The title translates as “The brave-hearted will take away the bride.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find out when its run ended, or if it’s still playing at the same theater.

October

Poster for October (1927)

This silent Russian film by Grigori Aleksandrov and Sergei M. Eisenstein was commissioned for the tenth anniversary of the Soviet revolution. While Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925) is considered to be one of the most innovative films ever made, October is even more daring in its approach.

In a letter to Leon Moussinac dated December 16, 1928, Eisenstein wrote that “in this film that is so much of the ‘people,’ of the ‘masses,’ I allowed myself to experiment.” Later in the letter, he wrote, “October is the dialectical denial of Potemkin! And the main interest of October is in the bits and pieces which do not resemble the ‘Battleship.’”

Sullivan’s Travels

Policeman: How does the girl fit into the picture?
Sullivan: There’s always a girl in the picture. What’s the matter, don’t you go to the movies?

– Dialogue from Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

Popeye with Little Swee’ Pea

Here’s a link to stream an early Popeye cartoon: Little Swee’ Pea (1936). This is one of the Fleischer Studios’ Popeye cartoons, which are far superior to the later ones produced when Dave Fleischer was no longer at the helm. In Little Swee’ Pea, Popeye invites Olive Oly to the zoo — only she’s too busy to go out with him. So Popeye takes Sweet Pea instead. Check out the multi-plane backgrounds that provide a more realistic sense of perspective and movement.

If you prefer to download this classic public domain cartoon, you can visit here.

Top Movie Quotes

Here are the top 20 movie quotes from the American Film Institute’s list of Top 100 Movie Quotes:

1. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. (Gone with the Wind, 1939)

2. I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse. (The Godfather, 1972)

3. You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. (On the Waterfront, 1954)

4. Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)

5. Here’s looking at you, kid. (Casablanca, 1942)

6. Go ahead, make my day. (Sudden Impact, 1983)

7. All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up. (Sunset Blvd., 1950)

8. May the Force be with you. (Star Wars, 1977)

9. Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night. (All About Eve, 1950)

10. You talking to me? (Taxi Driver, 1976)

11. What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. (Cool Hand Luke, 1967)

12. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. (Apocalypse Now, 1979)

13. Love means never having to say you’re sorry. (Love Story, 1970)

14. The stuff that dreams are made of. (The Maltese Falcon, 1941)

15. E.T. phone home. (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982)

16. They call me Mister Tibbs! (In the Heat of the Night, 1967)

17. Rosebud. (Citizen Kane, 1941)

18. Made it, Ma! Top of the world! (White Heat, 1949)

19. I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore! (Network, 1976)

20. Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (Casablanca, 1942)

Woman in the Moon

Photo from Woman in the Moon (1929)

This silent German science-fiction film from Fritz Lang introduced the concept of counting backwards before a rocket lift-off. Lang was looking for a way to dramatize the launch and hit on the idea of having someone count down to zero. The count down procedure became commonplace in both films and novels and was later adopted by NASA for the real thing. This movie also explored the effects of zero gravity in space and accurately predicted a two-stage rocket powered by liquid fuel.

Shortest Movie Reviews

Leonard Maltin is credited with the shortest movie review. His review for Isn’t it Romantic? was simple and to-the-point, “no.” James Agee is supposed to have written off You Were Meant for Me with, “That’s what you think.” And Kenneth Tynan summed up the allure of I Am a Camera with, “Me no Leica.”

There’s even a website devoted to short movie reviews. The name of the site says it all: The Four Word Film Review. Examples of its four-words-or-less opinions include Groundhog Day (Monotony in Punxatawney), The Mummy (America’s first wrap star), The Ten Commandments (Runaway Jewry), and Citizen Kane (Publisher has last word).

Unknown Film #2

Spielberg’s early test shot of Adolphe Menjou for the part of E.T.? Or maybe the first automated, genetically modified milk-dispensing machine? Does anyone know which movie this photo might be from?

Longest Movie Ever?

What’s the longest movie ever? According to the Guinness Book of Records, it would be the aptly named The Cure for Insomnia (1987), which runs an incredible 5,220 minutes (87 hours). It doesn’t have a plot and was shot on video rather than on film, so it may not technically quality as the world’s longest movie. And no, I haven’t seen it, though I did sit through a 190-minute screening of Michael Snow’s The Central Region (1970), which also doesn’t have a plot.

Other contenders for longest movie include the 1,620-minute The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928–1931), the 1,452-minute Grandmother Martha (1996), the 873-minute Resan (1987), the 773-minute Out 1 (1971), the 643-minute Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004), the 566-minute Shoah (1985), and the 511-minute War and Peace (1968).

Buster in The Boat

Here’s a link to stream the classic Buster Keaton silent comedy short: The Boat (1921). Buster and his family launch their do-it-yourself project, christened the Damfino. When they encounter rough waters, Buster radios for help. Asked the name of the vessel, Buster replies, “Damfino.”

If you prefer to download this public domain short, you can visit here.

Highest Grossing Movies

What are the highest grossing movies of all time? They may not be the ones you expect — if you adjust the ticket prices for inflation. Here’s the top 10 list using adjusted gross earnings, according to Box Office Mojo:

1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
$1,293,085,600 (unadjusted: $198,676,459)

2. Star Wars (1977)
$1,139,965,400 (unadjusted: $460,998,007)

3. The Sound of Music (1965)
$911,458,400 (unadjusted: $158,671,368)

4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
$907,867,700 (unadjusted: $435,110,554)

5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
$838,400,000 (unadjusted: $65,500,000)

6. Titanic (1997)
$821,413,700 (unadjusted: $600,788,188)

7. Jaws (1975)
$819,704,400 (unadjusted: $260,000,000)

8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
$794,466,900 (unadjusted: $111,721,910)

9. The Exorcist (1973)
$707,639,500 (unadjusted: $232,671,011)

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
$697,600,000 (unadjusted: $184,925,486)

Pure Film?

Françoise Truffaut: Would you say that Psycho [1960] is an experimental film?

Alfred Hitchcock: Possibly. My main satisfaction is that the film had an effect on the audiences, and I consider that very important. I don’t care about the subject matter; I don’t care about the acting; but I do care about the pieces of film and the photography and the sound track and all the technical ingredients that make the audience scream. I feel it’s tremendously satisfying for us to be able to use the cinematic art to achieve something of a mass emotion. And with Psycho we most definitely achieved this. It wasn’t a message that stirred the audiences, nor was it a great performance or their enjoyment of the novel. They were aroused by pure film.

– Alfred Hitchcock, interviewed in 1962 by Françoise Truffaut

42nd Street

Lorraine: You remember Anne Lowell?
Andy: Not Anytime Annie? Say, who could forget ‘er? She only said “No” once, and then she didn’t hear the question!

Ann: You know, it’s a shame your mother didn’t have any children!

Julian: Sawyer, you listen to me, and you listen hard. Two hundred people, two hundred jobs, two hundred thousand dollars, five weeks of grind and blood and sweat depend upon you. It’s the lives of all these people who’ve worked with you. You’ve got to go on, and you’ve got to give and give and give. They’ve got to like you. Got to. Do you understand? You can’t fall down. You can’t because your future’s in it, my future and everything all of us have is staked on you. All right, now I’m through, but you keep your feet on the ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out, and Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster but you’ve got to come back a star!

– Dialogue from 42nd Street (1933)