My Favorite Film Discoveries of 2023

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! We’re about a month and a half into 2024 now, but I didn’t want to get too far into the New Year without having talked about my favorite new discoveries of last year. Per my Letterboxd stats page, last year I watched 397 films. I really wish I’d managed to squeeze in 3 more so I’d have an even 400, but alas. Now that’s not to say that all 397 titles were unique. I tend to rewatch movies, especially my favorites. Last year’s most watched stars were Joan Blondell, Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. My most watched directors were Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Mitchell Leisen, and William Wyler.

All in all, it was a good year for movie viewing–especially since I got to attend my first ever TCM Film Festival and had the best movie viewing experience of my life–Casablanca in Grauman’s Chinese Theater. I’d seen that movie four other times in the theater, and nothing will ever top seeing it at Grauman’s. For the record, my second best movie experience of the year was seeing Barbarella in 35mm at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. Seeing a campy movie like Barbarella with an audience that was completely entranced and loving every second, was fantastic. There was even a girl dressed like Barbarella, in a short silver dress, knee-high boots, and big hair–despite it being January in Oregon! Now that’s dedication!

Anyway, without further adieu, these are all my new watches of 2023:

• The Apple (1980)
• Appointment with Danger (1950)
• Arsene Lupin (1932)
• Ask Father (1919)
• Barbie (2023)
• Because of You (1952)
• Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)
• Big Business Girl (1931)
• Big City Blues (1932)
• Billy Blazes Esq. (1919)
• Black Angel (1946)
• Born to Be Bad (1934)
• Born to Kill (1947)
• The Boy and the Heron (2023)
• Brute Force (1949)
• Captain Carey, USA (1949)
• Carnal Knowledge (1971)
• The Children’s Hour (1961)
• China (1943)
• Cops (1922)
• Deadline at Dawn (1946)
• Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
• Deception (1946)
• Deep Valley (1947)
• Desert Fury (1947)
• The Desperate Hours (1955)
• The Doctor and the Girl (1949)
• Dragonwyck (1946)
• Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
• An Eastern Westerner (1920)
• Enter the Dragon (1973)
• Experiment Perilous (1944)
• Fallen Angel (1945)
• The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
• Father Goose (1964)
• Female on the Beach (1955)

• The Five Pennies (1959)
• Flaming Star (1960)
• Flaxy Martin (1949)
• Footlight Parade (1933)
• Framed (1947)
• A Free Soul (1931)
• The Gilded Lily (1935)
• Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
• Grand Slam (1933)
• The Great Moment (1944)
• Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 (2023)
• Harvey (1950)
• High and Dizzy (1920)
• High Pressure (1932)
• Honky Tonk (1941)
• Houseboat (1959)
• The Iron Mistress (1952)
• I’ve Got Your Number (1934)
• King Kong (1933)
• Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
• Ladies in Retirement (1941)
• The Lady in Question (1940)
• The Lady is Willing (1942)
• Larceny, Inc. (1942)
• Life Begins (1932)
• The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
• Love Has Many Faces (1965)
• Love Me Tender (1956)
• Make Me a Star (1932)
• The Man I Love (1946)
• The Mask of Dimitrios (1946)
• Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935)
• Mr. Soft Touch (1949)
• Mrs. Parkington (1944)
• Naughty But Nice (1939)
• The Navigator (1924)
• Night Editor (1946)

• One Week (1920)
• Passion Flower (1930)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• Play Girl (1932)
• The Princess Comes Across (1936)
• The Purchase Price (1932)
• Race Street (1948)
• Red Light (1949)
• Rio Bravo (1959)
• Romancing the Stone (1984)
• Search for Beauty (1934)
• Second Honeymoon (1937)
• Secret Beyond the Door (1947)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
• Shakedown (1950)
• Shane (1953)
• The Silver Horde (1930)
• Singapore (1947)
• The Sky’s the Limit (1943)
• Stand-In (1937)
• Strange Bargain (1949)
• That Touch of Mink (1962)
• There’s Always a Woman (1938)
• Tight Spot (1955)
• Traveling Saleslady (1935)
• The Unfaithful (1946)
• The Unguarded Hour (1936)
• Union Depot (1932)
• Week-End Marriage (1932)
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
• Whiplash (1948)
• Wild in the Country (1961)
• Woman in Hiding (1950)
• A Woman’s Face (1941)
• A Woman’s Vengeance (1948)

That was a lot of new movies last year, 108 in fact. I discovered a lot of new favorites and discovered some films that I never want to see again (The Apple, I’m looking at you). I’m not going to include the new films I saw, but I want to go on the record to say that Barbie, The Boy and the Heron, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story were awesome.

Here are my Top 5 favorite new discoveries:

This is an incredibly misleading poster.

#1 Ladies in Retirement (1941). In September, Criterion Channel featured a series called “Gaslight Noir” which I took to mean film noir that took place during the Victorian era, but I think Criterion stated that it was “dark and moody film noir.” This film stars Ida Lupino, and was a movie that I’d heard about, but had never seen. I wasn’t even aware it was a film noir, the title makes it seem like it is a light-hearted film about rich women who live a life of leisure. However, that is definitely not what this movie is about. Ida plays spinster, Ellen Creed, who works as a housekeeper and live-in companion to her wealthy friend, Leonora Fiske. Ellen has two eccentric sisters who are about to be evicted from their apartment due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be homeless, Ellen takes them in and convinces Leonora to let them stay. The sisters quickly wear out their welcome and Leonora demands that Ellen force them to leave. Not wanting her sisters to end up in an institution, Ellen takes matters into her own hands.

I did not expect the turn that this movie took and I absolutely loved it. I loved the setting of this remote English home that seems perpetually encased in fog. This movie had a spooky vibe to it and I just loved it. I wish that someone would put it out on blu ray.

#2 A Woman’s Face (1941). This is a Joan Crawford film noir that TCM played earlier this year. I’d heard of this film, but had never seen it scheduled. In this film, Joan plays blackmailer Anna Holm, a woman who bears a large, disfiguring scar on her face. Because of this disfigurement, Anna carries a lot of resentment and hostility towards others, which is why she has no empathy or remorse for carrying out her blackmail scams. Eventually, she gets plastic surgery from Dr. Gustaf Segert (Melvyn Douglas) to cover the scar. Without the scar to hide behind, Anna is forced to confront her insecurities, her anger over her past, and her current life of schemes and crimes.

Most of the plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks, told through witness testimony in a court trial, where Anna is being tried for murder. Joan Crawford’s performance is fantastic as her character evolves throughout the film. Melvyn Douglas is great as the doctor who provides emotional support and sees Anna for whom she really is. Conrad Veidt as an excellent villainous role as the wealthy Torsten Barring, her partner in crime as well as her lover. The ending of the film is exciting and memorable.

#3 Harvey (1950). This was a discovery for my husband and I at the TCM Film Festival. I’d heard of this film, but I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing it yet. We absolutely loved it. In this film, James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a man who by all accounts is eccentric. His best friend is an imaginary friend, a 6’3.5″ rabbit named Harvey. His sister, Veta (Josephine Hull), is absolutely embarrassed and horrified by her bother’s behavior. Elwood doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior and insists that Harvey is real. Veta eventually is so fed up that she goes down to the sanitarium to have Elwood committed and she ends up being committed herself. Harvey is expertly crafted to make the audience wonder if Elwood really is delusional and Harvey isn’t real, or is Harvey real and only Elwood can see him?

Josephine Hull won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the 1950 Oscars race and while I don’t know that she deserved to win over Nancy Olsen for Sunset Boulevard or Thelma Ritter for All About Eve, Hull is hysterical as Veta. She very much seems like her character from Arsenic and Old Lace, except without the murder aspect. James Stewart is the true standout performance (aside from Harvey, of course) in this film. He expertly plays Elwood P. Dowd to be friendly and likeable, there isn’t really any reason to distrust or dislike him. He seems content with his life and best friend. Peggy Dow is also a lot of fun as the nurse at the sanitarium, she’s also gorgeous as well.

#4 Shakedown (1950). Speaking of Peggy Dow, she’s in this film as well. In this movie, Howard Duff plays a cock-of-the-walk photographer, Jack Early, who will do anything to get a great photo. He manages to use these tactics to score a job at a prominent San Francisco newspaper, headed up by Ellen Bennett (Dow), the photography editor and David Glover (Bruce Bennett), the editor-in-chief. David is unimpressed by Jack’s somewhat questionable methods for getting the photos, but hires him anyway. He gives Jack the impossible assignment of getting a photograph of the face of local gangster, Nick Palmer (Brian Donlevy), a man who notoriously does not want his picture taken. Jack easily scores the photo by appealing to Nick’s ego. Appreciating Jack’s nerve, Nick takes him under his wing and tells him that the head of the rival gang, Colton (Lawrence Tierney), is planning a job. He gives Jack the time and location. He easily gets the photo and brings it back to David. Colton gets wind of Jack and hires him to pull one over on Nick. Jack continues playing both gang members against each other, all while David and Ellen start becoming more and more skeptical as to how Jack keeps scoring these amazing photos. Eventually Jack gets in over his head.

This was such a great movie. I didn’t know what to expect from it and was so impressed by all the twists and turns that the plot took. I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves a good film noir.

#5 Shane (1953). I’m not a big westerns fan, but I watched this one because I’ve recently been on an Alan Ladd kick and I’d never seen what is probably his biggest, most well known role. Ladd plays the titular Shane, a drifter who arrives at a small town in Wyoming. Most of the town is comprised of homesteaders who moved west, taking advantage of the government’s offer to give free land to people wishing to move west of the Mississippi and set-up their own homes, farms, ranches, etc. Upon arriving in town, Shane encounters Mary and Joe Starrett (Jean Arthur and Van Heflin), a couple living off of the land they received from the government. Mary and Joe also have a young son, Joey (Brandon DeWilde) who immediately admires Shane. The main conflict of the film is a ruthless cattle baron wants to use force to push the Homesteaders off their viable land, so that he can take it over and grow his cattle empire.

This is such a beautiful film. Alan Ladd was great as the mysterious stranger who comes into town, helps out some of the folks, and leaves just as mysteriously as he came. His scenes with Joey are adorable and he’s great with Jean Arthur as well. Jack Palance was great as one of the cattle baron’s men, Jack Wilson, and he has a fun showdown with Ladd at the end of the film.

Honorable Mentions: Dragonwyck (1946), Enter the Dragon (1973), Larceny, Inc. (1942), Experiment Perilous (1944), and Deep Valley (1947).

#Noirvember 2023

Another Noirvember is upon us. I’ve been pretty spotty in trying to take part in these online events, so once again I’m going to try my best to participate. #Noirvember is an ode to all that is film noir that was started a few years ago by @oldfilmsflicker on Twitter. It’s become a highly anticipated event that has taken on a life of its own and is now promoted by everyone from film fans to movie theaters.

Anyway, because I can’t just simply watch film noir in November, I have to make myself some sort of challenge. One reason is that it makes it more interesting and forces me to check out films, actors, directors, etc. that I may not have otherwise, or it would have taken me longer. While deciding what to do for my challenge, I wanted to make sure that I allowed myself to watch old favorites like Double Indemnity (1944). However, I want to make sure that I also watch some new titles–if only to get through some of the blind buys that I’ve purchased throughout the year. I don’t want to force myself to only watch “new” films, because then I’ll be sad that I can’t watch my favorite Alan Ladd film noir (e.g.). While I did this challenge in the past and ALMOST finished it, I am going to give it another go this month–I am going to follow-up my next film noir with a film that has an actor in common with the film that preceded it.

I’m also not going to limit myself to just one film per day. Some days I can fit in only one film, other days I can fit in 2-3. Due to my regular Monday night board game group, I may not be able to get a film noir watched every single day; but I’ll do my best. I’m also hoping that I can finagle it where the last film I watch connects to the first film. We’ll see what happens as my movie watching will be organic. I do not have it planned out in advance! Just to keep myself on my toes.

Without further much ado. These are the films watched for #Noirvember. Click on the link to view more information about the film and to see what connected it to the previous film!

EDIT: Woo! Did it. The final film, The File on Thelma Jordon, connects to the first film, Double Indemnity, using the Queen of Film Noir, Barbara Stanwyck.

November 1st- Double Indemnity (1944)

November 1st- Singapore (1947)

November 2nd- The Killers (1946)

November 3rd- White Heat (1949)

November 4th- Red Light (1949)

November 5th- Race Street (1948)

November 5th- The Glass Key (1942)

November 6th- Shakedown(1950)

November 7th- Brute Force (1947)

November 8th- Mildred Pierce (1945)

November 9th- The Unfaithful (1947)

November 10th- The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

November 12th- Gilda (1946)

November 14th- Human Desire (1954)

November 14th- In a Lonely Place (1950)

November 15th- Dark Passage (1947)

November 16th- Key Largo (1948)

November 17th- Murder, My Sweet (1944)

November 19th- Pitfall (1948)

November 25th- Too Late for Tears (1949)

November 26th- Desert Fury (1947)

November 29th- Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

November 30th- The File on Thelma Jordon (1949)

Kim Novak Blogathon- “Boys’ Night Out” (1962)

On February 13, Kim Novak turned 90! I love Kim, I am happy that she was able to celebrate this milestone birthday. She also lives in Oregon, like me, so I feel a kinship with her. When this blogathon was announced, I thought I would cover one of her films that you don’t hear mentioned as often. Boys’ Night Out is a film very much of its time (1962) and may contain some ideas that definitely wouldn’t fly today (they didn’t even fly in 1962), but it is entertaining and Kim is wonderful in her role.

Boys’ Night Out tells the story of a group of men who all commute from Greenwich, CT to New York City together on the same train. They often have drinks together at a bar prior to getting on the train. One evening while partaking in their daily bar ritual, the men spot Fred Williams’ (James Garner) boss carrying on with his mistress (Zsa Zsa Gabor). The men decide that Fred’s boss is living the dream and fantasize about setting up a love nest in the city so each man can have his own mistress in the city. These men definitely sound like sleazeballs (and in some ways they are), but an insight into their respective lives at home demonstrates why they might feel inclined to have an extra-martial affair.

Kim Novak makes the acquaintance of Howard Duff, Howard Morris, and Tony Randall.

George Drayton (Tony Randall) feels ignored and steamrolled by his wife, Marge (Janet Blair), who constantly cuts him off and finishes his sentences. Doug Jackson (Howard Duff) wants to just fix things around his own house, but his wife Toni (Anne Jeffreys) doesn’t trust him as a handyman and keeps hiring other people. Then there’s Howard McIllenny (Howard Morris) whose wife, Joanne (Patti Page), is always dieting and keeps her husband on a diet as well. Joanne also makes sure to make it known that she’s been permanently dieting for Howard’s sake, not hers. Fred is the only un-attached man who isn’t experiencing martial issues. His mother, Ethel (Jessie Royce Landis) is there to make it known that she wishes she had grandchildren and wants Fred to marry.

One afternoon, the men are discussing their fantasy to establish a love nest in New York. They hypothetically divvy out the days of the week where each man can use the love nest for his respective mistress. Thinking that this is merely just fantasy, they give Fred the joke assignment to find a cheap apartment and a blonde to go with it. Fred, however doesn’t realize that his friends aren’t serious and starts looking for an apartment.

He ends up finding a ridiculously cheap luxury apartment in New York. The realtor, Peter Bowers (Jim Backus), is desperate to rent out the apartment and prices it to sell. It seems that the apartment was the location of a highly publicized murder. Unsurprisingly, nobody wants to live there. At the same time, a young woman, Cathy (Kim Novak), arrives wanting to look at the apartment. Mr. Bowers explains that it has been rented. Fred, sensing an opportunity to set up the “young blonde” in the apartment, tells her that while he is the one who rented the apartment, he is looking for a young housekeeper. He also tells her that he and his friends are the ones renting the apartment. Cathy accepts the position. After Fred tells the men that he’s gotten the apartment and the blonde, they come up with the same story to tell their wives. They will each be attending “The New School for Social Research” which requires them to spend the evening in New York.

Kim Novak and James Garner

What Fred and his friends don’t realize is that Cathy is not just simply a young woman looking for an apartment. She is a sociology graduate student whose thesis is about “the adolescent fantasies of the adult suburban male.” While the men are meeting with Cathy on their assigned evening, they think that they are carrying on an affair, when in reality, Cathy is using them for research. Each man also makes the other think that he’s carrying on a sexual affair with Cathy. Eventually, as all these films go, the relationship between the men starts to go awry and the wives catch wind of the real reason their husbands are spending one night a week in New York. There’s a very funny scene where the wives go out to lunch to commiserate about their husbands’ infidelity and end up getting schnockered.

Boys’ Night Out is very much of its time and feels very 1960s. This film could only exist in the 1960s. This is the era when wives stayed at home in their suburban homes while their husbands traveled into the city for work. The 1960s also feels like the only time that a sociology student would be studying sex and would take advantage of a situation for research purposes. The three married men are all hilarious and henpecked. James Garner, being the only single man, is the only one who is presented as someone who would be moderately interesting to Kim Novak. Perhaps because the studio system is still in effect, or perhaps because Garner and Novak are the stars of the film, they are the characters who are depicted as needing to be together. If this film were made today, or even in the 1980s or 1990s, it is possible that Novak’s character would fall in love with one of the married men and break up his marriage.

“The Wives” (Anne Jeffreys, Janet Blair, and Patti Page) and Fred’s mother (Jessie Royce Landis) are ready to scratch Kim Novak’s eyes out.

While the idea that a husband could set up a love nest for weekly rendezvouses is very dated today, it is a common plot point in 1960s films. Perhaps that is due to the shift in American life where more families lived in the suburbs while the jobs remained in the city. The husband traveled into the city daily for work, while their wives stayed at home. It’d be relatively simple to carry on an affair without the wife being the wiser. In the film, Any Wednesday, Jason Robards is a businessman who has been lying to his wife about traveling out of town each Wednesday of the week. Despite telling his wife that he was out of town, in reality, he’s hooking up with Jane Fonda, his mistress. Both Boys’ Night Out and Any Wednesday seem horrible now, but it would be interesting to know how many suburban men had mistresses in the city.

Regardless, I would recommend Boys’ Night Out to anyone who is a fan of the cast and/or fans of 1960s sex comedies. It is very entertaining and has a stellar cast.