To see my running list of the hundred greatest movie stars in American film history, click here All stars are listed with a single film which is particularly important, though not exclusively so, to understanding what makes them vital to American movies. 20) Henry Fonda / Key film – The Grapes of Wrath By the time… Read More Better than AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars: 16-20
Dir. Preston Sturges. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn One assumes that the phrase “head over heels” used to be the much more evocative “heels over head,” seeing as the one we’re using now describes most of us who are not circus performers. Not every strange pratfall which strikes Charlie Pike (Fonda) has him… Read More The Lady Eve (1941)
I’m joining in the spirit of the year-in-review post, even though the way I watch movies isn’t really conducive to the kind of list that one usually sees at the end of the year. (Incidentally, if you happen to be a recent music aficionado, friend of the blog Matt will have his year-end list of… Read More 2018 Year-End Review: Fifty Movies
Dir. John Ford. Starring Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Walter Brennan Frank Capra returned to Hollywood from military service and made It’s a Wonderful Life, a story about a man who is certain that his life, overflowing with instances of quiet sacrifice, has come to nothing. William Wyler returned to Hollywood from military service and made… Read More My Darling Clementine (1946)
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 20-16
Dir. William Wyler. Starring Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Fay Bainter Jezebel is a Civil War movie without a single glance at the Civil War, as its story ends sometime in 1853, but the movie still leans heavily on the Lost Cause mythology which permeates so much Hollywood filmmaking. (The article I’ve linked to does a… Read More Jezebel (1938)
Dir. John Ford. Starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, Russell Simpson By the time he made The Grapes of Wrath, John Ford had already established himself as one of America’s best directors. Aside from an army of silent movies, he was already the man who had won Best Director for The Informer, which established a precedent… Read More The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Dir. Sidney Lumet. Starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall 12 Angry Men is a magnificent fantasy. Choose your player! Juror 8 (Fonda) does enough outside research that he essentially manages to retry a case in the jury room which, if we’re honest, probably should end this movie with a mistrial as opposed to a “not… Read More 12 Angry Men (1957)
Dir. John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy. Starring Henry Fonda, William Powell, Jack Lemmon Roberts (Fonda) has just traded his chance to get into the war and away from the dyspeptic tyranny of his commanding officer, Morton (James Cagney). Roberts, a onetime medical student who volunteered for the war instead of finishing his degree, is an… Read More Mister Roberts (1955)
You can read up on the basis for this series here, and also find links to other posts in the series. Movies I’ve reviewed on this site have a link in the title which you can follow to read my full review. 5) The Thing (1982), directed by John Carpenter It’s worth noting that the… Read More 100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Location, 5-1
Seeing Things Secondhand 