The first movie of the day was, odds are, the original Romantic Comedy - It Happened One Night. I heard that this was the first movie to sweep the main Oscar categories (Picture, Actor/Actress, Director, Writing) which is pretty impressive. And while I don't think on strictly this one viewing that it's deserving of all of these - it at the very least was a lot of fun.
Let's be realistic, this is from 1934. Romantic Comedy? Our definition of romance and/or comedy is vastly different than it was 80 years ago. But like many of the 'old' movies on this list that most people would deem 'cliche', you have to remember that when they were released they weren't at all. And it was these amazing movies that created the cliches.
Either way, Clarke Gable is strange at first to see in this movie as a comedic role in comparison to his epic Rhett Butler. But he really does steal the entire movie. It's standard RomCom fair which in the 30's must have been gut busting. And hey...I'm pretty sure they hook up in the end.
Solid film no doubt and a good change of pace from what I've been watching, with some legitimate LOL's in there (which surprised me from a 1934 film). 5 Oscars? Who cares, Clark Gable is money. I need to grow a mustache like that. Plus, that hitch hiking how to scene was pretty hilarious.
#45: Shane
Alright, here we go. The first Western on the list.
I'll be honest, my Western knowledge is quite slim. Unforgiven, Tombstone, Wyatt Earp (lame), the new True Grit and Back to the Future III.
All things being equal, I really enjoyed this movie. You have to take a Western at what it is. Good guy meets bad guy. Good guy owns bad guy. Good guy dies of dysentery...or something like that.
These are straight forward, no spinning top on a desk, no dead people or Redfoot around here. Hell, there weren't even many guns.
Jack Palance makes an appearance as a evil gun slinger. Kills 1 dude.
The other bad guy is an old Santa Claus looking guy. Just hit him with a chair or something and throw back your shot of whiskey. There ya go. Either way. In the penultimate Western, 5 guys die. 5. That's it. Wait....4.
I was counting Joey as the 5th, as the child 'star' delivers an Oscar nominated performance for most annoying kid in human history. Creepy looking kid who loves this random dude named Shane who comes to his home and helps his dad pull up a tree stump. Dad/Mom/Kid now in love with Shane. Turns out he's also the fastest gun slinger in human history. 2 hours of movie later and he's fired his revolver twice.
Oh well. Scenery is fantastic. Shane isn't too bad. Jake Palance looks evil and there's some awesome dogs that hang around the ranch.
I'd recommend it if you can tolerate the little kid yelling "Shane!" in the whiniest voice in the South.
Oh, and my friend told me there's debate online as to whether or not Shane dies after the movie. I'll answer that.
He's fictional. The movie ends. Carry on.
Look how pathetic this kid looks...that's not even his dad leaving - some dude he's known for 2 weeks
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I guess this movie speaks to the whole "stand your ground" sentiment within the US, or 'my land is your land', or 'only you can prevent forest fires' or whatever. That's if you look deep into the meaning of a Western...in which case you'd be missing the point. The kid was annoying, the movie was cool, the scenery wins. Give me an Oscar.
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