1 hour 26 Minutes The Grandfather of all Spy Films. Without The 39 Steps, no Bond. No Bourne. No The Fugitive, the most obvious modern descendant of this film, which truly established Hitchcock on the map of international cinema. Fair value of The 39 Steps: $20.00. It’s must-see cinema, in the same way as Star…

2 hrs, 36 minutes, suitable for all ages Q’esque que c’est? The last of Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot comedies, a major inspiration for Rowan Atkinson’s Laugh In. Fair value of Antrum: $25.00. I really can’t think of another film like it. In some ways, it evokes Chaplin’s Modern Times, but it has a subtlety and…

“Gaslighting” is the use of psychological manipulation to make a person doubt their own sanity, and even to lose it. The term derives from the 1938 British play Gas Light and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations from Britain and Hollywood, respectively. It is somewhat surprising Alfred Hitchcock was not at the helm of the…

Speaking of cowboys, Isabelle Steers (Thelma Ritter) says to aging cowboy Gay Langland (Clark Gable), “I love every miserable one of you, though you’re all good for nothing, as you well know,” to which he replies, “That may be, but it’s better than wages.” That motto (“it’s better than wages”) is referred to several times…

Keeper of the Flame (1942) Directed by George Cukor. With Spencer Tracy and Kathrine Hepburn. 36 Hours (1965) Directed by George Seaton. With James Gardner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor The “truth of the matter” can be an elusive concept. What is real? This is the persistent theme in the works of Philip K.…

Burt Lancaster, John Cheever, suburban ennui, and one extremely tight pair of swim trunks.

Network is certainly not the greatest movie ever made, and I would never argue that it achieves any lasting impact as a work of art. Its style is flat (like most television programs, appropriately enough), and you’ll hardly remember any of the visuals. Still, it remains my favorite films because I don’t believe a better…