Most Wanted
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Il Grido
(Antonioni, 1957)

The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)

-30-
(Webb, 1959)

Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)

Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)

The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)

Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)

The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)

In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)

That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)

The Fox
(Rydell, 1967)

Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)

Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)

At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)

Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)

Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Mike's Murder
(Bridges, 1984)

Reader Submissions

1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
'Doc'
(Perry, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
(Pakula, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Running on Empty
(Lumet, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Men Don't Leave
(Brickman, 1990)
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

June 11

Tetro

June 12

Call of the Wild 3D

Food, Inc.

Imagine That

Moon

Sex Positive

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love

June 16

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

June 19

$9.99

Dead Snow

The Proposal

Whatever Works

Year One

June 24

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 26

Cheri

Fireflies in the Garden

The Hurt Locker

My Sister's Keeper

The Stoning of Soraya M. 

Surveillance 

July 1

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Public Enemies

July 3

The Girl from Monaco

I Hate Valentine's Day

July 10

Bruno

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Soul Power

July 15

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 17

(500) Days of Summer

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

July 24

All Good Things

The Answer Man

G-Force

In the Loop

Orphan

The Ugly Truth

July 29

Adam

July 31

The Cove

Funny People

Lorna's Silence

They Came from Upstairs

August 7

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Julie & Julia

Paper Heart

Shorts

When in Rome

August 14

A Perfect Getaway

Bandslam

District 9

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

I Sell the Dead

Ponyo

Pool Boys

Spread

Taking Woodstock

The Time Traveler's Wife

August 21

Five Minutes of Heaven

Goose on the Loose!

Inglorious Bastards

It Might Get Loud

Post Grad

World's Greatest Dad

August 28

The Boat that Rocked

Final Destination: Death Trip

H2

September 4

All About Steve

Amreeka

Black Dynamite

Carriers

Citizen Game

Extract

Pandorum

Shanghai

September 9

9

September 11

The Red Canvas

Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself

Whiteout

September 17

The Burning Plain

September 18

Armored

Brand New Day

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jennifer's Body

Splice

September 25

Fame

The Invention of Lying

Surrogates

October 2

A Serious Man

More Than a Game

Sorority Row

Toy Story/Toy Story 2

Hayseed Nation

For three years, from '36 to '38, Shirley Temple was the country's top box-office star, and then Mickey Rooney had the title from '39 to '41. (And then it was Abbott & Costello.) Imagine. Temple and Rooney knew how to entertain, for sure, but the last thing you could call moviegoers back then, to judge by their six-year reign, was urbane or sophisticated.


Hollywood-s Top Ten Box-Office Stars -- 1936 to 1945 -- thanks to Bob Lascaro for providing the scan.
Flower Petals<< previous | next >>DGA Nommies

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 8, 2009 at 11:29 AM

comment #1

62Lincoln Author Profile Page says ...

Perhaps the last thing you would call most moviegoers back then would be adults.

Posted by 62Lincoln Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 11:47 AM

comment #2

DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page says ...

of course. Anyone who claimed that (American) people back then had better taste in films, is an idiot.

but i still think Indians today have really bad taste in Bollywood films. Indian cinema used to actually make good films back then.

Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 11:54 AM

comment #3

DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page says ...

I just looked at the poster. OH MY GOD!!!! Sonja Henie, the ice skater who couldn't act and made awful films revolving ice skating and romance.

Need I say anything more?!?!

Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:00 PM

comment #4

Breedlove Author Profile Page says ...

I was thinking the other day about how good acting is in movies these days and how it seems to have just gotten better and better over time. Obviously there was a big leap in the 50s with the Method and everything, and then all those great actors who came up in the 70s. But I really love the, I don't know if you'd call it the Altman influence, the improvisational feel a lot of movies have today. I just think it can work really well and has really brought film acting to yet another level. If I ever directed a film I think I'd have the actors improvise a lot. No disrespect to screenwriters intended. It can just be so effective. And I think it's probably helped comedy as much as it has drama.

Posted by Breedlove Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:04 PM

comment #5

Ray Author Profile Page says ...

Sure, it's easy to look back in wonderment at "entertainment" like Shirley Temple movies and exclaim, "What the hell were they thinking???" But we need to remember that Temple's period of dominance was just a couple of decades after the invention of the moviegoing experience. Thirty years prior audiences would freak out at a movie of a train coming directly at them. Synched sound had only been around for ten years.

It's just hard to feel all superior when, in this enlightened age, obviously phony bullshit like Miley Cyrus fills stadiums with families. Recently, hundreds of millions of dollars have been made on a guy farting in a fat suit (NORBIT) and a guy surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator while fighting bad guys with the assistance of psychic greaser monkeys (INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL).

In other words, not much really separates us from them except a less stylish dress code and a touch more cynicism.

Posted by Ray Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:05 PM

comment #6

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

Of course, back then movies made a lot more money, relatively speaking, and ate up a bigger percentage of the U.S. entertainment dollar.

A lot of that has now shifted to television. And before we get all high and mighty, we might want to review the choices we have on network television.

The biggest stars from '36 to '41 were Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney, song and dance kids. The #1 television show in America? American Idol. And I gotta tell you, Mickey Rooney has a hell of a lot more talent than Clay Aiken or Justin Guarini.

Toss in Deal or No Deal, the Bachelor, etc. and I'd say it's pretty much a wash.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:22 PM

comment #7

George Prager Author Profile Page says ...

The top box office films during those years were always Disney films by a very huge margin, except for the year that GONE WITH THE WIND took the prize. Anyone who hasn't seen GWTW yet should be banned from posting on HE.

Posted by George Prager Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:23 PM

comment #8

clancy Author Profile Page says ...

Let's also not forget that this was the Nazi era - in 1941 we were full out at war - escapism was key.

Now, look at the top actors in the seventies - Hoffman - Newman-Redord - Dunaway - Fonda- Nicholson- De Niro - and tell me that they don't blow away the stars of today.

Posted by clancy Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:26 PM

comment #9

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

Wallace Beery is something I've never understood.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:26 PM

comment #10

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

Oh, and the three biggest box office hits of 2008 were based on 1) A comic book, 2) Another comic book, and 3) 30s adventure movie serials. Other big hits included a musical based on ABBA, talking Mexican dogs and a martial arts panda.

Hayseed nation, indeed.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:31 PM

comment #11

Gordie Lachance Author Profile Page says ...

1936 was the first full year after the production code went into effect. The Studios were in a stone-cold panic with the government and Catholic Church watching over their shoulders. Can't blame them for playing it safe and pumping out crap to appease the rubes, though. It is a business.

Of course the Little Rascals shorts (pre code), while not 'sophisticated', are still funnier than anything that's been done in this country in 30 years.

Posted by Gordie Lachance Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:36 PM

comment #12

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

"Now people are going to say to you, Wallace Beery, wrestling, it's a B picture. You tell them: BULLSHIT! We do NOT make B pictures here at Capitol. Let's put a stop to that rumour RIGHT now!"

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:36 PM

comment #13

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

Gordie, I snagged that complete Little Rascals DVD set the first day it came out in October. I showed it to my hipper-than-thou teenage nieces and nephews over Christmas. That "oooo-WOW" sound the cake makes in Birthday Blues had them on the floor.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 12:39 PM

comment #14

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

It's not as if Betty Grable at the number 1 spot in 43 or Bing Crosby in 44 and 45 were huge improvements. At least they appealed to audiences past puberty, and at least Crosby as a singer influenced greater artists such as Sinatra and Billie Holiday.

But look how great a lot of the actors were in the number 2 through 10 positions. Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford (wasn't she supposed to be box office poison?) Bette Davis (ditto?).

And there's a number of lighter weight, but still excellent actors in there who appeal to adult sensibilities, such as William Powell, Myrna Loy, Greer Garson, and Tyrone Power.

I am amazed that Cary Grant only made the top 10 once during those years, a very low number 9 position in 44.

Speaking of box office poison, I notice Katherine Hepburn never cracked the top 10 during that decade, even though she made a lot of terrific films in that era.

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:01 PM

comment #15

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

I also just noticed Claudette Colbert, Errol Flynn, and Rogers and Astaire in there. I'd be happy to watch a TCM movie with any of those actors any day of the week.

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:05 PM

comment #16

dangovich Author Profile Page says ...

"The important thing is we all have that Barton Fink feeling, but since you're Barton Fink I'm assuming you have it in spades."

Posted by dangovich Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:07 PM

comment #17

Edward Author Profile Page says ...

I bet someone could write an interesting academic paper on the differences between the comedy in Hollywood past vs. comedy today. I'll put up The Rascals and Marx Brothers; films like "His Girl Friday," and Bugs Bunny against anything today. Plus I've left out the more contemporary comedies of Peter Sellers, Mel Brooks, Monty Python....

Posted by Edward Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:10 PM

comment #18

Deathtongue_Groupie Author Profile Page says ...

The country is still coming out of the Depression and the entire world is headed towards largest conflict known to man.... what part of that aren't you registering in your surprise, Jeff?

Besides, as Rich S. so wisely pointed out, music appeals broadly.

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:18 PM

comment #19

George Prager Author Profile Page says ...

That "oooo-WOW" sound is the funniest thing ever. Howard Stern used to use that sound whenever talk turned to oral sex for some reason. My favorite for all the wrong reasons Little Rascals episode is the one when the gang celebrate Darla Hood's effeminate father's birthday. So disturbing, especially when he's whining "MAAA-MAAA." He makes Paul Lynde look like Gary Graham.

Posted by George Prager Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:37 PM

comment #20

JChasse Author Profile Page says ...

The family and I ripped through the Little Rascals box set over the holidays. Spanky McFarland was the Mozart of cinema.

Posted by JChasse Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:42 PM

comment #21

leape Author Profile Page says ...

Yea, hayseeds for sure! Now let's get to serious box-office making artists:

1. Harrison Ford (Thank you for raping my childhood!)
2. Either of the 'Twilight' guys (the vamp or the doggy)
3. Jim Carrey (Please, animated only!)
4. Jack Black (on his way to animated only)
5. Chris Rock (well on his way to animated only)

Notice the trend here? The only difference between now and then is that we got more 'toons.

Posted by leape Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 1:56 PM

comment #22

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

TCM showed a documentary not long ago called the "Celluloid Closet" or some such, and Johnny "Happy Birthday Mr. Hood, Happy Birthday to You," Arthur was discussed. I can't remember whether they said he was actually gay, or just a classic example of the stereotype.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 2:01 PM

comment #23

Ryansi51 Author Profile Page says ...

haha is that where howard stern got the ooo WOW! sound from?

makes me laugh every time, always assumed it was crackhead bob or something

Posted by Ryansi51 Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 2:11 PM

comment #24

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

I think it's hilarious that I used oooo-WOW (which really doesn't do it justice) and everyone knows exactly which sound effect I'm talking about.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 2:20 PM

comment #25

George Prager Author Profile Page says ...

Naturally, YouTube has the "oooee-WOW"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lumqCF2YU1g


Fuck yeah!

Posted by George Prager Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 3:10 PM

comment #26

Rich S. Author Profile Page says ...

Also, from the aforementioned "Mozart of Cinema" (it's from earlier in that same short)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehK0WhPsNUw

I want that as a ringtone.

Posted by Rich S. Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 3:35 PM

comment #27

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

What on earth is Van Johnson of all people doing in the number 2 slot for 1945? He's more baffling than Robert Taylor.

IMDB lists 7 movies for him in 1944-45, and I've only heard of 2 of them: The White Cliffs of Dover and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. I've never heard of either of those being a huge box office hit. It makes me wonder about the rest of the list.

I didn't remember the oooo-WOW sound until I watched the YouTube clip, but as soon as I did, I was transported back to being 7 years old again.

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 3:52 PM

comment #28

Edward Author Profile Page says ...

I had totally forgotten that clip and sound effect. Definately brings back memories.

Posted by Edward Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 5:23 PM

comment #29

DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page says ...

haha, the Little Rascals!!! Funny how it was originally called 'Our Gang' and then they were forced to change their name because of the sinister association with the term "gang."

only in America.

Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk Author Profile Page at January 8, 2009 7:09 PM

comment #30

PastePotPete Author Profile Page says ...

The great myth of the "Golden Age of Hollywood" is that most or even a large percentage of movies made in the studio system were good. It's just plain not true.

The perception that movies are "worse now" is due to people being aware of pretty much every movie released right now good or bad, whereas the dreck of the 1930s is long, long forgotten. So long forgotten that people pretend it didn't exist at all. Some of the most wretched movies I've ever seen were produced in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

If you just take the 10-15 best movies made in almost any given year, and completely ignore the rest, almost any year can come off as a really good year for movies.

Maybe not 2008, but it was a pretty shoddy year all around it seems.


Posted by PastePotPete Author Profile Page at January 9, 2009 3:56 AM

comment #31

Floyd Thursby Author Profile Page says ...

I agree with PastePotPete, but the worst movies of 1980-2008 are much, much worse than the worst of the 30s and 40s.

The general audiences of those decades didn't recognize that screwball comedies, gangster movies, film noirs, and other genre movies were more artistic than the most popular of the popular dreck. Remember that lots of movies seen as classics today--BRINGING UP BABY--were flops at the time.

As noted above, the single appearance of Grant, the epitome of the movie star, is telling.

Meanwhile, look at Wally Beery's credits for this period and explain what he's doing on the 1940 list: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000891

Posted by Floyd Thursby Author Profile Page at January 9, 2009 6:31 AM

comment #32

JChasse Author Profile Page says ...

The one Little Rascals short that really made us laugh was the one where they learned the story of the magic lamp, and they're all rubiing every type of lamp ever created. Spanky's rubbing his, repeating, "I wish I had a monkey, I wish I had a monkey", which morphed into "I wish Cotton (presumably Stymie's brother) was a monkey." Finally, he turns to Cotton and says matter-of-factly, "I wish you were a monkey, Cotton," and Cotton just as matter-of-factly replies, "OK." We kept pausing and going back to Cotton's line delivery over and over again to laugh our asses off.

Posted by JChasse Author Profile Page at January 9, 2009 6:58 AM

comment #33

Bob Violence Author Profile Page says ...

For three years, from '36 to '38, Shirley Temple was the country's top box-office star, and then Mickey Rooney had the title from '39 to '41.

Spanning two decades!

Posted by Bob Violence Author Profile Page at January 9, 2009 11:30 PM

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