Le Roman d'un tricheur (The Story Of A Cheat)

Director: Sacha Guitry
Year: 1936
Run-time: 1 hr 21 min

- France seemed to be the nexus of the film world if 1936 is any indication - the next three films are all excellent and groundbreaking in different ways.

- Story Of A Cheat is a bold and impish classic about a man who always finds that being on the wrong side of good just seems to keep paying off. It's refreshingly open about the artifice of cinema, takings its time to introduce its cast and crew before the story begins. This is a one-man show unlike any other so far, with Guitry starring in, directing, writing, and narrating his own tale. If this film is any indication, Guitry is woefully underrated. I sense this might be the only of his films on the list, and that's unfortunate, because this ranks up there with my favorites.

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Bringing Up Baby

Director: Howard Hawks Year: 1938 Run-time: 1 hr 42 min - Bringing Up Baby is in my mind the epitome of the screwball comedy, and probably its finest example. Hepburn and Grant are just so perfect in their roles, and the level of constant absurdity gets to the point where it overrides any cultural datedness and just becomes fun. (The main exception is the Irish stereotype, but given that he is justified in how he behaves, it's excusable.) I was a bit shocked to discover that this was not a commercial success, and indeed almost ruined Hepburn's career (she had the most to lose, given how novel her quirky performance is). - Looking back at the three screwballs so far on this list, it never occurred to me before how the genre seems to rely on a rich and "privileged" female lead to be the one to challenge and emasculate the male lead. Perhaps that was the acceptable way to present it to a depression-era audience?

The Cat Concerto

Directors: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera Year: 1947 I'm sure it's no coincidence that music plays such a strong role in many of the animated films featured on the list. By this point, there's nothing especially novel about this Tom and Jerry short by another great animation studio led by Hanna and Barbera, except that the execution is so spot-on. This is eight minutes of pure delight.

The Land Beyond The Sunset

Director: Harold M. Shaw Year: 1912 Runtime: 0:14 Source: Youtube This is a great short film to watch if you're spending a hot summer in the city. It was made by a little-known director as something of a PSA about the Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit which let inner-city children vacation in the countryside. (It's still going strong today!) A poor young newsie with an endearingly tattered cap gets to take a break from child labor and parental abuse, and join a group of kids for one day in the great outdoors. In many ways this would be the prototype of the heartwarming Pixar short, if the ending wasn't so poignant and bittersweet. It's such a simple little film, but one that's absolutely worth 14 minutes of your life.

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