Pictured Above:  1931 Academy Awards November 5th, 1930
Top10 Film Lists is a collection of movies, personalities & lists from my viewing.  Everything here is subjective, so I'm always open to comments & suggestions.
Click the boxes below or the drop downs above for more information, history and reviews....
Follow me on Social Media:
Follow me on Letterboxd: 
​Top10FilmLists 

September Is Film Noir Month:
​Celebrating All Things Noir!

New & Recent Reviews:
From This Week's Newsletter: 
Remaking a Classic:  The Killers 1946 & 1964
 Remaking a Classic:  The Killers 1946 & 1964
Last week I casually noted that The 1946 version of The Killers has been called "The Citizen Kane of Film Noir," so who in their right mind would try to remake the revered classic that launched the careers of Burt Lancaster & Ava Gardner? Director Don Siegel, that's who. The director of early films The Big Steal ('49) & Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56) & later made famous by a string of Clint Eastwood movies in the 1970's (The Beguiled '71, Dirty Harry '71, Escape From Alcatraz '79), Siegel started out as an editor of montage sequences at Warner Bros.  While there he approached studio brass with a story idea, based on a 7 page Ernest Hemingway short story called "The Killers."  Siegel's intention was to direct the story himself, but Warner had different ideas, sold the story to Universal Studios, where writers Anthony Veiller, an uncredited John Huston & director Robert Siodmak turned the story idea into a landmark film that would reverberate through Hollywood history.  Flash forward 17 years and the landscape in Hollywood had changed dramatically.  The Studio system was dying & television was on the assent, fueled in part by quality content from former film directors like Don Siegel, who had mixed in TV work on shows like "The Twilight Zone" ('63-'64) & "The Lloyd Bridges Show" ('63) with his theatrical work.  Approached by NBS to make a "movie of the week" as part of anthology series called "Project 120."  Once completed, however, based on a script by TV writer Gene L. Coons ("Star Trek", "The Wild Wild West"), NBC deemed the film too violent and refused to air, which forced Universal to release it theatrically in the summer of 1964.  Often cited as the first Neo-Noir & notable as Ronald Regan's last film performance, click the button below for a comparison with the 1946 version to see how it stacks up!

YouTube Introductions

Subscribe to our brand new  YouTube channel by clicking the link below.  Sign up for notifications for new content including introductions, reviews & interviews.

Quick Hits:  Short Bursts on Recently Viewed Movies

My Top 10 Favorite Films

  1. Sunrise F. W. Murnau ('27)
  2. L' Atalante J. Vigo ('34)
  3. Das Boot W. Peterson ('81)
  4. Design For Living E. Lubitsch ('33)
  5. Sullivan's Travels P. Sturges ('41)
  6. The Informer J. Ford ('35)
  7. Miller's Crossing J & E Coen ('90)
  8. Goodfellas M. Scorsese ('90)
  9. The Red Shoes M Powell ('48)
  10. Seven Samurai A. Kurosawa ('54)
 2018 Blogathons:   
I wrote about a selection of Ernst Lubitsch silents, made in Germany in the late teens for The Unexpected Blogothan.
I wrote about Red Dust ('32), which starred Clark Gable, Jean Harlow & Mary Astor & compared it to the remake, Mogambo ('53) which also starred Gable, but with Ava Gardner & Grace Kelly.       Link to blogathon:  https://bit.ly/2PnKtwk
I will be wrote about My Gal Sal (1942), starring Rita Hayworth & Victor Mature for the 100 Years of Rita Hayworth Blogathon on October 17th.  Here is the link to he event:  ​https://bit.ly/2O0OX87
I will be writing about Billy Wilder's classic Some Like it Hot for the Gender Bending the Rules Blogathon on September 21st.  Here is the link:  ​https://bit.ly/2JyHOIy
I will be blogging about Preston Sturges' Remember the Night for the Fred MacMurray Blogathon on August 30th.  Here is the link:  https://bit.ly/2NXSrbo
I will be writing a piece about John Ford's The Searchers for the Natalie Wood Blogathon on July 17th.  Link to hosting website here:  https://bit.ly/2L6gX89
I will be Blogging about Jean Vigo's masterpiece  L'Atalante ('34) for the Free For All Blogathon on 3/3.
I will be reviewing Mogambo ('53), starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner & Grace Kelly for The Clark Gable Blogathon on Feb 1st.
I will be reviewing Criss Cross (1949, Robert Siodmak) for the It Takes a Thief Blogothon on 11/17/17
I will be blogging about Wild Orchids for the Greta Garbo Blogathon on 11/22
I'll be blogging about Blood Simple in the 'Till Death Us Do Part Blogathon on 7/24
I'll be blogging about The Red Shoes in the En Pointe:  The Ballet Blogathon on 8/4 & 8/5.

Featured Actor/Actress

Grace Kelly

In a short, but impactful career the beautiful & talented Grace Kelly left her mark on Hollywood for her elegance, charm & sophistication.  Her roles in 3 Alfred Hitchcock movies, Dial M For Murder, To Catch a Thief & Rear Window have become iconic in the director's filmography.

Featured Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock
Perhaps no other director has been talked about, written about or analyzed as much as Alfred Hitchcock, but with good reason!  His films are masterclasses in style, but exist on a deeper psychological level that has intrigued both the casual film fan, as well as scholars for more than 70 years.  Hitch's films are also incredibly enjoyable as pop art & hold a particular place in American culture.  Not bad for a green grocer's son from England.  Enjoy what I consider his 10 best!

    Enter Your E-mail to Get Updates

About Me:
​I've loved movies for as long as I can remember.   For more than 20 years, I've worked for several of the major studios, including MGM, Warner Bros. & 20th Century Fox  in their Home Entertainment divisions.   I'm partial to the Pre-Code era & Film Noir.

Top 10 Film Lists in Print

Politics on Film is an e-book that features my piece on A Face in the Crowd

Memberships:

2021 Blogathons:

I will be writing on Cecil B. Demille & Claudette Colbert's relationship making Sign of the Cross ('32) & Cleopatra ('34) for the Star of the Month Blogathon.
Here is a short piece on The Crimson Kimono, directed by Samuel Fuller & released in 1959 for the CMBA Hidden Classics Blogathon on May 19th. 
I will be writing about Becky Sharp (1935), based on the character from William Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair.

2020 Blogathons:

I will be writing about Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotton & Jean Peters, from 1953 for the Celluloid Roadtrip Blogathon sponsored by Hometowns to Hollywood.
I have written about The Invisible Man as part of the Claude Rains Blogathon for The Pure Entertainment Preservation Society on November 9th.  Here's a directly link to the complete Blogathon:  https://bit.ly/357cQp9
Read my Pice on A Face in the Crowd from the CMBA Fall Blogathon:  Politics on Film
I will be writing about Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair, starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich & John Lund as part of the 120th Birthday celebration of Jean Arthur.  The piece will post on October 15th.
See my piece on the films of Stanwyck & Capra to the left & clip the link below for all the complete list of submission for  The Queen of Sass:  Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon, hosted by Pale writer (https://palewriter2.home.blog/).  My piece focused on the films Stanwyck made with Frank Capra.  ​http://www.top10filmlists.com/frank-capra--barbara-stanwyck-the-evolution-of-a-romance.html
2019 Blogathons:
I wrote about The Film Noir Villainy of Dan Duryea for The Great Villain Blogathon.  ​http://www.top10filmlists.com/the-noir-villainy-of-dan-duryea.html