griggs's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List

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Police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is drawn into Manhattan high society as he investigates the death of stunning ad exec Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), apparently shotgunned in her own apartment.

The slithery suspects are numerous, led by effete, snobbish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), and Laura's philandering fiancee Shelby (Vincent Price), who's also been cavorting with Laura's wealthy aunt (Judith Anderson). McPherson begins to fall in love with Laura through a portrait in her home and the memories relayed by those who knew her...just as it becomes apparent that even the basic facts of the case might not be what they seemed.

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Before his birth in 1530, many omens were observed and many prophecies made about the child to be born to the second wife of Vasily III as he was to be descended from generations in conflict and, to aid these predictions, he was born in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Ivan (Nikolay Cherkasov) had Greek origins although his mother was from the line of Khan Mamay of the Golden Horde and his father, Vasily III, was descended from one of the Khan's enemies, Dmitry Donskoy. On hearing of his birth, the wife of the Khan of Kazan is reported to have said, "A Tsar is born among you; two teeth has he. With one he will devour us. But with the other, you". Ivan became Tsar (from the word 'Caesar') at the age of three, although power was held by regents who were named by Ivan's father on his deathbed. Ivan and his brother were treated like princes in public but, when not in public, treated harshly. As a result to this, Ivan began to treat others badly too, torturing animals, running down peasants with his horse; thus learning this cruel side of ruling at an early age. The story begins with Ivan's coronation at the age of sixteen. One month later, contrary to custom that demanded he marry a foreign princess, he marries Anastasia (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya), a Russian girl from the Romanov family - much to the distaste of the establishment. Influenced by the Metropolitan of Moscow and his good friend the chamberlain Alexi Adashev, Ivan institutes many reforms to the legal code, the church and the military. The nobles try to overthrow him but without success and he destroys the Mogul's centuries-old power base. He then seeks to break the coalitions of neighbouring states that are cutting off Moscow's maritime access to the West. Ivan then decides to expand his power eastward and, in 1552, with 100,000 men and 150 cannon he advances on Kazan. The gateway to the Urals and Siberia was taken after months of fighting although Ivan does not advance further east. Ivan becomes ill in 1553 and is told that he will die. He tries to force the boyars, who are headed by his aunt Euphrosinia (Serafima Birman), swear allegiance to his son who is not yet one year old, but they refuse. This outrages Ivan. In 1560, during a period of consolidation of power against the boyars, Anastasia is poisoned. This causes Ivan to retreat to an estate outside Moscow and threaten to abdicate. A mass delegation from the city arrives to beg him to return. This is the decisive moment for Ivan - now he can achieve full power.

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Judy Garland stars in a timeless tale of family, captured with warmth and emotion by director Vincente Minnelli. The enduring popularity of Meet Me in St Louis comes from a terrific blend of music, romance and humour.

Starring Judy Garland, together with Margaret O'Brien (as 1944's outstanding child actress) and Mary Astor, and featuring the musical classics "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis", "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

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Henry V is one of Shakespeare's most compelling historical plays. In this impressive Technicolor film, Henry sets out to press his claim to the Crown of France.

His small expedition encounters vastly superior French forces at Agincourt, and there Henry delivers his famous exhortation to the soldiers. His army victorious, the King visits the French Court where he meets and marries Catherine of Valois, thereby establishing the beginning of a promising alliance with France.

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They say crime doesn't pay. Private detective Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) knows better.

The fat wad of folding money warming his breast pocket is the kind of thing that keeps him going through thick and thicker as he wades chin deep into a mystery involving a missing necklace and a missing hoodlum's moll named Velma.

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Set amidst the glittering theatre world of 19th century Paris, the story revoles around the beautiful and free-spirted courtesan, Garanace, and the four men who compete for her affections; a mime-artist, an actor, an aristocrat and a criminal.

As the melodrama unfolds, we are treated to one of cinema's greatest love stories, a captivating tale of passion, deception and murder.

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San Pietro lies in the valley between two hills, Monte Lungo and Monte Sammucro. It's just off Route 6, the road to Rome, and was vital to the Allied cause during their push into Italy. The battle for San Pietro saw newly re-formed Italian Forces working with the Allies for the first time.

They suffered appalling losses in what quickly became a battle of epic proportions. The 'Italian Cemetry' is a monument to their exceptional courage and heroism. The town was ultimately destroyed. Defeated German forces withdrew to Cassino leaving the victorious Allies one step nearer their goal: the collapse of Mussolini's Italy. Today, the new town of San Pietro is about a kilometre and a half from the ruins of the old one. The story of the spectacular battle that led to its creation is vividly portrayed in this awesome film.

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One of the greatest foreign language films ever made, Roberto Rossellini "Rome, Open City" was filmed in the direct aftermath of World War II on the war-ravaged streets of Italy.

Based on real events that took place in the Nazi-occupied Italy in 1944, it examines the choices that people are forced to make in wartime. Centring on the Resistance and its members, this is a tragic and emotional exploration of human spirit and the effects of war.

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Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from Hollywood master Michael Curtiz.

Its iconic performance by Joan Crawford as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford's career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by the bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent's tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain's rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional.

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Noel Coward's sensitive portrayal of what happens when two happily married strangers, played by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, meet and their acquaintance deepens into affection and eventually into love.

It is the story of two people, thrown together by the chance meeting of the title, helpless in the face of their emotions but redeemed by their moral courage. Over the years few films have equalled the compassion and the realism of Brief Encounter.

Al Roberts (Tom Neal) decides to hitchhike to California to follow his girlfriend Sue (Claudia Drake). After discovering one of the drivers who has given him a lift dead, Al assumes his identity for fear of being charged with his murder. This leads him into trouble and blackmail along the way.

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Wendy Hiller stars in Powell and Pressburger's classic romantic comedy about a young woman who discovers the true meaning of wealth. Joan Webster has her life mapped out, beginning with marriage to a rich industrialist.

Her plans go wrong when she finds herself stranded on the way to a remote Scottish island and falls in love with a penniless young sailor.

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The Best Picture of 1945 has lost none of its bite or power in this uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism.

Ironically, this brilliant Billy Wilder film was almost never released because of poor reaction by preview audiences unaccustomed to such stark realism from Hollywood, but the film has since gone on to be regarded as one of the all-time great dramas in movie history. Ray Milland's haunting portrayal of would-be writer's dissatisfaction with his life leads him on a self-destructive three-day binge.

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In the story of Gilda, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) goes to work for Ballin Mundson (George MacReady), the proprietor of an illegal gambling casino in a South American city, and quickly rises to become Mundson's "main man".

All is well until Mundson returns from a trip with his new bride, Gilda - a woman from Johnny's past. Mundson, unaware of the previous love affair, assigns Farrell the job of ensuring that Gilda is a faithful wife. Fraught with hatred, Gilda does her best to antagonize, intimidate, and instill jealousy in Farrell - until circumstances allow him to get even.

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The sign outside the roadside diner says "Man Wanted." Drifter Frank Chambers knows the sign has more than one meaning when he eyes pouty, luminous Cora, the much-younger bride of the diner's proprietor. Based on the same-titled novel by James M.

Cain (Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce), this quintessential film-noir classic combines studio-system gloss with Cain's hard-bitten tale of murderous attractions. John Garfield and Lana Turner give career-benchmark performances as Frank and Cora, illicit lovers who botch a first attempt to bump off Cora's hubby, pull it off, betray each other at trial and yet wriggle free. But their volatile tale does not end there. As the film's metaphorical title indicates, fate is sure to ring again.