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

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With extraordinary beauty, talent and grace, Spanish dancer Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner) was born to be a star. Aided by American movie director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart), she attains great success and fortune in Hollywood's land of dreams.

But, though she gives her all for stardom, there is one thing Maria will never compromise - her soul. No matter what the cost, The Barefoot Contessa will dance to no-one's music but her own.

Judy Garland is singer Esther Blodgett, an undeniable talent on the rise. She catches the eye of Norman Maine (James Mason), an alcoholic actor in career decline. Their intense love transforms them both. Only one will survive Hollywood's slings and arrows.

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This sizzling screen version of Bizet's opera Carmen, updated for an all-black cast, stars Dorothy Dandridge, whose vibrant performance resulted in the first Oscar nomination for a black actress.

She stars in the title role as a passionate sexy creature who lures handsome Gl Joe (Harry Belafonte) away from his sweetheart (Olga James) Following a brawl with his sergeant, Joe deserts his regiment with the sultry femme fatale. Carmen soon tires of him and takes up with a heavyweight prize-fighter (Joe Adams), triggering Joe's tragic revenge.

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A tale of miraculous resurrection brought about by human love, Ordet is an extraordinary expression of spiritual optimism without being either sentimental or pious.

Religious intolerance and family tensions lie at the heart of the film, which explores the clash between orthodox religions and true faith. Dreyer achieves its powerful effects in deceptively simple ways, and has produced, in its closing moments, one of the most extraordinary scenes in all cinema.

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Folks in Black Rock have their own way of welcoming mysterious, one-armed stranger John J. Macreedy. He's welcome to leave. Or they'll make sure he leaves in a pine box.

Two-time Academy Award winner Spencer Tracy plays World War II veteran Macreedy, who keeps his own counsel about why he's come to Black Rock and who keeps his wits about him when confronted with threats and violence. Director John Sturges ramps up the tension while revealing Macreedy's mission and the town's grim secret. Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin are among the town's thugs and lap dogs.

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A tyrant schoolteacher - Delasalle (Paul Meurisse) in a seedy boarding school has both his wife (Vera Clouzot) and his mistress (Simone Signoret) looking for a way out as he maltreats them both. They decide to work together to murder their tormentor.

The two women drown Delasalle in the bath then dump the body in a swimming pool. When the pool is drained and no body found they start to worry. When his suit is returned, cleaned, they start to panic. Is he alive? Does someone else know? A spiral of perfectly crafted tension hurtles you to an unparalleled conclusion and an ending you will never forget!

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"I've been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life", says Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine). Yet, despite all his efforts, this 34-year-old Bronx butcher remains as shy and uncomfortable around women today as on the day he was born.

So when he meets Clara (Betsy Blair), a lonely schoolteacher who's just as smitten with him as he is with her, Marty's on top of the world. But not everyone around him shares Marty's joy. And when his friends and family continually find fault with Clara, even Marty begins to question his newfound love... until he discovers, in an extraordinary way, the strength and courage to follow his heart.

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When callous thugs beat Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) senseless and viciously murder the gorgeous blonde he's been trying to help, the hard-boiled detective retaliates the only way he can: by hitting first and asking questions later.

Cutting a brutal swathe through the city's sleazy underside, Hammer uncovers a mysterious black container whose deadly contents not only solve the murder...but trigger an apocalyptic climax as well!

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"The Phenix City Story" begins when John Patterson (Richard Kiley) returns to his Alabama hometown after a stint in the Army.

He plans to start practicing law with his father, Albert (John McIntire), but John's wife (Lenka Peterson) is reluctant to live in Phenix City because of the large number of casinos and brothels in the town that are controlled by a local crime syndicate. However, after the syndicate is involved with beatings, theft, and even murder, John and Albert decide to stay in Phenix City and help a group of concerned citizens clean up the town by having Albert run for Alabama attorney general.

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A tall, handsome 'preacher' - his knuckles eerily tattooed with 'love' and 'hate' - roams the countryside, spreading the gospel...and leaving a trail of murdered women in his wake.

To Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), the work of the Lord has more to do with condemning souls than saving them, especially when his own interests are involved. Now his sights are set on $10,000 - and two little children are the only ones who know where it is. 'Chill...dren!' the preacher croons to the terrified boy and girl hiding in the cold, dark cellar...innocent young lambs who refuse to be led astray.

Filmed it Ghana, the film depicts the annual ceremony of the Hauku cult, a social and religious movement which was widespread in French colonial Africa from the 1920's to the 1950's. In a shared trance, the participants begin to mimic the elaborate military ceremonies of their colonial occupiers…

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Soon after the huge success of 'Magnificent Obsession', Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson again teamed up with director Douglas Sirk for this heartwarming story of an attractive, wealthy New England widow who defies social constraints when she falls in love for a much younger man.

When Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) falls in love with her sexy gardener, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), she becomes the target of small town gossip, while at the time incurring the wrath of her own children Kay (Gloria Talbott) and Ned (William Reynolds). The children and the town want Cary to lead a more conventional lifestyle than that offered by Ron. They would prefer that she spend the rest of her life in front of her new TV set, wed to Harvey (Conrad Nagel), a highly respected, wealthy - and boring - bachelor. Will she choose love or "respectability"?

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'Pather Panchali' tells the story of a family living in the grip of poverty in a small Bengali village, focusing on the experiences of a young boy, Apu (Subir Banerjee), and paying careful attention to a series of ordinary events: Apu's father sets off to the city in search of work, leaving his

wife to take care of the children and an elderly aunt; a frugal meal is prepared; rains flatten the landscape; a train passes by; someone dies.

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This brand new edition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's much-loved Oklahoma! gives you the opportunity to watch the whole film or just your favourite songs, with or without Sing-along subtitles.

In sunny Oklahoma, farmhands Curly (Gordon McRae) and Will (Gene Nelson) fall for local girls Ado (Gloria Grahame) and Laurey (Shirley Jones). The path to true love is thwarted, however, by nasty farmhand Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). This joyous celebration of frontier life combines tender romance and violent passion in the Oklahoma Territory of the 1900's, with a timeless score filled with unforgettable songs, such as "Oh, What a Beautiful Momin'", "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", "People Will Say We're in Love" and "Oklahoma!".

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In one of cinemas most influential, and gripping, roles, James Dean plays Jim Stark, the new kid in town whose loneliness, frustration and anger mirrored those of most postwar teens - and reverberates more than 40 years later.

Natalie Wood (as Jim's girlfriend Judy) and Sal Mineo (in his screen debut as Jim's tag-along pal Plato) were Academy Award nominees for their achingly true performances.