Awards & Nominations
NA
 

Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)

Links
 

(Click to Visit)
 

(Click to Visit)
 
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

Streaming Platforms
HBO
 
Stream Now

(Click to Watch)

 

Coming soon…
 

 
Production Company(ies)
The Mirisch Corporation,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
 
Year of Release
1960
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Jack Lemmon

Shirley MacLaine

Fred MacMurray

Ray Walston

David Lewis

C.C. Baxter

Fran Kubelik

Jeff D. Sheldrake

Joe Dobisch

Al Kirkeby

CAST & CREW
– Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter
– Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik
– Fred MacMurray as Jeff D. Sheldrake
– Ray Walston as Joe Dobisch
– David Lewis as Al Kirkeby
– Jack Kruschen as Dr. Dreyfuss
– Directed by Billy Wilder
– Produced by Billy Wilder
– Written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond

 

Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Billy Wilder
 
Writer(s)
Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
 
Producer(s)
Billy Wilder

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
24 wins & 8 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Jake Cole

Marjory Adams

Stanley Kauffmann

Ben Kubasik

George Bourke

Slant Magazine

Boston Globe

The New Republic

Newsday

Miami Herald

THE APARTMENT
  All Critics (102) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (6)
  Though lighter than Arrows 2018 release on the extras front, Kinos 4K of The Apartment provides the definitive home-video presentation of one of Billy Wilders greatest films.
 
  April 18, 2022
 
  Jake Cole
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a polished production, naughty, ironic, occasionally poignantly sad, and as sparkling as a Fourth of July fireworks display.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Marjory Adams
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  [Jack Lemmon] is a genuine actor, not in the same universe with most of his film contemporaries, who are mere behavers. This picture is not good enough for him. Still, his performance makes it worth a visit.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Stanley Kauffmann
  The New Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  Director Wilder has come up with another real winner in The Apartment… It is a film with plenty of fun and one that promises hope in a society whose moral standards seems to be rapidly deteriorating
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Ben Kubasik
  Newsday
  TOP CRITIC
  The dialogue is brilliant with smart alec sparkle and the situations are as adult as one can get by with on the screen, and the performances by all concerned… are gems of alternating humor and pathos.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  George Bourke
  Miami Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  Anybody complaining that modern Hollywood comedy doesn’t have the old human touch, the heart once supplied by directors like Frank Capra and Gregory LaCava, ought to see this. It is one of the best films of the year.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Myles Standish
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  In 1960, Billy Wilder won Best Picture with a film—whose basic plot swirls around the trials and tribulations of infidelity of both sexes—seemed like a shock to some, but for many more was the ideal precursor to the Swinging ‘60s and free love.
 
  May 8, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  James Wegg
  JWR
  The wry and perspicacious Wilder and the more sentimental Diamond fashioned a tale of sexual office politics as microcosm for an externally well-oiled and puritanical America that, internally, was ethically and morally bankrupt.
 
  April 5, 2022 | Rating: A+
 
  Frank J. Avella
  Edge Media Network
  A screen gem that attained classic status in about as much time as it takes to comb one’s hair.
 
  April 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  The picture is brimming with crisp, quick one-liners and sharp dialogue – all setting up the next moment of banter. Each conversation or character interaction is an exploration of motivation and rich emotion.
 
  March 24, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Josiah Teal
  Film Threat
  Mr. Wilder, possessor of Hollywood’s sharpest eye for the witheringly ironic comment on human behavior, is richly blessed with the opportunity to use it in The Apartment.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Jay Carmody
  Washington Star
  With The Apartment, Wilder outdid himself. Not only is it much better than his previous comedy, but this has several serious and poignant moments that stir one… and, for these moments you can thank Fred MacMurray, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
 
  March 16, 2022
 
  Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
  San Francisco Examiner…

 

Plot
As of November 1, 1959, mild mannered C.C. Baxter has been working at Consolidated Life, an insurance company, for close to four years, and is one of close to thirty-two thousand employees located in their Manhattan head office. To distinguish himself from all the other lowly cogs in the company in the hopes of moving up the corporate ladder, he often works late, but only because he can’t get into his apartment, located off of Central Park West, since he has provided it to a handful of company executives – Mssrs. Dobisch, Kirkeby, Vanderhoff and Eichelberger – on a rotating basis for their extramarital liaisons in return for a good word to the personnel director, Jeff D. Sheldrake. When Baxter is called into Sheldrake’s office for the first time, he learns that it isn’t just to be promoted as he expects, but also to add married Sheldrake to the list to who he will lend his apartment. Dobisch, Kirkeby, Vanderhoff and Eichelberger are now feeling neglected as Baxter no longer needs their assistance in moving up.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Billy-Wilder.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Tequila Gang Estudios Picasso Esperanto Filmoj
 
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., American International Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate

 
Year of Release
1960
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
House of Usher, horror, Vincent Price, Roger Corman, Richard Matheson, Edgar Allan Poe, Myrna Fahey, Mark Damon, Warner Home Vídeo, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., American International Pictures, Mono, box office, budget, reviewed by Betty Martin, Helen Bower, Elston Brooks, Marjory Adams, Mildred Martin, George Bourke, Edward W Pliska, Harrison Swain, Dick Banks, Martin Russell, John Bustin, P.S Harrison, Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, The Nanny, Black Friday, The Haunted Palace, The Beast With Five Fingers, MPAA rating, thriller, suspense, gothic, tragedy, cursed family, incurable madness, engagement, bloodline, decaying mansion, falling chandeliers, fireplaces, coffins, buried alive, shrieks, screams, seizures, terror atmosphere, fog-shrouded mansion, tainted blood, evil, retribution
 

Cast & Crew

Vincent Price

Myrna Fahey

Mark Damon

Harry Ellerbe

Roger Corman

Roderick Usher

Madeline Usher

Philip Winthrop

Bristol

Director

Vincent Price – Roderick Usher
Myrna Fahey – Madeline Usher
Mark Damon – Philip Winthrop
Harry Ellerbe – Bristol
Roger Corman – Director
Richard Matheson – Writer

 

Roger Corman

Richard Matheson

Roger Corman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Roger Corman
 
Writer(s)
Richard Matheson, Edgar Allan Poe
 
Producer(s)
Roger Corman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Betty Martin

Helen Bower

Elston Brooks

Marjory Adams

Mildred Martin

Los Angeles Times

Detroit Free Press

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

Boston Globe

Philadelphia Inquirer

HOUSE OF USHER
 All Critics (49) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (7)
 Roger Corman, who produced and directed the film for AIP, has handled the production well enough, managing a fair amount of suspense throughout.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Betty Martin
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Price is no stranger to horror pictures. Here he has the chance for some impressive acting… On the side of sanity is dark-haired Mark Damon as Miss Fahey’s fiancé. His performance Is unusually striking.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Helen Bower
 Detroit Free Press
 TOP CRITIC
 Usher has its eerie moments but toward the end gets stewed in its own caldron of juices.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Elston Brooks
 Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
 TOP CRITIC
 The picture is filled with falling chandeliers, fireplaces which try to attack unwanted visitors, coffins with people buried alive, shrieks, screams, seizures and other terrifying matters.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Marjory Adams
 Boston Globe
 TOP CRITIC
 [House of Usher] is garish, long-winded, more silly than gruesome, even with its mad brother and sister and decaying mansion all going full-tilt toward their mutual grisly end.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Mildred Martin
 Philadelphia Inquirer
 TOP CRITIC
 For the latter half of the film Gorman has pulled all stops as the madman is even willing to bury his sister alive to discourage the suitor These sequences are truly terrifying.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 George Bourke
 Miami Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 Devotees of horror should find final scenes to their liking.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Edward W. Pliska
 Hartford Courant
 Effectively using weird color and dim light, the film generates the right terror atmosphere for the fog-shrouded mansion, with its history of tainted blood, mad ness, evil and retribution.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Harrison Swain
 Tampa Bay Times
 Poe might not recognize this as his creation — but he would get a bang out of the show!
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Dick Banks
 Charlotte Observer
 With Vincent Price holding court in the midst of ancestral mania, a certain amount of the original Poe comes through.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 Martin Russell
 San Francisco Examiner
 A surprisingly creditable production which, by and large, does an adept job of re-creating the same eerie unreality which has made the story a masterpiece of its genre.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 John Bustin
 Austin American-Statesman
 Although a bit too wordy, the abundant gore, photo gimmicks, special effects and unusual theme, help keep the viewer on his seat’s edge.
 
 September 22, 2021
 
 P.S. Harrison
 Harrison’s Reports…

 

Plot
In House of Usher, Vincent Price plays Roderick Usher, a man who believes his family to be cursed by incurable madness and will stop at nothing to prevent his sister’s marriage and keep the Usher bloodline from continuing.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Vincent Price’s performance in House of Usher is described as “impressive” and “hypnotic” by audience members.
 

 
Roger-Corman.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Renaissance Films, British Broadcasting Corporation, Curzon Film Distributors
 
Distributor
Astor Pictures Corporation, 20th Century Fox, Image Entertainment Inc.
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Newman Arms – 23 Rathbone Street, Fitzrovia, London, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1960
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
Peeping Tom, horror, Michael Powell, Karlheinz Böhm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley, Esmond Knight, Bartlett Mullins, Leo Marks, Astor Pictures Corporation, 20th Century Fox, Image Entertainment Inc., $84.0K, Mono, voyeuristic cinema, psychological thriller, serial killer, British Anarchy, suspense, atmosphere, POV, mature themes, sex, violence, crime thriller, dark, lurid, scoptophilia, psycholagy, killer, tension, dramatic climax, box office, director, producer, writer, reviewed by critics, MPAA rating, classic, masterpiece, influential, genre-defining, ahead of its time, controversial, banned, disturbing, unsettling, chilling, methodical, psychological, sociopath, sympathetic, horror genre, classic work, documentary, fear, victims, racy photographs, women, daughter, family, apartment, documentary on fear, reactions, murders, friends, horror movies, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Nosferatu, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Night of the Hunter, Seconds, Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho, Black Christmas, Halloween, Martin Scorsese, critics’ darling, British cinema, British horror, British thriller, British film, British movie, British classic, British masterpiece, British cinema, British Anarchy
 

Cast & Crew

Karlheinz Böhm

Mark Lewis

Moira Shearer

Vivian

Anna Massey

Karlheinz Böhm

Moira Shearer

Anna Massey

Maxine Audley

Esmond Knight

Karlheinz Böhm – Mark Lewis
Moira Shearer – Vivian
Anna Massey – Helen Stephens
Maxine Audley – Mrs. Stephens
Esmond Knight – Arthur Baden
Bartlett Mullins – Mr. Peters
Michael Powell – Director/Producer
Leo Marks – Writer

 

Michael Powell

Leo Marks

Michael Powell

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Michael Powell
 
Writer(s)
Leo Marks
 
Producer(s)
Michael Powell

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Chris Stuckmann

Jami Bernard

Kenneth Turan

Ann Hornaday

Jay Boyar

ChrisStuckmann.com

New York Daily News

Los Angeles Times

Baltimore Sun

Orlando Sentinel

PEEPING TOM
 All Critics (55) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (2)
 An integral film for the development of the horror genre.
 
 October 5, 2018 | Rating: A
 
 Chris Stuckmann
 ChrisStuckmann.com
 TOP CRITIC
 Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom is the best movie ever made about the voyeuristic allure of making and watching movies.
 
 October 14, 2014
 
 Jami Bernard
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 Fear, as it turns out, is the most frightening thing in the world, and Peeping Tom makes us feel it palpably as few films have been able to do.
 
 October 5, 2013
 
 Kenneth Turan
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Almost forty years later, Powell’s audaciousness, satirical wit and dazzling color sense still crackle with life.
 
 October 5, 2013
 
 Ann Hornaday
 Baltimore Sun
 TOP CRITIC
 Peeping Tom reminds us of the scary, primitive power of movies by putting us, as viewers, in the position of its peeping protagonist. As the psychopath sets up his victims for the kill, we see them through his eyes.
 
 October 5, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Jay Boyar
 Orlando Sentinel
 TOP CRITIC
 It still packs a wallop. Maybe that’s because, in cinema, we’re all peeping toms. And the camera, in skillful hands, can be an exquisite instrument of terror.
 
 October 5, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Michael Wilmington
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 A masterclass in filmmaking that puts a sociopath in a sympathetic light. Uncomfortable but compelling, Peeping Tom is not to be missed.
 
 March 30, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Trace Thurman
 Horror Queers Podcast
 This proto-slasher film is making fascinating observations about class, nationality and gender, but it’s so well integrated it never feels heavy handed. Powell’s meta shooting style is inspired and Vivian Shearer makes a big impression in only 2 scenes.
 
 March 25, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Joe Lipsett
 Horror Queers Podcast
 Mark who is the peeping tom in this situation is probably up there with one of the most complex characters in cinema.
 
 October 26, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
 Emma Wolfe
 SpookyAstronauts
 Directed by Michael Powell with British Anarchy … crazy but exquisitely reserved. Recognized now as one of his greatest films, a primer for the use of the camera as an eye and point of view. We are all voyeurs when we watch a movie
 
 May 16, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Patrick McDonald
 WBGR-FM (93.7 FM – Monroe, WI)
 Almost all who act as voyeurs in their love of cinema will never hurt another person- not fatally, anyway. That doesn’t mean we aren’t irreparably altered by our voyeurism.
 
 May 1, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
 C.H. Newell
 Father Son Holy Gore
 A timeless and sublime masterpiece that presents an incredibly intelligent and moving picture of psychological struggle.
 
 February 28, 2019
 
 Naila Scargill
 Exquisite Terror…

 

Plot
Mark Lewis, works as a focus puller in a British film studio. On his off hours, he supplies a local porno shop with cheesecake photos and also dabbles in filmmaking. A lonely, unfriendly, sexually repressed fellow, Mark is obsessed with the effects of fear and how they are registered on the face and behavior of the frightened. This obsession dates from the time when, as a child, he served as the subject of some cold-blooded experiments in terror conducted by his own scientist father. As a grown man, Mark becomes a compulsive murderer who kills women and records their contorted features and dying gasps on film. His ongoing project is a documentary on fear. With 16mm camera in hand, he accompanies a prostitute to her room and stabs her with a blade concealed in his tripod, all the while photographing her contorted face in the throes of terror and death. Alone in his room, he surrounds himself with the sights and sounds of terror: taped screams, black-and-white “home movies” of convulsed faces. At his house, he meets Helen Stephens, a young woman who lives with her blind mother in a downstairs flat. She visits his flat, where he shows her black-and-white films that were taken of him when he was a child. She is horrified to see that his father used him as a guinea pig in various experiments, taking movies of his reactions of fear.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Peeping Tom on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Michael-Powell.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Réalisation d’art cinématographique
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
 
Year of Release
1960
 

 
Genre(s)
Action
 
Keyword(s)
starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Howard Fast, Dalton Trumbo, Calder Willingham, action, swords-and-sandals, rebellion, gladiators, slaves, epic, classic, restored, box office, gross USA, budget, PG-13, critic reviews, reviewed by Peter John Dyer, David Stratton, Owen Gleiberman, Nell Minow, James Christopher, Peter Bradshaw, Josh Larsen, Mike Massie, M.V Moorhead, Clyde Gilmour, Jesús Fernández Santos, Dwight MacDonald, audience score, directed by Edward Lewis, produced by Edward Lewis, MPAA rating, Universal Pictures, stereo, magnetic stereo 6 track, scope (2.35:1), runtime 3h 4m, distributor Universal Pictures
 

Cast & Crew

Kirk Douglas

Laurence Olivier

Jean Simmons

Tony Curtis

Charles Laughton

Spartacus

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Varinia

Antoninus

Sempronius Gracchus

Kirk Douglas – Spartacus
Laurence Olivier – Marcus Licinius Crassus
Jean Simmons – Varinia
Tony Curtis – Antoninus
Charles Laughton – Sempronius Gracchus
Peter Ustinov – Lentulus Batiatus

 

Stanley Kubrick

Howard Fast

Edward Lewis

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Stanley Kubrick
 
Writer(s)
Howard Fast, Dalton Trumbo, Calder Willingham
 
Producer(s)
Edward Lewis

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Peter John Dyer

David Stratton

Owen Gleiberman

Nell Minow

James Christopher

Sight & Sound

At the Movies (Australia)

Entertainment Weekly

Common Sense Media

Times (UK)

SPARTACUS
  All Critics (62) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (4)
  The result, to all intents and purposes, is pre-ordained.
 
  February 10, 2020
 
  Peter John Dyer
  Sight & Sound
  TOP CRITIC
  There have been other versions of the Spartacus story, including a silent epic and a more recent TV series, but Kubrick’s film can’t be beaten.
 
  October 23, 2014
 
  David Stratton
  At the Movies (Australia)
  TOP CRITIC
  September 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
 
  Owen Gleiberman
  Entertainment Weekly
  TOP CRITIC
  Thrilling epic is too intense for the youngest.
 
  December 28, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Nell Minow
  Common Sense Media
  TOP CRITIC
  Douglas is terrific as the iron-jawed slave fuelled by righteous fury.
 
  June 12, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
 
  James Christopher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  The great-granddaddy of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator hasn’t lost any muscle tone after nearly half a century, and Kirk Douglas’s direct, unpretentious performance as the great slave-rebel Spartacus is more engaging than ever.
 
  June 12, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  …the performances might be its most compelling element.
 
  June 28, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Josh Larsen
  LarsenOnFilm
  A magnificent picture that packs a rarely equaled emotional wallop with its impassioned camaraderie and paralyzing conclusion.
 
  August 27, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  The movie is full of wonderful character players who have fun with Trumbo’s ripe dialogue.
 
  February 18, 2020
 
  M.V. Moorhead
  Phoenix Magazine
  Laurence Olivier memorably portrays a subtle, ruthless aristocrat who vows to destroy the gladiatorial army.
 
  October 31, 2019
 
  Clyde Gilmour
  Maclean’s Magazine
  This chapter of the history of Rome stands out for its recreation of the lives of gladiators and its beautiful images that culminate in the confrontation of the Roman legions in the open field. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  August 20, 2019
 
  Jesús Fernández Santos
  El Pais (Spain)
  Like a fast back with plenty of power, Kubrick twists and plunges. But he goes down on the twenty-yard line under the sheer weight of the opposition.
 
  February 10, 2019
 
  Dwight MacDonald
  Esquire Magazine…

 

Plot
The inspiration behind this series is the Thracian Gladiator Spartacus, who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic. The Thracians had been persuaded by Claudius Glaber to serve as auxiliaries in the Roman legions in a campaign against the Getae, who had often plundered Thracian lands. However after Glaber reneges on the deal and switches his attentions from the Getae to attack Mithridates in Asia Minor, the Thracians feel betrayed and mutiny. Captured by Glaber, Spartacus is condemned to death as a Gladiator, whilst his wife Sura is condemned to slavery. Spartacus, however, proves to be a formidable gladiator, and defeats the four gladiators tasked with executing him. He becomes a favorite of the crowd, leading Senator Albinius to commute his death sentence to a life of slavery. Spartacus is purchased by Batiatus for gladiator training, who promises to help him find Sura if he proves himself in training. As the series develops, the story follows the betrayals and machinations of Roman life and a tale of one man’s heroic quest for vengeance.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Kirk Douglas gives a “direct, unpretentious performance as the great slave-rebel Spartacus” according to one critic review.
 

 
Stanley-Kubrick.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Garces Highway 1/10th mile East from Corcoran Road and Kern National Wildlife Preserve, Kern County, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
 
Year of Release
1959
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G Carroll, Martin Landau, Jessie Royce Landis, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Ernest Lehman, mystery, thriller, box office success, budget, reviewed by Pauline Kael, Barbara L Wilson, Marie Stevenson, Helen Bower, Kate Cameron, John L Scott, Brian Eggert, Florence Epstein, Hortense Morton, C.A Lejeune, Jay Carmody, Harold V Cohen, MPAA rating, mistaken identity, espionage, action sequences, suspenseful, visually iconic, iconic, thriller, adventure, spy, conspiracy, Technicolor, VistaVision, crop duster chase, Mount Rushmore, United Nations, train, Mata Hari, superheroic score, clever dialogue, charismatic lead, grand adventure, intriguing mystery, colorful characters, lively directorial performance, entertainment value, classic thriller, Hitchcock classic, late-period Hitchcock, top Hitchcock film, iconic action thriller, gripping, visually stunning, suspenseful, thrilling, action-packed, memorable, must-see, timeless, masterpiece, Hollywood classic, American thriller, spy thriller, mistaken identity, espionage, adventure opus, grand scope, intriguing mystery, conspiracy, clever, sophisticated, elegant, glossy, thrilling, brilliant, cool surface, perfect polish, Number 1 hand, superheroic style, cleverly original, cleverly sexy, entertaining, fun, awesome, spy adventure flick
 

Cast & Crew

Cary Grant

Eva Marie Saint

James Mason

Leo G. Carroll

Martin Landau

Roger O. Thornhill/George Kaplan

Eve Kendall

Phillip Vandamm

The Professor

Leonard

– Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill/George Kaplan
– Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall
– James Mason as Phillip Vandamm
– Leo G. Carroll as The Professor
– Martin Landau as Leonard
– Jessie Royce Landis as Clara Thornhill
– Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
– Produced by Alfred Hitchcock
– Written by Ernest Lehman

 

Alfred Hitchcock

Ernest Lehman

Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
 
Writer(s)
Ernest Lehman
 
Producer(s)
Alfred Hitchcock

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
8 wins & 10 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Pauline Kael

Barbara L. Wilson

Marie Stevenson

Helen Bower

Kate Cameron

New Yorker

Philadelphia Inquirer

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

Detroit Free Press

New York Daily News

NORTH BY NORTHWEST
  All Critics (110) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (3)
  Though not as cleverly original as Strangers on a Train, or as cleverly sexy as Notorious, this is one of Hitchcock’s most entertaining American thrillers.
 
  July 6, 2022
 
  Pauline Kael
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  Alfred Hitchcock’s new thriller, North by Northwest, is one of those no holds barred films. For better than two hours, he lets the Technicolor melodrama ramble across the VistaVision screen while gleefully setting traps for his hero.
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  Barbara L. Wilson
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  North by Northwest Is the reliable one of mistaken identity and spies with the glossy touches of Hitchcock– a crop dusting plane spraying bullets over a farm road and a chase on the stone faces of Mount Rushmore .
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  Marie Stevenson
  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
  TOP CRITIC
  On all counts, North by Northwest is Hitchcock’s best picture in recent years.
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  Helen Bower
  Detroit Free Press
  TOP CRITIC
  The brilliant director has outdone himself by piling thrill on thrill for the delectation of an enraptured audience.
 
  June 9, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Kate Cameron
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Grant’s technique, so well established, shines brightly under Hitchcock’s guidance. The two seem completely en rapport in movie making. Miss Saint, effective in her former sweet or drab roles, makes the switch to glamour as a lovely Mata Hari type.
 
  June 8, 2021
 
  John L. Scott
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  North by Northwest distills Alfred Hitchcock’s obsessions, techniques, and themes into a singular, deliriously entertaining form.
 
  February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  This is a classic thriller, slick as ice and about as exciting as you can stand.
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  Florence Epstein
  Modern Screen
  Relax and enjoy it — North by Northwest is elegant, in color escape entertainment.
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
  San Francisco Examiner
  You get a lot of entertainment for your money. You get a couple of clever, sophisticated screen actors and an elegant actress with a fine-drawn, exciting face. You get one scene that will be talked about as long as people talk about films at all.
 
  June 9, 2021
 
  C.A. Lejeune
  Observer (UK)
  The acting in North by Northwest has that brilliant, cool surface that represents the perfect polish for the best of Hitchcock. Grant, to be sure, is the director’s Number 1 hand at this sort of thing. Mason, nevertheless, comes close to matching him.
 
  June 8, 2021
 
  Jay Carmody
  Washington Star
  Very little of it makes sense, but no matter. From the moment Mr. Cary Grant, a Madison Avenue advertising man, is kidnaped by a band of foreign agents who think ne s someone else, North By Northwest stays on a rollercoaster that operates on laughing gas.
 
  June 8, 2021
 
  Harold V. Cohen
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…

 

Plot
Madison Avenue advertising man Roger Thornhill finds himself thrust into the world of spies when he is mistaken for a man by the name of George Kaplan. Foreign spy Philip Vandamm and his henchman Leonard try to eliminate him but when Thornhill tries to make sense of the case, he is framed for murder. Now on the run from the police, he manages to board the 20th Century Limited bound for Chicago where he meets a beautiful blond, Eve Kendall, who helps him to evade the authorities. His world is turned upside down yet again when he learns that Eve isn’t the innocent bystander he thought she was. Not all is as it seems however, leading to a dramatic rescue and escape at the top of Mt. Rushmore.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Cary Grant’s performance as the lead character is “remarkably charismatic.”
 

 
Alfred-Hitchcock.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1959
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira, Léa Garcia, directed by Marcel Camus, written by Vinicius de Moraes, Marcel Camus, Jacques Viot, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marjory Adams, Kate Cameron, Mildred Martin, Helen Bower, Stanley Kauffmann, Elston Brooks, Jean-Luc Godard, Moira Walsh, John Bustin, Jack Parr, Jay Carmody, produced by Sacha Gordine, PG rating, bossa nova soundtrack, Rio de Janeiro, favelas, Greek legend, Orpheus and Eurydice, hitman, death, fantasy, reality, Brazilian composers, Luiz Bonfá, Antonio Carlos Jobim
 

Cast & Crew

Breno Mello

Marpessa Dawn

Lourdes de Oliveira

Léa Garcia

Ademar Da Silva

Orfeo

Eurydice

Mira

Serafina

Death

Breno Mello – Orfeo
Marpessa Dawn – Eurydice
Lourdes de Oliveira – Mira
Léa Garcia – Serafina
Ademar Da Silva – Death
Alexandro Constantino – Hermes

 

Marcel Camus

Vinicius de Moraes

Sacha Gordine

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Marcel Camus
 
Writer(s)
Vinicius de Moraes, Marcel Camus, Jacques Viot
 
Producer(s)
Sacha Gordine

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
4 wins & 3 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Marjory Adams

Kate Cameron

Mildred Martin

Helen Bower

Stanley Kauffmann

Boston Globe

New York Daily News

Philadelphia Inquirer

Detroit Free Press

The New Republic

BLACK ORPHEUS
  All Critics (70) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (9)
  It is amazingly exciting — sometimes, with the quick voluptuous beat of the music, and the mad gusto of the costumed dancers, the pace seems unbearable in its speed and passion. There is realism and imagery; fantasy and truth.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Marjory Adams
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  The picture represents a beautiful and touching concept of the old legend.
 
  July 27, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Kate Cameron
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  A stunning example of ingenuity and art.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Mildred Martin
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  [Breno Mello and Marpessa] Dawn are exceedingly well chosen to be the romantic principals.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Helen Bower
  Detroit Free Press
  TOP CRITIC
  The film is often beautiful, a swirl of color and music and movement almost from first to last.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Stanley Kauffmann
  The New Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  Black Orpheus is a magnificently photographed picture rich in the carnival atmosphere that is its background.
 
  July 26, 2021
 
  Elston Brooks
  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
  TOP CRITIC
  The amiability and sincerity of Marcel Camus are not in question. But then, does being amiable and sincere suffice to make a good film?
 
  September 1, 2021
 
  Jean-Luc Godard
  Cahiers du Cinéma
  What remains is an arty, empty shell of a picture.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Moira Walsh
  America Magazine
  The film’s surge of emotions, the freshness of the acting — which doesn’t look like acting at all — and the sensitivity of the direction makes it all into a wild, pagan-like poem, swirling with color and life.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  John Bustin
  Austin American-Statesman
  The impact then is flat and unmoving: sort of like looking at a home movie of colorful old Brazil.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Jack Parr
  Winnipeg Free Press
  Miss Dawn is a vivid performer who meets a worthy match in Bruno Melo, a noted athlete in Rio. whose amateur standing as an actor is deftly concealed in his passionate Orpheus portrait.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Jay Carmody
  Washington Star
  [Black Orpheus] is an example of taste in search of a style. It is full of good ideas and moving perceptions… But somehow the film never ignites.
 
  July 27, 2021
 
  Robert Hatch
  The Nation…

 

Plot
In the heady atmosphere of Rio’s carnival, two people meet and fall in love. Eurydice, a country girl, has run away from home to avoid a man who arrived at her her looking for her. She is convinced that he was going to kill her. She arrives in Rio to stay with her cousin Serafina. Orfeo works as a tram conductor and is engaged to Mira – as far as Mira is concerned anyways. As Eurydice and Orpheus get to know one another they fall deeply in love. Mira is mad with jealousy and when Eurydice disappears, Orfeo sets out to find her.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Breno Mello, a noted athlete in Rio whose amateur standing as an actor is deftly concealed in his passionate Orpheus portrait.
 

 
Marcel-Camus.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
La Parti Productions, Les Armateurs Maybe Movies
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Corner of Via di Salone and Via delle Case Rosse, Salone Caves, Rome, Lazio, Italy
 
MPAA / Certificate
G
 
Year of Release
1959
 

 
Genre(s)
Adventure/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, directed by William Wyler, written by Lew Wallace, Karl Tunberg, Adventure, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Hollywood Reporter, ReelViews, Daily Telegraph (UK), TIME Magazine, Chicago Reader, Time Out, JWR, produced by Sam Zimbalist, MPAA rating G, Roman Empire, slavery, Jesus, chariot race, sword and sandal epic, biblical backdrop, grand spectacle, powerful and gripping, strong performances, impressive world-building, kinetic energy, heart-pounding action sequences, groundbreaking, masterful, uneven narrative
 

Cast & Crew

Charlton Heston

Jack Hawkins

Stephen Boyd

Haya Harareet

Hugh Griffith

Judah Ben-Hur

Quintus Arrius

Messala

Esther

Sheik Ilderim

Charlton Heston – Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins – Quintus Arrius
Stephen Boyd – Messala
Haya Harareet – Esther
Hugh Griffith – Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott – Miriam

 

William Wyler

Lew Wallace

Sam Zimbalist

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
William Wyler
 
Writer(s)
Lew Wallace, Karl Tunberg
 
Producer(s)
Sam Zimbalist

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 11 Oscars
29 wins & 16 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jack Harrison

James Berardinelli

Martin Chilton

TIME Staff

Dave Kehr

Hollywood Reporter

ReelViews

Daily Telegraph (UK)

TIME Magazine

Chicago Reader

BEN-HUR
 All Critics (52) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (8)
 William Wyler never lets spectacle and size interfere with the elemental passions and conflicts of his human story. The spectacular aspects emerge naturally from the story — the time and place and the customs of the society in which the characters live.
 
 November 19, 2018
 
 Jack Harrison
 Hollywood Reporter
 TOP CRITIC
 Clocking in at three hours forty-two minutes, Ben-Hur overstays its welcome. Still, despite scenes that occasionally run too long, the movie doesn’t start to drag until after the chariot race and many of the early scenes are engaging.
 
 October 7, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
 James Berardinelli
 ReelViews
 TOP CRITIC
 Although it is a spectacle film, the story of how a man takes on the tyranny of the Romans, with all sorts of horrible consequences to himself and his family, is powerful and gripping.
 
 January 1, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Martin Chilton
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 The biggest and the best of Hollywood’s super-spectacles.
 
 August 22, 2008
 
 TIME Staff
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Entire new frontiers in boredom were opened up by this MGM whopper from 1959.
 
 December 13, 2006
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 The movie could be trying to say that for some people religion is an escape from their sexuality, but it seems unlikely.
 
 January 26, 2006
 
 Scott Meek
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 Death by spectacle
 
 May 8, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
 
 James Wegg
 JWR
 62 years later, there’s not much to say more than this is; an absolute masterpiece. What was accomplished narratively and technically all those years ago is a work of film geniuses. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 February 11, 2021 | Rating: 10/10
 
 Victor Pineyro
 Seventh Art Studio
 Perhaps best known for the intensely climactic and lengthy chariot race, resulting in urban legend stuntmen deaths and one of the most widely recognized sequences ever filmed.
 
 August 15, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 One of Wyler’s greatest achievements is the way he portrays Jesus Christ, made with elegance and genius. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
 July 24, 2019 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Juan Luis Caviaro
 Espinof
 Watching it was like waiting at a railroad crossing while an interminable freight train lumbers past, often stopping completely for a while.
 
 July 11, 2019
 
 Dwight MacDonald
 Esquire Magazine
 The chariot race still holds up.
 
 April 12, 2019 | Rating: A
 
 Rachel Wagner
 rachelsreviews.net…

 

Plot
Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah’s house and injures the governor. Although Messala knows they are not guilty, he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Ben-Hur.
 

 
William-Wyler.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Otto Preminger Films,
 
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Tripoli Bar, Ishpeming, Michigan, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1959
 

 
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
Anatomy of a Murder, Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, George C Scott, Otto Preminger, John D Voelker, Wendell Mayes, Columbia Pictures, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Myles Standish, Mae Tinee, Peter Bradshaw, Variety Staff, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jessica Winter, Shadow Stage, Nicholas Bell, Mike Massie, Clyde Gilmour, Mattie Lucas, Miles Fielder, MPAA rating, courtroom drama, legal system, Michigan lawyer, Army Lt Manion, local innkeeper, rape, extensive trial, District Attorney Lodwick, prosecutor Claude Dancer, victim’s mysterious business partner, Kathryn Grant, dark secret, Mono, Flat (1.85:1)
 

Cast & Crew

James Stewart

Lee Remick

Ben Gazzara

Arthur O’Connell

Eve Arden

Paul Biegler

Laura Manion

Lt. Frederick Manion

Parnell Emmett McCarthy

Maida Rutledge

James Stewart – Paul Biegler
Lee Remick – Laura Manion
Ben Gazzara – Lt. Frederick Manion
Arthur O’Connell – Parnell Emmett McCarthy
Eve Arden – Maida Rutledge
Kathryn Grant – Mary Pilant
Director – Otto Preminger
Producer – Otto Preminger
Writer – John D. Voelker, Wendell Mayes

 

Otto Preminger

John D. Voelker

Otto Preminger

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Otto Preminger
 
Writer(s)
John D. Voelker, Wendell Mayes
 
Producer(s)
Otto Preminger

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 7 Oscars
12 wins & 19 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Myles Standish

Mae Tinee

Peter Bradshaw

Variety Staff

Jonathan Rosenbaum

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Chicago Tribune

Guardian

Variety

Chicago Reader

ANATOMY OF A MURDER
  All Critics (50) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (50)
  Director Preminger has worked out his canvas with minute thoroughness. The film is two hours and 40 minutes long, but so absorbing is it that it seems short.
 
  June 23, 2021
 
  Myles Standish
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  The film is lengthy, with an ending that is both enigmatic and ironic, but presented with such finesse and pace that it is guaranteed to hold your interest from start to finish.
 
  June 18, 2020
 
  Mae Tinee
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  To me Remick’s damaged, dysfunctional presence is the really subversive thing about the picture. And Stewart’s grandstanding attorney propels this long film to its final verdict.
 
  October 23, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Preminger purposely creates situations that flicker with uncertainty, that may be evaluated in different ways. Motives are mixed and dubious, and, therefore, sustain interest.
 
  October 23, 2007
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  As an entertaining look at legal process, this is spellbinding all the way, infused by an ambiguity about human personality and motivation that is Preminger’s trademark, and the location shooting is superb.
 
  October 23, 2007
 
  Jonathan Rosenbaum
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Coolly absorbing, nonchalantly cynical.
 
  June 24, 2006
 
  Jessica Winter
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  People will talk about this startling courtroom drama.
 
  June 23, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Shadow Stage
  Photoplay
  An exercise in moral ambiguity and borderline procedural, Preminger’s roots as a student of law in his native Austria certainly pay off for what may arguably be one of his best films.
 
  November 19, 2020
 
  Nicholas Bell
  IONCINEMA.com
  It’s a taut series of duels between quick-thinkers, each one distinctly deceptive, hilarious, calculating, and creative.
 
  August 15, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  A top-notch courtroom drama, adapted from the popular novel by Robert Traver.
 
  October 30, 2019
 
  Clyde Gilmour
  Maclean’s Magazine
  [A] fierce, uncompromising exploration of the American legal system.
 
  June 4, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Mattie Lucas
  From the Front Row
  Anatomy of a Murder remains an at times shocking indictment of Eisenhower-era America and an all-around terrific thriller.
 
  April 24, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Miles Fielder
  The List…

 

Plot
Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), a lieutenant in the army, is arrested for the murder of a bartender, Barney Quill. He claims, in his defense, that the victim had raped and beaten up his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Although Laura supports her husband’s story, the local paper has reported that the police surgeon can find no evidence that she has been raped. Manion is defended by Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a humble small-town lawyer and recently deposed district attorney. During the course of interviews, Biegler discovers that Manion is violently possessive and jealous, and also that his wife has a reputation for flirting with other men. Biegler realizes that the prosecution will try to make the court believe that Laura had been drunk and was picked up by the bartender and then her husband killed him and beat her up when he discovered they had been together. Manion pleads “not guilty” and Biegler, who knows that his case is weak, tries to find evidence that will save Manion.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Anatomy of a Murder includes James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, and George C. Scott, all of whom deliver superb performances.
 

 
Otto-Preminger.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Ashton Productions, The Mirisch Corporation,
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Hotel del Coronado – 1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1959
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, directed by Billy Wilder, written by I.A.L Diamond, M Logan, Robert Thoeren, produced by Billy Wilder, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jake Cole, Jack Moffitt, Chris Cabin, Anupama Chopra, Stanley Kauffmann, Frank J Avella, Matt Brunson, Danielle Solzman, Manny Farber, Sarah Brinks, MPAA rating, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Mono sound mix, Flat aspect ratio, saxophone player, Mafia murder, Chicago, escape, women, all-female jazz band, Florida, millionaire, sexy singer, mobsters, farce, quick-witted, timeless, cross-dressing, gangland murder, suspension of disbelief, performances, timelessly beautiful, hilarious, sharp, witty, breezy, comedy masterpiece
 

Cast & Crew

Tony Curtis

Jack Lemmon

Marilyn Monroe

George Raft

Pat O’Brien

Joe

Josephine

Jerry

Daphne

Sugar Kane (Kowalczyk)

Tony Curtis – Joe, Josephine
Jack Lemmon – Jerry, Daphne
Marilyn Monroe – Sugar Kane (Kowalczyk)
George Raft – Spats Colombo
Pat O’Brien – Mulligan
Joe E. Brown – Osgood Fielding

 

Billy Wilder

I.A.L. Diamond

Billy Wilder

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Billy Wilder
 
Writer(s)
I.A.L. Diamond, M. Logan, Robert Thoeren, Billy Wilder
 
Producer(s)
Billy Wilder

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
15 wins & 15 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jake Cole

Jack Moffitt

Chris Cabin

Anupama Chopra

Guardian Staff

Slant Magazine

Hollywood Reporter

Film Companion

Guardian

The New Republic

SOME LIKE IT HOT
  All Critics (69) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (65) | Rotten (4)
  Kino gives Billy Wilders racy comic masterpiece its best-ever home video presentation, highlighting the films visual beauty alongside the taut perfection of its screenplay.
 
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Jake Cole
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Some Like It Hot is another supersonic, breakneck, belly-laugh comedy that should be a block-busting bonanza at the box office.
 
  April 2, 2020
 
  Jack Moffitt
  Hollywood Reporter
  TOP CRITIC
  The film is an outrageous, hilarious, and amazingly unpretentious trip through a funhouse of sexual identities.
 
  February 23, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Chris Cabin
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Some Like It Hot was released in 1959 but its effervescence and sparkle are timeless. I guarantee that it will make you laugh out loud.
 
  August 28, 2018
 
  Anupama Chopra
  Film Companion
  TOP CRITIC
  The pace is fast and the humour — especially Mr Lemmon’s — is often hilarious. It is pleasant to meet again such old familiars as Mr Raft and Mr Brown; and Miss Monroe, as always, is irresistible.
 
  March 21, 2018
 
  Guardian Staff
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  In terms of comic devices there is very little in the film that is original, but the use of the material is delightful.
 
  January 8, 2018
 
  Stanley Kauffmann
  The New Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  Brimming with gay subtext, especially in the somewhat daring Lemmon/Brown courtship scenes, SLIH also contains quite a bit of homoerotic tension between Curtis and Lemmon In addition, the gal-comradery is quite lesbianesque…
 
  March 8, 2022 | Rating: A+
 
  Frank J. Avella
  Edge Media Network
  The film’s final line is legendary, though I have a soft spot for Jerry’s description of a sashaying Sugar: “Look at that! Look how she moves! That’s just like Jell-O on springs!”
 
  February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Some Like It Hot is arguably one of the greatest comedy movies ever made.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Danielle Solzman
  Solzy at the Movies
  Some Like It Hot is a real weirdie: Wilder gets no laughs at all out of his sizzling, fast wedding of female impersonation to 1929 thrills, but, from a non-entertainment angle, his movie has a not-quite-real surface that is worth examining.
 
  September 14, 2021
 
  Manny Farber
  The New Leader
  Writer and director Billy Wilder knows how to keep a plot moving forward while keeping it light and fun without feeling vapid or stupid. He uses his actors’ strengths and delivers a worthy film…
 
  April 1, 2021
 
  Sarah Brinks
  Battleship Pretension
  The madcap energy is right up there with Bridesmaids or 30 Rock, and it’s a shame to imagine that it’s black-and-white veneer would keep people away.
 
  February 23, 2021
 
  Matt Patches
  Polygon…

 

Plot
After two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, they want to get out of town and get away from the gangster responsible, Spats Colombo. They’re desperate to get a gig out of town but the only job they know of is in an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne, the replacement saxophone and bass players. They certainly enjoy being around the girls, especially Sugar Kane Kowalczyk who sings and plays the ukulele. Joe in particular sets out to woo her while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. Mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep their true identities hidden and Spats Colombo and his crew show up for a meeting with several other crime lords.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic performance as Sugar Kane helped make Some Like It Hot a comedy classic.
 

 
Billy-Wilder.jpg