Hamlet (1948)
I’d always been skeptical about this film for a handful of reasons: one, I didn’t see how anything could be good enough to have beaten out The Treasure of the Sierra Madre for best picture; two, I didn’t see how a Shakespeare play cut down to feature-film length, and led by a big-name movie star who’d never made a great impression on me in the few films of his I’d seen, could really be anything special. But when I finally watched it one afternoon on a whim it absolutely wowed me. Read my full review here.
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)
I laughed so, so hard all through this movie. When an estranged married couple, urbanite New Yorkers, accidentally witness a hit job, they’re hustled into a witness protection program—together—in ultra-rural Wyoming. The resulting culture clash is absolutely screamingly funny. The satire on both city and country folk is both on-point and yet hugely good-natured. Caveat: this is definitely an adult movie, in the sense that it deals with mature topics like marital infidelity, fertility struggles, etc., frankly but not explicitly; but there’s also remarkably little actual bad language (maybe two or three instances if I’m remembering correctly). It’s a comedy for grown-ups, but the bulk of the actual humor is clean. And hilarious.
A Letter For Evie (1946)
In this WWII-era take on Cyrano de Bergerac, a diffident soldier begins corresponding with Evie, a pretty girl who’s looking for a soldier pen-pal, but sends her a photo of his big, flashy, womanizing army buddy and embroiders the story of his life to match it. But when his pal sees a picture of Evie and decides to step in and pretend to be the letter-writer she’s fallen in love with, “Cyrano” is left scrambling to protect the girl he loves from a philanderer and trying to unravel the mess he’s created without breaking Evie’s heart. A sweet story that nicely balances being funny and touching, with a lovable unlikely hero.
Gallant Sons (1940)
There’s a lot to like about this snappy little mystery featuring a group of teenagers out to solve a crime. When one boy’s father is wrongfully convicted of murder, the kids join forces to track down the real crooks and clear his name. With an entertaining young ensemble cast (Jackie Cooper, Gene Reynolds, Bonita Granville, William Tracy, Leo Gorcey, and Tommy Kelly), plenty of wisecracking dialogue and smaller touches of drama and action, it’s great lightweight fun. It’s nice to see a story where the kids have healthy relationships with their parents, some of whom not only encourage their detective endeavors but even aid and abet them in their schemes. (It was also striking to consider that this was the entertainment presumably aimed at a teenage audience in 1940—it seems incredibly wholesome and clean-cut compared to what’s put out for kids now.)
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (2022)
I hoped, hoped, hoped that this new adaptation by Hugh Laurie would be worth watching, and I was actually very pleasantly surprised. There’s a lot about it that has a “classic” feel harking back to the period adaptations of a few decades ago; plenty of clever, witty dialogue, and some nice chemistry between the lead characters. The mystery plot, admittedly, has a few holes left in it that might leave you puzzled if you haven’t read the book, but if you have, you can just sit back and enjoy the fun. One important suspect character was rather annoyingly miscast, too, but that was my only major criticism. It’s also remarkably and blessedly clean for a new show, with very little onscreen bloodshed and no language at all barring one single random f-word which one feels must have been put in to achieve a certain content rating. I loved the use of old popular music throughout the score, too.
Runners-up: This Beautiful Fantastic (2016), The Remains of the Day (1993), The Vanishing Virginian (1942), The King’s Speech* (2010), The Happy Years (1950).
(*An R-rated film easily transformed into PG with some strategic muting.)
Honorable mentions for best re-watches: Merrily We Live (1938), Gaslight (1944), The Little Foxes (1941).
Michelle Ann says
Thanks for this list – they all sound the sort of films I think I would enjoy.
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
You’re welcome! Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Hamlette (Rachel) says
Of these, I’ve only seen Hamlet, but I’d like to see the others now!
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
I’ll bet you would enjoy them!