Looking Ahead: My Planned Film Journeys for 2024
I'm going on an adventure!
Hey, Classic Film Fans!
I hope you’re all enjoying this long weekend and watching great films. Usually, each year, my classic film watching is driven mainly by what’s leaving the Criterion Channel at the end of each month and, to a lesser extent, what I own in my physical media library. While I’ve discovered some great films that way, this year, I want to concentrate more on finishing actors’ and directors’ filmographies, watching more films from artistic movements that have caught my interest in the past few years, and reading more film books. To keep me honest, while possibly inspiring you all to take some classic film journeys of your own, I wrote about some of the journeys I plan to take in 2024.
JAMES “JIMMY” STEWART AND ROBERT “BOB” MITCHUM JOURNEY
It’s no secret that James “Jimmy” Stewart is my favorite actor of all time. As I wrote in my last newsletter, I could watch Jimmy Stewart watch paint dry on the wall for three hours, and it would be the most riveting three hours of my life. While I’ve seen 19 of his films, there is still a good amount in his filmography that I would like to watch, including finishing up the films he made with Anthony Mann (another favorite), After the Thin Man (1936), Come Live with Me (1941), Vivacious Lady (1938), and many more.
Another favorite actor I’d like to watch more of is Robert Mitchum. I’ll be honest: the first film I ever watched that starred Robert Mitchum was The Night of the Hunter (1955), and after that, I was more creeped out by him than thinking that he would become one of my favorite actors. But then, back in 2021, the Criterion Channel programmed a fantastic collection of Deborah Kerr films (love her!), which included a few of her collaborations with Mitchum, and slowly but surely, my opinion started to change. When I watched Out of the Past last year, I knew he had become a new favorite.
I’ll spare you another rambling about why I love Robert Mitchum, but some of the films of his in particular I want to watch this year are Angel Face (1952), Crossfire (1947), The Lusty Men (1952), Pursued (1947), and The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973). I hope to get to more but don’t want to over-commit. Could this be the year Robert Mitchum gets added to the bylaw in my LetterBoxd bio?1
MYRNA LOY, BARBARA STANWYCK, AND INGRID BERGMAN JOURNEY
All I would need to include in the photo above are Deborah Kerr and Audrey Hepburn, and you would have my five favorite actresses of all time. Three of those five actresses—Myrna Loy, Barbara Stanwyck, and Deborah Kerr—never won a competitive Oscar, and they’re the main reason (see also Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, and countless Latin American artists) why I don’t tend to put as much weight on the Academy Awards as it seems others do. While I understand the historical significance, I’m unwilling to put all my eggs in that basket2.
Similar to Stewart and Mitchum, I’ve seen most of the major films from these three actresses, but there are still plenty of others I would like to watch. Here’s what films I’m looking forward to for each:
Myrna Loy: The Thin Man Series sans the first one (watched in 2023), Libeled Lady (1936), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), Wife vs. Secretary (1936), and Evelyn Prentice (1934)
Barbara Stanwyck: Night Nurse (1931), Stella Dallas (1937), There’s Always Tomorrow (1956), Clash by Night (1952), Ladies They Talk About (1933), and Union Pacific (1939)
Ingrid Bergman: 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman, Gaslight (1944), Indiscreet (1958), The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Anastasia (1956), The Visit (1964)
While watching these this year, I also have a few books that I’ve been recommended that I plan on reading: Being and Becoming: A Memoir by Myrna Loy, Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck by Ella Smith, Ingrid Bergman: A Life in Pictures edited by Isabella Rossellini and Lothar Schirmer.3
POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (THE ARCHERS) JOURNEY
The Archers’ work has inspired many in the film industry, including Martin Scorsese, George A. Romero, and Francis Ford Coppola. Their masterwork, The Red Shoes, was also the film that rekindled my passion for classic cinema. I've watched six of their masterpieces since falling in love with classic films again. However, there are still about ten films from their partnership that I need to watch.
A couple of years ago, when I watched Hitchcock’s 52 surviving feature films, one of the aspects I enjoyed about the journey was watching them in chronological order and seeing how innovations shaped cinema throughout his career. Moreover, I loved watching Hitchcock test out ideas in his earlier movies that he would later revisit in his more significant ones. So, for this journey, I plan to start at the beginning of the Archers’ partnership with One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) and end with Ill Met by Moonlight (1957). I also plan on rewatching the films that I’ve already seen once I get there. Lastly, I plan to watch some of Powell’s solo directorial efforts before and after their partnership.
I can’t embark on this journey without some reading material. I plan to read all the BFI Film Classics guides related to their films, The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger, edited by Nathalie Morris and Claire Smith, and Arrows of Desire by Ian Christie.
ADVANCED DEGREE IN NOIR JOURNEY
In the past few years, no film movement has captured my attention more than the film noir movement of the 40s and 50s. It’s truly inspirational to learn about how filmmakers at smaller studios concocted this style, rooted in German Expressionism and Italian Neorealism, basically because of the need to hide the low production value of these B-movies with no major stars. But these films are more than just style; they capture the bleak’ bleak and cynical attitudes post-WWII and examine the dark and inhumane side of human nature. What causes us to make immoral decisions in certain situations? This question, one of the many posed by film noir, fascinates me.
While I’ve seen most of the quintessential film noirs out there, there are still some that I haven't, such as The Big Sleep (1946), Crossfire (1947), Naked Alibi (1954), Desert Fury (1947), and many more, so I want to prioritize those. I also want to explore some off-the-beaten-path noirs that aren’t discussed as much. I own many of the fantastic Columbia Noir box sets from Indicator (one of my favorite physical media distributors!). Those will be perfect to start branching out from the film noir classics.
Three film historians are in my Holy Trinity (or Unholy Trinity in film noir terms) regarding this movement: Eddie Muller, Imogen Sara Smith, and Foster Hirsch. Primarily, through their interviews, these three have helped guide and shape my thoughts on film noir. But I haven’t read any of their books! I hope to rectify that in 2024 by reading Eddie Muller’s Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, Imogen Sara Smith’s In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City, and Foster Hirsch’s The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir.
Are there any classic film journeys that you plan to take in 2024? Are there any films you think I should add to these journies? Comment below and let me know!
To keep track of how I’m doing on these film journies throughout the year, give me a follow on Letterboxd! You can also join our wonderful Discord community of classic film lovers to chat about everything Old Hollywood and beyond (for Free!). Contact me on any of my social media outlets, and I’ll gladly invite you.
As always, keep watching great films, and thanks for your readership! Until next time…
The bylaw states: “I’m required by law to give any movie James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman, or Barbara Stanwyck is in at least four stars. I don’t make the rules.”
It doesn’t help that the broadcast has been terrible for years, too. It’s hard for me to get into the hype each year, knowing so many great artists have been snubbed. My friend said that the fun she finds in it is seeing how wrong the Academy is each year. Hopefully, I can get there myself one day.
If I can locate a copy of Ingrid Bergman: My Story, I’ll probably add that to the list too.
My mom rec'd Stella Dallas to me two years ago and I still haven't gotten around to watching it. Let me know when you plan to. Maybe we can watch it together.
I'm doing as much of Werner Herzog's filmography as I can this year, plus focusing on a different director each month. This month, it's been Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, and Some Like It Hot) and next month is Kurosawa.