BJ Hoff's GRACE NOTES: Good Acting + Good Stories = Good Movies

My husband and I have been indulging ourselves in an old movie marathon over the past few weeks. It's been great fun to see for the first time some of the real film classics or enjoy again a number of those always worth a rerun. We're not great television watchers--and with the dearth of programming these days, it's a good thing. Even before any remaining quality tv went down the tube (sorry ... couldn't resist), we watched mostly movies instead of weekly programs--except, of course, for 24, which we've really missed, and Friday Night Lights, also sorely missed.

We still have several films to go from our somewhat extensive list, but included among the ones we've watched so far are Citizen Kane (for the third or fourth time at least); Ben Hur; The Desert Fox, with the late great James Mason; Anatomy of a Murder (James Stewart); Rear Window (the vintage film with James Stewart and Grace Kelly); Judgment at Nuremburg (Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster); Inherit the Wind (also Spencer Tracy); The Man Who Knew Too Much (James Stewart); The Big Country (Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston); Gaslight (probably one of the greatest suspense movies of all time); The Longest Day; Tora, Tora, Tora; Gone with the Wind; The Postman Always Rings Twice; On the Waterfront; Charade; Mildred Pierce; To Kill a Mockingbird (my favorite movie ever); My Fair Lady; The Sound of Music; Singin' in the Rain; Fiddler on the Roof and lots more: musicals, dramas, westerns, war films--so many movies, so little time!

One thing the best of the best hold in common: good stories. Stories that grip you, with actors portraying fascinating characters, plots that are heavy on suspense and wonderful atmosphere. They shine like gems among the bleak, grim, lackluster movies of today, so ridden with gratuitous violence, hopelessness, lack of story and strong acting, and not a hint of redemption.