Louisiana Movies

                                                                    Part 2

    Here’s another batch of good movies featuring the Pelican State, Louisiana.

    The Man In The Moon (1991) is a good story of families and love in rural Louisiana. It features the debut performance of Reese Witherspoon, appearing as 14-year-old Dani. She falls hopelessly in love with Court, a 17-year-old who has moved to the farm next door. The film features various pairings and splits among the members of the two families. The locations are sumptuous Louisiana country. 

    Steel Magnolias  is such a good story that it has been made into a movie twice (1989 and 2012) and is the beloved staple of theater groups everywhere. The earlier version is hard to beat with Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Julia Roberts and Shirley Maclaine. In a small Louisiana town, the local women gather at Truvy’s beauty parlor and share their lives and their secrets with each other. The later movie features an all black cast, including Queen Latifah and Alfre Woodard. The story is slightly different, but still features women friends in a Louisiana setting.

    Band of Angels (1957) is an extremely complicated film that starts out in Kentucky but lands for the most part in Louisiana. Yvonne DeCarlo portrays Amantha, who discovers to her dismay that she has a black ancestor and is now considered a slave. Clark Gable plays Hamish Bond a “good guy” plantation and slave owner who rescues her from the slave auction. Sidney Poitier plays a slave of Hamish. He likes him because he’s well treated but hates him because he’s still a slave.

    Robert Duvall wrote, directed and starred in The Apostle (1957) about an itenrerant preacher, Sonny, who flees after killing his wife’s young lover and winds up in the bayous of Louisiana. There he starts a new church which steadily grows until somebody spots him and calls the cops. They allow him to finish his final sermon and he tells his flock he “has to go”. Indeed. Duvall won the Oscar for his role. 

    Finally, there is A Gathering Of Old Men (1987) which started life as a TV movie. A white racist is killed by a black man on a Louisiana plantation owned by Candy Marshall (Holly Hunter). To confuse the police, a group of old black men step forward one at a time to claim credit for the killing. Candy takes a stand in support of the group and the cops don’t quite know what to make of all this. The setting is classic steamy Louisiana.

    Other films with a Louisiana connection include The Pelican Brief (1993), 12 Years A Slave (2013) and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974). 

    All of the movies in this article are for grown ups. Most of them are available for streaming somewhere. 

                                                              Louisiana movies

There were a lot of reminders that the dreadful Katrina hurricane happened 20 years ago. Made me think: wonder if I could find enough Louisiana movies to make a column? Indeed, I discovered a treasure trove! 

I’ll start with the best movie about the Katrina disaster. When The Levees Broke (2006) started life as an HBO documentary directed by none other than Spike Lee. He began filming fairly soon after Katrina struck, showing the devastation almost as it happened and interviewing victims and constricted leaders. Included here because it is the best film about Katrina and is available in several streaming sites. One of the heartbreaks about Katrina is that if the levees had held the damage would have been minimal. But they didn’t hold.

All The King’s Men, is Robert Penn Warren’s thinly disguised biographical novel about The Kingfish, Huey Long, who ruled Louisiana politics until an assassin stopped him. There are two film versions of the story, both good. The 1949, with Broderick Crawford in his top career performance, is hard to beat. Well, it won the Best Movie Oscar. But the 2006 version with Sean Penn in the lead role and Jude Law as his assistant is also very good. Both films detail how Willie Stark (Long) started out as a reformer and fairly quickly started resorting to graft and corruption to get his way. 

Blaze (1989) is another fable about Louisiana politics with Paul Newman starring as Governor Earl Long and Lolita Davidovich as Blaze Starr, the stripper who became his mistress and companion. Long is so outrageous he is hospitalized for his mental state. But he later wins an election to Congress, then dies before he gets there. Blaze is by his side throughout, to the dismay of his staff. Some of this is supposed to be “based on a true story”, whatever that means.

The Big Easy (1996) is the term used for New Orleans, and is the name of a movie about it. Dennis Quaid portrays Detective Remy who attempts to convince ADA Ann Osborne (Ellen Barkin) to understand “how things are done” in New Orleans. Various nefarious cops are played by Ned Beatty and John Goodman and some of the criminals are somehow finally caught. For once, a film was actually shot where the story happens, that is, in New Orleans. And it is well done, you can almost feel the humidity and heat. 

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) is an extremely weird film that celebrates quite another part of Louisiana, the swampy bayous. Quvenzhane Wallis stars as six-year-old Hushpuppy, childhood resident of The Bathtup, a location for several homes in the middle of the swamp. Wallis became, at 11, the youngest Oscar nominee ever. To save their homes the residents blow a hole in the levee, letting the water out from their location. This backfires and there are supernatural creatures involved in the story. This is one of those films I do not at all understand, but I liked it. 

    All of the films in this article are for grownups. Next time- more Louisiana.

                                               The French Revolution

A column about French Revolution films?  Well, sure. We had our revolution in 1776 and the French helped us. Shoot, the main street in my town is named after Lafayette. The French had their revolution in 1789 but we didn’t help them. Anyway, there is a bucket full of good movies about the French Revolution. 

The film most of us are most familiar with is the musical version of Les Miserables from 2012 with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe. While not as good as the play (no surprise) it’s pretty good. It’s maybe a bit long at 2:38 but there’s a lot of story to cover. The 1934 version was produced by the French, and is good but probably more than you want to know at 4 hours, 41 minutes. Other good versions were made in 1978, 1998 and 2019. 

Danton (1983) produced by the French is about one of the baddest guys in the revolution, his rise to power and merciless killing of citizens. Then came his falling out with Robespierre and his turn at the guillotine. With all French actors and a Polish director, it’s a good film. But the French hate it for its historical inaccuracies. 

For really good historical accuracy, you can’t beat The French Revolution (2005), a documentary produced by the French. 

On the lighter side, there’s Marie Antoinette (2006) with Kirsten Dunst having a grand time flouncing around in fancy clothes. She is reviled by most French citizens. Perhaps she didn’t really say “let them eat cake”, nobody knows for sure. After she becomes queen, the revolution really heats up, with her facing the guillotine in 1783. The film ends with her leaving Versailles sparing us from her beheading. 

Charles Dickens’ A Tale Of Two Cities is perhaps his most serious book. It was made into a film many times. I think the best one is actually the oldest, the 1935 version with Ronald Coleman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver and Basil Rathbone. Two men fall in love with the same woman during the early days of the French Revolution. Some of the later versions are actually TV series, but that gives the writers more time to develop the story. 

Farewell My Queen (2012) is entirely fictional but a cracking good story. Lea Sedoux plays Sidonie, a servant girl hired to read to Queen Marie. As the Bastille falls and the revolution gets rolling, she is talked into pretending to be one of the aristocracy trying to escape the country. She agrees to this ruse and actually it works and she escapes from France. Her boss, the queen, was not so fortunate. 

There are at least two versions about the fictional hero The Scarlet Pimpernel. The 1934 version is the best one, with Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon and Raymond Massey. The Pimpernel is a nobleman in disguise who frees otherwise doomed aristocrats by means both fair and foul. The whole country seems to know about him and wonder who he is. 

I think most of the films in this article are available to watch somewhere. They are all adult fare. 

                                                   Best Movie Year Ever?

                                                                     1951

Harry Truman was still in the White House, the Korean War was at its worst, and 17 films worth seeing premiered.

An American in Paris won the Oscar for best picture, and it's hard to think of a better musical.  Gene Kelly is at his gracefully athletic peak; the dancing and photography are superb and the music is by Gershwin. A joyous delight!  Only a half-step back is another wonderful musical, Show Boat. Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and North Carolina's Ava Gardner are all fine. William Warfield's rendition of Old Man River sets the standard and raises goose bumps every time. The wonderful dancing Champions, Marge and Gower, make a rare and delightful appearance. Some of Fred Astaire's very best dancing is the attraction in Royal Wedding, including a dance with a hat rack and dancing on the ceiling. Jane Powell isn't Ginger Rogers, but is a surprisingly good partner.

Alfred Hitchcock weighed in with Strangers on a Train, a particularly menacing and creepy suspenser about two strangers who each want someone rather permanently removed and make a deal to help each other out. Robert Walker and Farley Granger are the participants, with a good supporting cast. The merry-go-round climax is justly famous. Classic Hitchcock!

Of all the many versions of Arthur Miller's American legend, Death of a Salesman, the 1951 version may be the best. Frederic March as Willy Loman is joined by Mildred Dunnock, Kevin McCarthy and Cameron Mitchell. The play won the Pulitzer Prize and defined a society. The failure of the dream and the definition of a man's worth by his job ring particularly true in our time. Another top-of-the-line version of a much produced classic is 1951's A Christmas Carol. Alastair Sim IS Scrooge. Faithful to Dickens' story and too good to only watch at Christmas.

Disney's animated Alice in Wonderland is a joy and one of that studio's finest. The bite and wit of Lewis Carroll's wacky characters are only slightly diminished; not as prettified as many Disney versions of classics.

The African Queen, about a bible-thumping spinster being rescued by a bleary-eyed souse on an old tramp steamer in World War I, has snappy dialogue, great photography and a good story. Katherine Hepburn and director John Huston were nominated for Oscars, and Humphrey Bogart won for best actor. A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan's faithful adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play, won Oscars for Vivian Leigh, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter, but it is Marlon Brando you remember. The British produced two superb Alec Guiness comedies in 1951: The Man in the White Suit has Guiness as a befuddled inventor who has developed a fabric that will never wear out and that nobody wants to market, and The Lavender Hill Mob features Guiness as a timid bank clerk who plans the funniest caper in the movies.  The Magic Box is a magical film about the invention of the movies. It is a wonder. Robert Donat and Maria Schell star in an absolutely splendid screen play. There is no better movie about movies.

                                                     Best Movie Year Ever?

                                                                1962

Jack Kennedy was in the White House, most people had never heard of a faraway place called Vietnam, and 1962 burst on the scene with a cornucopia of good movies. 

Gregory Peck had many great roles, but perhaps his best is as the dogged attorney Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, a courtroom drama about racial injustice in the South.  This is the first movie I can remember where the kids (Mary Badham and Phillip Alford) are allowed to be kids.  Robert Duvall in his first role is virtually a walk-on. I caught this film again not long ago and it does not seem very dated, which I guess is unfortunate.

Lawrence of Arabia is that rarest of animals, a spectacular entertainment with intellect.  Peter O'Toole (in his debut) shines as the English junior officer who led the Arabs into battle. Gorgeous location cinematography; never drags despite its nearly four hour length. Won a fistful of Oscars, including Best Picture. Watch out for hatcheted versions; running time should be at least 222 minutes.

The Miracle Worker is the story of Helen Keller, blind and deaf from the age of two, and her early education. Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke repeat their Broadway roles (both won Oscars). The fight for authority scene is absolutely unforgettable; cinematic magic in the hands of two of the best. 

Herman Melville stories produced several good movies, including Bartleby the Scrivener and the titanic Moby Dick.  But the best one by far is Billy Budd, a brilliant morality tale about the letter of the law and ultimate justice. Peter Ustinov is splendid as the tortured captain, Terence Stamp mesmerizing as the saintly Billy and Robert Ruark has his best part as the satanic Starbuck. 

Requiem for a Heavyweight is arguably one of the best boxing films ever made. Jackie Gleason, Anthony Quinn and Mickey Rooney are very good in this somber story of the users and the used. Interesting note: Both this film and The Miracle Worker started out as television plays. That gives us a rather grim idea of what we're missing these days.

The late Burt Lancaster's range was amazing.  In Birdman of Alcatraz he keeps our interest alive in a film that for all intents has only one set. Birdman is the story of a convicted murderer serving a life sentence who becomes an authority on birds, and is about redemption and revelation.  

The Manchurian Candidate is such a good political thriller that it was re-released into theaters several years ago, and did a good business.  Features heart-pounding suspense and some neat plot twists.  Frank Sinatra is good as a government agent and Angela Lansbury is somewhat less loveable than we're used to. Some wag has said Lawrence Harvey was typecast as an automaton, but anyway he makes a good one. 

The Music Man is a sunny, charming musical with Robert Preston as con man become band director Harold Hill. Shirley Jones is good as Marian the Librarian and the score includes "Seventy-Six Trombones", "Till There Was You" and "Trouble in River City". This film doesn't seem to age a bit and has been deservedly loved by three generations of Americans.

 Best Films of 2024

Now that the year is way past half over,  I guess it’s about time to get off my tail and write about the best movies from last year. Most of them are- finally- available to stream somewhere, but you may have to pay. Even if you already have paid for a streaming service. No 10s this year, but some lovely 9s and a bunch of worthy 8s. Not even a good year, let’s go with C+.

1- Nickel Boys 9

2- IF 9

3- Conclave 9

4- Wicked 8

5- Fall Guy 8

6- Woman of the Hour 8

7- Hit Man 8

8- How To Rob A Bank 8

9-Wicked Little Letters 8

10- I’m Still Here 7

11- Memoir of a Snail 7

12- Inside Out 2 7

13- Blitz 7

14- Steve 7

And here endeth those with 7 or more points. I want to quickly tell why you didn’t see Anora, which won the Best Movie Oscar. This falls in the “what were they thinking” category, right there with Everything Everywhere All At Once from 2023. Both are-to me- howling dogs. I strain to give Anora a 4.

On to better news. I had read Colson Whitehead’s Nickel Boys and really liked it. But I thought it would be very difficult to make into a movie. Enter director RaMell Ross and fellow script writers Josyln Barnes and Mr. Whitehead. The actors are all unknowns which adds to the punch. It is not shown in a straight line but with perfect bits and pieces of scenes dropped in just the right places. It’s not Mr. Ross’ maiden voyage, but it sure a winner.

OK, IF is a personal pick certainly not for all tastes. When you were a kid, did you ever have an Imaginary Friend? Well this movie is about a kid who has one he can see and who hides from the lights while delighting us with his antics. Yeah, it’s animated and really a kid’s movie, but so what? I liked it.

The last high scoring film is Conclave, about the election of a new pope upon the death of the old one. Talk about ripped from the headlines! The guy who wins in the film isn’t American, like Pope Leo XIV, but is equally surprising. Great acting. 

Finally, we have Wicked, which I really liked but only gave an 8. The reason is length. It is nearly 3 hours long and has some very dead spots. The photography, special effects and music are superb. Make it 2 hours long and it’s a 10. 

                                                               Best Movie Year Ever?

                                                                           1983

Another year with more than its share of winners is the fairly recent (to me) 1983. Let’s take a look.

  Tender Mercies features Robert Duvall at his absolute best (and that's saying a lot) as a broken down country singer trying to rebuild a life on the wreckage of too much liquor and too many honky tonks.  Duvall wrote the songs in this movie.  Betty Buckley, seen briefly as another singer, is now the star of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway.

The Year of Living Dangerously is one of the best political thrillers ever made.  Sigourney Weaver is just fine as the attache who knows more than she wants to.   Helen Hunt won an Oscar for her role as a local who knows too much, but why they picked her to play a man baffles me. Since she won an Oscar, what do I know?  Mel Gibson proves here he really can act. 

Terms of Endearment features Jack Nicholson as an aging ex-astronaut with problems connecting emotionally and Shirley MacLaine as the unsainted mother of the fetchingly terminally ill Debra Winger.  An excellent screenplay by first-time director James L. Brooks from a Larry McMurtry novel keeps you interested and off balance.

The Right Stuff was the best movie about the space program until Apollo 13 came along.  Dennis Quaid, Scott Glenn, Sam Sheppard and Ed Harris play the early astronauts broadly as true American heroes.  Never boring, even though it's over three hours long, and technically stunning, it does not hook you emotionally.

Educating Rita is an absolute little gem of a film. Michael Caine is a world-weary college professor and Julie Walters (in her film debut) is the hairdresser who wants to better herself.  This is the best feminist movie ever made, but don't let that stop you from watching it.  

El Norte, about illegal immigrants, is alternately harrowing and humorous.  Featuring all unknowns, it is riveting from beginning to end.  You'll never think the same way about Latinos again.

Testament is a good end-of-the-world movie, far superior to the much-ballyhooed The Day After (made this same year).  Jane Alexander leads a stellar cast. It isn't the desperation that gets you, its the low key matter-of-factness.

Return of the Jedi was the second of the Star Wars trilogy, and, while not as dazzling as the first and third, the story is first-rate and the lovable Yoda is one of the best characters in the set.

Fanny and Alexander is one of the great Ingmar Bergman's most accessible films, and easily the most charming. One of his few color ventures, it is the story of a brother and sister whose dream lives intertwine with reality.

Ed Harris, Gene Hackman and Nick Nolte are certainly a dream team in Under Fire, a political thriller set in Latin America in which the journalists telling the story somehow become the story. The most violent scene is so offhand you're not sure you saw it at first.

Zelig is considered one of Woody Allen's lesser films, but those tend to be the ones I like the best.  This one foreshadows the neat special effects in Forest Gump  by showing Zelig on screen with long-dead celebrities. Mia Farrow is in this one, too; this was before you-know-what.