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.