The Night of the Hunter...holy schnikey’s is this a sweet movie! I’m not sure which is more disturbing – Robert Mitchum’s career-defining performance as psycho Preacher Harry Powell, or that Night was actor-turned-director Charles Laughton’s only film. It’s too bad they didn’t have home video back then, because watching a behind-the-scenes doc with Charles Laughton directing Robert Mitchum would make me giddy. Hell, this movie is so incredible I didn’t even have to mention that it also stars Peter Graves, Shelley Winters, and a shotgun-toting Lillian Gish!

Can you just not get enough of Danny Devito’s 1987 yuck-fest Throw Momma’ From The Train? Then you’re going to love the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock movie it was based on, Strangers On A Train. As good as this movie is, I would file it under second-tier Hitchcock. So when a movie as swell as Strangers qualifies as second-tier, well, that just goes to show what an astounding filmmaker Sir Alfred was. 

Saturday, July 18 is filled with four films most movie buffs would qualify as “must see”. Therefore I’m going to pick the one I like the best – Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 Lolita. If you know nothing about this movie, the book it was based on, or for that matter have never heard some ingenue described as a “Lolita”, best you just come at this film fresh. Trivia – Cary Grant was originally offered the lead role of Prof. Humbert Humbert, but turned it down, and was offended he was even asked.