This is a hodgepodge of a year. There’s something for everyone here: comedy, horror, adventure, dancing, gangsters, romance. In general, I’ve either forgotten or only seen pieces of most of these films. So, consider this particular best of the year list a work in progress.
Here’s what other critics say is the best films of the year:
This horrifying, brilliant documentary shows the power of propaganda. Leni Riefenstahl creates spectacular images of Adolf Hitler giving rousing speeches, while also showcasing the vast, epic scale of their military might. It’s chilling, scary stuff, with what we know happens quite soon after this.
Ah, classic tale of cops and robbers. James Cagney plays a good guy this time: James “Brick” Davis, a lawyer who decides to become an FBI agent, a G Man. Despite everyone’s fears at his ties to organized crime, Davis helps use his understanding of the world to stop the bad gangsters from killing.
Edward G. Robinson plays two opposite parts here, a meek office worker, and a legendary badass gangster who he gets mistaken for. John Ford leaves Monument Valley for the city, letting Robinson do his thing playing 2 parts, and having a ball with it.
The success of this film depends on how you feel about the Marx Brothers. Personally, I find their schtick amusing, but dated. However, it is very fast moving, so jokes that don’t work are quickly moved on from in favor of the next one, which means there’s gonna be at least a few great laughs here and there.
The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers pairing gives us another goofy gem. They both dance the night away in this romcom plot through and through. It’s predictable yes, but watching Rodgers and Astaire do what they were born to do is a delight from end to end, with a few lovely Irving Berlin swooners along the way.
Before they were Robin Hood and Lady Miriam, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland were in this film at sea. Flynn plays the titular pirate, de Havilland the gorgeous counterpart, and Michael Curtiz makes Flynn’s sword fighting prowess the center of the picture, cementing the swashbuckling Flynn’s ascent to his masterpiece a few years later.
Though this movie’s been remade a few times, the original shines brightest. Charles Loughton plays the cruel taskmaster Captain Blight on his ship the Bounty, under which Clark Gable works. Pissed off at how cruel Bligh is, Gable leads a mutiny on the captain, leading to great seafaring action and beautiful shots of Tahiti.
A sequel that delivers, and maybe exceeds the original! Boris Karloff dons the metal head rods as the titular monster, this time in search of a friend, forcing the doctor to create one for her. It’s got terror in its use of light and shadow, a little camp, and a great Karloff performance, finding some emotional depth and turning a monster into a tragic figure.
This is an early successful test of his craft from Alfred Hitchcock, working in England at the time. Here he deploys formulas you’ll recognize a lot later: there’s a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, the blonde female unwilling accomplice, and a twisty, ahead of its time plot with really great action sequences and forward thinking dialogue.
