A record showing tonight! And deservedly so, because Cool Hand Luke is one of the greats. They just don't make 'em like that anymore, probably because audiences get antsy when movie endings are too depressing. (Not to give out any huge spoilers, or anything, but Cool Hand Luke is about on the opposite end of the idealism scale from To Kill a Mockingbird. :p)
Anyway, voting time! Also, I'm going to add a new wrinkle this week: Everyone who has come to the chats has given me tons of great suggestions for weekly choices. However, one of my stated goals is to get people to see movies they've never watched before. People have suggested well known movies that they haven't seen, of course, but for other movies ... well, if they haven't heard of it, then how could they suggest it for viewing? So it's with that in mind that I'll throw in a wild card choice of my own every week from now on -- they'll be quality movies that aren't quite as famous as what we've watched so far.
1. Clue (1985): Six strangers -- the famous house guests of the Clue board game -- are invited to a mansion during a stormy meeting. They are greeted by the butler, Wadsworth, and soon find out that they are each being blackmailed by their host, Mr. Boddy ... who then winds up dead. Somebody in the house is a murderer, and he or she must be caught before everyone winds up dead. Directed by Jonathan Lynn, starring Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Martin Mull, Leslie Ann Warren, Michael McKean, Madeline Kahn and Christopher Lloyd.
2. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): Drama critic Mortimer Brewster marries his childhood next door neighbor, Elaine Harper, and they visit Mortimer's bizarre aunts, who live with Mortimer's brother, Teddy, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt. One day Mortimer finds a corpse in the home; his aunts eventually explain that it is their doing -- they've developed the bad habit of ending the suffering of lonely old bachelors by poisoning them. To make matters worse, Mortimer's other brother, Jonathan, arrives with his accomplice, Dr. Herman Einstein ... and they, too, are killers. Directed by Frank Capra, starring Cary Grant, Josephine Hull and Jean Adair.
3. Chinatown (1974): Private investigator J.J. "Jake" Gittes is hired by a woman to keep tabs on her husband, whom she suspects of adultery. The case gets much more complicated, however, when Gittes finds himself wrapped up in a battle over water during a Los Angeles drought ... and even that barely scratches the surface of the darkness he finds. Directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston.
4. Logan's Run (1976): In the 23rd century, mankind's survivors live in a domed city where hedonism is law; however, every person's life is required to end at 30. Logan 5 is a Sandman, an agent who is tasked to hunt those who refuse to submit when their lives are to be ended. He meets a woman, Jessica, who is a member of a group trying to help others reach a sanctuary away from the dome. Logan is then tasked with finding this sanctuary and destroying it ... but will he keep to his mission? Directed by Michael Anderson, starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter and Peter Ustinov.
5. Laura (1944): Detective Mark McPherson is investigating the murder of a successful advertising agent, Laura Hunt, and pieces together her life through interviews with her shady fiance, Shelby; wealthy aunt, Ann; and her acid-tongued mentor, Waldo Lydecker. As McPherson learns more about Laura, he slowly falls in love with her, despite the fact that she is dead. And Laura's ghost continually hangs over his interactions with those most involved in her life. Directed by Otto Preminger, starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price.
