It's been a long time since I watched Blazing Saddles. Glad I was able to do it with such a fun group of people!
1. The Third Man (1949): An American writer of pulp Westerns, Holly Martins, has come to wartorn Vienna on the advice of his friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him work in the city. When he arrives in Vienna, however, Martins finds that Harry has died in an accident. Before Harry's death, he asked some other acquaintances of his to take care of Martins and Harry's girlfriend, an actress named Anna. But as Martins stays longer in Vienna, he becomes suspicious about the circumstances of Harry's death, and wonders if it really could have been an accident. Directed by Carol Reed, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Orson Welles.
2. 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.
3. The Night of the Hunter (1955): A serial killer and self-proclaimed reverend, Harry Powell, learns about some money stashed away by his prison cellmate, who is to be hanged. Powell escapes from prison and finds and woos the man's wife, convinced that the children know the whereabouts of the money. He slowly breaks down his new wife and attempts to force the location out of the children, but they are determined to protect their father's secret. Directed by Charles Laughton, starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish.
4. The Sting (1973): Johnny Hooker is a small-time grifter who pushes his luck a bit too far and flees to Chicago to seek help from an old friend, Henry Gondorff. Henry is initially reluctant to take Johnny under his wing, but soon Henry and Johnny decide to pull off an elaborate scam on crime boss Doyle Lonnegan. Directed by George Roy Hill, starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Robert Shaw.
5. Network (1976): Howard Beale, the longtime anchor of UBS Evening News, is told he has two weeks remaining on air due to declining ratings. Beale's disillusionment causes him to announce the next night that he will commit suicide on air. Beale is fired from his job but then rehired for one night to give him a proper farewell -- and he uses this time to launch into a tirade against the world. Beale's rant earns the network its highest ratings in years, and he is exploited for more speeches as more people tune in to join the cult of Beale. Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden and Peter Finch.
