Another year, another January movie marathon! For this year’s marathon in which I try to watch as many movies as I can in the month-long period between December 25th and January 25th I also added another incentive to my viewing. While a few obscure and public domain films have always been available to view on YouTube I have noticed that there are more and more available lately. To be clear, I’m not talking about the streaming movies that YouTube charges for viewing, but films uploaded by users in their own channels and that are freely viewable.
While the lion’s share of the films as older as expected there are a few surprising titles that are not so old as to have ‘aged’ into the public domain and I can only assume are there because the rights have lapsed for one reason or another – circumstance such as the copyright misstep that allowed Night of the Living Dead to be orphaned upon release.
The quality of the videos on YouTube are as varied as the entertainment quality of the movies themselves so your mileage may vary, but I tried to find good quality for both aspects. Of the 39 movies I managed to watch this year 23 are on YouTube and I have provided those links here.
Here are this year’s movies.
1 – The Monster from Piedras Blancas (1958)
This is one of those ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ rip-offs featuring a monster that looked good enough to be pictured in many of the monster magazines and books of the time yet was produced from a low budget studio which made the film obscure and hard to find. The plot has the rubber-suited creature that likes to decapitate his victims terrorize a small coastal town but has the lighthouse keeper as a friend of sorts.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYKl4PtdPUA
2 – The Clouded Yellow (1950)
A neat psychological thriller in which a counter espionage spy suddenly finds himself without a job after botching an operation. With few marketable skills he ends up taking a short term job as an aide to an entomologist cataloging butterflies. Instead of having the tranquil rest he hoped the job would bring he suddenly finds himself involved in a murder mystery with a family caring for a mentally unstable young woman. In order to save the woman he finds his old contacts and intelligence savvy coming in handy. Nice bit of extra twist at the end.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YKH_1KGD6U
3 – Sudden Fear (1952)
A famous playwright (Joan Crawford) finds a burgeoning actor (Jack Palance) unsuitable for one of her plays and must dismiss him. But the two soon meet again, striking up a romance. That is until she finds out that his love was all a sham and she suddenly finds herself targeted for murder. Not the best film noir but a fine thriller nonetheless.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB2w51F0t74
4 – Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
A man escapes marital problems by hopping on a plane where he befriends three strangers as the passengers storm the weather. The four form a pact of sorts and after the plane crashes the man, who has learned a lot about the other three, takes it upon himself to visit the families of the three departed. I needed no more than the star billing of Shelley Winters and Bette Davis to entice me but Gary Merrill, Micheal Rennie and even Keenan Wynn are all rock solid. A bit of a strange film but a good one.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pD593Gd-pY
5 – Help! (1965)
The Beatles were so popular (and remain so) that they did not even bother specifically naming John, Paul, George and Ringo in the credits in this film in which the fab four have to deal with with an East Indian sect trying to reclaim a sacrificial ring stuck on Ringo’s finger needed for a spiritual congregation. The comedy is beyond corny but let face it this is all about the music and that alone along with watching the boys is more than enough reason to watch.
6 – They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
Sidney Pollack adaptation of the novel of a dance marathon during the great depression. Jane Fonda is but one of the many contestants trying to outlast all the others in the dehumanizing endurance contest which unveils the darkest traits of mankind. Michael Sarrazin plays her on again, off again, dance partner is probably the only sane character.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsKQiVJkEvI
7 – Miracle on 34th Street (1973)
Decided to try this Made -for-TV remake of the classic film. Sebastian Cabot in the lead as Santa and Roddy McDowall as the wicked psychiatrist are the only credible actors in this far inferior film with a dreadful script. Not sure why people keep on making different versions of the film when the original 1947 is so perfect. Ape fans will also enjoy seeing James Gregory as the opposing lawyer.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isQ8ZnkuwNU
8 – The Irishman (2019)
I finally got around to watching director Martin Scorsese’s last feature film, the biopic of the legendary Teamster union boss, Jimmy Hoffa and his ‘alleged’ (cough-cough) involvement with the rival mob families. Starring the triumvirate of Pacino, De Niro and Pesci (no first names needed) it was a near guarantee slam dunk from the get go. Based on a book documenting the claimed confession of a hitman who befriended Hoffa everything has to be taken with a bit of salt.
The film does have its share of problems but those get ironed out as it progresses and by the end I was satisfied.
9 – Of Human Bondage (1934)
A very early Bette Davis film but her talent was clearly a force even then. A quiet and reserved, sympathetic man (Leslie Howard) falls for the glamorous gal who does not return the love. Instead she dismissively takes advantage of him, manipulating him over and over. Fantastic film as long as you can get over Davis’ Cockney accent which I found a little jarring at first.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qhrz_u-97Y
10 – Dead & Breakfast (2004)
I am thankful of the fact that this is NOT on YouTube thus sparing unsuspecting viewers. Even the inclusion of David Carradine can’t save this one. Stale story of a bunch of young travelers stumbling in a small town B&B and then the creeps start appearing. The B&B I refer to here is Bad and Boring.
11 – Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Over-the-Top takes on special significance in this blockbuster sequel to Top Gun from way back in 1986. But being over the top is kinda the point here and this movie delivers in spades with top-notch aerial sequences and over-the-top acting, to say nothing about a whole bunch of one-in-a-million odds events that make up about half the film. If you really care for more, yes, the plot ties into the events of the first film but you really don’t need to have seen (or remember) the original.
12 – Sleep, My Love (1948)
This is one of those forgotten true gems you can find on YouTube. It begins with a woman (Claudette Colbert) waking up on a train but not remembering getting on at all. This is but the latest of mental slips she has been experiencing but one that could have been deadly to her husband (Don Ameche). While this film was clearly riding the ‘gaslighting’ wave of the success of Gaslight it stands on its own. While she only has a small part I was taken in by Hazel Brooks and even searched for more films in which she appeared (see Body and Soul below).
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCHAgCINofg
13 – Catlow (1971)
Based on a Louis L’Amour novel, this Western stars Yul Brunner, Richard Crenna, and everyone’s favorite Vulcan, Leonard Nimoy. Frankly this one was disappointing. Unlike other films in which Yul is nothing short of menacing, he didn’t exactly have the chops to carry a comedy role which he tries here. Crenna overdoes his southern drawl at times and Nimoy does not have enough screen time. (But when he does there are a few butt shots if that is what you’re looking for). It does get a bit better towards the end.
14 – Body and Soul (1947)
The ‘kid who grew up in a tough neighborhood who goes on to become a championship boxer’ is a well worn movie staple almost as old as films themselves. This one has John Garfield in the role of the pugilist who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, mistaking money and fame for honour and pleasure. Lilli Palmer is the gal who first encourages him before trying to straighten him out and Hazel Brooks (see Sleep, My Love above) is the ringside vixen looking to get a piece of the action. Those who remember the 70’s private eye series will enjoy seeing William Conrad as part of the boxer entourage.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHVU8m4StNg
15 – Pushover (1954)
Most lists of the best Film Noir movies inevitably list Double Indemnity as a prime classic of the genre. This one not only stars Fred MacMurray who starred in the latter, but the plots are eerily similar. Instead of a luring an honest insurance adjuster to commit fraud this one has Fred as a cop on a stakeout of a bank robber’s gal (Kim Novak) who has him throwing everything away for the loot from a heist and her of course.s Just as riveting and heart wrenching as Double Indemnity and deserving of equal praise.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKU8kMSAZRs
16 – The Day of the Locust (1975)
A young man working as a Studio artist in Hollywood becomes infatuated with a woman who has dreams of becoming a star, crumbling relationships along the way. The lineup alone makes this one worth watching. Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, and Donald Sutherland (whose character name is Homer Simpson!) are all superb. Even Billy Barty gets a chance to really act instead of a comedic presence at the expense of his stature. The film exposed the decadent underbelly of Depression era tinseltown and the toll on fame and fortune seekers. A great film yet it doesn’t achieve its full potential either. Cinephiles will appreciate a young Jackie Early Haley and even a William Castle cameo.
17 – Dolemite (1975)
When Eddie Murphy got rave reviews for Dolemite is My Name a few years ago (A movie I have yet to catch up on) I was reminded that I never saw the original. The movie was a vehicle for Rudy Ray Moore who first created the character to use in his comedy and music gigs. Dolemite is a convict let loose on the streets so that he can clean up the old ‘hood, namely his nemesis Willie Green. While notable as a Blaxploitation film of the era, I was underwhelmed by the entire production. The script is terrible even by the genre standards, the acting is painful and the ‘action’ sequences are laughable. With so many other superior polyester pants and chrome caddies movies available, don’t bother with this one.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIzwKlSU04
18 – Dark Skies (2013)
I’m starting to get tired of producer Jason Blum (Blumhouse films) movies which feature families torn apart because of strange things happening in the house. The only really interesting part is when they consult with J.K. Simmons who tells them all they have been experiencing has been going on with other families for a long time. The buildup of these new ‘aliens’ is cool but then the film goes nowhere with a very disappointing end.
19 – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Robert Morse is J. Pierpont Finch, a skyscraper window washer with lofty business ambitions in this musical comedy staged by Bob Fosse. When he comes across a how-to paperback that claims to provide a step-by-step, sure fire path to the top of the executive boardroom he voraciously reads each successive chapter and follows it’s guidance to a tee. He manages to overcome a competing, brown-nosing CEO’s nephew, the successive bosses he replaces and the overtures of a lovestruck secretary.
20 – Gilbert (2017)
21 – Three Came Home (1950)
The film is an adaptation of the memoirs of Agnes Newton Keith and her internment by the Japanese in World War II Borneo. Claudette Colbert plays Agnes as she and her son are imprisoned in camps while her husband and all the men are held in an adjoining one. Enduring malnutrition, disease and punishment she and the other women do engage in some rebellious activities which spice the narrative. While I enjoyed the drama of the internment ordeal the highlights are the scenes with Sessue Hayakawa who plays an honorable and sympathetic Japanese Colonel.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgGvFPB8_yI
22 – The Intern (2015)
The awkward pairing of veteran Robert De Niro with Anne Hathaway comes off as odd as it sounds in this comedy. De Niro plays an older, gentlemanly widower trying to keep himself busy after losing his job as manager for an obsolete phone book publisher. When he comes across an ad for intern positions at a burgeoning new company founded by Hathaway he jumps at the chance and not only secures a spot but is assigned to be her very own aide. Of course his sage advice and deeds result not only in helping out the company but her personal affairs as well. The maudlin comedy suffers from some strange directing and editing that results in a film as awkward as the premise. Recommended only for De Niro and Hathaway devotees but then again I’m one of them so I enjoyed some of it more than it deserves.
23 – Torture Garden (1967)
Just a step down from the illustrious Hammer studios was Amicus films who were even better at making horror anthology films such as the case with this one with a cast that includes Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, and Peter Cushing. Written by Robert Bloch are four tales of terror that have a wraparound setup centered on the Shears of Fate sideshow in a travelling carnival’s horror tent. The first is a story in which a greedy nephew can’t wait until his uncle dies so that he can get his hands on gold hidden in the house. In the second a wannabe movie star will do anything to be in movies but chooses the wrong producers to hitch her ride with. The third features a sentient and jealous piano and the last has an Edgar Alan Poe fanatic collector get a hold of the ultimate collection piece. Hammer fans will also enjoy the underrated Michael Ripper in the wraparound. I sorely miss this format of films.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0aumPGi9iM
24 – Man in the Attic (1953)
One of many takes on the Jack the Ripper mythos, this one has Jack Palance playing the notorious serial killer. This one didn’t quite work for me and believe it or not inexplicably has musical numbers peppered in a few places. Jack rents a room and attic in an older couple’s house as he sidesteps the authorities. Things get interesting when the homeowner’s niece, a singer/actress also takes up residence in the home, and then befriends both Jack and the inspector working on the case. Based on the novel “The Lodger” this tale has supposedly been filmed five times, one an early silent by Hitchcock. At least I can be sure that one did not have any singing in it.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31jonmoh9Yk
25 – Mumford (1999)
The Munford in the title refers to the name of the small town and the surprise arrival of a psychologist with the same name who in just a few short years seems to successfully treat and heal just about every resident. Only “Mumford” is not a licensed practitioner at all but just someone with a knack of figuring out other people’s problems. I have to admit that one of the reasons I looked forward to watching this film was the participation of Hope Davis, a respected but underrated actor who plays the patient love interest here. But everyone in the cast is just brilliant making this lovely ‘feel good’ romantic comedy.
26 – Rider on the Rain (1970)
There are some parts to this film that play out like some avant garde art film which is at odds with star Charles Bronson but not surprising as it is a French movie that was filmed in both French and English. After a woman kills a mysterious man who raped her Bronson suddenly shows up in her life and knows everything she did that day despite her not telling anyone. A fair thriller all about a bag the assailant carried with him that day.
27 – Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
While this is a bank heist movie at heart, the real story is about the lead up and the varied circumstances that drive people to crime. Even better are the racial tensions and diverse characters that make up the trio of robbers which are played by Robert Ryan, Harry Belafonte and Ed Begley. Just as good are the smaller roles featuring Gloria Graham and Shelley Winters. While the digitized version has a few hiccups, this is another YouTube gem that is worth watching.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSzDfNn3kYc
28 – Patterns (1956)
While writer/creator Rod Serling‘s name will forever be associated with his groundbreaking Twilight Zone (deservedly so I might add) his writing talents shone through various televised broadcasts long before that. One of those highly lauded earlier efforts was the made for TV movie Patterns, a story which tells the tale of a newly recruited senior employee who discovers that he was hired in order to oust an elder beloved founder of the company. A riveting drama pitting morals, honor and respect against the cutthroat callousness of business interests. A superlative script with equally moving acting by Van Heflin and Ed Begley (senior). I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMnU4faUMUY
29 – The Big Lebowski (1998)
Anyone familiar with the Coen brothers films will feel right at home with the crazy antics that laid-back Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) must endure after a case of mistaken identity which results in someone peeing on his carpet (and stealing a replacement), acting as the drop off man for a kidnapped wife, and making out with an sex-obsessed avant garde artist (Julianne Moore) all while preparing for a bowling championship tournament. Steve Buscemi is The Dude’s dimwitted friend but rounding out the trio of buddies is John Goodman as the hot headed self-righteous fanatic who steals the show. John Turturro also earns praise as the loathed stylish bowling nemesis. Chillax to the max with this one.
30 – The Screaming Mimi (1958)
After being assailed by an insane asylum escapee a young woman (Anita Ekberg) herself becomes institutionalized. Her psychiatric treatment and recovery comes at the hands of her devoted doctor (Harry Townes) who both falls in love with her and maintains a steady hand in all her affairs. With alluring dancing skills to match her ravishing beauty she soon becomes the headline star as a nightclub entertainer. After two women who all had the same physical attributes as the dancer are murdered, an intrepid reporter (Philip Carey) remarks that the only other connection seems to be a small statue. The statue was not only found at the scene of the murders, but the figurine looks exactly like the dancer in the throes of a scream. Making matters even more interesting is that the reporter noted that the dancer, who happens to have a protective dog named Devil, also had an exact copy of the statue in her possession. Tie it all up and you have the answer to the murders. As a huge fan of science fiction and mystery writer Fredric Brown I read the novel The Screaming Mimi so many years ago I had forgotten the premise of this psychological thriller. Well worth the watch and you get to enjoy acclaimed former burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee in a fairly prominent role.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxWmCpK5oY
31 – Legal Eagles (1986)
I seem to recall this Ivan Reitman directed movie being a lot better than my impression was with this recent viewing. Robert Redford is the aspiring DA butting heads with renegade lawyer Debra Winger. They are forced to collaborate working on a perplexing case of misappropriated art that Daryl Hannah is trying to reclaim, a gift from her father who died when she was just a child. Some of it works, some of it is a tad too corny and some of it is just weird.
32 – Hot Spell (1958)
The title does in fact refer to a heat wave during the proceedings of the film but more so to the blazing temperaments and scorching arguments among all the members of a fractured family. The main culprit is the free wheeling father (Anthony Quinn) who openly courts a mistress, castigates the elder son’s business ambitions, and foils his daughter’s matrimonial aspirations. But caught in the middle of it all is the doting wife (Shirley Booth) who vainly tries to feign ignorance of her husband’s indiscretions and other failings. The two of the three kids are a very young Shirley MacLaine and Earl Holliman.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVK2EmEU7ag
33 – The Desert Fox : The Story of Rommel (1951)
[see full review here]
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIstbuCosI
34 – John Dies at the End (2012)
Based on the horror-comedy novel of the same name, those already familiar with director Don Coscarelli’s screwball films will be right at home with this one in which a man meets a reporter at diner to explain how he is a spiritual exorcist, convincing him of the existence of alternate timelines, aliens, and his uncanny ability to foretell events. It starts off crazy and goes insane from there. The only thing slightly hampering my enjoyment was the breakneck pace that made it hard to digest it all at once. One of those rare films in which we actually get to see what Doug Jones looks like without a costume or makeup. The only thing I can guarantee is that everything will be a surprise, in a good way.
35 – The Disappearance of Aimee (1976)
This Made -for-TV film documents the real-life court case of a popular 1920’s celebrity spiritual “healer” (Faye Dunaway) who mysteriously went missing for a month just as the law was closing in and was declared dead by her mother and other followers only to turn up in Mexico with a tale of being kidnapped. How the great Bette Davis got caught up in this mess of a movie is the biggest mystery as is its ridiculously high 7.6 IMDB rating. Even the YouTube video has issues with fading colors, grain, and actually ‘warbles’ a few frames near the beginning. Good beer drinking game every time you hear them singing “Rock of Ages”.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kir1KUwngX8
36 – Le Mans (1971)
I loved the recent racing films “Ford V Ferrari” and the Nikki Lauda story “Rush” so I was looking forward to watching Le Mans, the end result of Steve McQueen‘s quest to make a racing movie. Depicting a fictitious running of the famed motosport 24 hours of Le Mans race (celebrating its centennial this very year) the film is part drama but plays like a documentary as well to the point that it is only near the 40 minute mark that we get to hear actual dialogue other than race announcers. McQueen (who hoped to participate in the actual race that year) plays a driver returning after being involved in a crash the previous year, one in which another driver died and whose wife unexpectedly returns to the track. With tons of footage from the actual races both cinephiles and race enthusiasts will be entertained, but temper your expectations.
37 – Mirage (1965)
This is another great YouTube find of a great classic. Gregory Peck stars as a corporate employee descending the stairwell in a New York highrise during a power outage when his world suddenly turns upside down. After descending stairwells he later finds do not exist people are either confusing him for someone else or welcoming him back from some unknown two year absence. The clincher comes when he is confronted by a gun-toting stranger in his own apartment who demands information he knows nothing about with a threat to kidnap him for a visit to “the Major”. Convinced he has experiences some amnestic episode visits to both the police and a psychiatrist prove fruitless. Only after he hires a novice detective (Walter Matthau) do the pieces of the puzzle slowly tie-in his memory lapse with a suicide the morning of the blackout and a mysterious organization seeking world peace. A great thriller even if the final premise is a bit hokey.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTY-L-l3KN8
38 – The Bigamist (1953)
I thought this was just going to be a film in which the bigamist was a low-down dirty lout but was surprised to find that he comes off somewhat sympathetical due to some of the circumstances that led to his predicament. Ida Lupino both directed and starred in this drama where the ‘other woman’ (Joan Fountaine) and hubby Edmond O’Brien are in the midst of an adoption when the _ starts to unravel. The adoption agency investigator’s voice alone immediately clued me that it was none other than Santa Claus himself (Edmund Gwenn) from the original Miracle on 34th Street (not the version I review above) and the film makes a reference to that a number of times. A great drama although the guilty party (and we the audience) are spared the final outcome with the open ending.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YifNTjlZeD0
39 – The Brink’s Job (1978)
Only a small portion of the loot from the famed Boston Brink’s robbery of 1950 was ever recouped which is but one reason for its notoriety and, inevitably, a bunch of movie adaptations. Since three movies had already been made before this version producer Dino De Laurentiis needed it to be a bit different so he decided to make it a comedy and hired maverick director William Friedkin. Peter Falk plays the ringleader as the deft safecracker who rounds up an equally bumbling gang that includes Peter Boyle and Paul Sorvino. Not the funniest of films but what makes it amazing is the fact that aside from a few details it is a fairly accurate account of what really happened.