For the second and final part of my 2012 film odyssey, I’ll just be noting filmographies of actors (all from the classic Hollywood era) and directors I delved into in the past year. Films are listed in the order in which I watched them, and titles in italics are personal favorites.
Directors
Three director filmographies I went into for the first time in 2012 are David Lean, Wes Anderson, and Paul Thomas Anderson. I actually watched all the films done by both Anderson directors. Other directors whose films I had watched prior to 2012 and watched more of were Martin Scorsese, Billy Wilder, Terrence Malick, and the Coen Brothers. I also finished watching all of Malick’s films in 2012 (I’d only seen The Tree of Life in 2011, though I re-watched it last year).
Films watched directed by David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia; Summertime; Brief Encounter; The Bridge on the River Kwai; Doctor Zhivago
Films watched directed by Wes Anderson: The Royal Tenenbaums; Fantastic Mr. Fox; Rushmore; Moonrise Kingdom; Bottle Rocket; The Darjeeling Limited; The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Films watched directed by Paul Thomas Anderson: Boogie Nights; There Will Be Blood; The Master; Magnolia; Punch-Drunk Love; Hard Eight
Films watched directed by Martin Scorsese: Goodfellas; Raging Bull; Taxi Driver; Gangs of New York; Shutter Island; Cape Fear
Films watched directed by Billy Wilder: Double Indemnity; The Apartment; Sabrina; Sunset Blvd.; The Seven Year Itch; The Lost Weekend; Ace in the Hole
Films watched directed by Terrence Malick: Days of Heaven; Badlands; The New World; The Thin Red Line
Films watched directed by the Coen Brothers: Fargo; No Country for Old Men; Burn After Reading; The Big Lebowski; O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Actresses
I had only seen one film each from Jean Arthur and Marilyn Monroe prior to 2012, but I watched more of their films in the past year. Actresses I watched films from for the first time were Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Audrey Hepburn. Lauren Bacall was also another actress I watched films from the first time in 2012, but I’ll be focusing on her further down the post. Additionally, I watched many new films with my favorite actress Katharine Hepburn, but I’ll focus on her later.
Films watched featuring Jean Arthur: You Can’t Take It with You; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; Only Angels Have Wings; Easy Living; The More the Merrier
Films watched featuring Marilyn Monroe: The Prince and the Showgirl; All About Eve; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; The Seven Year Itch; How to Marry a Millionaire; There’s No Business Like Show Business
Films watched featuring Bette Davis: Jezebel; All About Eve; The Letter; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte; Dark Victory; Now, Voyager; The Man Who Came to Dinner
Films watched featuring Olivia de Havilland: Gone with the Wind; The Heiress; Captain Blood; The Adventures of Robin Hood; Dodge City; Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte; The Snake Pit
Films watched featuring Barbara Stanwyck: Double Indemnity; Ball of Fire; Meet John Doe; Christmas in Connecticut; The Strange Love of Martha Ivers; Sorry, Wrong Number; Remember the Night; The Two Mrs. Carrolls; The Lady Eve
Films watched featuring Audrey Hepburn: Roman Holiday; Funny Face; Charade; Sabrina; Paris When It Sizzles; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Wait Until Dark; How to Steal a Million; Two for the Road; My Fair Lady
Actors
Before 2012, I had only seen one film each from Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. For Humphrey Bogart, I’d only seen two. These other actors are ones I watched films from for the first time: Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, and William Holden. I also watched several more films from my favorite actors, James Stewart and Cary Grant but decided to exclude them as this post is long enough as it is!
Films watched featuring Gene Kelly: An American in Paris; On the Town; The Pirate; Summer Stock; Cover Girl; Inherit the Wind
Films watched featuring Fred Astaire (excluding the ones where he’s paired with Ginger Rogers): On the Beach; Funny Face; Easter Parade; The Band Wagon; You’ll Never Get Rich; You Were Never Lovelier; Holiday Inn
Films watched featuring Humphrey Bogart (excluding the ones where he’s paired with Lauren Bacall): Sabrina; The African Queen; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre; In a Lonely Place; Dark Victory; The Two Mrs. Carrolls
Films watched featuring Gary Cooper: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; Ball of Fire; High Noon; Meet John Doe
Films watched featuring Henry Fonda: 12 Angry Men; Jezebel; Sex and the Single Girl; The Wrong Man; The Grapes of Wrath; On Golden Pond; The Lady Eve
Films watched featuring William Holden: Sabrina; Sunset Blvd.; Paris When It Sizzles; Network; The Bridge on the River Kwai; The Country Girl; The Wild Bunch
Screen Teams
In 2012, I made a goal to watch all the films starring the famous movie pairings of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, though I did watch Tracy and Hepburn’s Woman of the Year and Astaire and Rogers’ Swing Time in 2011 and watched them again last year. I also watched three films starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, as well as two other films that aren’t part of the Thin Man series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, but I decided not to discuss them here. I’m hoping to watch more if not all of the films starring those screen teams.
Films watched starring Bogart & Bacall: To Have and Have Not; The Big Sleep; Dark Passage; Key Largo
Films watched starring Tracy & Hepburn: Keeper of the Flame; Without Love; The Sea of Grass; State of the Union; Adam’s Rib; Pat and Mike; Desk Set; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Films watched starring Astaire & Rogers: Top Hat; The Gay Divorcee; Shall We Dance; Flying Down to Rio; Roberta; Follow the Fleet; Carefree; The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle; The Barkleys of Broadway
I’ll write thoughts on some of these in future tribute and review posts.
Another list of good ones, and quite a few I haven’t seen yet, and will have to check out. And no italic for ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’? That must be a typo!
I did enjoy Sorry, Wrong Number? a lot, but not quite enough to warrant it a personal favorite. I’ll have to watch it again though, I might change my mind about it! Stanwyck gives another great performance.
I can’t remember if you mentioned Double Indemnity in your posts, but she’s worth checking out in that one as well. And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend giving it a look…it’s one of my Top 5 film noir movies of all time!