50 Movie Nights by Dave Karger
Only one favorite film? In 50 Movie Nights: Contemporary Stars on their Favorite Classic Films, most people interviewed begin with memories of one movie, and then another, and another … and finally get around to naming a favorite among favorites.
For his part, in his introduction, TCM host Dave Karger has no hesitation naming his, Children of a Lesser God (1986). He was 14 when he caught it on cable and “was profoundly affected.” For Karger, the cast brought hope and regret to a sensitive, lyrical story. But everyone has his or her own story. “The great surprise,” he writes of his book’s 50 stars, was “learning just as much about these remarkable people through their choice of film as I was about the film itself.”
The oldest of the 50 films, the Cary Grant comedy The Awful Truth (1937), was chosen by “Mad Men” actor John Slattery; the most recent, the rock critic memoir Almost Famous (2000), by talk show host Andy Cohen. Almost inevitably, Karger’s 50 respondents recount childhood or adolescent memories, albeit some found their favorite in adulthood. Wes Anderson? He discovered his only three years ago on TCM. It’s The Tall Target (1951), a fictionalized account of newly elected Abraham Lincoln’s perilous journey to Washington on a train packed with plotters and would-be assassins. Ever the formalist, he admired director Anthony Mann’s blocking and staging and gave a copy of the film to the cinematographer of The Phoenician Scheme for inspiration.
Da’ Vine Joy Randolph (“Only Murders in the Building”) picked All About Eve (1951). She loves black-and-white movies for their ability to instigate the imagination. She was 10 when she first saw All About Eve and returns to it often for its efficient storytelling and unforgettable cast. Sure, Bette Davis is memorable, but Randolph prizes subtle Anne Baxter, mordant George Sanders and sharp-tongued Thelma Ritter.
Listening to the eerie Americana of Chris Isaak’s music, you might almost guess he’d chose The Night of the Hunter (1951). Isaak first saw it on TV when he was in his 20s and it made a deep impression. “It’s a weird combination of horror story and fairytale,” he says. His observations are unfailingly astute. The sets are slightly surreal, many scenes capture the children’s perspective, the evil preacher played by a demonic Robert Mitchum has LOVE and HATE tattooed on his fingers in a warped effort at yin and yang. He’s countered by Lillian Gish, the “good-hearted and real representative of Christianity,” Isaak says.
One night on tour, Isaak ran into a mook with LOVE and HATE tattooed on his hands. “And I said, ‘Oh, like The Night of the Hunter? And he said, ‘What’s that?’” Isaak told him to rent the film.
50 Movie Nights is published by TCM/Running Press.
