Classic Screen Gems

There are many old movies that are absolute gems. The next time you're in a video store, and you just can't decide what movie to rent, may I suggest one of the following:

• The Beguiled (1971) Clint Eastwood stars as a wounded Civil War soldier who takes refuge in an all girls' school. Many of the girls get crushes on him (I can't blame them), and this causes a lot of problems, to say the least. Color.

• Cape Fear (1962) A modern-day remake of "Cape Fear" was made, but it pales in comparison to the original one. Robert Mitchum stars as an evil convict fresh out of jail, with the sole mission of seeking revenge on Gregory Peck (the lawyer who prosecuted him) and his family. An extremely suspenseful and well-done movie. B&W.

• A Clockwork Orange (1971) Wacked-out, disturbing (yet compelling), futuristic British movie, with some very strong scenes. Malcolm McDowell stars as the demented leader of a bunch of punks, who has a lot of fun wreaking havoc amongst "proper" society - until he's caught, and "rehabilitated." A Stanley Kubrick film. Color.

• The Collector (1965) Terence Stamp has an infatuation with beautiful Samantha Eggar, so he kidnaps her, and locks her in his fully-furnished cellar, so she will "grow to love him." A completely riveting movie - guaranteed you'll never forget this movie (and, like me, will always correlate butterflies to "The Collector"). Color.

• Easy Rider (1969) Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are hippies on a motorcycle-road trip, in this classic counter-culture movie. They meet a small town lawyer, played by Jack Nicholson (looking quite young), and he joins them on their journey to New Orleans. An authentic portrayal of hippie-living, and a great soundtrack from the time. Color.

• Klute (1971) Jane Fonda won an Academy Award for her performance in this highly regarded movie. She plays an intelligent call girl, who gets caught up in a romance-of-sorts with visiting policeman Donald Sutherland (Kiefer's father, if you didn't know, or hadn't guessed). Color.

• Lifeboat (1943) Tensions mount amongst a mixed group of survivors aboard a lifeboat (surprise), as they wait for help to arrive. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring the campy Tallulah Bankhead (most probably, one of the dames who inspired Rupal). The whole movie is shot aboard the small lifeboat, and despite this, it doesn't get boring for a second. B&W.

• Night of the Hunter (1956) A suspenseful film starring Robert Mitchum as an evil, lying preacher, chasing two small children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money. Also starring silent film great Lillian Gish, and charactor-actor Shelley Winters. Have you ever seen "love" and "hate" tattooed across the back of someone's fingers? Well, chances are whoever started that trend got the idea from this movie. B&W.

• A Patch of Blue (1965) Elizabeth Hartman stars as a young, blind girl befriended by a black man, played by Sidney Poitier. Shelley Winters won a Best Supporting Oscar for her role as the girl's crass, domineering mother. A sensitive, interesting, well-portrayed story. B&W.

• Rope  (1948) Another suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock film. Starring James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger as college boys who murder someone just for the fun of it. My memory slightly fails me on the specifics of the plot, but I recall something about them having a dinner party with the body in a box under the table. Color.

• Shadow of a Doubt (1943) A brilliant, super-suspenseful film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Theresa Wright (the 1940's splitting image of Natalie Merchant) plays a sweet girl who suspects that her uncle, played expertly by Joseph Cotton, is in fact a murderer. B&W.

• To Sir, With Love (1967) Sidney Poitier stars as an ex-engineer who takes a job as a high school teacher in a low-class London suburb. A solid, quality movie, with interesting portrayals of what British kids were like in the 1960's. Color.

• Waterloo Bridge (1940) A romantic tearjerker (I admit it - I cried). The exquisite Vivien Leigh stars as a ballerina who falls in love with upper-class military officer Robert Taylor, but then he has to go off to war. When she reads that he died in the war, she's completely devastated, and resorts to prostitution to pay the rent. But when he comes back from the war, only she knows deep down inside what she's done... B&W.