Women We Love: Lupe Velez

Man of the West (1958)

Link Jones: part thug, part boy scout, all Cooper.

If I were to use one word to describe Man of the West, it would probably have to be "awkward." It's not bad by any stretch, and even has elements of greatness in it, but somehow for all that it never quite hits the mark.

Son of the Sheik (1926)

No question, Valentino was dead-sexy in a turban.

I'll admit I have decidedly mixed feelings about Valentino. At his best, he radiates a raw sex appeal like no one else. However, his films usually rely more on his charismatic good looks than his acting ability, which is never his strongest quality. In The Sheik in particular his brand of acting usually involves a manic grin and fierce, wide-eyed stare that makes me want to pass him some eye drops. And then there was the frightful mockery that was Moran of the Lady Letty, a film the producers thought would improve his image among male viewers by putting him in a story driven by action rather than sex. A great idea, perhaps, but in execution Moran comes across like an attempt to prove you're a man's man by joining the badminton team. The big action finale, I kid you not, pits Valentino, along with the entire crew of a smuggling ship, against two men in a rowboat.

Women We Love: Ginger Rogers

Men We Love: Rock Hudson

High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper as Marshall Will Kane. The time is 11:50.

"Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! ... But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in this immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come."
-Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot


Fred Zinnemann's High Noon may be one of the most perfectly constructed films ever made. If ever there were a doubt that film was art, high art, in the sense of Da Vinci and Shakespeare, surely films like High Noon must put to rest any such dispersions. Like a tightly constructed sonnet, nothing is missing, and nothing is superfluous.

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

A publicity image which, like the film itself, combines realism with expressive
artifice to create a vibrant fantasy world.

The Thief of Bagdad is, by far and away, the most visually impressive of Fairbanks' films. Massive sets, elaborate costumes, state of the art special effects, and a cast of thousands make for one of the biggest and most spectacular films of its day. Visually, it is a veritable feast of loveliness, although its creative effects never for an instant look real. When Fairbanks slays a dragon, flies through the air on a winged horse, or visits mermaids at the ocean floor, it is evident that these feats are achieved through a composite of models and camera tricks. But then, this is fantasy. The point is to look beautiful, not real.