Have a Fabulous and Free Film Festival on Your Computer Screen
No problem. Just sit right where you are, hit a few keys and in no time you can be watching a film classic on your computer. If you have Quick Time, Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, you’re just a few clicks from a enjoying a classic movie.
First, go to http://www.archive.org. There are other film sites out there of course, but this one will do for now. You’ll have your choice of moving images, live music, audio files, and texts. For our purposes, click on moving images. You’ll find links to a wide variety of moving images sources but for the moment, let’s click on “Feature Films,” and see if we can find five films that you’re likely to enjoy.
A good start is the lesser known but truly wonderful John Wayne Western, “Angel and the Badman,” co-staring a young and stunning Paulette Goddard. He’s a wounded gunslinger, she’s a simple Quaker girl. Sparks fly, trouble mounts and you’ll have a good time watching it all unfold. And yes, this is the film that inspired the Harrison Ford thriller, “Witness.”
Not in the mood for a Western? Okay, how about a classic comedy? You’re not likely to do much better than “Meet John Doe,” starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwick and directed by the man who did this best, Frank Capra. A desperate reporter hires a desperate former baseball player to impersonate a desperate nonexistent person and they accidentally spark a political movement. It’s a feel-good classic.
Hey, as long as we’re in the “M” section, check out “My Man Godfrey,” a remarkable film that somehow remains as fresh as it was when it was released, 70 years ago. A screwball comedy about a dizzy socialite played by Carole Lombard, who finds a “forgotten man” at the city dump as part of a scavenger hunt. The “forgotten man,” – homeless guy, to you and I – is played to perfection by William Powell. He soon becomes the butler of Ms. Lombard’s quirky family and sparkling dialogue, sweet romance and a plot twist or two results in a thoroughly enjoyable hour and a half.
Want some color? Dash? Style? How about some action and adventure? How about Audrey Hepburn? And Cary Grant? Throw in Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy, some thrills, some scares, some laughs and witty banter, and you have Stanley Donnen’s “Charade,” a superb romantic action comedy. Audrey’s just been widowed, and her late husband left her a world of trouble, as villains and mysterious men descend upon her in the hunt forâÂ?¦ Well, nobody actually knows what they’re looking for, they just know it’s valuable and she’s got it – even if she doesn’t know it. Grant and Hepburn are magical in their only screen pairing. Of course, Audrey Hepburn would be magical playing opposite a dead goat, but Cary Grant is a far better choice for my money.
Of course originally, director Howard Hawks was going to cast a dead goat in “His Girl Friday,” but the moment Cary Grant walked in, Hawks knewâÂ?¦ Okay, I made up the dead goat thing. The point is, Hawks chose perfectly in casting Grant as the fast and smooth talking newspaper editor, attempting to lure his former love and ace reporter, Rosalind Russell in her signature role, into covering a big story – and skipping her wedding to Ralph Bellamy. It’s fast, it’s funny, and it’s available free of charge – just like all these great films – right now on your computer.
Go! Enjoy! But since I just saved you at least eight bucks on rental fees, could you put in a good word to the god of your choice for me? Otherwise, He/She is going to read my multiple inane references to dead goats and seriously consider smiting me, so�
I can see you’re busy watching your film. We’ll talk later.
