The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

After being kicked out of another town for allegedly burning a barn, Ben Quick arrives in Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi looking for work. He hitches a ride and meets Clara and Eula when they pick him up. Will Varner, who owns just about everything in Frenchman's Bend, hires Ben to work in his store. Although Will's own son manages the store, Will thinks he lacks ambition. Jody feels weak and insecure because of his father's disapproval. Jody's wife Eula is the fashionable sex kitten, who often gets hollered at by the young boys in the town, which makes Jody very upset. Will also has a daughter named Clara, an unmarried school teacher whom catches Ben's eye. She is saving herself for Alan Stewart, but is competing for his affection with his overbearing mother. Will wants Clara to marry so he can have a heir to inherit his fortune and carry on his name. But when the Varner's find out about Ben's bad reputation, things get upsetting and the townspeople think they should get rid if him before their town starts to burn. With a tremendous cast and steaming hot dialogue, this film is a great film that can't be missed. Starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, Richard Anderson 8/10

Babes in Toyland (1961)

Miss Mary Quite Contrary is about to marry Tom, the Piper's son. But on the night just before they're supposed to marry, evil miser Barnaby hires two bumbling henchmen, Gonzorgo and Roderigo to kidnap Tom and throw him in the sea. But instead they sell him to the gypsies so they'll get paid for him twice. They also steal Bo Peep's sheep, which is Mary and the children's livelihood so Mary has no choice but to marry the rich but mean Barnaby. He hires a band of gypsies to dance and entertain the townspeople, having no idea that they are the same gypsies that Gonzorgo and Roderigo sold Tom to. Tom escapes and disguises himself as an old gypsy who can see the future and sings to Mary and Barnaby. When he reveals his true identity, Mary and the townspeople are overjoyed, but that doesn't stop Barnaby from doing everything in his power to get his way and marry Mary, even if that means having Tom disposed of. When Bo Peep and the children get lost when they go looking for the sheep in the forest, Tom and Mary rescue them. They discover Toyland, which is where The Toymaker makes toys for the children of the world. When the toy machine that the Toymaker's assistant breaks, Bo Peep and the children help The Toymaker make the Christmas deadline. This Disney classic is wonderful fun; the songs are terrific, Annette Funicello is delightful and Ray Bolger is a perfect villain. Starring Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, Annette Funicello, Ed Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, Ann Jillian 6/10

Public Enemies (2009)

Set in 1930's Chicago, the notorious bank robber John Dillinger breaks out of jail. Not long after he and his posse start to rob the banks of the big businesses, but leaves the citizens money alone. Meanwhile, after taking Pretty Boy Floyd out, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis is promoted and assigned by J. Edgar Hoover to hunt Dillinger down. But that proves to be no easy task. Dillinger falls in love with Billie Frechette when he meets her at a restaurant. Melvin and his men take her in so they can try to catch the outlaw, but faithful to John she refuses to tell them anything. Purvis and his men apprehend a fellow bank robber named Carroll and interrogate him to find the rest of the Dillingers' gang's location. Purvis organizes an ambush at a hotel named Little Bohemia where Dillinger is supposedly staying, but is unsuccessful when Dillinger manages to escape. So Purvis threatens one of John's friends with deportation if she is not cooperative in setting up Dillinger. She agrees and Purvis stakes out the theater where she and Dillinger are seeing a film. A thrillingly interesting crime drama; Johnny Depp plays a convincing gangster, and Bale is also extraordinary as Purvis. Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, James Russo, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi, Channing Tatum, Leelee Sobieski 8/10

Cujo (1983)

Based on Stephen King's novel, Cujo is a friendly Saint Bernard who gets bitten one day when he's out chasing a rabbit. The rabbit runs into a hole where there are bats and the dog is bitten, contracting rabies. A suburban housewife named Donna Trenton drives with her five year old son Tad to take her Pinto to Brett Cambers' (Cujo's owner) father's car shop to get it fixed. But unfortunately the car stalls out. So Donna and Tad are trapped in the broken down car with the rabid Cujo trying to get in. Although it takes a while for the tension to build, this is a very suspenseful and incredibly frightening film. Starring Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter, Kaiulani Lee, Billy Jayne, Mills Watson, Sandy Ward, Jerry Hardin, and Arthur Rosenberg 6/10

The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Millie Perkins plays Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam when she and her family are forced to go into hiding when the Nazis come to power. They also invite another family, the Van Daans to share their hiding place, a tiny annex that's above an old spice factory. Their friends Miep and Mister Kraler who bring them food and news also ask them to take in a dentist named Dussell, despite the cramped quarters and little food that they already have. During the day when the workers are in the factory they have to stay quiet and not move about, for fear that someone will hear them and they'll be arrested by the Gestapo. An emotionally heartbreaking and poignant story; with amazing performances, especially Shelley Winters as Mrs. Van Daan and Joseph Schildkraut as Otto Frank. Not taken directly from the actual diary, but from an adaptation of the Broadway play. A must see. Starring Mille Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Gusti Huber, Lou Jacobi, Diane Baker, Ed Wynn 10/10