West Side Story

1961

Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise

Starring Natalie Wood / Richard Beymer / Russ Tamblyn / Rita Moreno / George Chakiris

Running 152 minutes

In 101 Words or Less:

Gangs rule 1950s New York streets, and there’s a turf war between Riff (Tamblyn) and his white Jets, and Bernardo (Chakiris) and his latino Sharks. Tony (Beymer), the Jets’ ex-leader, hopes to stop the violence, but things get tragically complicated when he and Maria (Wood) - Bernardo’s sister - fall in love.

This glorious musical is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set to a Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score, with Robbins’ choreography, sparse sets, creative cinematography and lighting, and vivid colors.  Not only will you think you are at a play, you’ll feel like you are in the middle of the stage.

All About Eve

1950

Directed by Jopseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring Bette Davis / Anne Baxter / George Sanders / Celeste Holm / Gary Merrill / Hugh Marlowe

Running 138 minutes

In 101 Words or Less:

Eve Harrington (Baxter), an aspiring actress and obsessed fan of stage legend Margo Channing (Davis), endears herself to Margo and her tight circle of theater friends.  But when the circle is tight, it’s easier to stab someone in the back.

Told in flashback, All About Eve recounts Eve’s meteoric rise to fame as achieved through deceit, betrayal, and icy calculation, and the price everyone pays for it, including Eve herself.

All of the performances shine, but the brightest star is Oscar-winner (Supporting Actor) Sanders as the cunning theater critic.  Note: look for Marilyn Monroe in one of her first big-screen appearances.

12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men

1957

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Starring Henry Fonda / Lee J. Cobb / Ed Begley / E.G. Marshall / Jack Warden / Martin Balsam / John Fiedler / Jack Klugman / Edward Binns / Joseph Sweeney / George Voskovec / Robert Webber

Running 97 minutes

In 101 Words or Less:

Eleven jurors vote GUILTY in a death-penalty trial, and The Eleven must endure oppressive summer heat (making them like old dynamite sticks – sweating and unstable) and the will of The One (Fonda) who votes INNOCENT.

This is the perfect legal drama because there are no lawyers (meaning there is no wondering whose windbag will blow sweetest); there are only The Twelve.

The film crackles because there is no weak link in the 12-man ensemble.  The set is sparse and the conflict is quickly established, so the film must ride those 12 talents … and what a ride.  Cobb steals the picture.