Ten Lists of Ten Films For Your MLK Day Enjoyment

His Girl Friday

Regular readers of this blog (Jezebel Jabberwocky of Weed, CA) may recall that last Memorial Day I provided ten lists of ten films in various categories. Much to everyone's chagrin this has become regular holiday feature. Subsequent installments have appeared on this site on Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day and most recently on Boxing Day. A ninth installment will be posted on President's Day. Meanwhile, please enjoy my Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday lists. 

My Ten Favorite Films of the 1940s

1. His Girl Friday (1940) Hawks

2. Rome, Open City (1945) Rossellini

3. Casablanca (1942) Curtiz

4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Huston

5. Foreign Correspondent (1940) Hitchcock

6. Sullivan’s Travels (1941) Sturges

7. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) Capra

8. The Third Man (1949) Reed

9. The Talk of the Town (1942) Stevens

10.The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Ford

The Lady Eve

My Ten Favorite Films Starring Barbara Stanwyck

1.The Lady Eve (1941) P. Sturges 

2. Double Indemnity (1944) Wilder

3. Meet John Doe (1941) Capra

4. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) Godfrey

5. Ball of Fire (1941) Hawks

6. Baby Face (1933) Green

7. The Furies (1950) Mann

8. Banjo On My Knee (1936) Cromwell

9. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) Litvak

10. Remember the Night (1940) Leisen

My Ten Favorite Films Featuring  a Best Actor Oscar Performance

1. The Lost Weekend (1945) Wilder— Ray Milland

2. Hamlet (1948) Olivier — Laurence Olivier

3. Stalag 17 (1953) Wilder — William Holden

4. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Lean — Alec Guiness

5. The Godfather (1972) Coppola — Marlon Brando

6. Network (1976) Lumet— Peter Finch

7. Raging Bull (1980) Scorsese — Robert DeNiro

8. Philadelphia (1993) Demme — Tom Hanks

9. Milk (2008) Van Sant — Sean Penn

10. Manchester By the Sea (2016) Lonergan — Casey Affleck

City Lights

My Ten Favorite Films Directed by Charlie Chaplin

1. City Lights (1931)

2. The Gold Rush (1925)

3. Modern Times (1936

4. The Great Dictator (1940)

5. A Woman of Paris (1923)

6. The Kid (1921)

7. The Circus (1928)

8. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

9. Shoulder Arms (1918)

10. A King in New York (1957)

My Ten Favorite Films Starring SNL Alums

1. Groundhog Day (1993) Ramis — Bill Murray

2. Trading Places (1983) Landis — Eddie Murphy and DanAckroyd

3. Animal House (1978) Landis -- John Belushi

4. Palm Springs (2020) Barbakow -- Andy Samberg

5. Skeleton Twins (2014) Johnson — Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader

6. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) Roach — Mike Myers

7. Elf (2003) Favreau — Will Ferrell

8. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) P.T. Anderson — Adam Sandler

9. Mean Girls (2004) Waters —  Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tim Meadows and Ana Gasteyer

10. Stripes (1981) Reitman — Bill Murray

Ten Terrific Films With Great Portrayals of Real People

1. The Aviator (2004) Scorsese Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett)

2. Raging Bull (1980) Scorsese Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro)

3. Milk (2008) Van Sant Harvey Milk (Sean Penn)

4. Amistad (1997) Spielberg John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins)

5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Sharon (2019) Tarantino Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie)

6. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Lumet Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino)

7. Zodiac (2007) Finchner Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.)

8. All the President’s Men (1976) Pakula Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman)

9. Malcolm X (1992) S. Lee Malcolm X (Denzel Washington)

10. Downfall (2004) Hirschbiegel Adolph Hitler (Bruno Ganz)

2001: A Space Odyssey

My Ten Favorite Films With a Number in the Title

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

2. The 39 Steps (1935) Hitchcock

3. 8 1/2 (1963) Fellini

4. Three Days of the Condor (1975) Pollack

5. Seven Samurai (1954) Kurosawa

6. Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) Hill

7. 12 Angry Men (1957) Lumet

8. Stalag 17 (1953) Wilder

9. The 400 Blows (1959) Truffaut

10. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Newell

Ten Favorite Films in Which a Main Character is a Teacher or Professor

1. Election (1999) Payne -- Matthew Broderick

2. Animal House (1978) Landis -- Donald Sutherland

3. Half Nelson (2006) Fleck --  Ryan Gosling

4. Dead Poet’s Society (1989) Weir -- Robin Williams

5.  Rushmore (1998) W. Anderson -- Jason Schwartzman

6.  Manhattan (1979) Allen -- Michael Murphy

7.  A Serious Man (2009) Coens -- Michael Stuhlbarg

8.  Mean Girls (2004) Waters -- Tina Fey

9.  Wonder Boys (2000) Hanson --  Michael Douglas

10. Notes on a Scandal (2006) Eyre -- Cate Blanchett

Do the Right Thing

My Ten Favorite Films for Black History Month

1. Do the Right Thing (1989) Lee

2. Malcolm X (1992) Lee

3. Glory (1989) Zwick

4. Boyz N the Hood (1991) Singleton

5.  Amistad (1997) Spielberg

6.  12 Years a Slave (2013) McQueen

7.  Moonlight (2016) Jenkins

8.  Blindspotting (2018) Estrada

9.  Get Out (2017) Peele

10. Mudbound (2017) Rees

Ten Great Films Featuring a Character Who’s A Drunk

1. Holiday (1938) Cukor — Lew Ayres

2. Stagecoach (1939) Ford — Thomas Mitchell

3. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Figgis -- Nicholas Cage

4. City Lights (1931)— Harry Myers

5. The Lost Weekend (1945) Wilder— Ray Milland

6.  The Philadelphia Story (Cukor) — Roland Young

7. The Verdict (1982) Lumet — Paul Newman

8. The Way Back (2020) O'Connor — Ben Affleck

9. Arthur (1981) Gordon — Dudley Moore

10. Days of Wine and Roses (1962) — Jack Lemmon