There’s a line from a song sung by Alice Cooper called “King of the Silver Screen” that goes, “Hollywood movies keep flashing through my mind, could have been Valentino if I was born in another time.”
I have no illusions on the Valentino bit. Maybe “Fatino” would work for me; but Hollywood movies are always flashing through my mind. There are old movies that I have seen seemingly hundreds of times, yet when they come on I watch them again, every time.
I know these movies so well I can recite the dialogue. I could direct and block out the scenes, and, of course, I know the endings by heart.
Like an old friend
A good old movie is like an old friend who comes to visit. You enjoy the company and you don’t want him to leave. Have you ever used a line from an old movie in real-life conversation? I have modified dialogue and used it— “You’re a natural, but it takes more than that….” from the Robert Redford movie The Natural. Did you ever try to think up better endings to a good old movie? I have. In Top Gun I wanted “Goose” to live. I thought he was the best character.
I have seven favorite movies, and I’ll bet you have your list too. When they come on the screen they are a must-watch, no matter what. Here are my seven, in no particular order.
- The Natural with Robert Redford
- The Burbs with Tom Hanks
- Rio Lobo with John Wayne
- Joe Kidd with Clint
- Eastwood and Robert Duvall
- High Plains Drifter with Clint Eastwood
- Fracture with Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling
- American Graffiti with Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard
Those are my seven, plus every Errol Flynn movie ever made. What are yours? Hollywood movies keep flashing through my mind.
