Do you ever think about watching one of those old black-and-white movies, but then you realise how utterly boring it would be? I mean, come on, the best film ever made is a fictional biography of a newspaperman in the 1940s. How boring is that? Well, if you're not one to watch a three-hour film on Exodus 20, here are some of the best pieces of twentieth-century entertainment that are still just as relevant and funny as they ever were. I'll even rank them in order of recommendation.
10. My Favorite Husband was a radio show in the 1940s starring Lucille Ball, who would later play Lucy in the famous TV show I Love Lucy. Her radio show, however, was alot quicker with the jokes, and it relied much more on spoken word comedy, whereas I Love Lucy had alot of physical comedy. If you want a 25-minute pick-me-up to your day, definitely look up My Favorite Husband. Most if not all old-time radio shows are available online for free, and the great thing about radio shows is that you can multitask without missing anything.
9. Brigadoon was a 1950s film by Gene Kelly, a famous tap-dancer and actor. He's the guy from Singin' in the Rain. Brigadoon is also a musical, and the plot is about two lost hikers who stumble on a forgotten town that, under an ancient curse, only appears for one day every one hundred years. Gene's character falls in love with a girl in that town, and there you have it: the makings of a great film. It's a largely overlooked and sadly obscure film, but it's one of my favourite musicals out there. And it's not in black-and-white, so that's a plus, right?
8. War of the Worlds was an episode of the radio show Mercury Theater that aired in 1939. It's an hour-long show that is an extremely loose adaption of H.G. Wells' book by the same name. The incredible thing about the show, though, is that the whole thing is structured like a series of news reports, and it was so successful that the audience who heard it live thought it was real and that aliens had actually landed in New York. The first fifteen minutes are really slow, but that sets the stage for the unrealistically quick succession of events after that. I highly recommend giving it a listen.
7. Crime Traveller was a short-lived television series that aired in the 1990s, and it's just about the most interesting eight episodes of a detective show I've ever seen. The main characters are a police detective and a scientist, and the crimes are always solved by going back in time. The really interesting thing, however, is that often there are clues at the crime scene at the beginning of an episode that are caused by the detective and scientist when they had gone back in time; they just don't realise it yet. Confused? It's a marvelously brain-twisting show and totally worth the time to watch.
6. Adventures by Morse was another 1940s radio series that alternated between 10-part and 3-part mysteries. It's pretty creepy, and it's fascinatingly engaging. There are a few different mysteries in the series, and most of them are incredibly intriguing. Definitely try this one out if you get the chance.
5. I Love Lucy was a 1950s television series that starred Lucille Ball, who I mentioned earlier starred in My Favorite Husband. The show was filmed live, but you'd never guess it save for the audience's laughter. I've seen alot of live shows in my days, but this one is by far the most impressive. The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Odd Couple-- they're all good shows, but they don't come close to the stunts I Love Lucy pulled off. If you've never seen this show, you're truly missing out, and you ought to remedy this conundrum as soon as possible.
4. One Week is a 20-minute theater short starring Buster Keaton from sometime in the 1920s (I'm not going to go look it up just now). In the film, Buster's character has just gotten married, and they are left a house by the bride's father, but little do they know it's a build-it-yourself house. You have no idea what was possible in 1920s cinema until you've seen this short, and it's insanely hilarious.
3. Speed Gibson of the International Police was a 1940s radio serial that covered one consecutive story for 188 episodes, each 15 minutes in length. Not only is this show engaging, it's also full of action. How is an action radio show possible, you ask? It's pretty cool to hear unfold, and there's alot of aerial dogfights and chases through cities and stuff. And explosions. There's plenty of explosions. Considering radio shows had live sound effects done in the studio, this show is immensely impressive.
2. Our Hospitality is a silent comedy by our pal Buster Keaton, and this one is a parody of the famous Hatfield and McCoy battle, but in this story, Buster's character, who is from one of these families, falls in love with a girl from the other family, and doesn't find out who's family she's from until he's in her house. With her dad. And brothers. And lots of guns. You're really going to like this one if you like comedy, action, romance, or people jumping over waterfalls.
1. The General is my favourite film of all time. It was released in 1926 and stars Buster Keaton, who was the second most famous of the silent comedians (Charlie Chaplin was the most famous, of course). Yes, this is a silent film, but if you find a version with a good soundtrack, the film really comes alive. Keaton was adamant about using as few word cards as possible in his films, and this one has far more comedic action than words to read. The entire film is essentially a locomotive train chase during the Civil War, based on a real event. It's a brilliant film, and always worth watching. And hey, you can comment on it as much as you want, and nobody will tell you to shut up because they can't hear the movie.
