John Huston was one of the most important and greatest directors of the 20th Century. A two-time Oscar winner and 12-time nominee, Huston directed several of the most recognizable films in the history of cinema. Those opening sentences may seem hyperbolic, but only until you take a closer examination of Huston’s body of work. This was a man who felt comfortable in any genre and made great films. He was equally adept at the western (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Unforgiven), Film Noir (The Maltese Falcon, The Asphalt Jungle), adventure (Moby Dick, The Man Who Would be King), straight drama (The African Queen, Prizzi’s Honor), and even the family musical (Annie).

Huston worked with many of the biggest stars in the history of Hollywood, but it was his partnership with Humphrey Bogart where he did his best and most iconic work. Iconic is probably the word that best describes much of the work that Huston did. He directed more than 40 films, and picking out his best films is like an exercise in naming some of the greatest films ever made.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at seven films directed by the great John Huston that are counted among his best.

7. The Man Who Would be King (1975)

Starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer, this cinematic adventure (based on the story by Rudyard Kipling) is a great example of a story being driven by flawed heroes who we still can’t help but root for. He achieved this by making former British soldiers Carnehan (Caine) and Dravot (Connery) sympathetic. They’ve become thieves and scoundrels, but were once honorable men who felt slighted and betrayed by the nation that they fought and bled for. This betrayal is what motivates them to do the less-than-ethical things they do, and that ultimately leads to their downfall. However, their honor never fully leaves them, and ultimately, they do find a measure of redemption.

6. Moby Dick (1956)

Starring Gregory Peck and based on the classic novel by Herman Melville, with Moby Dick we again have a flawed character, but this one isn’t the hero. Captain Ahab is one of Peck’s signature roles, which is certainly saying something for an actor with such an arsenal of distinguished roles in so many great films. Of course, the character was created by Melville, but Huston and Peck were masterful in conveying the obsession that Ahab had with killing the great white whale; and how that obsession led not only to his own downfall, but to the destruction of everyone and everything around him. The story of Moby Dick has become symbolic of unattainable goals that people set for themselves which end up being detrimental to their own personal well-being. The movie itself is tense and entertaining thanks to Huston’s direction of giving Melville’s century-plus-old novel a contemporary feel.

5. Key Largo (1948)

Huston assembled some serious star power for this film. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore, this is a tense and suspenseful gangster story with the added component of adventure in the form of an impending hurricane, just to make things a little more interesting. This is also a film that goes a bit against type for Huston in that the hero goes from passive to heroic and grows throughout the story rather than regressing. Bogart is the hero of the story, starring as Frank McCloud, a WWII veteran who travels to the Key Largo home of one of his fallen comrades. While bonding with his friend’s widow Nora (Bacall) and wheelchair-bound father James (Barrymore), a group of gangsters show up lead by Johnny Rocco (Robinson), and hold them hostage. At first disillusioned by the violence he just left behind in WWII, McCloud is hesitant to confront Rocco and his gang. But as the story progresses and he sees the wickedness in Rocco and learns more of the evil he’s done, the hero inside him comes out and he saves the day. Huston took a hard look at passivism vs. action in this story and created in McCloud a truly conflicted character that made for a very dramatic adventure story.

4. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

One of the great and most recognizable Film Noir, this is a heist movie in which the heist goes as planned, but double-crosses and bad luck cause the getaway to unravel. Starring Sterling Hayden, the unraveling of the plan was a common motif in Huston’s film. We as the audience watch the plan go awry and feel it falling apart, but we still hope against hope that the perpetrators can get away with it. Also like many of Huston’s films, the protagonists of this film are anti-heroes that we shouldn’t be rooting for, but are compelled to all the same by Huston’s brilliant direction and story-telling. This gritty, uncompromising film is definitely required viewing for any Film Noir fan.

3. The African Queen (1951)

Huston teamed up with Bogart again, along with the added ingredient of Katherine Hepburn to create an adventure/drama/romance about a roguish drunkard giving a ride on his boat to a prudish old maid down the Congo River to escape from WWI Colonial Germans. The beauty in the conflict of this picture is that it’s between the two main characters who need to be allies. The brilliance in the story is how both characters, who start out as opposite extremes, come together not only, for their very survival but to love each other. The adventure combines with the romance to make the drama, and this is one of the deepest and most riveting films in Huston’s pantheon.

2. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Many experts refer to this film as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Film Noir of all time. What makes that even more remarkable is that it was Huston’s directorial debut. Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade, a private detective who becomes embroiled in a sinister plot with eccentric criminals involving the search for a priceless artifact. After his partner is killed, Spade needs to outwit crooked cops, black marketers and a stunning femme fatale to keep his P.I. license, keep out of jail, and keep him from getting killed. This film may not have had the thoughtful gravitas and thematic issues of later Huston classics, but it’s an intricately woven crime story that keeps the audience guessing while being delightfully entertaining. It also boasts another all-star cast with Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor as the femme fatale Bridget who weaves the web of deceit that pushes the story forward.

1. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Yet another partnership between Huston and Bogart, this film tops them all. Nominated for Best Picture, this film won Huston his two Oscars (Best Director and Best Writing Adapted Screenplay). This masterpiece of a film encapsulates Huston’s best motifs to a tee. We have a main character in Fred Dobbs (Bogart) who is an expatriated American out of money and down on his luck in Tampico, Mexico. He and his friend Curtin (Tim Holt) hear about the legend of millions of dollars in gold buried in the Sierra Madre Mountains from an old codger, played by Walter Huston (John Huston’s father). Together they go looking for riches. Dobbs starts out the film as a flawed but sympathetic character who exhibits honor and integrity. Greed and paranoia slowly take over as the three prospectors discover more and more gold, ultimately leading to Dobbs’ ruin. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is one of cinema’s best examples of the story’s hero devolving and ending up as the villain. It’s wonderful storytelling and is a warning against greed. The film shows that true happiness doesn’t come from vast wealth and the hunt for wealth can often lead in the opposite direction.

These films are all great and special in their own way and I didn’t even include other Huston classics like Night of the Iguana, Prizzi’s Honor or The Red Badge of Courage. What makes Huston’s films so great? There are a lot of things to talk about in this regard, but one thing that Huston did very well was to create stories with flawed characters who had flawed intentions. He also wasn’t afraid to allow the stories to go very wrong for these flawed heroes. You can call that cynical filmmaking or you can call it honest filmmaking, but one thing that it always turned out to be was compelling and entertaining filmmaking.

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy combined to create one of the great cinematic duos of all time. All told, they made nine films together, and many of them are some of the best-known of the 20th Century. Their onscreen chemistry reflected their 25-year love affair that neither could acknowledge but was perhaps the worst kept secret in Hollywood. Hepburn herself never acknowledged the affair until she released her memoir after Tracy’s wife died in 1983.

Whatever went on between these two great actors off screen only enhanced what they created onscreen. Individually each was a powerhouse actor, and individually they starred in some of American cinema’s most important films. Tracy was the driving force behind such magnificent films as Boys Town, Inherit the Wind and Judgment at Nuremberg while Hepburn’s star shined brightest in films like The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen and The Lion in Winter. Each actor brought signature elements to their performances. Tracy had an idealistic pragmatism with a sarcastic wit that could be either disarming or could cut you to the core. Hepburn on the other hand, was a torchbearer for cinematic feminism and rebelliousness that showed a generation of women filmgoers that they need not take a back seat to anyone.

When these two got together on film, their individual idiosyncrasies played off each other and created chemistry that was pure joy to watch. What’s more, when you watch Tracy and Hepburn on screen, it looks like they’re having as much fun as the audience. That chemistry translated into performances that have become classic and iconic. The reason for this is that their best work involves characters who do ordinary things, but somehow end up with extraordinary results. The characters in their films, whether they’re research librarians, reporters, athletes, or lawyers are relateable to us, and end up overcoming their struggles in realistic ways that show their true strength of character. They’re not glamorous. They’re not heroic in the traditional sense. They’re usually every day heroes with flaws, both internal and external, that allow us to walk in their shoes, suffer their failures and revel in their successes.

Any fan of classic cinema should be a fan of the work of Tracy and Hepburn. The nine films they made together may differ in genre and in style, but vary little in quality. They’re all terrific films, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll run down the top-5. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, these would be great films to start out with to familiarize yourself with their charm and their style. It’s impossible not to recommend all nine, but here are the first five that you should see. Together they demonstrate the magic that these two seemingly so effortlessly created.

5. Woman of the Year (1942)

The first film they starred in together, Woman of the Year introduced us to the motifs and idiosyncrasies that would play such a prevalent role in their work together. Playing reporters who write for the same newspaper, Sam (Tracy) is a sports reporter with traditional values and Tess (Hepburn) is a progressive feminist who wins an award for Woman of the Year. The movie gets going when they fall in love and get married, but Tess’s busy schedule leads Sam to feel neglected. Like so many of their films, this one was ahead of its time in terms of the thematic issues it dealt with. More women would be entering the work force in the coming years, and gender roles were beginning to become cloudy. Woman of the Year took a close look at how both women and men were going to have to change in order to solve this evolving dynamic.

4. Pat and Mike (1952)

Directed by George Cukor, this is another classic Tracy and Hepburn film that examines gender roles. Pat (Hepburn) is a female athletic sensation who can swing a tennis racquet or a golf club with equal ease. Mike (Tracy) is a shady sports manager who looks at Pat as a possible meal ticket before falling in love with her. One of the motifs that makes this film great is Mike’s terrific character arc from shady manager to a man who appreciates Pat for who she is. Unlike Pat’s overbearing fiancé, Collier Weld, Mike falls in love with Pat for who she is, not for who he wants her to be. Watching this relationship build as they sneak around to avoid Collier as well as jealous boxer Davie Hucko (Aldo Ray) and the mob, is as fun and entertaining as movies can be.

3. Adam’s Rib (1949)

While it’s still a romantic comedy, Adam’s Rib is one of the most dramatic films that Tracy and Hepburn starred in together. Tracy plays Assistant District Attorney Adam Bonner who is assigned to prosecute Doris Attinger (Judy Holiday), who shot her husband after catching him in an affair. He expects a quick win until the unexpected happens. Bonner’s wife, Amanda (Hepburn) is a defense attorney who feels sympathetic to Doris and takes on her case. What more dramatic situation could there be than a husband and wife on opposite sides of the same trial? Another film directed by George Cukor, Adam’s Rib contains one of the signature moments in Tracy and Hepburn’s remarkable partnership when they’re giving each other rub downs, and he smacks her backside just a little too hard. The competitive spirit between them has turned unhealthy for their relationship, and we, as the audience, fear that it could spell the end for them. Adam’s Rib is a thoughtful film that makes us examine our own preconceived ideas of right and wrong, and  that the notions of morality, ethics and legality don’t always fit neatly together.

2. Desk Set (1959)

This is another film that was ahead of its time, as it shows the dangers of automation for people and their employment. It also shows that automation might not be the panacea that many people of the time believed that it would be. Tracy plays Richard Sumner, a computer developer who is working to bring a new computer into the reference department of a television network. Hepburn is Bunny Watson, the head of that department who can recall almost any fact with ease. This film had a bit of a role reversal for them, as it was Tracy’s character who’s looking towards the future with this new technology, and Hepburn is holding on to the tried and true processes of the traditional library. Throw in a love triangle with the very funny Gig Young who plays a wanna-be executive who’s been stringing Bunny along romantically for years, as well as a jaded yet hopeful sidekick played by Joan Blondell, and you have the ingredients for a charming and funny film. And yet, it’s a film that still takes a hard look at modernization with a 50’s optimism that everything will turn out all right in the end.

1. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

The final film that Tracy and Hepburn starred in together. Tracy passed away shortly after shooting wrapped and before the film was released. Hepburn reportedly never watched the final version of it, citing that it was too painful to do so. Also starring Sidney Poitier, this film was a passing of the torch from Tracy and Hepburn’s generation to Poitier’s and it was a thoughtful and emotional film about confronting prejudices you never even knew you had. That’s just what Matt Drayton (Tracy) and his wife Christina (Hepburn) must do when their daughter Joanna returns from Europe affianced to Dr. Ben Prentice (Poitier). The two of them (but Matt in particular) wrestle with the notion of the difficulties their daughter will have in an interracial marriage before they can give their approval in yet another film that was years ahead of its time. During Tracy’s final heartfelt monologue, Hepburn can be seen shedding real tears. She knew this was Tracy’s swan song, he’d soon be gone, and she was overcome with her own emotion. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was nominated for Best Picture of 1967 and also was on AFI’s original list of the Top 100 films of all time. If you’ve never seen it, it should be high on your list.

Just saying the names Tracy and Hepburn stirs up memories and passions in many fans of classic cinema. Much of the work the two of them did individually is classic. All of the work they did together was timeless.

By Brian Smith

Now that we’re past Thanksgiving and the Christmas season is in full swing, it’s time to start talking about Christmas movies. Watching Christmas movies, especially the ones that you’ve watched every Christmas for years, is as much of a holiday tradition as hanging the lights, decorating the tree, and buying presents for your loved ones. The holiday season just doesn’t feel complete if you didn’t make time to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Inn, or (for some people) Die Hard. Another movie that firmly belongs on that list is Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

It’s not necessarily my favorite Christmas movie, although it is close to the top. Rotten Tomatoes has Miracle on 34th Street as the #2 Christmas movie of all time, trailing only It’s a Wonderful Life. It was also nominated for Best Picture, and as this film celebrates its 70th Anniversary, it is apropos to run down a list as to why it might be the prototypical Christmas movie, and definitely is the most Christmassy of the Christmas movies.

7. It Tackles the Commercialism of Christmas

As early as the 1940’s, commercialism had taken over Christmas. The holiday had lost much of its spiritual and religious roots and had become a holiday of gift-giving.  The latest toy was on the top of the list of every child and the entire day could be ruined if that toy was not wrapped under the tree come Christmas morning. Or even worse, if the store didn’t carry what you were looking for, the salesmen may have pressured you into buying something other than what you came in for.

In Miracle on 34th Street, that’s where Kris Kringle comes in. Having worked his way into playing Santa Claus at Macy’s after filling in as Santa at the famous Thanksgiving Day Parade, Kris has no problem letting a customer know that another store is carrying the item she’s looking for as the most important thing is making her child happy. When the customer tells Mr. Shellhammer, the store’s manager, that from now on she’ll be a regular Macy’s customer, the capitalists (Macy’s executives) are put in the uncomfortable position of satisfying the customer’s needs, even if it means sending them to their competition. No less a person than R. H. Macy himself directs his employees to show that they care more for the customer and less for the profits (but will incidentally make more profits than they’ve ever seen).  However, even that cynicism is trumped in the end when even Macy concedes that Kris is the real Santa Claus.

Kindness has overcome cynicism, and there is no message that has more Christmas appeal than that.

6. The Best Depiction of Santa Claus

Edmund Gwenn won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Kris Kringle, the kindly old man who convinces everyone that he really is Santa Claus. He is kindly to young Susan Walker (Natalie Wood), and opens up a whole world of imagination to her that had been shut off by her mother, Doris (Maureen O’Hara). While Doris’ intentions were good, Kris recognizes that they’re also misguided, and he does his best to show Doris and Susan that losing yourself in your imagination isn’t a bad thing. Kris also becomes fond of Alfred, the young Macy’s employee who loves to dress up as Santa Claus at Christmas.

It is Kris’ fondness for Alfred that causes him to become angry with staff psychologist Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) when Sawyer misdiagnosis Alfred and gets him to believe that he has a guilt-complex and that he hates his father. This gets Kris to hit Sawyer over the head with his umbrella, and that sets in motion the events that lead everyone to believe in Kris. It’s a moment of anger that I can’t ever recall seeing by any other Santa Claus in any other production. Gwenn and Director George Seaton gave Kris Kringle depth of character and made him feel like a real person that we can relate to as an audience. They gave him a whole range of emotions and they made him vulnerable in ways that were physical as well as emotional.

5. It Shows How Difficult It Can Be to be a Parent at Christmas

Most Christmas movies do a great job of showing how wonderful Christmas is, but not many of them show the real-life struggle that parents must go through every Christmas. Whether it’s the challenge of being able to buy everything children want, or the struggle of perpetuating children’s belief in Santa Claus, Miracle on 34th Street peels back the curtain on the myths of Christmas and how important they are to perpetuate the holiday’s popularity. If kids stop believing in Santa, then what’s the point in hanging up the stockings? If they don’t hang up their stockings, why will parents buy toys for them? If they don’t buy toys, then the toy companies go out of business and thousands of people will lose their jobs. Yes, there is a magical quality to Christmas, but that magical quality holds up a practical world that would be devastated if the magic of Christmas were to somehow disappear. With that notion in mind, Christmas is a holiday for the imagination, as well a holiday for the practical. Finding that balance as a parent is challenging to say the least, and Miracle on 34th Street at shows that conundrum better than any other Christmas movie.

4. It’s Funny without Reverting to Silly

There are some genuine moments of comedy in this film and the comedy is clever and thoughtful. We’re shown that right away when Kris sees a shop worker putting together a Santa Claus display and then points out that he’s put the reindeer in the wrong order. The very next scene shows Kris discovering that the Santa Claus in the Macy’s Parade is intoxicated as the man comically tries to work the whip. There are many other legitimately funny moments throughout, like when Mr. Shellhammer gets his wife drunk so that she’ll agree to let Kris move in with them, only to have Doris’ plan break down when her next door neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) has already invited Kris to stay with him. Kris’ interaction with Sawyer is comic gold.  The development of the District Attorney and Judge Harper and his campaign manager are gold as well. Having that balance of humor is important because….

3. It’s Sentimental without Reverting to Schmaltzy

Most Christmas movies have a lot of sentiment in them, and that sentiment quite often crosses over into the saccharine sweetness of schmaltzy. The humor does a lot to help that, but the very important messaging and thematic elements behind the story help to keep the sentiment from becoming too over-the-top. In that regard, Fred Gailey is the moral compass to this film, and he serves as archetypal Mentor to Doris, just as Kris is Mentor to Susan. Kris teaches Susan that imagination is important so that she can experience what being a child is really all about while Fred enlightens Doris that the power of faith can provide the strength to accomplish hings that would otherwise seem impossible.

2. It Somehow Makes It Plausible that Kris Really Could be Santa Claus

Maureen O’Hara, one of the great actresses of the 20th Century, gave perhaps her signature performance in this film as the cynical mother who doesn’t allow her daughter to believe in Santa Claus, but discovers the power and value of faith. She also learns that sometimes faith can be more important and more powerful than common sense; that faith can give you the fuel to believe and accomplish things when common sense says that you shouldn’t, and you can’t! That character arc allows the audience to make the leap and at least consider that Kris could be who he says he is!

It isn’t just Doris however. As more and more people start to believe that Kris could be Santa Claus for all that he is doing and all that he’s providing for them, the audience is left to wonder at the end, could he be? It might not be possible, but in the universe of this film, it’s at least plausible.

1. No Gift is Too Big and No Gift is Too Small

One of the greatest things about Miracle on 34th Street is that everyone who deserves one, gets a gift. Even Kris receives a gift from Doris in the form of her belief in him. On its face that may be a small thing indeed, but it’s as important as anything to Kris. On the other side of the spectrum, Susan tells Kris that the only way she’ll believe in him is if he can get her a house for Christmas. Her belief wanes until the very end of the film when Kris has given them directions to get back to the city, and they happen to pass by the very house that Susan wanted and it has a “For Sale” sign in front of it. The film makers did a great thing by setting a standard that seemed impossible, but then made it come true in a plausible way that made sense.

All of the above points speak to the importance of this film’s theme. All Christmas movies have some sort of thematic element to them, but Miracle on 34th Street seems to have a lot of different thematic elements playing at once. Further, these themes complement each other rather than getting in each other’s way. Yes, Miracle on 34th Street is about overcoming the over-commercialization of Christmas, but it’s also about restoring faith. It tells us that faith is more than just believing in something. It tells us that having faith can give us the strength to accomplish things that common sense tells us would be impossible. It gives us a practical reason to have faith and shows us that faith can be rewarded in tangible and practical ways. That is the true lesson of this film. It tells us to believe in something. What’s more Christmassy than that?