Fine wines, expensive cheeses, men -- okay, maybe not men -- but the other two certainly get better with age. The same may also be true for films. In addition to the new documentaries and movies showing this weekend during the Virginia Film Festival, there will also be an array of older films. The theory is that these movies from the 1960s and 70s somehow tie in to the Festival's theme, "Injustice." Below is your guide to these films. Find out whether they too are worthy of your Film Dollars.
Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne star in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; as you might expect, it's a Western. Senator Ransom Stoddard (Stewart) returns to his hometown and recounts how he and Tom Doniphon (Wayne) killed the famous outlaw Liberty Valance. Although the incident helped Stoddard to be elected, the circumstances may not have been as heroic as publicly implied.
Inherit the Wind, directed by Stanley Kramer, is based on the court transcripts of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March star as the fictional portrayals of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, debating the legality of teaching evolution in schools.
Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man stars Henry Fonda as a working man falsely accused of robbing his insurance broker. The Film Festival's Preview Guide describes Manny Balestro's (Fonda) arrest and subsequent interrogations as "showing the maddening heartlessness of police bureaucracy," and thus reveals the corruption of the justice system.
Jimmy Stewart appears again in Anatomy of a Murder as a lawyer defending a man who murdered his wife's rapist. Although the story appears plausible on the surface, the defendant -- and his wife's reputation -- are not as convincing to the jury. Stewart's character must unravel the truth yet defend his client, no matter what that means for justice.
The Kid Brother is the sole comedy, yet it still addresses injustice. The film is silent; there will be musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton. Harold Lloyd portrays the third son in a law enforcement family who must step up to the plate when his father is accused of theft.
Possibly the most well-known film is To Kill A Mockingbird. Gregory Peck won an Academy Award for his role as Atticus Finch, a small town lawyer who defends a black man charged with rape. The story is told through the eyes of Finch's young daughter, Scout, whose innocence reveals the injustice of society and the courts.
Paths of Glory was directed by Stanley Kubrick, a sure sign that the film will try to tackle serious issues. Kirk Douglas stars as a military commander whose unit is ordered to perform a suicide mission. The film questions whether the military's actions are justified by their intentions, or if the lives of the soldiers should take priority.
The final classic film is The Ox-Box Incident. Two cowboys, Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan, join a posse to find a group of cattle thieves. The film contains allusions to the appeal of the Nazi party to Germans in the aftermath of World War I and could also be applied to the lynching mentality in the United States.
All in all, these classic films are intended to underscore the themes of the newer movies of the Virginia Film Festival. Between Westerns, dramas, comedies and loosely veiled allegories, these films offer a variety of genres. With stars such as Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, these films may also negate my earlier statement that men do not become better with age. Whatever your reason, these films are worth a second look.
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