The Third Man - Think film noir and the odds are your mind will move to the other side of the Atlantic. But with its incredible locations, tight Carol Reed direction and stunning high-contrast photography, The Third Man is more than a match for The Big Sleep and Co. And thanks to Orson Welles, it also boasts the most charming villain and the finest cameo appearance in all cinema.
The Man Who Would Be King - I've said it before, but it doesn't get better than John Huston’s epic. Having sung the praises of Messrs Caine and Connery elsewhere on Substack, let us instead celebrate Saeed Jaffrey's performance as Billy Fish, a Ghurkha whose bravery even eclipses the endearing way in which he mangles the English language. ("Rifleman Majendra Bahadur Gurung wishing you many good lucks.")
Get Carter - Michael Caine is Jack Carter, the London-based gangster summoned back to Newcastle to bury his brother. On the train home, Carter reads Farewell My Lovely. That Get Carter is every bit the equal of the Raymond Chandler classic should tell you all you need to know about the film that gave British cinema its greatest line - altogether now, “You’re a big man but you’re in bad shape.”
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