The Ruby Throated Sparrow

“We deal in lead, friend.”

—Steve McQueen, The Magnificent Seven

Black and white movie still of the day. Another one on my “Movie Equivalents of Saturday Morning Cartoons” list. 

Black and white movie still of the day: Touch of Evil

While on the outset some elements of this film may be a bit questionable (Charlton Heston? As a Mexican? Question mark?) those are soon forgotten as you’re pulled into this deep murky story of murder and corruption at the border. From the masterful opening shot to the final nail-biting surveillance climax, this is one of the true noir masterpieces. 

Black and white movie still of the day: The Lady Eve

Because physical contact with an attractive member of the opposite sex can occasionally be very, very terrifying. 

Black and white movie still of the day: Guys and Dolls

My first memory of Marlon Brando was seeing him for a few seconds in the “MGM Musicals Collection” preview that came on before I watched The Sound of Music. It was only a moment—he sang the first few lines of “Luck Be A Lady.” Even then, seven year old me thought something along the lines of, “Hubba hubba.” Little has changed. Young Brando was one of the most beautiful people ever to grace the screen.

Black and white movie still of the day:The Adventures of Robin Hood

Some kids had Bugs Bunny and Saturday morning cartoons. I had Errol Flynn and The Adventures of Robin Hood. To this day, I am grateful to my mother for banning me from watching television shows. 

“You’re tearing me apart!”

-James Dean as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause

Black and white movie still of the day

Black and white movie still of the day: Brief Encounter

Whenever it rains, I think of this movie and hear Rachmoninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. In my opinion, one of the best opening scenes in cinema—it tells you everything while saying nothing. A beautiful poetic study of love and longing. 

Black and White Movie Still of the Day: Double Indemnity

Never has one picture summed up a movie so well. I once heard it described as “the ultimate venus-flytrap noir” and it is. You want the most fatale of femme fatales, look no further than Barbara Stanwyck as the bleached paragon of manipulative female desire luring sap Fred MacMurray towards his inevitable demise.