"lawrence-of-arabia"

There’s little question that director John Ford and actor John Wayne forged one of the most successful and enduring partnerships in the history of movies.

With the gradual passing of opening movie credits, we also lost a vital element that distinguishes many so-called “classic” movies: the original music score, including a heroic, memorable opening theme. What’s the last film you remember that had a score you could hum while walking home from the theater — a piece of music you knew you'd always remember and associate with the film?

The first time I remember seeing Anthony Quinn onscreen was in 1961’s “The Guns of Navarone.” This World War 2 adventure film remains a personal favorite, and though it features solid performances from Gregory Peck and David Niven, it was Quinn who stood out for me.

The legendary Peter O'Toole's birthday is upon us, and thinking of him, part of me still can’t accept that he's really left us. The spirit of mischievous exuberance he brought to his life — and his work — somehow made me believe he could never die, even as years of carousing eroded his once startling good looks.

With families brought together for the holidays, we’re naturally drawn to evergreen movies that light up a room, the house, and the season, their very familiarity part of the aura of comfort and joy. These movies are the favorites we love to gather around, which only get better with repeat viewings.

An opening scene of a movie is like a cinematic thermometer. You take a movie’s temperature by that first scene. It holds you, intrigues you, grabs you — or it doesn’t. Though it’s true that plenty of great movies take their time building up our involvement, obviously they can’t take too long. Then there are those others that start off with a bang. It’s this latter group we’re celebrating today. Here are fifteen of our favorite movie openers, covering seven decades of filmmaking:  

The most famous quotes have become worn down with repetition: “Here’s looking at you, kid” from “Casablanca” (1942); “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” from “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” from “All About Eve” (1950). Happily, there are plenty more delightful zingers to be found in dialogue from our best movies.