Arthur Gingold's Favorite Movies

Today is my father Arthur's birthday. He was the one who brought me to see my first movie when I was three years old. It was The Golden Seal, and apparently after twenty minutes I said, '' I had enough of that seal. '' And then he took me for donuts. So here's a list of his favorite movies. They are in year order.

1963 - THE NUTTY PROFESSOR

Jerry Lewis wrote, directed and starred in this spoof of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Lewis plays Julius Kelp, a university chemistry teacher. He's socially awkward and lives alone with his talking bird Jennifer. He develops a crush on his student Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens). Being too shy to talk to her, he retreats to his lab and creates a chemical concoction that transforms the nerdy professor Kelp into Buddy Love. Lewis plays the two roles light years apart. Kelp is meek and bumbling, while Love is cool and confident, though quite obnoxious. Buddy Love winds up being funnier than Kelp. I especially like the scenes when he orders the bartender to make an Alaskan Polar Bear Heater and when he tricks the Dean into performing Hamlet on his desk in his underwear. Stevens is also great looking puzzled and exasperated as she tries to figure out the real story behind the elusive Buddy Love. The movie comes to a surprisingly emotional climax as Buddy transforms back into Kelp in front of everyone at the school dance, and Julius explains why he did what he did and what he learned. While the film does contain Lewis' brand of slapstick, it's also an intelligent comedy about appearances and self esteem.

1976 - ROCKY

Sylvester Stallone's first Rocky movie is less about boxing and more of a love story. Stallone wrote and starred in this Oscar winner about a down on his luck boxer who is given a shot at the world heavyweight title by the current champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). The bulk of the movie focuses on Rocky's relationship with shy pet store worker Adrian played very quietly by the wonderful Talia Shire from The Godfather movies. Other standouts in this great cast are Burt Young as Adrian's gruff brother Paulie, and Burgess Meredith in an iconic performance as Rocky's bitter manager Mickey. When we finally get to the big fight, we have spent so much time getting to know and love Rocky, that we are rooting for him all the way. It's a great sports movie no doubt about that, but it's also a great character study and a sweet romance.

1978 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE

This is one of those funny comedies where there is just one classic scene after another. The plot is pretty simple, the goofballs of Delta house at Faber College butt heads with rival fraternity the Omegas and angry Dean Wormer played with hilarious seriousness by John Vernon. Of course the movie is best remembered for the energetic performance of the late John Belushi who bounces about the film like a walking set of hormones. The rest of the cast is also filled with great characters such as Tim Matheson's smooth talking Otter, Stephen Furst's naive Flounder, Mark Metcalf as the sadistic Neidermeyer and even a cameo from Donald Sutherland as a pot smoking literature professor. Some of the best scenes are the zany toga party, the accidental death of a horse, and Bluto peeping on the sorority from his ladder. After it's over you'll say,  '' Thank you Sir may I have another. ''

1981 - RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

This adventure from Steven Spielberg is a non stop thrill ride. Harrison Ford plays the now iconic Indiana Jones, an archeology professor who is tasked with retrieving the biblical ark of the covenant before the Nazis get their hands on it. Jones gets a feisty love interest in Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood. Ford brings a gritty down to earth approach to character which really grounds the proceedings in all their fantastic ridiculousness. When we finally get to the movie's climax and the ark is opened, things start to get supernatural, but we don't mind Because of everything that came before it. It's a fun movie that picks you up and doesn't let go until the closing credits.

1985 - BACK TO THE FUTURE

Back to the Future has got to be one of the most intelligently written blockbuster films. It has a well thought out plot with very defined characters and a wacky sense of humor. The story follows teenager Marty McFly who's helping record his scientist friend Doc Brown's new experiment, a time machine. When terrorists show up, Marty is forced to get in the time machine and winds up thirty years in the past. Unable to get the machine started again, Marty is stuck in the past. He goes to find Doc but not before running into his parents as teenagers. Michael J. Fox is funny and winning as Marty and Christopher Lloyd brings a wild eyed mania to Doc. Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover are perfect as the awkward parents, as is Thomas F. Wilson as the bully Biff. The special effects, stunt work and orchestral score are all amazing, combining with a great script and superb acting to create one of the best science fiction films in movie history.

1986 - STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME

Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew return for the funniest of the Star Trek movies. The story revolves around an alien probe that threatens to destroy Earth. It's determined that the only beings capable of communicating with the probe are humpback whales which have been long extinct. This sends the crew on a journey back in time to Earth in the 1980s to find two humpback whales. This leads to some hilarious fish out of water comedy in which our futuristic heroes must blend into 80s culture. My favorite line is when Scotty picks up a computer mouse to his mouth, saying '' Hello computer? ''  In Star Trek III, Spock was reborn on the planet Genesis, so here he is still quite child like and Nimoy is very funny, especially when he dives in with the whales. It's a fun break from the usual sci fi seriousness of Star Trek.

1988 - RAIN MAN

Rain Man stars Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt, who after his father dies, discovers that he has an autistic brother Raymond played by Dustin Hoffman. The selfish Charlie is furious when he learns that his father left all his money to Raymond so he takes Raymond out of his institutional home to collect his inheritance. Because Raymond refuses to go on an airplane, they are forced to drive cross country, giving Charlie a chance to get to know his brother. While Dustin Hoffman's spot on portrayal of autism is what won him the Oscar for best actor, it's Tom Cruise's remarkable transformation from selfish prick into caring brother, that really stood out for me. The two actors work wonderful together as Charlie learns to become a better person and Raymond learns how to adjust to life outside of the institution.

1994 - FORREST GUMP

This unique comedy - drama from director Robert Zemeckis shows the changing face of America through the eyes of a simple minded man. Tom Hanks creates a very specific character in Forrest, a man whose child like innocence allows him to endure the horrors of war and the tumultuous changes of 60s and 70s. Forrest is supported throughout the years by his loving mother played with pluck by Sally Field ; his war buddy Bubba played by Mykelti Williamson who dreams of nothing but shrimp ; and Lt. Dan played by the wonderful Gary Sinise who lost his legs in the war and becomes Forrest's loyal friend. But it's Forrest's love for his childhood friend Jenny played by Robin Wright that keeps him going through the years, even when they're apart. Zemeckis manages to put Forrest into seminal moments in history by incorporating archival footage with special effects, allowing Tom Hanks to interact with John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and John Lennon. What carries the film though is the incredible performance by Hanks, letting us laugh and cry as Forrest tries to find his place in the world.

1994 - LEGENDS OF THE FALL

This is a sweeping family saga set during WWI. It's the story of three brothers (Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas), their no-nonsense father (Anthony Hopkins), and the woman who comes between them all (Julia Ormond). It has big themes of family loyalty, jealousy, romantic longing and guilt. The outdoor cinematography is beautiful and the music score is memorably haunting. It's a beautiful film about love and the power of family.

1999 - THE GREEN MILE

Frank Darabont's follow up to The Shawshank Redemption is another Stephen King period drama set in a prison. Tom Hanks plays Paul Edgecombe, a prison guard working on the death row cell block known as the green mile. His world is changed forever when a new prisoner arrives, the gentle giant John Coffey who has been sentenced to death for the murder of two young girls. Coffey is a most unusual prisoner in that he's so nice to everyone, he's afraid of the dark, and it becomes soon apparent that he has supernatural powers. Coffey heals Paul's urinary infection, cures a woman with cancer and even brings a dead mouse back to life. Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan are wonderful as the two leads as are the amazing supporting cast including David Morse, Michael Jeter, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell and James Cromwell. The ending is both heartbreaking and haunting in its biblical Connotations and in the utter humanity of characters.