Dementia 13 – Get Rekt!

Greetings, Glancers! Today I run a more critical eye over my tenth favourite movie of the year 1963, seeking to ignore my bias and provide a fair score based on the 20 criteria I feel are most important in the creation of a film. Today’s movie is Dementia 13, Francis Ford Coppola’s little seen black and white chiller.

Sales: 2. You can’t say it was a success, but it cost less the 50 grand to make. It didn’t make much at release and it hasn’t made much in home sales, so it’s either a 1 or 2.

Critical Consensus: 3. That’s a low 3, mainly due to critics re-evaluating the film after Coppola’s later successes. Critical response has always been mixed – aware of it being a low budget, Corman produced effort with plenty of issues, but that it has plenty to admire.

Director: 3. There’s clearly ability and flair on display, the use of the setting, the creation of mood, and being creative with the horror elements.

Performances: 3. A lot of Corman favourites and locals to Ireland, everyone is fit for purpose in what is essentially a cheap shocker.

Characters: 2. Even in 63, most of the characters were archetypes seen in many genres, including Gothic horror.

Cinematography: 3. It looks good for its age and budget.

Writing: 3. It’s clearly rushed and clearly dated, but again its serviceable for what the film is.

Plot: 3. There are some notable twists, but at its core it’s a mixture of Macbeth-level scheming and Gothic slasher fare, as a young woman hides the death of her wealthy husband in an attempt to get some of that sweet sweet cash.

Wardrobe: 2. It doesn’t exactly compete with more famous, bigger scope horror films of the era.

Editing: 3. Some good stuff, yes.

Make up and Hair: 3. I’ll consider the gore here, otherwise it would be another 2.

Effects: 3. Not really applicable but we’ll give it a positive 3 rather than a 2.

Art and Set: 3. Lovely setting, looks good, let down by the money.

Sound And Music: 3. I quite like the soundtrack – it follows a similar classic, yet jagged approach to Psycho but feels more Baroque and tuneful. It’s not as iconic and memorable. Good use of sound throughout, in key horror scenes, to add to the scares.

Cultural Significance: 2. In the grand scheme of things it’s mostly forgotten, but it is a Francis Ford Coppola movie and it is a Roger Corman movie so it will continue to be relevant. Other people have referenced it in their own art.

Accomplishment: 3. Any movie made under the Corman budget and timeframe is an achievement in itself, but to make one which was genuinely good and has a rewatch-ability takes it up another level.

Stunts: 3. In lieu of a N/R/A (not really applicable) we can go 2 or 3 here.

Originality: 3. Gothic horror movies were once upon a time a dime a dozen, and once we entered the post-Psycho era we began to get twists on the formula, or the setting. This isn’t massively different, except it’s less focused on the supernatural and it does have some twists.

Miscellaneous: 3. It’s a Francis Ford Coppola horror movie. He would revisit the genre decades later so it’s interesting seeing what has changed.

Personal: 3. I’d never go 5 with this, but sometimes I’d go 4. It’s a high 3 at least, but I don’t think it has enough polish or scares to reach 4. Today.

Total Score: 56/100.

Let us know your scores in the comments!

Essential Films – 1963 – Alternative View

For my original post explaining my criteria – click here!

Rules: Ten films which, in some way, show our history and culture reflected in film and  film’s growth and change as a medium. It can’t simply be your ten personal favourites of the year. One of your ten choices must be in the top 10 grossing films of the given year. One of the films must have been nominated for a Best Film Oscar (Best Picture, Best Foreign Feature, or Best Animated Feature). One of the films needs to appear in a renowned critic or magazine or book’s best 10 films of the year. These choices can’t overlap. 

1. Cleopatra (Top Grossing Film Choice)

2. The Haunting (Top Critical Choice)

3. 8 And A Half (Academy Award Winning Choice – Best Foreign Picture)

4. The Birds

5. The Great Escape

6. Jason And The Argonauts

7. From Russia With Love

8. Shock Corridor

9. The Pink Panther

10. The Sword In The Stone

Essential Movies – 1963

As promised/threatened in my spectacular viewer categorization post, I wanted to have a look at what truly classifies as essential. My main point in the post linked above is that ‘essential’ is subjective to the viewer, but if we can roughly classify viewers then we can perhaps distinguish between what is essential for each viewer type, and what is not. Now, this is not scholarly in the slightest, nor is it researched in any way aside from in my own head between 1 and 2 am when I can’t sleep. Take it with as many pinches of salt as you like, and perhaps some vinegar.

Greetings, Glancers! We’re back again to check which classic movies should be considered essential within each category of viewer. Check out my 1963 Oscars posts for more on some of these movies, otherwise lets go.

America, America

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Elia Kazan. The American Dream. Nominated for 4 Oscars, won one.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Three hours long. Old. Most would view it as foreign. Didn’t make a bunch of money so most would remember it.

What I Think: Essential only for critics and wannabees. Fans of Kazan will obviously see it, but there would be a few others to consider before this.

The Birds

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Hitchcock. Birds. You already know.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: It’s actually pretty slow and anyone expecting all out constant bird attacks may be disappointed.

What I Think: It’s The Birds. Pick five or 10 Hitchcock movies everyone should see and this will be there.

Bye Bye Birdie

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Top 15 grossing. Nominated for 2 Oscars. One of the few musicals based on rock n roll.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Dated. Musical.

What I Think: I think you know what I think, at least the music isn’t as bad as most.

Cleopatra

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: One of the most famous movies ever, incredibly expensive, highest grossing film of the year. Liz Taylor. Richard Burton. Mankiewicz.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: 4 hours long.

What I Think: It’s Cleopatra. You don’t need to know the history, the stories, or have seen the movie, but when you hear the name you probably imagine Taylor, extravagantly adorned and reclining. Essential for everyone down to movies fans, but probably too long to convince anyone else.

8 And A Half

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Fellini. Almost always near the top of any Best Foreign Film Ever list. Top 30 grossing film. Iconic. Influential. Nominated for 5 Oscars, two wins.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Old. Weird. Black And White. Foreign. 

What I Think: I’m not sure whether we can consider foreign films essential for your typical fan or casual, not matter how important it is. Essential for Critics and Wannabees, most likely essential if you call yourself a worldly film fan.

From Russia With Love

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Bond. Generally considered one of the top five, if not the best Bond.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: If you have to pick one Bond film as essential, most people would go for Goldfinger. A bit tame on the action and tension maybe for modern viewers.

What I Think: It’s not my personal favourite, not even my favourite with Connery, but it’s still Bond and therefore everyone should see it.

The Great Escape

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: One of the best ‘escape’ movies, one of the best POW movies ever, Steve McQueen, Donald Pleasance, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Charles Bronson, iconic scenes and soundtrack.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: It’s pretty long?

What I Think: I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but everyone in GB sees this, usually as a kid. It’s one of my favourite movies ever and would recommend to everyone.

The Haunting

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: One of, if not the most highly regarded haunted house movie ever.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Old, black and white. Scares will be deemed tame by modern audiences.

What I Think: It doesn’t matter how old it is, the tension is still there, the sound work is brilliant, and if you’re going to see one haunted house movie it should be this one. Essential for the usual suspects and for horror fans. Film fans and casuals in general should give it a go.

High And Low

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Kurosawa. Mifune. How many times will I say that? No Samurai here though.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Old, BW, foreign. It’s not one most people will recommend in a top 5 or 10 list of Kurosawa movies.

What I Think: It’s still Kurosawa so essential for Critics and Wannabees. Kurosawa fans should see it. Film Nerds can probably skip it, and there isn’t enough to encourage anyone else.

Hud

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Paul Newman. Top 20 grossing. Nominated for 7 Oscars, won three.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: The usual (old, BW), even though others won for their performances, most won’t care about the cast outside of Newman.

What I Think: It has some great performances, but on the surface sounds boring and may be a hard sell. Outside of Critics, Wannabees will need to see it, I don’t think it’s essential enough for Film Nerds or fans, but Newman fans will want to see it.

Jason And The Argonauts

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Harryhausen. Skeletons. Talos. Harpies.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: It’s dated.

What I Think: I love this movie – it’s one of those movies we all have where if you stumble across it on TV, you have to watch it. Critics, Wannabees, Film Nerds, Fans should all see it – I can’t see any category who wouldn’t get a kick out of it.

The Leopard

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Visconti. Burt Lancaster. Claudia Cardinale. Alain Delon. Now seen as one of the best foreign movies ever.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Old. Foreign. Long. Modern audiences won’t care about the actors or politics.

What I Think: Not a personal favourite but essential for Lancaster and Cardinale fans.

Pink Panther

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: One of the most famous comedies and comedic performances of all time. Blake Edwards. David Niven. Peters Sellers. The music. Top 15 grossing.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: The humour is heavily slapstick and many will find it dated.

What I Think: It’s The Sellers show and fans of comedy need to see it. Casuals should give it a chance.

Shock Corridor

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Sam Fuller. Cult classic.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Even among cult fans it’s not widely known.

What I Think: One for Fuller fans and those curious about cult films and interesting ideas. Horror fans should give it a go.

Tom Jones

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: 10 Oscar Nominations, 4 wins including Best Picture and Director. 4th grossing film of the year.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: Its merging of styles and comedy may feel stilted and confusing to modern viewers, the cast will not appeal to those outside of specific fans, particularly in the UK.

What I Think: It’s not my sort of thing, but you can’t deny its success and pedigree. Therefore essential for Critics and Wannabees. Fans of British comedy or the source material should see it. Probably not essential for anyone else.

The Knife In The Water

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Polanski – his first. Nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscar. 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: It’s not seen as one of Polanski’s best, despite the critical acclaim. Old. Foreign.

What I Think: You don’t get to be a movie fan without seeing a Polanski movie. However, this is likely one you’ll only get to if you see and enjoy his more famous works. Essential for Critics and Wannabees, Nerds should be aware of it, fans should give it a shot if they don’t find foreign cinema.

The Sword In The Stone

Why It Could Be Considered Essential: Disney. Still the definitive version of the story?

Why It May Not Be Considered Essential: It came during a downturn in quality and success by the Company and it isn’t highly regarded outside of its hardcore fans.

What I Think: I’ve always considered it one of my favourites but there are much better Disney films. Still, almost all Disney movies are essential for all kids so by the time you care about films you’ve already probably seen it. If you get to adulthood without seeing it, it’s not you’ll likely seek out.

Let us know which movies of 1963 you would deem as Essential for a particular audience!

Nightman’s Top Ten Films Of 1963

Greetings, Glancers! We continue my new series of posts which will detail my favourite films of every year since 1950. Why 1950? Why 10? Why anything? Check out my original post here. As with most of these lists the numbering doesn’t really matter much, though in most cases the Number 1 will be my clear favourite. As I know there are plenty of Stats Nerds out there, I’ll add in some bonus crap at the bottom but the main purpose of these posts is to keep things short. So!

10: Dementia 13 (USA)

9: The Pink Panther (USA)

8: 8 1/2 (Italy/France)

7: The Sword In The Stone (USA)

6: Cleopatra (USA)

5: The Haunting (UK)

4: From Russia With Love (UK)

3: Jason And The Argonauts (UK/USA)

2: The Birds (USA)

1: The Great Escape (USA)

How Many Of My Films Were In The Top 10 Grossing Of The Year: Three

How Many Of My Films Were Nominated For the Best Picture Oscar: One

Chart Music Through The Years – 1963

Yes! Back thanks to an almost universal lack of demand, I stretch back the scalp of time and feast upon the mushy innards of the past – in this instance I return to the UK music charts. If you’re interested, you can read my original post here – https://carlosnightman.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/the-uk-top-40/

‘I wish it was the sixties, I wish we could be happy, I wish, I wish, I wish that something would happen’. But what did happen in 1963, Mr Spindly Yorke? Things, that’s what! These things – In Asia, there were troubling rumblings in Vietnam, Japan saw it’s first Anime show hit the screens; in Europe Lamborghini was born, James Bond made his first official movie, and Hindley and Brady began terrorizing the Moors, while in the US the Civil Rights movement saw important moments amidst violence and riots with Martin Luther King telling us he had a dream, and JFK being assassinated.

In music, the world was about to be shocked into rock and roll goodness by four lads from Liverpool as The Beatles released their first singles and album, leading to a massive influx of British bands. The Rolling Stones were signed, Patsy Cline died, and both The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan released their second albums. The music industry was still dominated by old school jazz and country artists, each covering and re-recording each others’ songs, but that was all due to change thanks to the British Invasion and numerous cultural shifts across the globe. The times they were a changing. What of October’s Top 10 singles? Read on, my young Padawan.

1. Brian Poole And The Tremeloes: Do You Love Me

If it was good for Jazz and Country, then why not R’n’B? British Invasion bands were in such demand at this time that most of them supplemented their own material with covers of recent hits, this one being a fairly a standard attempt. It’s energetic and fast, but all of these covers begin to merge into one after a while.

2. Crystals: Then He Kissed Me

I’ve never heard of the group or the song from the title, but that opening riff sounds familiar. It sounds quite dated, but has a Supremes feel too. Ahh yeah, this was in Goodfellas, that’s where I recognise it from. It’s a nice enough song but pretty twee and non-eventful.

3. The Beatles: She Loves You

One of my favourites by The Beatles (I don’t think I’ve done a Favourite Beatles Songs post yet, get on that…). Glorious from start to finish, melodies, the howls, the guitar echoing the ‘yeah yeah yeah’ sound, perfect.

4. Roy Orbison: Blue Bayou

As a guitar player you’d think I’d know more Roy Orbinson songs, but I really don’t. I didn’t recognise the title of this one either, and from the opening verse I don’t think I’ve heard it. It’s a nice enough ballad, not too sure about the backing vocals, but I do like the shift in Roy’s vocals from deep to high.

5. Adam Faith: The First Time

I was expecting another slow, soft ballad, but this has some thumping percussion and growled vocals. It definitely has a rougher edge which presumably was influenced by The Beatles etc. An okay song, again nothing that is going to become lodged in my memory.

6. Trini Lopez: If I Had A Hammer

Hmm. Fast, getting something familiar from it. Wait, I thought Trini was a woman. It’s another light, catchy song. A little repetitive, but fun throughout. Seems to be some sort of protest song from the snippets of lyrics I’m picking up.

7. Gerry And The Pacemakers: You’ll Never Walk Alone

Well, obviously I know this one. As a Liverpool FC fan, we sing this song at every game. This is still my favourite version. It’s a wonderful anthem, regardless of its sporting ties, with great message and powerful melodies to really punch the emotion skywards. And of course any swelling of strings gets top votes from me.

8. The Shadows: Shindig

As a guitar player, you’d think I’d know more songs by The Shadows, but I don’t. This is good stuff, great guitars, good beat, but isn’t it a bit odd to have an instrumental song in the top 10 – in the 60s at least? Sure with Dance music being all the rage these days, and with pop music being nonsense, words are pretty much an afterthought.

9. Tommy Roe: Everybody

Another foot stomper with prominent guitar and drums. I don’t believe I know this one either. Pretty catchy again, more oohing, something which has appeared on quite a few of these songs so far. Not bad.

10. Shirley Bassey: I Who Have Nothing

A dramatic intro, with a little bit of Leone Western to it, though a few years before his big hits. Booming voice. Silence. Haunting string backing. Very nice, though this particular recording I’m listening too is of dire quality. Beast of a voice for those loud moments. There isn’t a lot to the song, and the actual vocal melodies aren’t memorable, but it’s Bassey so you know she’s going to blast it out.

So then, 1963? What do these 10 songs tell us about the year as a whole? We know Beatlemania was on the rise, and as such we have a number of Scouse written or influenced tracks, along with other British artists. We can tell it is a transitional period as many of the songs here are still hanging on to what had come before while trying their damndest to compete with the fresh young upstarts coming from the Mersey. That seems reasonable as The Beatles scored the biggest selling single of the year with She Loves You and a bunch of their other songs and songs which were influenced by them became hits while you still had traditional ballads, Swing, and Country songs stinking up da place. From a quality perspective, are these 10 songs indicative of 1963? Basically, yes – The Beatles released their first two albums which ushered in the aforementioned wave of imitators – with new bands being signed up left, wrong, and centre, and with already established artists covering their hits and trying their hand at the new sound. For an alternative Top 10 songs of 1963, have a gander at these boyos.

1. The Beatles: From Me To You
2. The Beach Boys: Surfin’ USA
3. The Rolling Stones: I Wanna Be Your Man
4. Johnny Cash: Ring Of Fire
5. Louie Louie: Kingsmen
6. Cliff Richard And The Shadows: Summer Holiday
7. The Miracles: You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
8. Boots Randolph: Yakety Sax
9. Bob Dylan: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
10. The Beatles: It Won’t Be Long

Yes, I know I cheated there with multiple Beatle entries, but what are you gonna do? My list isn’t too different from the actual Top 10 so there is plenty of good music for you to experience if you haven’t already, though as most are established hits I expect 99% of readers will know these songs inside out. As always, let us know what your musical memories of 1963 are by sharing in the comments. Which artists or songs have I missed? Do any of the tracks featured here have a special meaning for you? Let us know below!

1963 Academy Awards: Prize Summary

And so, 1963 comes to a close. Looking at my list below, there are a number of obvious winners, namely The Great Escape, Jason And The Argonauts, and How The West Was Won. Scroll down to see a possibly inaccurate summary of my picks for this year, and at the bottom my recommended viewing list!

My Winners From Official Nominations:

How The West Was Won: 5

8 And A Half: 3

Cleopatra: 2

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World: 1

Hud: 1

The Sword In The Stone: 1

The Birds: 1

Lillies Of The Field: 1

Federico Fellini: 1

Lilia Skala: 1

Rachel Roberts: 1

Mervyn Douglas: 1

Sidney Poitier: 1

My Own Nominations:

The Great Escape: 10

Jason And The Argonauts: 9

From Russia With Love: 6

How The West Was Won: 6

The Birds: 5

Cleopatra: 5

The Haunting: 4

8 And A Half: 4

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World: 3

The Sword In The Stone: 3

Dementia 13: 3

Summer Holiday: 2

The Pink Panther: 2

Lord Of The Flies: 1

Alone On The Pacific: 1

55 Days At Peking: 1

Charade: 1

The VIPs: 1

Shock Corridor: 1

The Running Man: 1

Winter Light: 1

X- The Man With The X-Ray Eyes: 1

Knife In The Water: 1

Bushido-Samurai Saga: 1

Contempt: 1

The Silence: 1

High And Low: 1

The Comedy Of Terrors: 1

Federico Fellini: 1

Alfred Hitchcock: 1

Joseph L Mankiewicz: 1

John Sturges: 1

Robert Wise: 1

Don Chaffey: 1

(John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall): 1

Lotte Lenya: 1

Claire Bloom: 1

Patricia Neal: 1

Geraldine Page: 1

Elizabeth Taylor: 1

Tippi Hedren: 1

Julie Harris: 1

Brigitte Bardot: 1

James Garner: 1

Donald Pleasence: 1

Robert Shaw: 1

Gary Raymond: 1

David McCallum: 1

James Coburn: 1

Hannes Messemer: 1

Charles Bronson: 1

Steve McQueen: 1

Sidney Poitier: 1

Richard Attenborough: 1

Peter Sellers: 1

David Niven: 1

Marcelo Mastroianni: 1

My Own Winners:

The Great Escape: 3

Jason And The Argonauts: 3

Cleopatra: 2

Summer Holiday: 1

The Haunting: 1

Shock Corridor: 1

The Birds: 1

How The West Was Won: 1

The Sword In The Stone: 1

8 And A Half: 1

John Sturges: 1

Lotte Lenya: 1

Elizabeth Taylor: 1

Donald Pleasence: 1

Steve McQueen: 1

Recommended Viewing:

8 1/2. The Birds. Bushido, Samurai Saga. Cleopatra. Dementia 13. The Great Escape. The Haunting. Hud. It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Jason And The Argonauts. The Pink Panther. Shock Corridor. The Silence. The Sword In The Stone. The Ugly American. Winter Light. X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes.

Best Cast: 1963

My Nominations: 55 Days At Peking. Charade. The Great Escape. It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. The VIPs. How The West Was Won.

There can really only be one winner here for me, although The VIPs, Mad World, and How The West Have Won each have an impressive ensemble. The Great Escape not only has an impressive ensemble, but we have some actors giving arguably their most iconic, famous, or best performances, from McQueen’s Cooler King, to Pleasance’s sympathetic bird watcher.

My Winner: The Great Escape.

http://nikolai-dante.webs.com/movieswar.htm

Let me know what your pics for the Best Cast of 1963 are in the comments below.

Best Stunt Work: 1963

My Nominations: From Russia With Love. The Great Escape. It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Jason And The Argonauts. How The West Was Won.

Some great stunt performances this year, with How The West Was Won and It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World providing plenty of thrills. However, my other three nominations contain a number of iconic moments in movie stunt history- Russia has the flying man intro, Jason has the skeleton fight and more, while Escape has the motorcycle jump. It’s a tough call. My winner though is:

My Winner: Jason And The Argonauts.

More than just a sword fight, we have a series of action scenes on a large-scale with performers high diving off ships, avoiding giants, chasing harpies, and taking part in assorted Olympian games. It’s a classic action adventure film with tonnes of memorable stunts. Ralph Faulkner, one of the greatest swordsmen of Western movies (The Three Musketeers, The Thief Of Bagdad) and Eddie Powell (Batman, Aliens, multiple Bond movies) earn the plaudits.

Let me know your picks for the best Stunt of 1963 in the comments below!

Best Writing (Adapted): 1963

Official Nominations: Tom Jones. Lillies Of The Field.  Captain Newman MD. Hud. Sundays And Cybele (magically appearing two years in a row).

My Winner: Hud.

 

My Nominations: The Birds. From Russia With Love. The Haunting. Jason And The Argonauts. The Sword In The Stone. The Great Escape.

Lots of great films missed out on nominations this year, most notably The Birds and The Haunting which took strong original material and added many dimensions for the big screen adaptations. The Great Escape pumped a lot of fun into what was obviously in reality a desperate situation, whilst Jason And The Argonauts remains 50 years later the definitive screen version of the story. My winner though, thanks to Hitchcock and Hunter’s deft touches and psychological handling of the source is The Birds, another winning combination between Hitchcock and Du Maurier.

My Winner: The Birds.

Let us know what your picks for the Best Writing (Adapted) award are in the comments below!

Best Writing (Original): 1963

Official Nominations: How The West Was Won. 8 1/2. America, America. Love With The Proper Stranger. The Four Days Of Naples

While 8 1/2 is the more visionary and original film, I’m always fascinated and awed by epics – every facet of a true epic which spans generational time spans is appealing to me, from a pure entertainment viewing standpoint, to its creation. Without strong writing and characters and epic would be four hours of torture, but when you have engaging writing, memorable quotes, and characters you yearn to see more of, then you’ll have a winner in my books. How The West Was Won is a winner. Elia Kazan’s vanity project America, America is also epic in scope and earned him multiple nominations, including Best Writing, while Arnold Schulman’s Love With The Proper Stranger deals with tough topics but doesn’t hit any peaks. Four Days Of Naples is an interesting enough Italian film, but again doesn’t stir anything in me with regards to writing.

My Winner: How The West Was Won.

 

My Nominations: Dementia 13. Winter Light. Summer Holiday. Shock Corridor. The Running Man. It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. How The West Was Won. 8 1/2.

Sam Fuller was always ahead of his time, and with Shock Corridor he perfects the horror/crime cliché of ‘man goes to asylum to uncover murder case’, both writing and directing skilfully. Dementia 13 shows a young Coppola’s flair, Winter Light is full of Bergman’s venom against religion, Summer Holiday remains popular to this day in Britain, whilst Mad World and The Running Man are good examples of pacing when it comes to writing chase thrillers and adventures.

My Winner: Shock Corridor.

Let me know your picks for Best Original Writing of 1963 in the comments below!