Nightman’s Top Ten Films Of 1967

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: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (USA)

9: The Fearless Vampire Killers (USA)

8: In The Heat of The Night (USA)

7: Bonnie And Clyde (USA)

6: The Graduate (USA)

5: Cool Hand Luke (USA)

4: Wait Until Dark (USA)

3: The Dirty Dozen (USA)

2: The Jungle Book (USA)

1: You Only Live Twice (UK)

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

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

Best Cast – 1967

My Nominations: Bonnie And Clyde. The Dirty Dozen. Casino Royale. The Graduate. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. In The Heat Of The Night.

Only one large/traditional ensemble this time around, with The Dirty Dozen featuring a cast of established heavy hitters, stars of the day, and up and comers. We have the top brass led by the likes of Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, and Lee Marvin who recruit such luminaries as John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas and more. Many of the names above give performances which have become cult favourites and it is interesting to see the various stars interact. Casino Royale also features a large cast, with many cameos, but the majority of parts are minor though still add to the overall charm – Peter Sellers, David Niven, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, and Woody Allen lead the way. The remaining films have a more condensed cast where each actor has a bigger role to chew on – Bonnie And Clyde sees Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, and others alongside the central pairing of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway while The Graduate features Dustin Hoffman struggling through love, life and boredom with Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross, and Murray Hamilton. Sidney Poitier stars in the final two films, alongside Katerine Hepburn, Spencer Tracey, and Katherine Houghton in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner and Rod Steiger and Warren Oats in In The Heat Of The Night. This is a very difficult one to call as each of the nominated films have stellar casts, by and large given terrific performances  -each is as deserving of a win as the next.

My Winner: Bonnie And Clyde

Which of the above movies do you think has the Best Cast – or which movie of 1967 that I missed has a better cast? Let us know in the comments!

Best Music (Scoring): 1967

The category this year was again divided into two – Best Original Score, and Best Original Song or Adaptation Score which makes less than zero sense. I’ll pick my winner from each of the Official categories, but for My Nominations I’ll be merging them.

Official Nominations (Original): Thoroughly Modern Millie. Cool Hand Luke. Doctor Dolittle. Far From The Madding Crowd. In Cold Blood. (Adapted): Camelot. Doctor Dolittle. Thoroughly Modern Millie. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. Valley of The Dolls.

Bernstein won for Thoroughly Modern Millie, an suitably light and jaunty soundtrack which is reminiscent of the theme for TV series Bewitched and immediately evokes light and fluffy ideas of single women shopping and giggling. It’s not terrible, it’s just not great. Ironically, this was to be his only Oscar win. Schifrin’s soundtrack for Cool Hand Luke is clearly stronger, being poignant and sad, perfectly suited to the actions on screen. Merging lonely guitars with traditional big string surges, harmonica, and speedy news report-esque fills, it’s an oft forgotten work which transcends the time in which it was written. Bricusse’s soundtrack for Doctor Dolittle sounds like a cross between a cartoon from the 30s-50s and an old weepy romance. There are beautiful moments which float along, but the whole package lacks than big hook or two to tie it all. Similarly, Bennett’s work on Far From The Madding Crowd is quite lovely, acting as a strong emotional piece to the film itself, but again (narrowly) loses out when searching for the ever elusive killer theme. Jones’s soundtrack for In Cold Blood instantly grabs you and drags you along on a heart-pumping ride. Merging light Jazz moments with rushing, galloping drums, it is an archetypal theme for a thriller.

My Winner: Cool Hand Luke

My Nominations: Cool Hand Luke. Far From The Madding Crowd. In Cold Blood. You Only Live Twice. The Graduate. The Jungle Book.

I add three films which really should have received official nominations.George Bruns’s score for The Jungle Book may be overshadowed by the songs written for the movie, but there is still enough in the incidental pieces to warrant a nomination. The same can be said for Dave Grusin’s score for The Graduate. Finally, John Barry’s score for You Only Live Twice is likely his finest work in the Bond Universe, merging oriental flavours with the more familiar Bond tones and themes to create something striking and memorable.

My Winner: You Only Live Twice

Let us know i n the comments what film of 1967 you feel has the best soundtrack!

Best Music (Song): 1967

Official Nominations: Talk To The Animals – Doctor Dolittle. The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book. The Eyes Of Love – Banning. The Look Of Love – Casino Royale. Thoroughly Modern Millie -Thoroughly Modern Millie

1967 is one of the greatest years in the history of music and unsurprisingly had a number of fantastic movie songs – nominated and otherwise. Nevertheless, we get a couple of ill advised selections. The Eyes Of Love is an early Quincy Jones effort, a crooning ballad which sounds out of place given the year it was written. Thoroughly Modern Millie is thoroughly awful. Talk To The Animals is silly yet charming and has a killer hook, it’s unfortunate so much of the song is spoken. The final two songs are vastly superior to the other nominees, with The Bare Necessities being one of Disney’s finest and The Look Of Love being sexy, smooth, crystalline.

My Winner: The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book.

My Nominations: The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book. Talk To The Animals – Doctor Dolittle. The Look Of Love – Casino Royale. To Sir, With Love – To Sir, With Love. I Wanna Be Like You – The Jungle Book. Mrs Robinson – The Graduate. You Only Live Twice – You Only Live Twice. Magical Mystery Tour – Magical Mystery Tour.

I add a few further timeless tracks to the three official picks. Another Jungle Book classic which is infectious and will make your day better. Another Bond song makes it over, with You Only Live Twice being one of my favourite Bond songs. Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson is of course another classic, Magical Mystery Tour is a strange late in the day Beatles song, and Lulu’s To Sir, With Love is a fine, forgotten song – though I do prefer the Susanna Hoffs version.

My Winner: I Wanna Be Like You – The Jungle Book.

What is your favourite movie song from 1967? Let us know in the comments!

Best Make-Up – 1967

This was another year where the Make-up Category did not exist, so the the below nominations are entirely my own selections.

My Nominations: Beach Red. Bonnie And Clyde. The Fearless Vampire Killers. Frankenstein Create Woman.

Not a stellar year for make-up and there are no obvious standouts or leap forwards when compared with the progress in acting and storytelling seen this year. The various films nominated basically were selected for expanding visual gore and other visceral elements, but none of them are particularly powerful or memorable from that perspective.

My Winner: Frankenstein Created Woman

Which film of 1967 has the Best Make Up? Let us know in the comments!

Best Art Direction: 1967

Official Nominations: Camelot. Bonnie And Clyde. The Taming Of The Shrew. Doctor Dolittle. Thoroughly Modern Millie. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.

Another unsurprising win for Camelot given the competition it was up against.

My Winner: Camelot

My Nominations: Camelot. Bonnie And Clyde. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. You Only Live Twice. Casino Royale. Wait Until Dark.

Three new movies make it to my list, with You Only Live Twice being one of the most visually ambitious and memorable Bond movies, and a movie whose scope in sets remains almost unrivaled today. Casino Royale has its own look and feel apart from the main Bond series, and Wait Until Dark uses its central set wisely to twist the nerves and heighten the claustrophobia – it could be your home!

My Winner: You Only Live Twice.

Which movie of 1967 do you think has the Best Art Direction? Let us know in the comments!

Best Costume Design: 1967

Official Nominations: Camelot. Bonnie And Clyde. The Happiest Millionaire. The Taming Of The Shrew. Thoroughly Modern Millie.

It’s difficult to argue with the official winner this year, Camelot brimming with colour and flair.

My Winner: Camelot

My Nominations: One Million Years BC. You Only Live Twice. Camelot. Belle De Jour. Le Samourai.

Indeed, Camelot is the only official nominee which survives the cull and makes it over to my nominations. One Million Years BC, Le Samourai, and Belle De Jour both contain iconic costumes, while You Only Live Twice is one of the few Bond films which seems to show a genuine appreciation for wholesale costume.

My Winner: Belle De Jour

Which film of 1967 do you think has the Best Costume Design? Let us know in the comments!

Best Writing (Adapted) – 1967

Official Nominations: In The Heat Of The Night. Cool Hand Luke. The Graduate. In Cold Blood. Ulysses.

Stirling Silliphant picked up the win this year for his adaptation of John Ball’s novel, including a number of lines and scenes which would be seen as important for the Civil Right’s Movement in the 60s. Featuring its own famous one-liner’s is Donn Pierce and Frank R Pierson’s adaptation of Pierce’s own novel Cool Hand Luke. Throw in the obvious Christian imagery with Luke being beaten down and sacrificing himself, as well as a surprising amount of realistic violence and anti-authoritarian statements and we have another strong entry. Keeping close to the source material is Calder Willingham and Buck Henry’s take on The Graduate, by Charles Webb, and although there are plenty of humorous lines and moments the power of the film is in its performances. It takes a brave person to tackle Joyce’s Ulysses, but Joseph Strick and Fred Haines give it their best shot using predominant dialogue from the novel, but the film isn’t particularly memorable. Capote’s tale of theft and murder In Cold Blood is brought to the big screen by Richard Brooks who, unlike the other nominees this year, makes several important changes from the source which pay off successfully.

My Winner: Cool Hand Luke

My Nominations: Cool Hand Luke. In Cold Blood. In The Heat Of The Night. The Jungle Book. The Dirty Dozen. You Only Live Twice.

I add three movies to my list – Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller adapted E M Nathanson’s successful novel, making several key changes and splitting the movie into more clearly defined acts, while Roald Dahl essentially abandoned most of Flemming’s original novel and crafted a unique Bond tale in You Only Live Twice. Finally, a host of writers came together to cut down Kipling’s set of stories into a simple story of man and animal, though keeping plenty of the darker tone in place.

My Winner: Cool Hand Luke.

Let us know in the comments which movie you think has the best Adapted Screenplay of 1967!

Best Writing (Original) – 1967

Official Nominations: William Rose (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner), David Newman, Robert Benton (Bonnie And Clyde), Robert Kaufman, Norman Lear (Divorce, America Style), Jorge Semprun (The War Is Over), Frederic Raphael (Two For The Road).

William Rose was the official winner this year, his screenplay for Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner showing a lighter comedic touch than his previous offerings. Altogether less subtle and light is Kaufman and Lear’s Divorce American Style which offers strong satire but feels dated now. Jorge Semprum’s nomination seems like an unusual choice – decent script but a film which few will recall now, and Raphael’s work on Two For The Road is a bold choice but deserved giving the ingenuity of the storytelling on offer. My winner though goes to Newman and Benton’s riproaring Bonnie And Clyde, one of the finest examples of twisting the truth to tell a new tale.

My Winner: Bonnie And Clyde.

My Nominations: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. Bonnie And Clyde. Two For The Road. The Fearless Vampire Killers. The Firemen’s Ball. Le Samourai. The Shooting.

I have added a selection of four movies to my personal nominations, a mixture of satire, farce, crime, and existential drama, with my winning vote going to Polanski and Gerard Brach’s The Fearless Vampire Killers.

My Winner: The Fearless Vampire Killers

Which movie of 1967 do you think has the Best Original Screenplay? Let us know in the comments!

Best Cinematography: 1967

Official Nominations: Bonnie And Clyde. Camelot. Doctor Dolittle. In Cold Blood. The Graduate.

An unsurprising mix of movies make the cut this year, with Bonnie And Clyde picking up the official win, Burnett Guffey ensuring that his experience of shooting noir films gave a certain edge to the proceedings. Both Camelot and Doctor Doolittle look stunning but are let down in other areas by being too generic. The shooting of authentic locales with black and white photography gives In Cold Blood a unique look while The Graduate manages to capture a moment in time which remains both timeless and fixed.

My Winner: Bonnie And Clyde.

My Nominations: Bonnie And Clyde. Doctor Dolittle. In Cold Blood. The Graduate. One Million Years BC. Le Samourai. The Fearless Vampire Killers. The Shooting.

I’ve added a few unlikely but worthy picks for my personal nominations, with perhaps the most obvious being One Million Years B.C – a film known for iconic visual moments rather than plot, acting, or direction. The Mediterranean beaches are transformed into realistically threatening pre-historic vistas and as a child watching we never doubt that what we’re seeing isn’t real. The rarely seen The Shooting has a stylized vision which few Westerns have emulated while Le Samourai went on to be highly influential. Finally, The Fearless Vampire Killers is a bizarre mixture of surreal dreamlike imagery and Hammer style atmospheric shots.

My Winner: The Fearless Vampire Killers.

Which film of 1967 do you feel has the Best Cinematography? Let us know in the comments!