Lost at Sea: My Isle of Golden Dreams

(WXYZ) - So here I am, stranded on a desert island--"No phones, no lights, no motor car, not a single luxury"--except I was smart enough to pack a TV set, a DVD player, and my all-time favorite movies. (How I'll play them without electricity is fodder for a future article.)

Anyway, thank goodness for the movies, huh? Even though I'm marooned on a lifeless atoll with no Starbucks or Wendy's, I can still be transformed to barren North Africa, Cold War Berlin, or the 20th Century Limited. And that's why I thought it might be fun (and also inspire debate) to share with you the 10 films I would take with me on a desert island.

My criteria for this little pastiche is simple: these are movies that: a.) I always stop and watch when I'm surfing the dial at home; and b.) These are also movies I could probably watch, for one reason or another, every single day of my life if I could.

So, with that said, here is my list (in alphabetical order), with a brief commentary, release date and name of the director):

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) William Wyler

I only discovered this movie a few years ago after reading a biography on Wyler--can you believe it? This story of three soldiers returning to the home front after serving in World War II is as good as it gets, from start to finish. Fredric March is the anchor of this marvelous acting ensemble, with Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy keeping up stride-for-stride. Harold Russell plays Homer, the sailor reuniting with his sweetheart Wilma, but Homer's now a double-amputee, having lost both arms in an explosion at sea. Wyler cast Russell after he saw an army training film called "Diary of a Sergeant" that Russell had appeared in about the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen. This bold decision by Wyler to bring Russell into the fold gives the movie tremendous authenticity. Audiences in 1946 were certainly not accustomed to seeing on the screen a man with hooks for hands, yet nearly everyone back then knew someone who served in the armed forces and could relate to their return, wounded or not.

There are so many memorable scenes in "The Best Years of Our Lives," such as when Al (March) surprises his wife and children by returning home a day early; the wedding scene at the end of the picture (notice what Wyler does with the camera--it's enthralling); and all the scenes with songwriter/actor Hoagy Carmichael, who plays Butch, the tavern owner and Homer's uncle. (In a scene at Butch's bar, Homer asks Butch if he would play a song for him. "How about 'Lazy River?'" Homer asks. "Remember that?" Hoagy Carmichael, in real life, composed "Lazy River.")

In summary, all I have to say is don't wait as long as I did to see "The Best Years of Our Lives." The story is just as pertinent today as it was 60 years ago.

Bringing Up Baby (1938) Howard Hawks

The quintessential screwball comedy of all time, the plot of this madcap tale of an heiress named Susan (Katharine Hepburn) falling in love with a paleontologist named David (Cary Grant) is so fluffy it nearly dissolves into the rarefied air. Fortunately for us (and Susan and David), there's just enough substance for plot resolution as the credits roll. Although "Baby" was a financial flop for RKO when it was released, it is among the favorite films of Hepburn and Grant fans today.

Susan (Hepburn), a scatterbrained young woman, takes a shine to Dr. David Huxley (Grant), a sober fellow engaged to be married to someone else and intensely interested in the arrival of the "intercostal clavicle" bone required to complete construction of a brontosaurus at the museum in which he works. Susan suddenly finds herself responsible for Baby, a tame leopard shipped to her New York apartment and intended for Susan's aunt in Connecticut. The plot thickens when George the Terrier steals the intercostal clavicle and buries it, Baby escapes, and an untamed leopard escapes from a circus convoy (resulting in a twist on the mistaken identity ploy). It may not sound hilarious on paper, but trust me, if you have not seen this movie before, you're in for a treat. Director Hawks had a deft touch for comedy, and he guided the performances of Grant and Hepburn so they would not go too far off the beaten path. A fine supporting cast of veteran players delivers the goods, too. One bit of trivia for you; other than the opening and closing title credits, there is no music score in the movie, which is odd for a film of that period.

Casablanca (1942) Michael Curtiz

"We'll always have Paris." "Here's looking at you, kid." "Round up the usual suspects." Is there any more quoted or referenced movie on the planet than "Casablanca"? The classic love story between Humphrey Bogart's Rick and Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa is as timeless as one's first kiss. And funny! Who knew "Casablanca" was so funny? On the movie's 50th anniversary, it was shown at Detroit's Fox Theatre (along with an organ prelude, coming attractions for 1942 and a cartoon). With over 2,000 in attendance, the audience howled at some of the film's dialogue:

Captain Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.

Huge howls! I guess it gets funnier with a lot of people watching, because that exchange of dialogue brought the house down.

I love "Casablanca" from the moment it starts, with the big Warner Bros. shield, the dramatic music, the "voice of God" narration, and the first shots of Rick's Cafe Americain.

In World War II Casablanca, Rick (Bogart), exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. Rick comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault (Claude Rains) does what he can to please him, including detaining Czech underground leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Much to Rick's surprise, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa (Bergman), Rick's one time love. Rick is very bitter towards Ilsa, who ran out on him in Paris, but when he learns she had good reason to, they plan to run off together again using the letters of transit.

"Casablanca" is brilliantly directed by Michael Curtiz, who helmed all kinds of movies in a career spanning 49 years--from Cagney in "Angels With Dirty Faces" to Crosby in "White Christmas" to Elvis in "King Creole." The supporting cast is right on target, and you'll be humming "As Time Goes By" all day after seeing this gem.

Cops (1922) Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton on the run, with 500 policemen chasing him. Enough said.

The Godfather (1972) Francis Ford Coppola

The greatness of this movie has been discussed and rehashed for years, and the careers it launched--Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall--and the career is rejuvenated--Marlon Brando--is stuff of legend.

The Godfather: Part II (1974) Francis Ford Coppola

Add Robert De Niro to the list of discoveries. Greatest sequel ever. Let's go to the mattresses.

Holiday Inn (1942) Mark Sandrich

Bing Crosby is the greatest entertainer in the history of show business. Period. Facts? OK:

-Bing was the first full-time vocalist ever signed to an orchestra.

-He made more studio recordings than any other singer in history.

-He made the most popular record ever, “White Christmas,” the only single to make American pop charts twenty times, every year but one between 1942 and 1962. In 1998, after a long absence, his 1947 version hit the charts in Britain.

-Between 1927 and 1962 he scored 368 charted records under his own name, plus twenty-eight as a vocalist with various band leaders, for a total of 396. No one else has come close; compare Paul Whiteman (220), Frank Sinatra (209), Elvis Presley (149), Glenn Miller (129), Nat “King” Cole (118), Louis Armstrong (85), the Beatles (68).

-He scored the most number one hits ever, 38, compared with 24 by the Beatles and 18 by Presley.

-Between 1915 and 1980 he was the only motion-picture star to rank as the number one box-office attraction five times (1944-48). Between 1934 and 1954 he scored in the top ten fifteen times.

-He was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor three times and won for “Going My Way”.

-He was a major radio star longer than any other performer, from 1931 until 1954 on network, 1954 until 1962 in syndication. His "Kraft Music Hall" show attracted more than 40,000,000 listeners each week, Super Bowl numbers in today's TV ratings.

-He appeared on approximately 4,000 radio broadcasts, nearly 3,400 of them his own programs, and single-handedly changed radio from a live-performance to a canned or recorded medium by presenting, in 1946, the first transcribed network show on ABC – thereby making that also-ran network a major force.

-He financed and popularized the development of tape, revolutionizing the recording industry.

--Courtesy, "A Pocketful of Dreams' by Gary Giddins

If you're still not convinced, watch this little gem of a movie, where Crosby is at the height of his talent and power as a Hollywood mover-and-shaker. Co-starring Fred Astaire (nothing needs to be said here), and with a score by Irving Berlin, "Holiday Inn" is great fun any time of the year.

North by Northwest (1959 Alfred Hitchcock

The ultimate "chase" movie, Hitchcock's gem stars Cary Grant as Madison Avenue advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill, who is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies. He gets involved in a series of misadventures and is pursued from New York to Chicago to Rapid City, South Dakota, by both the spies and the government while being helped by a beautiful blond (Eva Marie Saint).

Again, there are several memorable scenes in "North by Northwest," like the auction, the chase atop Mt. Rushmore, the drunken car chase, and the crop dusting scene (I timed this once, and the scene runs about 7 minutes with no dialogue. Only Hitchcock was so bold to try something like this).

One, Two, Three (1961) Billy Wilder

You may be asking why, of all the great Billy Wilder films from which to choose, I would pick this one? The answer probably lies with James Cagney and his over-the-top but always hilarious performance as the head of operations for Coca-Cola, West Germany, 1960. Watching this movie, you would think it must have been great fun to make, but apparently that was not so. Cagney hated co-star Horst Buchholz, who played his chief adversary, Otto. In his autobiography, Cagney says that Buchholz was uncooperative and tried all kinds of scene-stealing moves, which Cagney depended on Wilder to correct. Had Wilder not firmly directed Buchholz, Cagney said that he "was going to knock Buchholz on his ass, which at several points I would have been very happy to do". Wilder also made Cagney do dozens of takes of a scene because Cagney kept saying "coat and striped pants" instead of "morning coat and striped pants." Is it any wonder that 'One, Two, Three" was Cagney's last movie for 20 years?

McNamara (Cagney) is Coca Cola's man in Berlin. He is selected to mind his boss's southern belle daughter, Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin) while she is in town. She secretly marries a good looking communist from the Soviet sector, Otto (Buchholz), and gets pregnant. McNamara has to repackage Scarlett's husband as a desirable match when her parents arrive unexpectedly. This was billed as "The Fastest Comedy Ever" when it was released, and Otto's makeover scene is proof of that. If you like your laughs to come at you fast and furious, this is the movie for you.

Schindler's List (1993) Steven Spielberg

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is a vain, glorious and greedy German businessman who becomes unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. A testament for the good in all of us. Spielberg's masterpiece that was more than 10 years in the making. A must-see for everyone.

Well, that's my argument. What's yours? Send us your Top Ten list, and let the debates begin!

Pete Misiak is an award-winning news anchor and reporter at WJR-AM 760 and is also a member of WXYZ.com's Web Team. A former Big Band singer with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, Pete earned membership into Actors' Equity Association in 1982 and has appeared in over 60 productions as an actor and performer.