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Yooooooo!! I want to say that 1967 was the shit for some great films. Honestly, this was a great year. I was looking at all the films that came out and was amazed by the amount that made this one of the most groundbreaking years in cinema. This year changed many things with stories that were told and the way the world moved. So many great quotes came from this year in film. Here is to the great year of 1967.
In the Heat of the Night
“They call me, Mr. Tibbs!” One of the greatest lines and quotes comes from this murder mystery film starring the legendary and great Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. It tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a black detective caught up in a small racist town in Mississippi investigating a murder. One of the best friends of the year that is intense, has great acting and the theme song sung by the great Ray Charles. Definitely one of the best films of the year and maybe decade.
Bonnie and Clyde
“This here’s Miss Bonnie Parker. I’m Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.” Bonnie and Clyde is one of those films that glamorized the couple and their spree. It is a film that many gangster lovers will like even though the couple were really gangsters. The film put a stamp on movie history by depicting strong violence and some of the best visual effects. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway truly brought to life the two criminals on the screen. Beatty was that charming, cool, smiling Clyde, while Dunaway was beyond beautiful.
Cool Hand Luke
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” One of the best quotes ever spoken in movie history. Cool Hand Luke is a great film and fantastic all around starring ole blue eyes himself, Mr. Paul Newman. The central theme is the rise of Luke in prison to becoming an idol. Homeboy comes in with a charming smirk and spends one day in the chain gang and was like, I can make this place better. Dude eats 50 eggs in an hour and has the belly to show for it. He annoys the hell out of the warden who throws out the famous line. Things end tragically but this was a fun and excellent film of the year.
The Graduate
“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?” One of the best films ever made and regarded as one of the most influential in movie history, this film is a comedy, dramatic and romance film all rolled into one. The film stars the great Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock who just graduated from college and is seduced by Mr. Robinson, an older woman and then he falls in love with her daughter. This film is funny all around with Ben clappin those cheeks but also wanting to be with the daughter. Sounds crazy? I know it does, but you will enjoy it and one scene has been parodied repeatedly. The film also has the classic Simon & Garfunkel’s song, “Mrs. Robinson.”
The Dirty Dozen
“It’s a lousy war. This is a lousy prison. And you have a lousy future.” This is one of my dad’s favorite films. The film has an ensemble cast with Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini Lopez, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Clint Walker and Robert Webber. In this WWII film, it follows a group of military convicts who are trained by the Allies to go on a suicide mission before D-Day. This film is filled with violence, action and hopefully cheers if you want to see the men survive.
The Jungle Book
“Oh, oobee doo. I wanna be like you.” How can you not love the Jungle Book? It is one of the best, iconic and classic Disney animation films in my eyes. It was the last film made by Walt Disney himself and he made sure that soundtrack was absolute FIRE. A story about Mowgli, who grows up in the jungle and is hunted by Shere Khan while his friends Bagheera and Baloo help him navigate to the man village. The story is great but once again, that soundtrack was absolute FIRE. The Sherman Brothers brought it with song like “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You.”
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
This film should be commended, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. As someone who has been in quite a few interracial relationships, this one speaks to me. Starring legends Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poiter, Katharine Hepburn and Hepburn’s niece Katharine Houghton, this film was the first of its time. It was the first to depict an interracial marriage in a strong, positive light. Remember, interracial marriages were illegal in 17 states until June 12, 1967. This film is great as Poiter’s character comes to dinner with his bride to meet her parents and how everyone tries to come to terms with the situation. This is a must watch film of the year.
Wait Until Dark
You want a great psychological thriller that is home invasion, then look no further than this film. Starring the beautiful and legendary Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman who is terrorized and haunted by three men who think she had a doll filled with drugs in her apartment. The story is good, intense and was voted as the 55th greatest thrill film by AFI. Hepburn’s performance carries this amazing film and even garnered her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Award.
El Dorado
This isn’t the El Dorado made of gold. A western film starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, it is a story where Cole Thornton, a mercenary aka gun for hire, rolls up into El Dorado for one job only to switch sides and join his homie, Sheriff J.P. Hara. This is a high quality and entertaining western film. John Wayne and Rober Mitchum do their thang in this tough and humorous film where people will be shot down like a dawg. This is a definite watch.
Barefoot in the Park
Robert Redford and Jane Fonda star as an unlikely pair who got married with Paul being a conservative lawyer and Corie being a free spirit. Even though the love each other, things become contentious when they rent their first apartment with some crazy neighbors. The film is not grand as it is one of those romantic films that might make you roll your eyes but it is held together by the chemistry between Fonda and Redford.
