LAST FILM FIRSTS (T-Z)

Brad Pitt in THELMA & LOUISE (1991) First time I noticed him and was impressed
Everyone in THELONIOUS MONK: STRAIGHT NO CHASER (1988) First time I saw, off the bandstand, the interaction between Monk and other musicians—a master class in jazz with a genius of the art
War-torn Vienna in THE THIRD MAN (1949) When I first saw this film at seven, I knew it was unique, it has only become more so with time
Robert Donat in THE 39 STEPS (1935) Another early Hitchcock lesson in how to balance humor and suspense
Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942) First pairing of these two, my favorite movie stars as a kid, and still are in this, and THE BLUE DAHLIA (is that on dvd yet?)
Everyone in THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984) Still the best “mockumentary”
Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway in THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975) First movie to expose the dirty dealings of secret government organizations as the impetus for a great boy-meets-girl story, with much help from their odd chemistry
Raquel Welch in THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1974) First time she impressed me, in a fun flick full of terrific performances
The Fords in THUNDER ROAD (1958) First movie to feature car(s) as stars, at least to teenagers at the time, and Robert Mitchum was pretty cool too
William Saroyan’s writing in THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE (1948) James Cagney’s honorable attempt to capture the magic of Saroyan’s play intact—unlike the Hollywood adaptation of Saroyan’s novel THE HUMAN COMEDY—but a failed attempt alas
“The people” in TO DIE IN MADRID (1965) Solid documentary about the Spanish Civil War includes crowds giving the Loyalist fist salute early on and giving Franco and his followers the Facist salute at the end
Lauren Bacall in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944) Her inimitable debut
Albert Finney in TOM JONES (1963) Still a pretty face, but a consummate actor already, in what seemed a metaphor for the sudden sexual liberation “the pill” ignited
Dustin Hoffman in TOOTSIE (1982) His half-in-drag performance was a revelation in one of the best-written boy-meets-girl screenplays ever
TOP HAT (1935) May be Astaire/Rogers best—my introduction to the comedy of mistaken identities as a kid
Matthew Broderick in TORCH SONG TRILOGY (1988) Broderick was in the play, only fifteen or so, when I first saw it downtown around ’81, before it became a smash, I was thoroughly impressed by his understated style, already a very fine actor
Robert Blake and Bogart in TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) Didn’t understand the power of Bogart’s performance when I saw this as a kid, it was the first time I saw him play scary demented, but I recognized the kid actor Robert Blake as the Mexican boy in the opening
James Dunn in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945) Though a little overdone, okay sometimes a lot, still, as a kid, this take on Irish drunks and immigrants hit home, especially Dunn as the alcoholic father
Brian Deacon in TRIPLE ECHO (1973) Overlooked and underrated movie, amazing in its originality and performances, especially from Deacon, who transforms himself like no one else had through the arc of the story, has to be seen to be believed, one of Oliver Reed’s and Glenda Jackson’s best as well
Rebecca De Mornay in TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL (1985) Proved the breadth of her talent, as well as beauty, after making her mark as the hooker in RISKY BUSINESS, another unfortunately undervalued actor
Half the cast of 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) I felt very sophisticated getting the power of this drama when I was fifteen, and impressed by the acting from half a cast I’d never seen or noticed before
Carole Lombard in TWENTIETH CENTURY (1934) I grew up near the tracks and always loved trains, and movies that take place on them—this was the first I remember seeing Carole Lombard in, and getting how terrific she was
Everyone in 28 UP (1985) The first one I caught in the ongoing series of true-life stories unfolding over seven-year periods, under the direction of Michael Apted, they’re all riveting
Richard Tyson in TWO-MOON JUNCTION (1988) You’ll have to wait for me memoirs for the whole story, [or see VENICE CA (1980S) in IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE] —the short version is: originally to be filmed years earlier with a different title and me in the role Tyson did, with an older cast playing characters in their thirties and older, but just before filming started the financing pulled out, then it was revived after Hollywood discovered the “youth demographic” and movies were rewritten for casts in their teens and twenties. There’s a lot more to it, but like I said…
Everyone in THE WANDERERS (1979) I objected to the treatment of the Irish in the novel and the movie adaptation, but the cast was terrific, almost all of whom I never saw before, except for Karen Allen, beautiful and memorable, as always
Redford and Streisand in THE WAY WE WERE (1973) Who would have thought of them together? Maybe you still don’t, but their competing styles of acting—and being—worked perfectly for their characters, the scene where he passes out on top of her and she’s lying there staring at the ceiling I can’t imagine anyone doing better
Nick Nolte in WEEDS (1987) I knew he was a powerful screen presence, but this is the movie where I got he was a great actor, the love scene after his character gets out of prison is worth the whole movie, I’ve rarely seen anything as brilliantly realistic as his reactions in that scene
George Chakiris et. al. in WEST SIDE STORY (1961) One of my favorite musicals, miscast on the white gang side and Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican, though they all give it their best shot and ultimately I think it works, since you have to suspend so much sense of reality for musicals anyway, but Chakiris and his gang, as well as Rita Moreno and the Latinas, brought something new and vibrant and stylish to the screen for that time, and it was needed, still is
Hayley Mills and Alan Bates in WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (1961) No, this is the first time I saw him, but both were a revelation in this beautiful parable, another overlooked and underrated perfect film
The animation-human mix in WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988) After leaving the theater in Hollywood and driving home down Sunset Boulevard, I couldn’t keep the cars and lights from morphing into cartoons, keeping me jittery all the way home
Burton and Taylor in WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) Scary the way they seemed to not be acting, it made you wonder if this was what their relationship was really like, first show-biz, glamour couple to seem so exposed in their work
Ernest Borgnine in THE WILD BUNCH (1969) More than a decade after he first impressed me in MARTY, and seemingly having sold out to TV and shlock, he is the best thing in this movie full of powerful performances, especially from the aging movie stars William Holden and Robert Ryan, but Borgnine makes it all real
Lee Marvin in THE WILD ONE (1954) First time I remember seeing him, holding his own in the face of Brando’s revolutionary acting style
Gene Wilder in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971) An unexpected portrayal that only gets more interesting with time
Bruno Ganz and Peter Falk in WINGS OF DESIRE (1988) Inspired by Rilke, co- authored by Peter Handke, directed by Wim Wenders and starring one of my favorite film actors, Bruno Ganz—plus Falk breaks out of the straight jacket of his mannerisms to become real in a way I never saw before—what a wonderfully original movie
Ray Bolger and Burt Lahr in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) An incredible performance by a child actor of any time, Judy Garland makes the movie, but Bolger and Lahr impressed me most as a kid, their commitment to their two-dimensional storybook roles shows, though Lahr later regretted always being associated with the Cowardly Lion, in my book, he should be grateful
Gena Rowlands in WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974) One of the most original and strangest performances on film, the first time I realized how much she towered over other actors
Norma Shearer in THE WOMEN (1939) First time I got her leading a cast of great performances—but every time I see it I’m surprised again that there are no men, their presence is felt in the dialogue so powerfully, it’s hard to recognize their actual physical absence
Everyone in WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1988) First Almodovar film I saw and was giddy with delight for days after
Lisa Eichorn in Yanks (1979) A mixed bag, but she was moving and beautiful and I was sorry she didn’t go on to become a big star
Streisand in YENTL (1983) First and only time I saw a woman pushing middle age play a young boy, which maybe didn’t work so well, but what other “artist” would have the moxie to try it—if it was a performance piece on the downtown Manhattan scene she would have been cheered for breaking taboos and female stereotypes and taking risks etc.
The housemates in YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) First movie I saw that reflected some of the variety in my own household and neighborhood as a kid

Phew, that was a little too much of a compulsive thing, but at least now I can throw that 1995 movie guide out, and replace it with a current one, hmmmmm…