50 Underappreciated Movie Gems To Get You Through Shelter-In-Place

As the coronavirus continues to threaten all aspects of our lives, this week movie theaters were one of the last entertainment venues to fall as most cinemas in the US, and in deed around the world, closed their doors. That has left movie fans, who had been awaiting the spring and summer tentpole films, suddenly with an entertainment void.

As we have seen, most film lovers who attend movies at their local multiplex also tend to watch content on streaming as well. As it does not appear that the pandemic will subside anytime in the coming month(s), people who devour films and streaming content on a regular basis are starting to run out of fresh material. One can only watch reruns of The Match Game so many times.

With that in mind, it might be a good time to dig back into the movie vaults to help in some small way get everyone through this period of self-isolation. The list below includes 50 underappreciated films which span the beginning of the movie business to more current fare. It is obviously not a complete list and is wholly subjective but rest assured there are some real cinematic diamonds in there, films you may or may not have heard of and probably haven’t seen unless you’re a true classic movie fan.

These aren’t the best 50 or the most awarded 50, just a solution to those going through shelter-in-place who are already bemoaning that “there’s nothing to watch”.

Off we go in alphabetical order.

THE 400 BLOWS (1959) – Director Francois Truffault’s drama about a young boy’s descent into petty crime is the perfect introduction to the French New Wave and post-war French culture. Jean-Pierre Leaud stars.

84 CHARING CROSS ROAD (1987) – Based on the book from Helene Hanff, this understated little film lovingly depicts the relationship between a New York writer (Anne Bancroft) and the manager (Anthony Hopkins) of a small London bookstore located at, you guessed, it 84 Charing Cross Road.

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964) – The first film from the Fab Four is a delirious thrill ride, packed with some of the group’s most famous songs and just a hint of The Beatles’ mischievous side (John Lennon’s attempt to “snort” a bottle of Coca Cola comes to mind). Roger Ebert said it best when he called the film, “One of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies.”

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) – The more famous Duck Soup could have been slotted here but this Marx Brothers classic actually provides more laughs from start to finish. Plus you get the great Kitty Carlisle, yes the Kitty Carlisle from TV’s To Tell The Truth.

ABOUT A BOY (2002) – Nick Hornby’s poignant and sublimely hilarious novel is brought to life by the Weitz Brothers and is propelled by the finest performance of Hugh Grant’s career as a financially secure deadbeat living off the royalties of the one hideous Christmas song his father wrote. Enter Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) who turns his life upside down. Rachel Weisz and Toni Collette are along for the ride.

BEST IN SHOW (2000) – A motley crew of show dog owners descend upon Philadelphia and bring their disfunctional idiosyncrasies with them. That might not immediately sound like a yuck-fest but thanks to the comic genius of Christopher Guest, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, and the uproarious Fred Willard, Best in Show is quite simply the Citizen Kane of dog show movies. You’ll never claim you have two left feet again.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945) – A married woman meets a stranger at a railway station and struggles with temptation in post war England. Yes, that’s the synopsis. Having said that, the film is stunning in its simplicity and brilliantly acted by Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard and meticulously directed by David Lean. Yes, the David Lean who also did the epics Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge On the River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago.

THE CAINE MUTINY (1954) – Fearing their captain’s mental instability, a ship’s crew takes command of the vessel, resulting in the group’s court martial. The military trial that follows is great theater and showcases the acting talents of Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Jose Ferrer and a backstabbing, pre-My Three Sons Fred MacMurray.

CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) – A film most remembered for its surprise Oscar win and its Vangelis score, Chariots of Fire transcends traditional sports films and takes a thoughtful, compelling look at two runners from distinctly different backgrounds and faiths as they compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm and Nigel Havers star. One note, you’ll want to run on the beach immediately after the end credits.

THE CRYING GAME (1992) – So much more than “that scene”, this taut IRA thriller directed by Neil Jordan stars Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker, Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar, Miranda Richardson and Jaye Davidson as Dil. This could be the only time you’ll ever see Dunbar on screen not uttering the phrases “bent copper”, “fella”, or “like the wall”.

THE ENDURANCE (2000) – One of the most awe-inspiring documentaries ever made. Liam Neeson narrates this enthralling look at Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated voyage to Antarctica in 1914, told through interviews with surviving members of the crew’s family and Shackleton’s photographer Frank Hurley’s stunning black and white pictures. The ultimate tale of human survival.

FAIL-SAFE (1964) – A lesson in good acting, Sidney Lumet’s Cold War drama finds Henry Fonda as a US President struggling with a global nuclear crisis. The quintessential “What If?” movie, Fail-Safe also stars Walter Matthau and TV’s J.R., Larry Hagman, as Fonda’s Russian language translator.

GASLIGHT (1944) – It’s not often a film becomes a verb but George Cukor’s psychological drama follows Charles Boyer as he tried to convince (gaslight) wife Ingrid Bergman that she’s going insane. Joseph Cotten and Angela Lansbury, in her movie debut, co-star.

GIRLFIGHT (2000) – Karyn Kusama’s directorial debut stars Michelle Rodriguez, also in her film debut, as a teen boxer from Brooklyn. We feel like we’re watching both the star and the director battle their way as women in a predominantly man’s world. The film is ragged and jittery but its lack of perfection is what makes it feels so legitimate and honest.

GOING MY WAY (1944) – Most of us think of Bing Crosby as Bob Hope’s straight man on the road to somewhere exotic or the host of a PGA tour stop. But, as the US was knee deep in the horrors of World War II, Bing was a reassuring voice, both on record and on screen. In this Leo McCarey light comedy/drama, Bing plays a priest in a hardscrabble neighborhood dealing with a dwindling flock and a past-his-prime senior priest, played by Barry Fitzgerald with his usual twinkle-in-the-eye.

GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939) – Robert Donat stars as a meek, reserved teacher at an English boys school who strikes gold in the form of new wife Greer Garson, who brings Donat out of his fortified shell. Bring tissues.

GOODNIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) – In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy ran rampant through the country, claiming all sectors of American life were being run by Communists, whipping the nation into what was known as The Red Scare. Two men, newsman Edward R. Murrow and producer Fred Friendly, brought McCarthy’s insanity directly to a national audience on CBS, ultimately bringing the Senator to his knees. David Strathairn plays Murrow to perfection and the film includes an all-star cast of co-stars in George Clooney (who also directs the film), Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella and Jeff Daniels. Absolute perfection and filmed in glorious black-and-white.

GRAND HOTEL (1932) – A mere five years after the advent of “talkies”, Grand Hotel brings together a veritable who’s-who of acting in the first few decades of the film business in a cast which includes Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, and Jean Hershold.

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) – Another film that has been defined by one particular scene, this time it’s Steve McQueen trying to jump over barbed wire in a motorcycle. But this WWII escape thriller is expertly crafted by director John Sturges and features the likes of James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Australian-accent-challenged James Coburn, claustrophobic tunnel-digger Charles Bronson, and a blind Donald Pleasance

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967) – There were several Sidney Poitier movies to choose from here but coupling the star with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn was too good to pass up. Yes, the film may feel a bit whitewashed these days but it’s difficult to comprehend how revolutionary it was to watch these three stars on the screen together at the time. Side note, Tracy died shortly after filming and watching the movie we can see the strain on the actor’s face as he understands his time is growing short.

HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) – Sherlock Holmes movies were a mainstay with audiences throughout the 30s and 40s and this effort is clearly the best of the bunch. The great Basil Rathbone stars as Holmes with Nigel Bruce as the lovable but bungling Watson. The film is a pretty decent Holmes mystery thriller and the Dartmoor atmosphere is played to perfection.

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941) – Director John Ford’s look at a Welsh mining “company town” stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, and a young Roddy McDowell who will bring even the most hardened moviegoer to tears when he calls out “Daaaa!” as the town mine collapses. Side note #2-In one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history, this film beat out movies like Citizen Kane and Maltese Falcon for Best Picture in 1942.

IN BRUGES (2008) – After accidentally killing a child, two hitmen go on the run in Belgium. As wonderful as Colin Farrell is as the childish Ray, the movie belongs to the doomed Brendan Gleeson who knows that this trip to the historical town is his swan song. Equal parts hilarious, gut-wrenching, savage, and surprisingly touching, the film is one of the best of the last 15 years.

JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON THE I.R.T. (1992) – Director Leslie Harris left her job working at an advertising agency to write this story about a Brooklyn girl determined to step out of her surroundings and go to medical school. The story is far from innovative but the film is told with such love for its main star, played by Ariyan Johnson, and its message that it’s one of the most honest films of the 1990s. Interestingly, Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. was the second, and last, film that Harris would direct.

KEY LARGO (1948) – One of two films on this list that hit the self-isolation mother load, John Huston’s atmospheric thriller finds Bogie and Bacall (yep, just like the song says), gangster Edward G. Robinson and cantankerous Lionel Barrymore trapped inside a run-down hotel during a hurricane in the Florida Keys.

THE LADYKILLERS (1955) – One of the great Ealing Studios comedies, five bank robbers posing as musicians rent a room from an unsuspecting but meddling old woman. This time hilarity actually does ensue. Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and his future Pink Panther co-star Herbert Lom star.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) – Probably a film you’ve been meaning to watch but never found the time. No excuse now. David Lean’s masterwork about British colonel T.E. Lawrence’s quest to unite the diverse Arab tribes against the Turks in WWI is sumptuously filmed and features a top-of-their-game cast which includes Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Claude Rains, and the great Peter O’Toole in the title role.

LEON (1994) – Originally titled The Professional, Luc Besson’s taut hitman thriller pits Jean Reno and a young Natalie Portman against on-the-edge dirty cop Gary Oldman in one of his finest, and most frightening, roles. Thought the middle third does lag a bit, the last 20 minutes is as tense and exciting as a film gets.

LOCAL HERO (1983) – Bill Forsyth had a string of delightful films about life in Scotland during the 1980s but Local Hero is by far the best. Peter Riegert plays a Houston oil man sent to a remote Scottish village to negotiate a refinery deal. He hadn’t planned on a colorful and shrewd group of locals hell bent on grabbing the most they can out of Knox Oil and Gas. Burt Lancaster, Denis Lawson and Dr. Who himself, Peter Capaldi, co-star. A truly delightful film.

LOVING VINCENT (2017) – I’m generally not a fan of “gimmick” movies so an oil painting animation film—yes you read that right—didn’t exactly pique my interest when it first came out. But Loving Vincent is nothing short of a technical masterpiece and a film with a great deal of love for its subject. When Lianne La Havas sings “Starry Starry Night” over the closing credits you’ll immediately forget the Don McLean original.

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) – Film Noir at its finest. Humphrey Bogart plays private detective Sam Spade navigating his way through a collection of shady characters all looking for a priceless statue. Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet co-star with Bogart one year before they would reteam on a little film called Casablanca.

MONSIEUR HUBLOT (2013) – This brilliant blink-and-you-missed-it short film finds an obsessive-compulsive disorder suffering man rescuing a robot dog that is about to be crushed like a piece of garbage. The two become fast friends but as the dog grows he begins to take over the man’s apartment and his life. Gloriously animated with more than a subtle nod to the steampunk style, the Monsieur Hublot packs enough emotional and innovative punch into its 11 minutes for ten full-length films.

MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) – The obvious choice for straight comedy would have been the group’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail but Life of Brian is much more than merely a gag-fest. The film takes a biting look at religion and idol worship, while also claiming some of the best movie quotes in any comedy, ”He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy.”

NARROW MARGIN (1952) – The plot—a woman testifying against the mob is transported across the country on a train packed with gunmen aiming to silence her—is hardly earth shattering and the cast features relative unknowns, but Narrow Margin is one of cinema’s finest examples of the the film noir genre and a real undiscovered diamond of a movie.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) – Not a bad double feature with Narrow Margin, this Hitchcock thriller finds Cary Grant on the run for a crime he didn’t commit (a familiar Hitch theme), battling ruthless thugs in the form of James Mason and Martin Landau, and enlisting the help of a beautiful blonde on a train to Chicago (Eva Marie Saint). You’ll wonder how they snuck some of the innuendo-laced dialogue past the MPAA sensors.

NOTORIOUS (1946) – While we’re on the subject of Hitchcock, this Nazis in South America thriller with Grant (again) and Ingrid Bergman is one of the director’s most underappreciated efforts. Both stars are at the top of their game and throw in Claude Raines as Bergman’s Nazi husband with a mommy complex and you’ve got a thoroughly enjoyable two hours of pure cinematic escapism.

PRIMARY COLORS (1998) – It’s an election year in the States so why not revisit one of the best political movies in recent memory. John Travolta plays a Southern candidate eerily similar to Bill Clinton whose infidelity-laced past threatens his rapid assent to becoming the party’s choice for president. Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thornton co-star. Travolta is at his dramatic best—the donut shop scene alone is worth the price of admission.

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933) – Fascinating and rather ribald look at Henry and his wives and the “unfortunate” ends they met. Charles Laughton is superb as Henry and Merle Oberlon and Elsa Lanchester co-star.

ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) – Well, if you can’t travel to Rome here’s the next best thing. Incognito European princess Audrey Hepburn romps through the Eternal City with newspaperman Gregory Peck and photographer Eddie Albert in tow (no sign of Eva Gabor, however). Watch with a plate of gnocchi in front of you and Mario Lanza on in the background.

SAFETY LAST (1923) – The argument could be made that Safety Last is the one film that everyone has seen one particular iconic image from yet has never actually watched. The plot is rather inconsequential but Harold Lloyd, one of the undisputed kings of the silent era, dangling from a Downtown LA skyscraper’s clock remains one of the quintessential moments in recorded film.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995) – Emma Thompson deservedly won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for her take on Jane Austen’s 1811 novel, which features a dream cast that includes Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Robert Hardy, Hugh Laurie, Greg Wise and late great Alan Rickman. Jane would have been proud.

SNATCH (2000) – Director Guy Ritchie burst onto the scene in 1998 with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but this follow-up blew the doors off the crime comedy genre. Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, an incomprehensible Brad Pitt, and the scene-stealing Rade Serbedzija star and you have to be a real Debbie Downer not to love a movie with character names that include Franky Four Fingers, Bullet Tooth Tony, Boris The Blade, Brick Top, One Punch Mickey, and Doug The Head.

TOP SECRET (1984) – Far and away the least appreciated Zucker Brothers movie, this uproarious comedy stars Val Kilmer in a send up of WWII and Elvis movies, and isn’t that undoubtedly the first time those two genres have ever been mentioned in the same sentence? Check your mind and good taste at the living room entryway and enjoy. How silly can you get? Pretty silly.

TOUCHING THE VOID (2003) – Director Kevin MacDonald’s gripping documentary recalls a fateful 1985 Andes Mountains climbing expedition but its real theme is the exploration of the irreversible effects of the life and death decisions we as humans make.

THE TRIP (2010) – Released in theaters in North America and on the BBC in the UK, Steve Coogan and pal Rob Brydon traverse the English countryside writing restaurant reviews and doing Sean Connery impressions. It may seem like a flimsy premise for a motion picture but Michael Winterbottom gets the most out of every scene.

WAKING NED DEVINE (1998) – If you had to sit out St Patrick’s Day for the coronavirus then you get a mulligan with this wonderful little Irish comedy about a small town commandeering a dead man’s winning lottery ticket. Ian Bannen and David Kelly are marvelous as the “brains” behind the operation, convincing the townspeople one by one to go along with the ruse. Bannen’s funeral tribute to his “late” friend Kelly packs an emotional whallop.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFF (1966) – As powerful an acting ensemble as ever assembled on the screen, Mike Nichols’ look at an unraveling marriage is heartbreaking and ferocious. You will feel a bit like a voyeur watching Elizabeth Taylor and Richjard Burton go at it for two hours, envisioning you’re watching their real life marriage unfold.

THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING (1935) – Talk about mistaken identity. Mild-mannered clerk Edward G Robinson bears a remarkable resemblance to Public Enemy Number 1, also played by Robinson. You can figure out the rest of the plot from there. Jean Arthur co-stars.

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957) – Charles Laughton and real life spouse Elsa Lanchester anchor this outstanding courtroom drama, fueled by the performances of Tyrone Power and the great Marlene Dietrich. It’s not too much of a cliche to say it will leave you guessing right until the end.

And…

REAR WINDOW (1954) – Leaving the best self-isolation film until the end, Rear Window finds photographer James Stewart apartment-bound after breaking his leg. When he’s not dealing with his socialite girlfriend Grace Kelly’s marriage hints—what is he, insane?—he’s noticing that his neighbor across the way (Raymond Burr) seems to have something sinister up his sleeve.

Many of these films can be found on streaming services, some can be found on VOD, and many appear regularly on Turner Classic Movies. As they say, consult your local listings.