Question of the Day

Suggested by Shaker Kevin Wolf: If you could have a stack of, say, a dozen copies of any movie on DVD, is there any title you'd be pressing into the hands of friends—even strangers—telling them they've missed something great?

Kevin says: "My answer is Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), starring Art Carney and the always-marvelous Lily Tomlin. A tribute to old detective films like The Big Sleep, with a mystery nearly as complicated as featured in that classic, The Late Show updates itself (to the 70's anyway) by playing retired gumshoe Carney off Tomlin's oddball designer/agent/actress, whose quest to get her kidnapped cat back (yep, that's right) puts them both on the trail of stolen stamps, missing guns, and a devious killer. Of course, given the cast, it's got a lot of comedy. And the supporting cast is great, with Eugene Roach, Joanna Cassidy, and an excellent performance from Bill Macy (Maude's husband Walter on TV) as Carney's low life street informant. Pauline Kael said of the characters in this movie, they're all originals."

We did a similar QotD to this almost four years ago now, and I answered Henry Fool. However, I just recently watched Living in Oblivion (available for instant viewing on Netflix! hint hint) after not seeing it for years, and I fell in love with it all over again. Iain had never seen it, and he loved it, too.

And, of course, everyone knows I'm an inveterate Harold & Maude pusher.

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