Ten Depressing Movies Worth Watching Review

I loved the Ten Depressing Movies Worth Watching review by Telpher so much that I thought it deserved a sequel.  Part of my enjoyment of her list came from the fact that she had some movies on there that I hadn't seen and one I hadn't even heard from.  I intend to watch those at some time in the future and thank Telpher for drawing them to my attention. 

I got to thinking that Telpher and many of the rest of you may be younger than I (a LOT of people are younger than I, come to think of it -- what a depressing thought!) and for this reason I may have had a chance to enjoy some great depressing films that the rest of you might have missed. 

Here we go:

The Lost Weekend starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman.  One is too much and 100 are never enough for the tragic alcoholic center figure and the people who love him. 

Double Indemnity starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson as the crusty old insurance veteran who figures out what the larcenous pair are up to but not in time to save them.

The Third Man, a triumph set in post-war (WW 2, that is!) Vienna and starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles as a sinister opportunist who combines both charm and utter depravity.

The Innocents starring Deborah Kerr at her brilliant best in this spooky version of "The Turn of the Screw".  The ladylike young governess on her first assignment in a spooky English country estate loves her small charges but cannot save them from the vulgar evil forces which plague them.

Psycho is not generally regarded to be a great "downer" because of the delicious chills and scary moments vested in the film by its great director, Alfred Hitchcock.  If you want to see what a depressing story this really was, you should read the Robert Bloch novel upon which the movie was loosely based.

The Children's Hour starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.  Two women are working hard to make a success of the exclusive girls' school which they are struggling to establish when a nasty child spreads a malicious homophobic rumor about them.  Their reputations are destroyed, their lives ruined and ironically it turns out that the rotten kid inadvertently had the character played by Shirley MacLaine pegged right all along.  The most depressing thing about this film is that the story is a vestige of the bad old days when being "outed" as a homosexual was enough to make a person commit suicide which is just what Shirley MacLaine's character does in an ending so horrible that I have to brace myself when I see it coming, even though I have viewed the film several times.

The Haunting, the original version starring Claire Bloom and Julie Harris in a chilling black and white film which was faithful to the book and uncorrupted by the dazzling special effects of the unfortunate later remake, thank you.

Alfie, played by Michael Caine, cares nothing for anyone but himself in this great film.  The charming but selfish bounder learns a lot of lessons the hard way and too late before the story is over.  (Let's hear it for Shelley Winters in a great supporting part.)

Midnight Cowboy starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman as a tragic doomed pair in a movie which is so depressing that the closing credits should have been accompanied by the song "Aren't You Glad You're YOU!"

The Clockwork Orange starring Malcolm MacDowell and a brilliant English supporting cast, to say nothing of some dynamite Beethoven music woven into the fabric of the story.  In spite of all that, the movie triumphs in its mission of nearly driving you out on the ledge at the thought of facing a potentially heartless future world.

Equally depressing but not quite making the cut because of possible contamination by insidious hopeful and inspiring endings are films like:

The Night of the Hunter, the only film directed by the great Charles Laughton.  It is rumored that upon his death bed years later, he came to momentarily, grabbed a hapless bystander, and implored with his last words "Don't let them colorize my film."  He was right to be concerned because the black and white brooding masterpiece set during the Great Depression and starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters was both great, and depressing!

I could go on and on and I'm sure Telpher felt that way when she was through with HER list.  She has done hers and now I've done mine, and we are both leaving the field open to the rest of you!  We have come up with twenty great depressing films worth watching and we are counting on the rest of you to come up with at least ten more! 

AnnaBanana