Following up on yesterday’s list of the best Rock Hudson movies, here is my list of my ten favourite Rock Hudson movies! The only ones to make both lists were Blindfold, Written on the Wind, Seconds, and All That Heaven Allows. It was incredibly hard to narrow it down (and I do tend to change my mind quite frequently) but overall these are my 10 favorites!
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Come SeptemberWhy you should watch it: What more can I say about this movie that I haven’t already said (see my Come September tag) This is the film that introduced me to Rock. It is not only my favorite Rock Hudson movie but my favorite movie of all time! Rock’s character is hilarious, the “ultimate man” if you will. Gina Lollobrigida and Sandra Dee are gorgeous and have wardrobes to die for. It has a great soundtrack, the greatest dance scene ever, oh and it’s set in the gorgeous Italian Riviera. Love this movie! |
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BlindfoldWhy you should watch it: Blindfold took the number 8 spot on my list of best Rock Hudson films. This scene pretty much makes the movie for me, hilarious! I love the plot even though it’s very predictable and I’m a sucker for any film where Rock wears a suit. Also I think it’s fun to see Rock in an adventure film which is a rare genre for him. Plus he has amazing chemistry with his costar Claudia Cardinale, it’s no surprise they were good friends in real life (though I could definitely see her character in this movie annoying some people!) |
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The Tarnished AngelsWhy you should watch it: Airplane races! This is the only film I’ve seen featuring multiple planes racing simultaneously around a bunch of gigantic pylons. It’s directed by Douglas Sirk who worked with Rock on 8 films total and got him to produce some of his best performances. The rest of the cast is terrific, Robert Stack and Jack Carson are perfect as the stunt pilot and his mechanic and Dorothy Malone is absolutely stunning as the woman they all love. I can’t forget to mention the unforgettable scene of Ms. Malone parachuting from a plane a white dress. Great film! |
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Send Me No FlowersWhy you should watch it: I change my mind about which of the three Rock/Doris Day/Tony Randall comedies are my favorite as often as I watch them, they’re all terrific! For this list I settled on Send Me No Flowers as my favorite. I like that it is the most unique of the three. The first two films have almost identical plot lines but in Send Me No Flowers, Rock and Doris are already married and Rock plays a hypochondriac instead of a womanizing playboy. Tony Randall and Rock have more scene together than in the first two movies and are hilarious together! |
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AvalancheWhy you should watch it: I’m a sucker for disaster movies and this is Rock’s only contribution to the genre. Avalanche was made quite late in his career and was definitely considered a commercial flop. I don’t know if it’s the cheesy writing or horrible special effects, but I just love this movie! |
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Written on the WindWhy you should watch it: This film also held the number six spot on my list of best Rock Hudson movies. Lauren Bacall is one of my favorite actresses so I loved seeing her paired with Rock. It’s another Douglas Sirk picture which means it has a fun over the top melodramatic plot line. The ending is shocking and the actors look like they’re having a great time with their exaggerated performances. |
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The Golden BladeWhy you should watch it: This is a very early Rock Hudson film made when he had no control over the pictures he made. It’s sort of a mix between Aladdin and The Sword in the Stone with Rock playing the hero destined for greatness. It’s very low budget, very campy, very silly. It’s a fun movie you have to have a sense of humor to watch. Rock thought it was so funny he’d often play it at parties and poke fun at himself. |
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SecondsWhy you should watch it: This is perhaps Rock’s best performance. The scene at the end kills me, I can barely stand to watch it. I love the whole idea of someone getting plastic surgery to look different and they end up looking like Rock Hudson, talk about winning the plastic surgery lottery!! |
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The Spiral RoadWhy you should watch it: I’m not sure why I like this movie so much. Maybe it’s because of the gorgeous Surinamese jungle the film takes place in, or maybe it’s because it’s so interesting to see Rock’s character slowly fall apart, or maybe it’s because Rock wears nothing but a wife-beater and pants for most of the movie! Ya it’s probably that last part :) |
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All That Heaven AllowsWhy you should watch it: This one held the number 7 spot on the list of best Rock Hudson movies. Watch this when you’re in the mood to curl up under a blanket and watch a nice romantic film and just try not to fall madly in love with Rock. I like this movie much more than his other better known film with Jane Wyman, Magnificent Obsession. |
Honorable mentions: Strange Bedfellows, Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers, The Last Sunset, The Vegas Strip Wars
4 Comments
Hopefully I will get to see all these films eventually.
Personally my favourites are ‘pillow talk’ ‘all that heaven allows’ ‘seconds & ‘giant’.
I noticed the Los Angeles film critics association has just given Doris Day a lifetime achievement award. I would love to see her onstage again.
Yours is a great list. I still have yet to see Blindfold or Avalanche! Here are my 10 favorite Rock movies (in no particular order):
Pillow Talk
Lover Come Back
Man’s Favorite Sport?
The Tarnished Angels
All That Heaven Allows
Written On The Wind
Seconds
Giant
Captain Lightfoot
The Lawless Breed
That was hard to narrow down to just 10. I should probably make a New Years’ resolution to see more Rock movies that I’ve never seen!
Please help!!! which one of rock Hudson’s movies does he say, “he name Henry….” it’s been bugging my sister and I like forever. kind regards Belinda
This has been bugging me too. I think he is talking about a mule or donkey to a young black boy. The animal is going to lead them through a swamp or something. Movie involves someone blindfolded who thinks geese squaking is a party going on. Could it be “blindfold”? When he asks the boy the mules name, he replies, “he name henry”.