During lockdown we watched a number of films, and both Ivy & Dylan kept asking why Citizen Kane was so often at the top of ‘best film’ or ‘best classic films’ lists. So I got it to show them, and I also got The Third Man and Twelve Angry Men while I was about it. All three were big hits.
   I had forgotten at how Citizen Kane fairly motors through the life story of Kane. There is also more to the plot than I remembered, although of course I knew all about Rosebud from the word go. Parts of the film reminded me of the present time: at one point Kane declares the result of an election (which he lost) fraudulent. Now who does that remind you of? Naturally I recommend this film if you haven’t managed to watch it yet.
   The Third Man benefits hugely from the writing skills of Graham Greene. The overall story is drawn from one of his books, and I believe he worked on the script, too. We are trying to catch up with Harry Lime throughout, to clear his name, which is being besmirched by all and sundry. Only to find, of course, that most if not all of the criticisms levelled at him turn out to be perfectly true. The film is also a glimpse into history. Well worth watching.
   I always remembered Twelve Angry Men for the knife incident about a third of the way through, when Fonda proves that the ‘remarkable knife’ owned by the teenage suspect could in fact be purchased almost anywhere for a few dollars. The film itself is remarkable. It is entirely set in one room – the juror’s room. None of the characters are named. All of the jury are white men, which would no doubt cause howls of protest nowadays, but that’s just the way it was. My only criticism of the film (which went down a storm in this household) is that the jury was more or less trying the case, something which should have been done in court. But maybe that’s the point. It’s another film you should add to your watch list, if you haven’t seen it already.