by Robert L. “Bob” McCullough, Co-founder, Wiki Screenplay Contest
FADE IN: Robert L. “Bob” McCullough is co-founder of The Wiki Screenplay Contest, and has spent more than a few decades inside Hollywood as a writer, producer, and role model to all he encountered. McCullough’s television credits include “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Falcon Crest,” with undeniable classics like “The Bionic Woman, among the highlights. Bob’s writing and producing credits extend across “Murder, She Wrote,” “Baywatch Nights,” “Pacific Blue,” “High Tide,” and “The New Zorro.” He is a member of both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Did we mention he’s also the author of The Hollywood Screenwriter and the Stop Screwing Around series?
Plus, McCullough co-hosts the podcast Where Hollywood Hides with Suzanne Herrera McCullough.
Now Bob has generously shared his “Top 10 Films of All Time” for us. You’ll notice that only one film, not by an American Director but by a legendary British helmer, breaks into the year 2000 – with most of his other choices being classic films from the 1950’s and 1960’s, and a banger from 1946.
1. On the Waterfront
Bob’s Quick Take: A perfectly structured screenplay from Budd Schulberg (also author of notorious Hollywood takedown book from 1941, “What Makes Sammy Run?”), and performances that remain unmatched ever since. Watch the scene with Brando and Eva Marie Saint in the park. When she drops her glove and he picks it up and puts it on. Seriously incredible acting.
Director: Elia Kazan
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: July 28, 1954
Key Cast: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden
2. Lawrence of Arabia
Bob’s Quick Take: Pure cinema spectacle that remains unmatched for visual composition, framing, tone. Poetry on celluloid.
Director: David Lean
Studio: Columbia Pictures/Horizon Pictures
Release Date: Dec. 10, 1962
Key Cast: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness
3. The Godfather
Bob’s Quick Take: Accidental or not, the finished product is pure genius… starting with the casting throughout.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: Mar. 24, 1972
Key Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Bob’s Quick Take: Patience on film with cinematography technology that pushed the envelope to tell a story we’re still trying to understand; prescient in so many ways.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release Date: Apr. 2, 1968
Key Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Douglas Rain
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Bob’s Quick Take: Goldman’s script and the perfect cast in the perfect anti-western.
Director: George Roy Hill
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Release Date: Sept. 23, 1969
Key Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
6. Sunset Boulevard
Bob’s Quick Take: Walked the edge between dark comedy and noir thriller with the brave Ms. Swanson at her campy best.
Director: Billy Wilder
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: Aug. 10, 1950
Key Cast: Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim
7. It’s a Wonderful Life
Bob’s Quick Take: Watch it every year, just waiting for the telephone scene with a tissue in hand; I cry every time.
Director: Frank Capra
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
Release Date: Dec. 20, 1946
Key Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
8. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Bob’s Quick Take: Funny-scary, the perfect depiction of human frailty and over-the-top absurdity that is all too real.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: Jan. 29, 1964
Key Cast: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
9. Gladiator
Bob’s Quick Take: Watch it ten times, find something new to appreciate every time (even the CGI crowds). Unexpected casting throughout with great action scenes.
Director: Ridley Scott
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 5, 2000
Key Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
10. Bonnie and Clyde
Bob’s Quick Take: Inspirational filmmaking where the characters drove it all forward; the action is secondary to the story.
Director: Arthur Penn
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: Aug. 13, 1967
Key Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman
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