16 thoughts on “Joseph L. Mankiewicz Movies”

1. Hi Bruce, for some reason, I thought you had already done a page on Joseph Mankiewicz, but I guess I was confused. In any case, he was certainly one the finest directors and screen writers from the classic era, known for writing poignant and sophisticated dialogue. I have seen 13 of the films on the list and I like all of them. He rarely did any-thing that was not worthy in some way. Favorites are Fury, A Letter to 3 Wives, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 5 Fingers, The Honey Pot, Sleuth and There Was A Crooked Man. I realize I risk appearing as a barbarian here for not naming All About Eve and the Philadelphia Story, but I guess that I had heard so much about these films before seeing them, that I was not as impressed as I expected given their fame. Anyway, great page as always.

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   1. Hey PhilHoF17. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Mr. Manckiewicz. Tally counts: Flora easily leading the way with 31, I have seen 20 of his movies….you and Bob have both seen 13….so you are sharing the bronze medal. Poor little Stevie Lensman sits at the bottom of the tally count…but I still like him.

      I have seen all of your favorites with the exception of The Honey Pot. Sleuth is one of my all-time favorites (avoid the remake with extreme prejudice), There Was A Crooked Man has one of the best endings ever….as a kid and as an adult…I thought about that rattlesnack many many times.

      As for All About Eve….I am right there with you. As for The Philadelphia Story….the first time I watched it….I was not too impressed. However, with repeat viewings….it has become one of my favorite Cary Grant performances. So I guess I am saying…maybe that one is worth a re-watch…especially with your expectations being so much lower. Good stuff.

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      1. Thanks for the feedback Bruce. Indeed, I first saw There Was a Crooked Man when I was about 7, and the rattlesnakes biting Kirk Douglas was the one thing I remembered. Appropriate that in French, the title of the movie is Le Reptile.
         Don’t get me wrong, I do like The Philadelphia Story and have seen it about 3 times. It’s not one my favorites, but I recognize its excellent dialogue and acting.

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2. I’ve seen 11 of the 43 films on the chart, I expected more. Favorites are – Sleuth, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, All About Steve, No Way Out, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Philadelphia Story.

   Top rated films I haven’t seen include – A Letter to Three Wives and Fury.

   Cleopatra’s domestic gross was over $600m adjusted? And it was still regarded as a disaster for Fox? Whoa!

   Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up!

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   1. Hey Steve. Thanks for checking out this classic director’s page. Tally counts. 31 for Flora, 20 for me, Bob at 13 and you at 11. I have seen all of your favorites, except for No Way Out. Glad to see Sleuth amongst your favorites, is that is one of my all-time favorite movies. Cleopatra made a boatload of money, but cost even more to make. Elizabeth Taylor had lots to do with the hugh cost of making that movie. I have seen both of the highway to movies you have not seen, Fury has not aged well. A Letter To Three Wives is interesting and worth a look. As always your contributions are greatly appreciated.

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3. Joseph is the great uncle of Ben Mankiewicz, a longtime host of Turner Classic Movies.

   I have seen 31 Joseph L. Mankiewicz movies, including 19 of the top 20.

   The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is All About Eve.

   The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is If I Had a Million.

   The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is The Honey Pot

   Favourite Joseph L. Mankiewicz Movies:

   A Letter To Three Wives
   Guys and Dolls
   Keys To the Kingdom
   The Philadelphia Story
   All About Eve
   The Barefoot Contessa
   Woman of the Year
   Dragonwyck
   Double Wedding
   Skippy
   Sleuth
   Julius Caesar
   Strange Cargo
   Forsaking All Others
   The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
   5 Fingers
   Manhattan Melodrama
   Shopworn Angel
   The Late George Apley
   No Way Out
   The Bride Wore Red

   Other Joseph L. Mankiewicz Movies I Have Seen:

   Cleopatra
   Suddenly, Last Summer
   Three Comrades
   Love on the Run
   Fury
   People Will Talk
   The Gorgeous Hussey
   There Was a Crooked Man
   The Feminine Touch
   The Honey Pot

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   1. Hey Flora. Thanks for checking out our Joseph L. Mankiewicz page. Tally count: Flora 31, me 20 and Bob checking in with 13. Thanks for the Ben Mankiewicz trivia, I will add that in after I finish this comment. Wow….that is a lot of favorites. I have seen 14 of your favorites…with Sleuth, Keys To The Kingdom and The Philadelphia Story being among my favorites. I like All About Eve….I know is considered an all-time classic by many…..but it is not a movie I re-watch regularly. I have seen 4 of your others seen. So I have 18 of the ones you have seen. Good stuff as always.

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      1. Hey Flora…your Ben Mankiewicz trivia is now listed…..gave you credit for it….possibly interesting fact #1. I also realized I left off a few of his award nominations….writing nominations for No Way Out (starring Richard guy) and The Barefoot Contessa. Thanks for the suggestions.

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4. Hey Bob. Thanks for checking out our latest page. Even more thanks for sharing your movie scene, I have been curious about your totals in the past. That being said, I have seen 20 versus your 13. He has a connection with lots of our favorites. Movies with Michael Caine, Cary Grant, Audie Murphy,Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando and Joan and Bette…just to name a few. Interesting information about The Quiet American. His last movie, Sleuth, is one of my all-time favorite movies. Looking at his chronological table he really didn’t make many movies after his one two punch in 1949 and 1950. Good stuff as always hope you’re staying nice and healthy.

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   1. HI BRUCEThanks for your feedback,

      Of course when I watched the 1958 Quiet American I wasn’t aware of – and indeed couldn’t have cared less about – the deficincies that the Wikipedia write-up highlights. I was just happy that I was watching Audie!

      I went to see the 2002 version too for its star – on that occasion Sir Maurice – but nearly 40 years older I was able to appreciate how much superior as a production the Sir M’s version was to Audie’s . Your sources agree with me because they give the 1958 movie a so-so 62% review rating and the 2002 one an 80% marking. Unfortunately neither version set the box office alight

      One positive thing that the two versions had in common thoughwas that the central character of THOMAS FOWLER was in each version played by an English actor knight: Sir Michael Redgrave in 1958 and Sir Maurice in 2002. Both were brillaint in my opinion with Sir Maurice rightly getting Oscar and Golden Globe noms for Best lead actor in his version. Mankiewicz as well as directing produced and wrote the screenplay in 1958 but was uncredited for those two functions.

      THanks for your kind wishes and keep safe yourself.

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      1. Hey Bob.
         Thanks for the further thoughts on The Quiet American. Joseph L. Mankiewicz bridges those two movies and two actors….as he directed Murphy in The Quiet American….then Caine in Sleuth (talking about going out on top)…and then Caine starred in The Quiet American. Caine’s version almost did not get released. It was scheduled to be released in the fall of 2001. The 9/11 happened, and the studio did not want to release the movie because of the politics of the novel and the new version. Caine is the one that actually got Miramax to take the movie off the shelf and finally release it. Caine got lots of award recognition for that one. Good stuff as always.

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5. I have seen 13 of the movies in the above charts and my favourites among them are Guys and Dolls/Sleuth/The Barefoot Contessa and 1958’s The Quiet American which appealed to me mainly because Audie Murphy was in it and it was one of his rare-non westerns.

   Film historians have criticised the 1958 Quiet American for containing what they regard as a United States propaganda bias that was not in Grahame Green’s book. The 2002 version is regarded as being more faithful to Green’s classic tale about America’s involvement in Vietnam and I personally found it the more mature of the two versions.

   WIKIPEDIA’s COMPARISON OF THE TWO VERSIONS ‘The 1958 film flips the novel on its head, turning a cautionary tale about foreign intervention into anti-communist advocacy of American power. In a Hollywood still recovering from the effects of the blacklisting of suspected Communists, the film stirred up controversy. Greene was furious that his anti-war message was excised from the film, and he disavowed it as a “propaganda film for America.” The Quiet American was remade in 2002, starring Michael Caine, in a version more faithful to Greene’s novel.’

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