Earlier this week, the Library of Congress announced its annual additions to the National Film Registry. This year, unfortunately, the choices smelled of woke politics – there were a glut of obscure and, quite frankly, unworthy films that were only included because they were not directed by white men – coupled with some cheesy popcorn flicks that fell far short of the “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films” definition that is supposed to be Registry’s judging criteria.
Rather than pick apart each dismal selection on this year’s Registry, here is an attempt to talk up some far more deserving titles for consideration in the 2021 slate. In chronological order, here are 10 films that should be on the National Film Registry.
Admiral Cigarette (1897)
Historically notable as the first filmed advertisement, this Edison-produced 30-second offering for the National Cigarette and Tobacco Company’s Admiral Cigarette brand was unusual in having an American Indian chief as an equal among a group of male smokers, as well as having a woman join the men in their tobacco habit.
Frankenstein (1910)
One might imagine that the Registry would be eager to include a film that was considered to be among the sought-after lost films for decades – not to mention the first film adaptation of the Mary Shelley class and what many believe to be the first American-produced horror film. Oddly, this Edison-produced work has never been considered worthy of Registry inclusion.
Way Down East (1920)
D.W. Griffith was initially criticized for bringing Lottie Blair Parker’s 1897 melodrama to the screen at the dawn of the Jazz Age, but the master director created a work of vibrant emotionalism capped with a thrilling climax on the edge of an icy waterfall. One of the most commercially successful films of the silent era, it seems to have been forgotten by the Registry.
Waltzing Around (1929)
The Broadway comedy team of Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough made a series of shorts in the early years of the sound era, This offering, which was considered lost for many years, is among their best – they play a pair of troublemakers who somehow wind up crashing a boxing tournament, first as rowdy food vendors and then going into the ring with wild and unpredictable results. “Waltzing Around” is a fast, imaginative and wonderfully rude comedy.
Safe in Hell (1931)
William Wellman directed this Pre-Code gem has tough blonde Dorothy Mackaill as a New Orleans prostitute who hides out on a Caribbean island to avoid a murder rap, only to find herself ensnared in the local courts when her past unexpectedly catches up with her. The film’s Caribbean setting enabled the casting of Black singer-actress Nina Mae McKinney as a hotel owner, a rare opportunity for a Black woman to be cast in a studio film as something other than a maid.
White Zombie (1932)
Victor Halperin’s brilliantly eerie horror production marked the first film to incorporate zombies into the story. Bela Lugosi – in what some film scholars consider to be his best screen work – is mesmerizing as a voodoo master in Haiti who coordinates evil schemes to trap unsuspecting rivals into his warped control.
Killer Diller (1948)
While the Registry goes out of its way to highlight multiculturalism in film production, it curiously has very few entries from the “race film” genre of all-Black movies created for segregated audiences during the Jim Crow years. This musical-comedy revue features a stellar line-up of African-American talent including Nat “King” Cole, Moms Mabley, Dusty Fletcher and Butterfly McQueen in a very rare non-maid role (she plays a secretary).
The Mariana UFO Footage (1950)
The Registry includes several amateur films of historic events, including the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the Zapruder Film of the Kennedy Assassination. Another amateur film worthy of inclusion is Nick Mariana’s 16mm footage shot in Great Falls, Montana, in August 1950 that became the first motion picture record of unidentified flying objects. The footage would become the subject of controversy – Mariana claimed the U.S. Air Force removed frames that showed a closer view of the objects – and, to date, no be-all/end-all explanation of what was captured on film has ever been put forth.
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Stanley Kramer’s all-star slapstick extravaganza has been a conspicuous omission from the Registry for decades, despite endless attempts by the film’s many fans who’ve advocated for its inclusion. Then again, Kramer is also not a Registry favorite – while “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961) and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) are on the Registry, important works including “The Defiant Ones” (1958), “On the Beach” (1959), “Inherit the Wind” (1960) and “Ship of Fools” (1965) are absent.
The Iceman Cometh (1973)
None of the films produced for the groundbreaking American Film Theatre series have been included on the Registry. John Frankenheimer’s adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill classic might have been the best of that series, thanks in large part to the director’s fidelity to its source – even with edits, the film has an epic four-hour running time – along with an astonishing cast including Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan and Jeff Bridges.