32 Films That Begin With Leaving a Mental Institution

"Crazy" movies for crazy times. These 32 films make the case for the recently-escaped-or-released-mental-patient narrative as its own subgenre, replete with a language of recurring themes, plot devices, and character archetypes.

                                      
Film
    
        'What Price Hollywood?' and the Birth of the 'Star Is Born' Films
    
Carley Hildebrand

        05 Oct 2018
    
Film
    
        For a Comedy of Manners, 'The Philadelphia Story' Is Awfully Screwball
    
James Plath

        14 Dec 2017
    
Film
    
        Ten Cases of Sacked Directors
    
Bill Gibron

        09 Dec 2014

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This set highlights the existential crisis about the validity and permanence of love, in a time when Americans were reminded of the absolute ephemeral nature of life and stripped of ideals by the War.

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Boasting a script packed full of acerbic gems, Holiday also has a tremendous visual energy.

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The Marrying Kind (1952)

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'What Price Hollywood?' and the Birth of the 'Star Is Born' Films

For a Comedy of Manners, 'The Philadelphia Story' Is Awfully Screwball

'George Cukor: A Double Life' Is Essential Reading on Queer Cinema and Hollywood History

Everyone in Hollywood knew George Cukor’s secret, but it was never spoken freely until the arrival of Patrick McGilligan’s thoroughly researched book.

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100 Essential Directors celebrates directors of distinct vision, who have honed their respective crafts, who have brought something new and exciting to the medium, and who continue to push the boundaries of the form.

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All the Faith in the World: Holiday

Holiday is the sort of movie that gives those who do know it the satisfyingly superior glow of being in on something really good.

Women Without Men

Diane English’s version of The Women barely nudges from its Martha Stewart interiors, exchanging insights for platitudes. It’s a cup of lukewarm tea, without even a biscuit on the side.

Essential Classics - Romances

This set highlights the existential crisis about the validity and permanence of love, in a time when Americans were reminded of the absolute ephemeral nature of life and stripped of ideals by the War.

Holiday (1938)

Boasting a script packed full of acerbic gems, Holiday also has a tremendous visual energy.

The Marrying Kind (1952)

Hollywood did not allow Holliday to display the full range of her talent and intelligence; most of her roles were variants of the 'dumb blonde'.

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