A Few New Year’s Treats for the VCR

The classics have no greater fan than yours truly. I love “Casablanca” as much as everyone else. But try kicking off the new year in the dusty, dark shelves of your local video rental establishment. Maybe they’ll have some seldom-seen films no less deserving of your attention.

“Metropolitan” (1990): After two years of being inundated with Jane Austen, we’re now in a better position to appreciate writer-director Whit Stillman’s masterpiece. “Metropolitan” is not just a tale of one Christmas among Manhattan preppies (or, as one of the characters prefers, the “urban haute bourgeoisie”); it’s an homage to Austen. Look for such Austen staples as the lord who’s rumored to have “ruined” several girls, lost inheritance, and--best of all-- witty debates between a couple falling in love. Before there was “Clueless,” there was “Metropolitan.” (Rated PG-13; Columbia/TriStar)

“Baby Face” (1933): Barbara Stanwyck is funny and sexy in the tale of a woman who sleeps her way to the top and is glad to be doing it. Made in 1933, before the Hayes Office, Hollywood’s official censoring arm, came to power, it’s outrageous and politically incorrect in the extreme. It’s a rare delight to see Stanwyck portray a Scarlet Woman who’s also smarter and more capable than the men around her whom she’s using. (Not rated; MGM/UA)

“Champagne for Caesar” (1950): During the 1950s, motion pictures loved to poke fun at what they saw as their principal competition: television. William Powell is a genius who seemingly really does know everything. When his successive winnings threaten to bankrupt a TV game show’s sponsor--a soap company run by Vincent Price--Price sends in the beautiful Celeste Holm to derail him. If “Quiz Show” had been a comedy, it would have been this. (Not rated; VCI)

“The Reluctant Debutante” (1958): Sandra Dee plays an American girl in London “doing the season” and attending an endless series of debutante balls while simultaneously looking for and fending off romance. Rex Harrison is her British father, and a young John Saxon is her not-quite beatnik musician beau. (Not rated; MGM/UA)

“Meet the Feebles” (1989): New Zealand writer-director Peter Jackson has created a thoroughly bizarre parody of “The Muppet Show.” Muppet-like creatures (just like Jim Henson’s, some are small puppets and some are people in costumes; the producers spent a lot of money on this project) struggle to put on their own television variety show. But this is not for kids. The female lead (a hippo) is having an affair with the producer (a walrus), who’s seeing the ingenue (a cat) on the side. Meanwhile, the star (a rabbit) is being blackmailed. There’s murder, sex and tabloid journalism. It’s a very dark, and very funny, take-off. (Not rated; Dead/Alive Productions)

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983): Rock star (and occasional movie star) David Bowie turns in his best performance to date as a British officer in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. Tom Conti is equally memorable as the title character and Bowie’s superior, Major John Lawrence. This is “The Bridge on the River Kwai” with a more intellectual and philosophical spin to it, as the two do their best to keep sane while constantly clashing with their captors. The haunting soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto alone is enough to recommend it. (R; MCA/Universal)

“The Princess and the Pirate” (1944): Bob Hope plays a third-string vaudevillian sailing the Spanish Main who gets caught up with a band of pirates led by the Hook (Victor McLaglen) and his assistant Featherhead (Walter Brennan). Virginia Mayo is the princess in disguise. Classic Hope, the film is riddled with in-jokes and asides to the audience. (Not rated; HBO Video)

“The World of Henry Orient” (1964). Part coming-of-age story, part sophisticated comedy and part parody of the avant-garde music of the 1960s. Peter Sellers is a womanizing pianist who becomes the object of two teenage girls’ infatuation. He finds it impossible to shake them as he drags Paula Prentiss all around New York in order to have an affair with her. (Not rated; MGM/UA).

“They Might Be Giants” (1971): The rock group They Might Be Giants took their name from this wonderful film starring George C. Scott as a retired judge who thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes. Joanne Woodward is the psychologist he lets work with him since she’s Dr. Watson, Mildred Watson. The film builds on Scott’s interpretation of random events as “clues” leading him to his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. (G; MCA)

Anything with Deanna Durbin. Durbin was a child soprano, whose singing abilities were put to good use by Universal. Starting at the age of 14, she appeared in a number of light comedies like “Three Smart Girls” (1936, Deanna and her sisters try to reunite their divorced parents) and “100 Men and a Girl” (1937, Deanna sings with an orchestra of unemployed musicians), where she usually played someone’s younger sister and the plots provided ample opportunities for her to demonstrate her amazing voice.

By the time she was in her 20s, she was given starring roles in films like “It Started With Eve” (1941, Deanna pretends to be Robert Cummings’ fiancee to please his millionaire father) and “Lady on a Train” (1945, a murder mystery with elements that foreshadow “Rear Window” by nine years). Her early films are thoroughly charming, but the latter ones are funnier, and Durbin’s acting had improved markedly by then. Despite the fact that her films were routinely nominated for Academy Awards, Durbin had been all but forgotten until cable television’s American Movie Classics began running her films and giving away videotapes of them as premiums. (Not rated; MCA/Universal)