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Cannery Row (1982) Nick Nolte Debra Winger:The Dance Scene

Doc (Nick Nolte) pays a secret call on the newly arrived-in-town, Suzy DeSoto (Debra Winger) to ask her for a date. Their new, yet contentious relationship gets off to its usual bad start in a one-upsmanship swing era dance move duel. This scene, filled with acerbic quips between Doc and Suzy is arguably the film's best. Perhaps Narrator John Huston captures the essence of this scene, when he says about their dancing, "It never occurred to them that maybe they weren't any good."

This film, largely unknown and all but forgotten by all except for the most ardent cine-philes is well worth the watch — if you can find it. It's funny, heartwarming, a great cast and blend of oddball characters: Doc (Nick Nolte), and Suzy DeSoto's (Debra Winger) as star-crossed lovers, Mac and the Bums, Fauna, and the other "girls" of the Bear Flag Restaurant, Joseph and Mary and the Seer, all combine to make a really delightful story of how down-and-outers support and help each other albeit in quirky ways. You will definitely love this film. John Huston's narration is the sardonically comic capstone to it all. The movie is based on two Steinbeck novellas: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday and both of these are worth the read too.