Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1970)

[Schmidty]

Here are mine, although I have many many others that are right up there:

1930's

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Makes me cry everytime)

Gone with the Wind (Clark Gable was a pimp, and Vivien Leigh was smoking hot)

Duck Soup (Marx Brothers best movie)

All Quiet on the Western Front (Most powerful War movie, and book, ever imo)


1940's

It's a Wonderful Life (Sappy, but Jimmy is the man)

Arsenic and Old Lace (As you can see, I'm a sucker for Capra)

Meet Me in St. Louis (For some reason, my wife is scared by how much I love this movie. Judy Garland was so hot.)

Casablanca (Great, albeit slightly depressing, love story. A bit overrated though)


1950's

Rear Window (Most people won't agree, but I think this is Hitchcocks finest movie)

Touch of Evil (Best Noir film EVER)

High Noon (As I've said before, it's my favorite western)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Classic Sci-fi with a worthy message)


1960's

To Kill a Mockingbird (Gregory Peck is amazing)

Cool Hand Luke (Not only a favorite from the 60's, also a favorite of all-time)

Rosemary's Baby (Creepy as hell)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Redford and Newman are an awesome, fun duo)


Ok, there are many others, but I had to stop somewhere. Let me hear some of your favs.

[Bad-example]

Just a few, in no particular order.


It Happened One Night
Run Silent, Run Deep
All About Eve
Sargeant York
Fantastic Voyage
Dr No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
You Only Live Twice

[VPI97]

A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dallars More
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

[Bad-example]

(blocked) dola

And Forbidden Planet

[tanglewood]

A list of five, just to keep myself to some limit before I spew movies across the screen. In no particular order...

Dr. Strangelove - The most humourus ever made
Singin' In The Rain - The most enjoyable film ever made
2001: A Space Odyssey - The most beautiful film ever made
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid - The most violent film ever made
Bande à Part - The most stylish film ever made

[tanglewood]

dola

And I agree that Rear Window is Hitchcock's best movie. Vertigo is fine art, but overall not that compelling to actually sit through and watch. Psycho has an excellent twist, but seeing as everyone and his dog knows what it is now a lot of the effect is lost.

[thesloppy]

The Marx brothers blow me away to this day, just incredible comedic skills for all of those guys....well three of 'em at least (sorry Zeppo). I also love Arsenic and Old Lace...although I'm more of a Peter Lorre fan, than Capra.

I heart most of Sergio Leone's pre '70s stuff, especially Once Upon A Time in the West. Most of Kurosawa's stuff was also pre-70s, although Ran and Kagemusha are both favorites and came much later in his career. I'm not a huge Hitchcock buff, but North by Northwest rocks, as does Rear Window.

Some other personal faves:

The Manchurian Candidate
Caine Mutiny
2001
Dr. Stangelove
Bonnie & Clyde
Bridge on the River Kwai
A Face in the Crowd

EDIT: Damn these slow, stubby fingers.

Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid - The most violent film ever made

Really? GREAT soundtrack..but I don't remember it being all that violent at all, especially compared to some of Peckinpah's other stuff. But I'm not know for my recollectin'....I do remember Kristoferson shooting someone full of dimes, I liked that. Ever see Peckinpah's 'Straw Dogs'? Now, THAT I remember as being violent, but probably just because it was usually very uncomfortable violence. Unlike getting shot with change, that's just fun.

[Joe]

Citizen Kane

[Groundhog]

Der Golem, 1920 - A very old & beautiful German horror film. For some reason the fact that every single actor in this movie is now dead made this film even creepier for me.

Seven Samurai, 1954 - What can you say, probably the greatest film ever made. No movie has ever made me so attached to it's characters that it actually pained me when they died as this one did.

Sanjuro, 1962 - Most prefer Yojimbo, but I think Mifune's much funnier in this one, and the "duel" at the end is a classic of cinema.

X: The man with X-Ray Eyes, 1963 - Tacky story, acting & special effects make this one a campy classic for me. Really dark ending.

2001: ASO, 1968 - The first movie that "blew my mind". The death of Hal in particular was oddly enough the most disturbing portrayal of death I've ever seen in film.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Really? GREAT soundtrack..but I don't remember it being all that violent at all, especially compared to some of Peckinpah's other stuff. But I'm not know for my recollectin'....I do remember Kristoferson shooting someone full of dimes, I liked that. Ever see Peckinpah's 'Straw Dogs'? Now, THAT I remember as being violent, but probably just because it was usually very uncomfortable violence. Unlike getting shot with change, that's just fun.

Yeah, the soundtrack is pretty great, and Dylan is actually not that bad an actor.

As for the violence, perhaps I didn't quite use the correct choice of words. In Peckinpah's other films there is a greater sense of the violence having purpose, or at least leading to some recognisable conclusion. In PG&BTK there is just scene after scene of people being blown away for seemingly little reason. The majority of the characters are introduced with the express purpose of being killed. The actual portrayal of the death is on a par with Peckinpah's other movies, perhaps slightly higher, (one guy is practically executed whilst begging for his life on the ground, at least two other shot whilst unarmed in the back. Heck, the main death at the end is of an unarmed unaware guy shotgunned in the chest.) but certainly very violent by contemporary standards. However the point is that PG&BTK is not a story of killing to achieve a goal, the very act of killing is the goal. Very unusual for it's time, especially considering it was made well before the Watergate/Vietnam cynicsm hit Hollywood.

[cthomer5000]

City Lights (1931) by Charlie Chaplan springs to mind. That movie is hilarious and really sad at the same time. Also, some of the stunts Chaplan pulled in the pre-stunt man age are almost scary to watch now (the roller-skating scene really stands out to me).

Rear Window (1954), probably my favorite Hitchcock movie.

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), outstanding book, good movie.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962), this movie must have blown some minds at the time. It's a creepy viewing today, but it must have been downright revolutionary in it's day.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), This movie impresses me more from a techinical standpoint than it does a story standpoint, although it scores high there as well.

[cthomer5000]

I can honestly say I posted before I saw mutliple mentions of Rear Window being Hithcock's best movie. I obviously agree.

[Buccaneer]

Admittedly, I don't like classic movies. The few I do would include:

Gone With The Wind
Ben Hur
The Longest Day


Plus this trilogy (as VPI listed), which I don't really consider "old-time" classics, more in the style of 70s movies:

A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dallars More
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

[KWhit]

Casablanca
Dr Strangelove
Psycho
Sunset Boulevard

[Airhog]

To kill a mocking bird is probably one of my favorite pre-70 movies. Actually, the only ones I have seen, were the movies we watched in highschool english.

Of mice and men
The grapes of wrath
All quiet on the western front - Loved the book, not sure if we watched the movie though.

[oliegirl]

A few off the top of my head:

To Kill a Mockingbird...definitely my favorite book and movie of all time

Sound of Music
Singing in the Rain
West Side Story (I think this is pre-70's)
My Fair Lady


(OK - so I like cheezy musicals! I am a girl, it's allowed)

Edit - I forgot Breakfast at Tiffany's - a non-musical...I wish I was Holly Golightly, minus the whole conspiring with a mobster, brother dying, getting left by hot-Argentinian fiancee...just cut to the part where I get to kiss George Peppard!

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

(OK - so I like cheezy musicals! I am a girl, it's allowed)

then you really need to see Meet Me in St. Louis. It's the best.

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

then you really need to see Meet Me in St. Louis. It's the best.

I haven't seen that one...who is in it? I am thinking Judy Garland and/or Fred Astaire, but I might be wrong...

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Admittedly, I don't like classic movies.

What the hell do you like?!! Seriously? You don't like classics, and I can only ever recall you moaning and groaning about current movies. Is there some small 1970-1985 window or something?

[Buccaneer]

I think there are two reasons for my disliking of classic movies: Bogart (which I have never, ever seen how anyone could stand watching him) and the fact that most movies of the 30s and 40s are "stagey dramas" as if they were filming a theatre show. They actually were, given the progeny and popularity of the stage at the time; but with me not being a fan of theatre, it becomes a turn when everyone looked so perfectly made-up and manicured - no matter what the scene or action taking place!

[Karlifornia]

Night Of The Hunter-starring Robert Mitchum as a crook who stalks these two kids. "Chiiiiiildrennn"

Dr. Strangelove- The part where he takes the hat out of the safe is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

EDIT:...meant to say 'safe'..not 'vault'

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

Night Of The Hunter-starring Robert Mitchum as a crook who stalks these two kids. "Chiiiiiildrennn"

Great call! Awesome movie.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I think there are two reasons for my disliking of classic movies: Bogart (which I have never, ever seen how anyone could stand watching him) and the fact that most movies of the 30s and 40s are "stagey dramas" as if they were filming a theatre show. They actually were, given the progeny and popularity of the stage at the time; but with me not being a fan of theatre, it becomes a turn when everyone looked so perfectly made-up and manicured - no matter what the scene or action taking place!

I very much agree for the most part. A good friend and I have a running joke that acting was only invented recently. I remember watching a number of absolutely terrible "classics" in high school. I think there are a few gems to be found here and there in the early days of cinema, but I'm guessing most of us view things as probably taking a great leap forward at some point in the 60s.

Still, I just figured you'd be a "classics" guy... perhaps I'm just letting the cranky old guy persona cloud my judgement.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

What the hell do you like?!! Seriously? You don't like classics, and I can only ever recall you moaning and groaning about current movies. Is there some small 1970-1985 window or something?

Of my top 20 favorites, they are spread evenly from about 1980 to 2004, plus the abovementioned classics and my top 2 being from the early 70s. I haven't found any recent comedies that compare to the ones in the 80s, though.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

I haven't seen that one...who is in it? I am thinking Judy Garland and/or Fred Astaire, but I might be wrong...

Judy. Lots of GREAT songs in it, such as "The Trolley Song", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "The Boy Song", and of course "Meet Me In St. Louis".

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by tanglewood

As for the violence, perhaps I didn't quite use the correct choice of words. In Peckinpah's other films there is a greater sense of the violence having purpose, or at least leading to some recognisable conclusion. In PG&BTK there is just scene after scene of people being blown away for seemingly little reason. The majority of the characters are introduced with the express purpose of being killed. The actual portrayal of the death is on a par with Peckinpah's other movies, perhaps slightly higher, (one guy is practically executed whilst begging for his life on the ground, at least two other shot whilst unarmed in the back. Heck, the main death at the end is of an unarmed unaware guy shotgunned in the chest.) but certainly very violent by contemporary standards. However the point is that PG&BTK is not a story of killing to achieve a goal, the very act of killing is the goal. Very unusual for it's time, especially considering it was made well before the Watergate/Vietnam cynicsm hit Hollywood.

Well, you certainly convinced me with that well thought out treatise. I suppose I was equating violence with gore, which isn't always the case.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I very much agree for the most part. A good friend and I have a running joke that acting was only invented recently. I remember watching a number of absolutely terrible "classics" in high school. I think there are a few gems to be found here and there in the early days of cinema, but I'm guessing most of us view things as probably taking a great leap forward at some point in the 60s.

Still, I just figured you'd be a "classics" guy... perhaps I'm just letting the cranky old guy persona cloud my judgement. http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...lies/smile.gif

Nah, the old guy persona is a running joke for I do truly overlap many here regarding the movies of the 80s, which was when I really got into them, just like many TV shows as well. The only "old guy" thing are perhaps my music goes back a little further and I remember sports from the 60s.

But I do agree with your point about acting beginning in 60s (probably late 60s) when period pieces actually took on some semblance of realism. It still bothers me that many "historical period" movies from pre-70 looked no different than any current movie of the time. The expections were some of the silent films and a few noteables of the 20s and 30s, like the horror movies.

[Senator]

I just saw a subtitled German movie from 1931 called M. It was one of the first talkies and had a very young Peter Lorre as the child serial rapist/killer. It is one of the biggest mind screws I have ever seen. Why this is not an all time classic I will never know. The director is about 20 years ahead of his time. And then with a little research I find out that the German Director was making a social comment on the upcoming Nazi party, it really got my interest. He wanted to call it, "The Muderous Among Us" but thought it might be too obvious, so he called it M, for Murder and said it was based on a child killer at the time. Peter Lorre is superb. Creepy as hell, and he does a monologue at the end that was amazing on how he couldn't help himself to get sympathy. I would love to get some thoughts on anyone else who has seen this.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0022100/

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Senator

Why this is not an all time classic I will never know.

I've never seen the film, but I would disagree on this bit here. It's constantly mentioned as a classic in what I've read or seen. It's even listed as #54 all-time on IMDB.

Your solid review just bumped it to the top of my netflix queue.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Senator

I just saw a subtitled German movie from 1931 called M.

This movie's piqued my interest a couple times in the past, but it always fades from memory before I was ever able to track it down. With such a glowing recomendation, and a helping hand from the glorious internet, I will now just toss it in my netflix queue.

EDIT: SLOW STUBBY FINGERS YOU TAUNT ME AGAIN. Cthomer, you can have your sentence back.

[Senator]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I've never seen the film, but I would disagree on this bit here. It's constantly mentioned as a classic in what I've read or seen. It's even listed as #54 all-time on IMDB.

Your solid review just bumped it to the top of my netflix queue.

Well, everytime I come across something I haven't seen, it does a number to my fragile ego who thinks he has seen and heard everything. It should be a classic, why I never heard of it, makes me angry at myself. It would be a great movie to breakdown in about a 100 different ways.

[MrBug708]

I actually tried watching all's quiet on the western front. Very dull

[ThunderingHERD]

I'd put Rear Window maybe 4th for Hitchcock, behind Vertigo, Northwest by Northwest, and the best: Notorious.

[tanglewood]

Hollywood certainly took a great leap forward in the 60s, but foriegn cinema (specifically French, Italian, German, Russian & Japanese film) had been generally more developed as an art since the 1920s. When the new breed of American directors broke through the turgid studio system of Hollywood in the mid-sixties we get modern American cinema. Until then a few shining lights stand out, but I can completely agree with the gripes regarding traditional Hollywood cliches of the 'classic era' movie. The uniform lighting, costume, make-up and sets of 30s, 40s and 50s Hollywood simply looks ridiculous these days.

Edit: Senator's recommendation of M helps my point I guess. M is a fantastic film and I would tell everyone to see it if they can.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I will now just toss it in my netflix queue.

EDIT: SLOW STUBBY FINGERS YOU TAUNT ME AGAIN. Cthomer, you can have your sentence back.

We should see if you could organize some sort of FOFC movie club around here. Pick a movie a month, everyone try to watch it at roughly the same time (pick a weekend well in advance), then discuss it. I think it might be kind of interesting, and with Netflix and video stores, we might be able to get a decent number of people interested.

[Fouts]

I can watch anyting with Bogart and/or Katherine Hepburn in it. Don't care what movie it is, they keep me riveted to the tv.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by tanglewood

Until then a few shining lights stand out, but I can completely agree with the gripes regarding traditional Hollywood cliches of the 'classic era' movie. The uniform lighting, costume, make-up and sets of 30s, 40s and 50s Hollywood simply looks ridiculous these days.

For me, this is part of what makes the Marx Brothers so hilariously fantastic. Their movies contain all the same insipid elements that make up the typical '30s Hollywood snorefest: stiff, rushed delivery of lines, bland musical numbers, and uninspired sets and make-up that have both been painted on with way too many coats...they just introduce a dim italian schemer, a lecherous horn-honking mute in an overcoat, and a motor-mouthed freak with a painted on moustache into the equation. If Hollywood were to apply this method to every movie made in the last 10 years, surely they wouldn't be complaing about plummeting revenue. Certainly, this is a preferable strategy to "Remember that shitty show we used to watch in 1983 every tuesday night? Dude, let's make THAT into a movie."


Also, this is a great f-ing idea:

Originally Posted by cthomer

We should see if you could organize some sort of FOFC movie club around here.

EDIT: I'll happily start a thread to guage the interest.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

We should see if you could organize some sort of FOFC movie club around here. Pick a movie a month, everyone try to watch it at roughly the same time (pick a weekend well in advance), then discuss it. I think it might be kind of interesting, and with Netflix and video stores, we might be able to get a decent number of people interested.

Great idea. How about it then?

[ntndeacon]

My Top 10 pre- 1970 movies
10) The Best Years of Our Lives--1946 This is a great story about the after effects of War. For those who haven't seen it, Fredric March and Myrna Loy were both tremendous in this.

9) Yankee Doodle Dandy--1942 I have a soft spot for movies about performers. And this is the best one that I know of. Jimmy Cagney plays a great George Cohan.
8) Bridge over the River Kwai--1957 This is one of the best war movies I know...or is that prison movies.
7) In the Heat of the Night--1967 Seeing Sidney Poitier slap a white man after being slapped does not seem to be as big a thing today...But I can only imagine the shock seeing it in 1967.
6) Strangers on a Train--1951 Perhaps the evilest person to be played on the screen. Bruno Anthony. not my favorite Hitchcock, but close.

5) Witness for the Prosecution--1957 A Billy Wilder gem. Marlene Dietrich is wonderful. Agatha Christie done right.
4) Dr. Strangelove or, How I stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb--1964 This is the best comedy ever. Peter Sellers is amazing and George C. Scott is surprisingly funny.
3) 12 Angry Men--1957 Having the entire preceding inside a jury room. only the Jury room and the bathroom ever seen. the tempers flaring.
2) Psycho--1960 This is my favorite Hitchcock. Even knowing most of the important plot points this movie still shocks me.
1) Casablanca--1942 One of the most perfect movies ever made.

I do need to mention one other movie, since it is one of my favorite Sci-fi films. The Incredible Shrinking Man. The fight with the spider is awesome. and is his bravery in facing new challenges at the end of the movie.

[Senator]

The Incredible Shrinking Man. I saw that when I was a really little kid on a Saturday afternoon in front of the TV, and I remember asking my mom if he was just going to keep shrinking into nothingness. She said yes, and I remember that at the time it messed with me. I couldn't comprehend it. I mean, what kind of parent was she? The answer is, of course, "Oh no little Senator. Something will eat him long before that happens."

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Senator

The Incredible Shrinking Man. I saw that when I was a really little kid on a Saturday afternoon in front of the TV, and I remember asking my mom if he was just going to keep shrinking into nothingness. She said yes, and I remember that at the time it messed with me. I couldn't comprehend it. I mean, what kind of parent was she? The answer is, of course, "Oh no little Senator. Something will eat him long before that happens."

I've been wanting to see this for the longest time, but haven't been able to track down a copy.

[ntndeacon]

I saw it on AMC right before it turned crappy. When they actually showed classic movies and not some crappy movie from the 90s broken up with commercials.

[Johnny93g]

Some like it Hot....one of the funniest movies ive ever seen

[Ryche]

I'll throw out a rather odd choice that I really enjoy watching.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I'm not one for musicals, but this one just always amuses me for some reason. The songs are fun and and the women are damn cute.

And I'm probably in the minority in that I was bored stiff watching Gone with the Wind. Although considering when it was made, I perhaps didn't appreciate it enough when I watched it the first time.

[WSUCougar]

Ditto on the Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns. Speaking of Clint, Kelly's Heroes comes in 1970 but I do love it. I'm also a fan of the Marx Brothers.

Three other classics that come to mind:

The Great Escape (1963): At times I have considered this my favorite film.

The Sand Pebbles (1966): Don't hear too mcuh about this one, but it's a great film starring Steve McQueen.

The Quiet Man (?): John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Gold.

[SFL Cat]

The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)
Metropolis
It Happened One Night
Scarface
The Black Cat (really, any of the old Universal horror flicks)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Citizen Kane
Captain Blood
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Arsenic & Old Lace
Sargeant York
Destry Rides Again
The Mark of Zorro
Stagecoach
Red River
Gone With The Wind
The Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
The African Queen
The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
Thief of Bagdad
Key Largo
It's A Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
The Searchers
The Gunfighter (Gregory Peck)
Harvey
The War of the Worlds
The Thing (liked the remake too)
The Treasure of the Sierra-Madre
Forbidden Planet
North by Northwest
Zulu
Ben Hur
Ten Commandments
To Kill A Mockingbird (based on my all-time favorite book)
On The Waterfront
Paths of Glory
Lawrence of Arabia
West Side Story
The Great Escape
High Noon
Spartacus
The Guns of Navarone
Mary Poppins
The Naked Prey
Shane
The Sound of Music
For A Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
From Russia With Love
2001: A Space Odyssey
True Grit

[Buccaneer]

One of the things I remembered this morning were the comedy movies of the 30s-50s. I really, really liked many of the buddy movies: L&H, A&C, Martin and Lewis, and even Lil' Rascals (Never got into Bob Hope though). But I don't know if those would be considered movie "classics".

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Great idea. How about it then?

I'm totally in...and if CTHomer doesn't want to run it, I will

[SFL Cat]

A few comedies that came to mind

The Court Jester and the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, both starring Danny Kaye.

[Toddiec]

The Philadelphia Story (1940) is a good one that the wife and I watch whenever it comes on. Grant+Hepburn+Stewart = Gold Jerry...GOLD!