What movie made before 1960 is the most enjoyable to watch?

I always hated old movies, especially black and white ones, until I watched Grand Hotel. That movie got me hooked on them. The Women and Mildred Pierce are two of my other favorites.

Written on the Wind Johnny Guitar Double Indemnity Dinner at Eight

Embrace the extre artificiality on every level and watch “Top Hat.”

OMG, not Johnny Guitar!! That movie is trash.

The best of Billy Wilder is usually the test as to whether a person can enjoy classic films; if Wilder doesn’t work, nothing will.

Another vote for Mildred Pierce

Brining Up Baby.

[quote] Brining Up Baby.

Is that the one where that nice couple brines their child like a Thanksgiving turkey?

The Terror of Tiny Town

Roman Holiday

The African Queen

Quiet Wedding

The Letter

It Happened One Night

What are some of your favorite modern films, OP? Might guide us in recommendations.

For example, if you like comedies, then you may enjoy films like My Man Godfrey (1936) and His Girl Friday (1940).

Another vote here for HIS GIRL FRIDAY. If you can't find anything to enjoy there, or in ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), then I give up.

OP Irene Dunne is your answer! She's one of the very very few actresses from that era who never seems histrionic or methodical in her acting. Look at this scene and you'll see what I mean. She always seems so natural and effortless in her performances.

Bringing Up Baby, s great screwball comedy with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.

Sunrise and City Lights if you can't listening to old dialogue. Not a word to be heard. Just pure art.

Waterloo Bridge, His Girl Friday, Rebecca, The More The Merrier, All About Eve, Sunset Boulevard, A Streetcar Named Desire, Some Like It Hot...

[quote] Quiet Wedding

I thought I was the only DLer to appreciate this pleasant, warm-hearted rom-com by (gays) Terry Rattigan and Tony Asquith.

I especially liked the scenes with young Peggy Ashcroft playing the pretentious SJW do-gooder named 'Flower Lisle'.

Written on the Wind is some gonzo shit. It's a fever dream.

You'll enjoy "My Favorite Wife" (1940) a very funny screwball comedy that's been remade and stolen from many times.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are both excellent and it's pretty saucy for its time.

Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943).

I think he said it was his personal favorites from his films. It's good, sinister fun.

You don't deserve to watch classic films. Stick with tik tok videos. That's your level.

Random Harvest. One of the all time greats. Not that it makes much sense. Garson and Coleman speak the English language as if it were one of the great art forms of western civilization, it moves from agonizing tragedy to tragedy and Susan Peters gives a heartbreaking Oscar worthy performance. Has all the MGM bleakness and glamour you could want much like Grand Hotel.

I love old Ealing comedies:

The Ladykillers

Kind Hearts And Coronets

Whiskey Galore!

The Lavender Hill Mob

Passport To Pimlico

The Man In The White Suit

The Titfield Thunderbolt

I've always thought the Scarlet Pimpernel was a complete hoot!

Some Like It Hot was an unexpected good time. I also thoroughly enjoyed The Thin Man.

From Here to Eternity--one of the best

East of Eden

Rebel Without A Cause

Imitation of Life with Lana Turner and have a box of tissues with you.

• Vertigo

• Mutiny On The Bounty

• Ben-Hur

• Moby Dick

• Casablanca

• Gone With The Wind

• The Birds (1963) (not before 1960, but only off by 3 years)

Most anything with Babs Stanwyck in it.

A few favourites of mine are, Stella Dallas, Witness to murder and There’s always tomorrow.

OP -you now have a great list - watch 2 over the holiday weekend — all the way through; even if you’re not feeling it — and report back to the thread on Tuesday with your reviews.

OK, I will, r30.

Not to tax your brain too much --- Anything by Ray Harryhausen

OP please include another witty and firing on all cylinders Irene Dunn and Cary Grant comedy The Awful Truth.

The Gangs All Here. But stop just before the Polka Dot Polka. No human being should be allowed to see that. It is known to leave people with waking nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Anything with DL icon Betty Hutton.

R27 I Love Douglas Sirk films but they are the campiest dramas ever. So melodramatic and OTT, I think that's what OP is trying to avoid.

Women in prison movies. A great triple bill is Caged (1950), Women in Prison (1955) and the later House of Women (1962) featuring dl favorite Constance Ford battling fellow daytime butch matriarch Jeanne Cooper. Of course, Connie battling Sandra Dee in A Summer Place is tops in fun.

If you like early Stanwyck, try a few Warner archive films with Kay Francis. My favorites are One Way Passage, Jewel Robbery, Mandalay, I Found Stella Parrish and Confession.

My favorite 30's musical is the very witty Gold Diggers of 1933. The lead is Joan Blondell who later told Didi Conn not to cry over spilt milkshake in Grease. Speaking of which, Eve Arden in 1944's The Doughgirls is one of the funniest performances ever. Also her with a great cast of legends in Stage Door.

It's true, Sirk is probably too much, along with Johnny Guitar, but if you are ready for them, they can be great fun.

The Postman Always Rings Twice -- John Garfield and Lana Turner

Another vote for Mildred Pierce.

Not Mildred Pierce, not for a beginner anyway. Too long.

I think OP should stick to breezy comedy or noir drama / thrillers to start — they are much more in line with common contemporary taste than “Woman’s Picture” melodramas

Auntie Mame!

I don't understand how anyone cannot enjoy movies made before 1960. It's very sad.

Try a good film noir like crossfire, out of the past or murder, my sweet

Some Like it Hot is one of my all time favorite movies and I also really enjoy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

If you like new movies, just watch new movies.

Touch of Evil

Kiss Me Deadly

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Movies from the 60s are new movies?

Double Indemnity///Sunset Boulevard//Bringing Up Baby//Dodsworth//

The Women, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Suddenly Last Summer

The Letter and Jezebel. It's Bette all the way down.

A Letter to Three Wives is a delicious watch.

Laura

Meet Me in St. Louis

The Best Years of Our Lives

Rear Window

12 Angry Men

Witness for The Prosecution

An Affair to Remember

Pillow Talk

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

If you’re a gay man, you owe it to yourself to see:

Strange Cargo (1940)

Johnny Eager (1941)

Body and Soul (1947)

Rope (1948)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Bend of the River (1952)

The Big Combo (1955)

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Tea and Sympathy (1956)

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Hanging Tree (1959)

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

If you like psychotic broads, watch Leave Her to Heaven.

Most enjoyable to watch?

Altman's NASHVILLE.

Barbara Jean has had another collapse.

Or PINK FLAMINGOS.

Forbidden Planet

Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet Whoa oh oh oh oh At the late night double feature picture show

R52 pretty much summed it up. Great list! I would only add MARTY to that list. It's the one movie that just gets me every time.

I'm sure they have all been mentioned but I am going to second and third them.

Maltese Falcon

The Big Sleep

African Queen

All About Eve

Some Like it Hot

North by Northwest

The Philadelphia Story

Dinner at Eight

Yes!

Strange Cargo (1940) is actually very modern and attempts a layer of the spiritual.

It's very good and well directed.

Thieves’ highway has some of the sexiest scenes in a film from the 40s. I remember making a mental note of that.

The Disney classics of this era still hold up.

The Thin Man series.

Definitely check out Mom and Dad. Since you're much too young to have ever seen a classic film, this one might be educational for you.

Sunset Boulevard Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Giant The Heiress Singin’ In The Rain

R55 doesn't know how to read a calendar.

The Third Man

The Treasure of Sierra Madre

The Thief of Bagdad (1940) - just as strikingly beautiful as "The Wizard of Oz" with early use of Disney-styled Technicolor

"And Then There Were None" (1944)

The revolt of Mamie stover

Cobra Woman - with Maria Montez. Was considered one of the "gay essentials" for decades. The campy dialogue is a HOOT - and the color photography sparkles

King Kong (1933)

She (1935)

Ball of Fire with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda

Ninochka with Greta Garbo

Rebecca with Joan Fontaine and Henry Fonda

Sorry, Rebecca is Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine

I also like Grapes of Wrath

I find Kathy Hepburn super grating

Wizard of Oz

The Crimson Pirate Houdini That Hamilton Woman

I'm going to watch Mildred Pierce first, since it's the old movie I see referenced the most on DL.

A Night to Remember. It is so much better than "Titanic", the two can't even be compared.

Freaks

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T! Why that's not a DL fave, I don't know.

DL hates women and children so by proxy it hates anything that caters to their interests.

'Ball of Fire with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda'

Somebody does not know classic films very well.

Sorry Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck

The Lady Vanishes

Leave Her to Heaven

Harvey

Picnic

Come Back Little Sheba

It might be what makes you never watch an old movie ever again, but..

"The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" is a loud, fast-paced semi-obscene romp,

and a lot of people get a huge kick out of it, even if they only watch it once.

The Maltese Falcon, one of my favorite films. Great screenplay and the supporting actors give the best performances.

The Palm Beach Story is bliss. Even Rudy Vallee is very funny in it which is quite a trick.

I don’t know how people can enjoy any movie produced after the 1960s!

Awful surround sound, terrible diction, ugly sets, bad acting…

Occasionally they’ll be a winner, but they are few and far between.

I'd put it after the 70s but people love those films so what can you do? And that's when I came of age so I should love them and I don't.

I came of age in the 80s and it was even worse. There was a slight uptick in quality in the 90s, then it dropped back down again. When I'm looking for a movie to watch, I generally gravitate to those released before 1970.

some of my faves: Casablanca, Shadow of A Doubt & Notorious (Hitchcock), The Lady Eve (screwball comedy) The Shop Around the Corner (Romance), Double Indemnity (film noir), The Third Man (thriller) The Band Wagon (Astaire, musical), I walked with a zombie (b movie horror).

You seem very young and naive. I second the person who suggested Mom and Dad.

Thriller: M, The Third Man, Sunset Boulevard, The Letter, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Rope

Horror: Freaks, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Most Dangerous Game, Doctor X

Comedy: Bringing Up Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers, Some Like It Hot, The Court Jester, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife

Drama: The Heiress, Citizen Kane, Dinner at Eight, Ace in the Hole, Casablanca, 12 Angry Men, Children of the Paradise, Great Expectations

Crime: The Maltese Falcon, Witness for the Prosecution, The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing

Fantasy/SF: The Thief of Bagdad, The Wizard of Oz, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Forbidden Planet, The Incredible Shrinking Man

You can't go wrong with musicals. M-G-M produced a number of great ones.

That's a good idea, r93. I am in the mood for something like that. Which one should I start with after I watch Mildred Pierce?

Allegedly, the best MGM musical is Singin' in the Rain (1952), but I prefer An American in Paris (1951), The Band Wagon (1953), and Gigi (1958).

[italic]Singin' in the Rain[/italic] is not just one of the best movie musicals of all time. It's one of the best movies about movies of all time.

Donald O'Connor ruins Singin' in the Rain for me, he's so unbelievably annoying.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Petrified Forest

The only uptick in quality came from more indie films getting exposure and more openly gay characters getting seen. They were already headed in that direction in the early 1980s with films like [italic]Making Love[/italic] and [italic] Personal Best[/italic] but then came AIDS.

Anything with Montgomery Clift is good. I Confess was one of the first ones I watched. Got me hooked on old movies AND Montgomery Clift.

Yeah, Monty in From Here to Eternity would be good.

A very fun little movie is "A Slight Case of Murder" (1938) with Edward G. Robinson. I haven't seen it in a long time, but I remember being delighted with it. Robinson plays a rough gangster who tries to enter wealthy society.

R100 I love monty in “the search” he does well with the young boy and it’s a sweet movie.

“A Face in the crowd” made before 1960 but still very relevant today.

This one

I’ll reiterate Joan Crawford

Queen Bee

Female on the Beach

Harriet Craig

Autumn Leaves

Torch Song

Daisy Kenyon

Humoresque

Possessed

My favorite less known MGM musicals :

Broadway Melody of 1936. The sets and choreography for I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling are terrific.

Broadway Serenade. Jeanette MacDonald sings while skiing!

Little Nellie Kelly. Judy dies and comes back as her daughter. Her version of Singin' in the Rain gives me a grand and glorious feeling!

I Married an Angel. Sumptuous!

Best Foot Forward. Nancy Walker steaks the film from Lucy!

Broadway Rhythm, simply for the acrobatic triplets.

Yolanda and the Thief. It's coffee time!

The Pirate. Gene Kelly in tight leggings and Judy surrounded by flakes! (not just the dancers).

Neptune's Daughter. Baby, it's cold outside!

Athena, for the manly display of beefcake and Jane and Debbie.

Hit the Deck. Hallelujah!

Les Girls. What is truth?

Bells are Ringing. The party was not over!

Anatomy of a Murder

The Bad Seed

Frankenstein

The Wolf Man

Nosferatu

Horror of Dracula

I liked Mildred Pierce! I have started Arsenic and Old Lace but it's giving me a headache. Maybe it'll get better.

Are you single R92? Asking for myself.

I've always loved the original "Auntie Mame" (not the remake that was a musical).

It's very LONG, and could be tightened up a bit in the middle, but it's still pretty hilarious and VERY quotable.

Do you read books written before 1960 OP? Or look at paintings from pre-60? Listen to pre-60s music? Because coming up with an arbitrary date makes you sound a bit of an idiot.

It's arbitrary to a degree, yes. But if I had said "old movies" people could have interpreted that as anything from pre-1980 to silent movie era films. I specified "pre-1960" because I haven't really enjoyed many films made before then for the reasons I mentioned in the OP. I might be an idiot, but not because I clarified what I was asking about.

R113, I was thinking the same. It's such arbitrary date the OP mentioned. I mean, if it was 1967 I'd be more understanding as that around the time the rating code was initiated and moviemaking sensibilities changed. 1960 is arbitrary and has no real meaning. OP needs to just watch more movies and get over his/her ageism.

The original Scarface with Paul Muni who gives one of the greatest performances in an American film. Ending with that orgiastic shootout with the magnificent Ann Dvorak as his sister. Wow.

[quote]Do you read books written before 1960 OP?

Books are awfully decorative, don't you think?

"White Heat" a great gangster film with Jimmy Cagney giving the performance of his career, and a great supporting cast. There isn't a dull moment in this film.

I find most pre-1960 films unwatchable as well - but I love Blithe Spirit (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945)

Blithe Spirit was especially modern for its time. His dead wife even admits to fucking some other man soon after they were married. Though she says "made love" of course.

Witness For The Prosecution (1957)

You actually feel sorry for Dietrich's character at the end.

Marlena Dietrich look amazing in the film for being in her mid 50s. She pulled it off.

I love The Bad Seed.

The Asphalt Jungle, Saboteur, The Shop on the Corner--I've watched each of those many times. Also, The Killing with Sterling Hayden. Hot.

The Ten Commandments (Charlton Heston as "Moses")

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (comedy)

Boys Town (drama)

The Long, Long Trailer (Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz comedy)

The early Universal Monsters Films. Dracula, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and especially The Bride of Frankenstein.

My favorite Abbott and Costello movies:

A & C Meet Frankenstein

Hold That Ghost

Who Done It

A & C In Hollywood

The Time of Their Lives

R119 I can't cope with that green-faced woman in 'Blithe Spirit'.

Her face looks like a sponge cake. I can't think why a martinet like David Lean allowed it.

The Reckless Moment with Joan Bennett and James Mason. Laura.

"The Asphalt Jungle'

The General

Buster Keaton masterpiece from 1926

R119, you should watch "Dinner at Eight". It's a screwball comedy, pre-code, that is randy as can be, and with some surprisingly dark moments as well.

This thread made me think.

Do people even watch movies pre-1960/70 any more?

All these streaming sites seem to focus more on post-1980s movies.

Are there any people under 40 going, "Yeah, think I'll stream 'The Poseidon Adventure' today.".

I love Kurosawa and Ozu and I've been watching Fellini's movies in order, and I like those as well. But I never really took to old American movies. I associate them with broad humor and people shouting on the screen, like they did in Arsenic and Old Lace.

OP, that gives us much more to go on. Try The Bitter Tea of General Yen, the 1937 version of Lost Horizon, Black Narcissus, and A Place in the Sun.

I didn't read all of the posts, and I almost always do. I must of got too excited to list Picnic and The Long Hot Summer. William Holden in Picnic is so hot- and it's a pretty good play/movie. And Paul Newman sizzles in The Long Hot Summer (decent movie). Plus, it's summer now, so they would be fun to watch in the heat.

[quote] I must of got too excited to list Picnic and The Long Hot Summer.

Oh, dear

R135 Hot, shirtless Men excite me.

I say this in every one of these threads-

Midnight (1939)- Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor, Don Ameche and John Barrymore in absolutely sparkling comedy.

Haxan!

"To Be or Not to Be" with Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. I just saw and really enjoyed this.

Strangers on a Train

So good!

The Letter, with Bette Davis

A Place in the Sun

Double Indemnity

Sunset Boulevard

R131, I'm under 40 and I love classic movies

second The Postman Always Rings Twice. Was surprised by how modern that felt, pacing wise.

Ossessione (the original postman always rings twice) is the best version. Massimo girotti is so sexy.

I loved The Blob with a very young Steve McQueen as our hero

It seems these days only old gay men like movies pre 1970. Opera and ballet as well. Not even younger gays for the most part like them.

That's because older gays knew what a decent meal tasted like. They weren't raised on Juicy Juice and soy lecithins.

There's a lot more choice now than just midnight movies. I like the old movies myself (and the opera and ballet too).

Of Human Bondage. This was Bette Davis' breakout film.

And, I quote, Mildred Rogers: "You cad, you dirty swine! I never cared for you, not once! I was always makin' a fool of ya! Ya bored me stiff; I hated ya! It made me sick when I had to let ya kiss me. I only did it because ya begged me, ya hounded me and drove me crazy! And after ya kissed me, I always used to wipe my mouth! Wipe my mouth!"

Sigh

R144 Ossessione wasn't the original 'Postman always rings twice'. It was a sexy Italian version of it.

I liked Girotti and many other elements of "Ossessione" a lot (including the implied gay relationship with his friend, "The Spaniard", and the theme of the wandering life on the road vs. settling down in one place) , but his relationship with Giovanna never really heated up passionately enough to make the murder plot convincing to me.

Fair enough, but was Girotti homosexuale then?

Nothing was stated outright, but he sure lit up when he was reunited with the Spaniard.

Ossessione was before the MGM. It does not have the heat the Turner/Garfield has.

[quote] It does not have the heat the Turner/Garfield has.

Neither movie them showed cock.

But Lana Turner has the sex appeal of a gold-plated car wrench.

I saw a French version of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" with Michel Simon from the 40's, but I can't remember the name of it. It was really good.

R155 yeah that's why in the 40s she was a star as big as they come.

I've always thought Lana Turner and Lauren Bacall were one person.

Imitation of Life

North by Northwest

Strangers on a Train

All About Eve

Rear Window

Auntie Mame

Witness for the Prosecution

Anatomy of a Murder

Sunset Boulevard

Sudden Fear

[quote] I've always thought Lana Turner and Lauren Bacall were one person

Lana had a bit more fat on her bones.

I see Peyton Place is on TCM right now, which reminded me how I always got a kick out of watching it. Lana Turner was Oscar-nominated for this, but I mostly watched to drool over Barry Coe, David Nelson and especially Lee Phillips as the new principal. I remember seeing him shirtless on an old TV show (either Twilight Zone or Perry Mason) and almost died.

Lee Phillips and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. were incredibly bland and dull leading men.

^ Efrem was the studio head's nephew.

I am watching SOME LIKE IT HOT and it's hilarious! I didn't think I'd like it, but there's something about the pacing and the dialogue that seems very modern. I think I am going to watch all the Billy Wilder movies before I move on to something else.

The French "Postman" was "The Last Turn".

The original "The Producers" is one of the funniest movies ever. Gene Wilder is amazing. Obviously, not a "before 1960 movie" but it's close enough.

The Big Street based on a story by Damon Runyon (Guys & Dolls) and has Lucille Ball playing a hard boiled nightclub singer.

OP, Billy Wilder's must-sees:

The Major and the Minor - hilarious, controversial comedy with Ginger Rogers giving one of her best performances

Double Indemnity - essential noir with Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson at his best

The Lost Weekend - stark drama of alcoholism (with gay subtext); won Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Actor (Ray Milland, never better)

A Foreign Affair - under-appreciated comedy about postwar Germany, starring Jean Arthur and Marlene Dietrich

Sunset Blvd. - iconic dark comedy/thriller, with unforgettable performances from Gloria Swanson, William Holden, and Erich von Stroheim

Ace in the Hole - dark, cynical melodrama about a craven journalist (Kirk Douglas); not one of my favorites, but it has its admirers

Stalag 17 - William Holden won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a cynical POW in World War II

Sabrina - charming romantic comedy with Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and a somewhat miscast Humphrey Bogart

The Seven Year Itch - so-so comedy nevertheless features the iconic subway grate scene with Marilyn Monroe

Love in the Afternoon - if you can forgive the age difference between Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn, it's a delicious comedy

Witness for the Prosecution - probably the best screen version of an Agatha Christie story, with a fantastic cast: Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lanchester

The Apartment - another Oscar winner for Best Picture and Director, considered the essential distillation of Wilder's worldview; Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray star

One, Two, Three - a personal favorite, a rapid-fire Cold War comedy set in Berlin just before the wall went up, with dazzling performances from James Cagney, Pamela Tiffin, and DL faves Arlene Francis and Horst Buchholz

Thank you so much, r168, I am going to keep referring to your list. I am now watching Double Indemnity. I really like these movies! The stories really suck you in. I did not think I would find anything that old that I like.

“The magnificent ambersons”

The director hated the slash job the studio did to it, but it is shorter and holds up really well over the years considering how old it is

"The Little Foxes" is excellent - "I hope you die!"

So far my favorite is "The Apartment." It reminds me of "Ikiru," since it's about loneliness.

The enchantingly sensuous "Black Orpheus" - a celluloid feast for the eyes and ears.

You Can’t Take It with You, 1938. Frank Capra directed. Starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, and our very own lesbian Spring Byington. Love its whimsy and madcapness. Remakes later don’t live up to this original one.

'You must really hate me.' 'I don't hate you Regina.'

R168 Hey what about Kiss Me Stupid?

I liked it a lot.

Roxy Hart is delightful!

Gone With the Wind Double Indemnity Gilda Mildred Pierce The Damned Don't Cry Sunset Boulevard

Don't Cry Sunset Boulevard is my favorite!

Some pre-1960 favorites of mine, just off the top of my head (there's lots more):

𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐨 (1958)

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 (1955)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (1956)

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 (1951)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 (1951)

𝟐𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (1954)

𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 (1953)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐚𝐭 (1934)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 (1951)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐳 (1939)

Has anyone mentioned "The Wizard of Oz" or "Gone with the Wind" yet? Those are probably two obscure ones you haven't heard of before, but they're really good!

Remember how they played Wizard of Oz on TV once a year?

R182, it's interesting that once upon a time, the 3 networks had annual showings of GWTW (CBS), Wizard of Oz (CBS), Sound of Music (NBC), and The Ten Commandments (ABC); now, the only one that remains is Commandments - does it still pull good ratings for ABC?

Surely the Charlie Brown stuff rates better than Heston.

Some great, great suggestions above.

I'll add a few of my favorites.

I Know Where I'm Going [1945] (Powell and Pressburger)

A Letter to Three Wives [1949] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

The Parent Trap [1961] (David Swift - who also directed Pollyanna, Good Neighbor Sam, Under the Yum Yum Tree, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)

I thought SOM still had annual showings on a major network around Christmas time? Though I don't know if it would draw any kind of audience because everyone must have a copy of the DVD or bluray and there's probably a 4k to come.

I do not like Stalag 17 at all. It's one of those "people shouting at each other" old movies I don't like. I might not finishing watching it.

Favorite line in A FOREIGN AFFAIR:

Where did you learn about women's clothes??

From my mother... she wore women's clothes.

lol

Shadow of a Doubt

All About Eve

Kiss Me Deadly

During the fall season I like to barricade myself in my home and watch Bette Davis movies.

Nosferatu

The Blood of Jesus is pretty good too

[quote] it's interesting that once upon a time, the 3 networks had annual showings

Also one of them did “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” over Labor Day weekend for several years.

Here's a clip, but if you don't like "Dinner at Eight," you're a Philistine!

r196, that looks funny!

Dinner at Eight is excellent, OP. Well worth a look.

Ben Hur, All About Eve

"The Spiral Staircase". She's trying to escape a serial killer, but she can't speak due to emotional trauma so she has to mime everything like Dopey. All star cast. Five star noir. You'll be scared witless Entire movie link.

Dorothy McGuire should have been Oscar nominated for The Spiral Staircase.

R201 Ethel got the nominee but Dorothy was rewarded by being allowed to play wife to that gorgeous male model named Gregory Peck soon after.

Ok, I have been watching a lot of old movies mentioned in this thread but so far my favorite is Witness for the Prosecution! It was the perfect mix of humor and mystery. I really liked Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton.

Dance, Girl Dance with the beautiful Lucille Ball and Maureen O'Hara is a lot of fun.

Scarlet Street

[quote]I have been watching a lot of old movies mentioned in this thread but so far my favorite is Witness for the Prosecution!

You are a man of taste and refinement, OP.

My new favorite thrown-away line from this film (I might be paraphrasing a tiny bit).

Tyrone Power: "You see, it not only beats the egg, but it separates the yolk from the white."

Charles Laughton: "Is that at all desirable?"

I've tried watching The Philadelphia Story but Katherine Hepburn is too annoying to me. I'm going to give it a pass. I'm still trying to torrent Dinner at Eight. It's taking forever.

Metropolis

Lady in a Cage

Frenzy

I think Katharine Hepburn is supposed to be annoying in "The Philadelphia Story".

There's also the reasonably enjoyable musical remake "High Society" which I used to scowl at, but on second thought it's fun and true enough to the original story.

Anything with Marlene Detrich. She is mesmerizing to watch. Shanghai Express is old fashioned but well done. It’s so interesting to watch them try to fit her into the mold of a conventional actress and it absolutely does not work. They try to write her as “the poor helpless woman” and it’s like casting Leslie Jones in that role. Nobody believes it. But Dietrich makes entire plot lines seem irrelevant to who her character is.

Anything pre-Hayes Code. Lots of hookers, drugs, people fucking around, and the bad guy wins sometimes. And the cinematography is beautiful.

Anything about Broadway during the Great Depression. Gold Diggers of 1933. Anything with Joan Blondell in it. She’s terrific. A lesser known character actress, Aline McMahon, was always playing the homely, wisecracking friend. She had a lot of warmth and was really effective even in very light roles. James Cagney also had It. He was paired with Blondell in several movies, they made a great team.

Try looking on YouTube, some old movies are there in their entirety for free. Amazon Prime has some old movies and TV series too.

A lot of older films move slower than you’re used to. So settle in.

Agree on Shanghai Express and Gold Diggers of 1933. Magnificent movies!

Hard to choose just one.

The Solid Gold Cadillac, with Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas. No effort required, just sit back and enjoy.

"Pat and Mike" (1952) with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. It's got a funny screenplay by the husband and wife team of Garson Kanin & Ruth Gordon who knew how to get laughs from a romantic set up.

Rear Window. Thelma Ritter, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly. What's not to like?

I Was A Teenage Werewolf with Michael Landon

'I'm still trying to torrent Dinner at Eight. It's taking forever.'

Could somebody translate this into English?

R217 He’s trying to download a bootleg copy of the film Dinner at Eight and Pirate Bay is taking forever. It’s like 9.99 on various platforms.

It's summer again... can I have more recommendations?

The Beatniks

Gold Diggers of 1933

Freaks

I must have given up/forgotten about torrenting "Dinner at Eight," but I just found it available online on this sketchy site. I'll watch it this weekend!

Dinner at Eight, with the incomparable Marie Dressler. My Man Godfrey. The Philadelphia Story. ("Oh, C.K. Dexter Haven!"). Just for starters.

Dumbo, when you need to make yourself feel happy.

R183 The Sound of Music is still shown every December on ABC.

Wizard of Oz is shown multiple times per year on cable channels TBS and TNT.

The AMC channel used to show Gone With the Wind once a year on the night before Thanksgiving. In recent years I have only seen it on Turner Classic Movies.

Here are some of my pre-1960 favorites that have not been mentioned yet.

The Rules of the Game

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Betty Boop cartoons: "Snow White" and "Dizzy Red Riding Hood."

Summertime

A life at Stake with Angela Lansbury and Keith Andes. It’s a B movie but it’s enjoyable.

I belong to a film group and a member made a post comparing the 70’s to Old Hollywood. Here is an excerpt:

“ Each decade cinema (at least mainstream cinema) seems to play a bit like a form of propaganda for its times. In the 40s, you had war propaganda and loads of films about patriotism and duty. In the 50s, you had loads of mainstream films that lauded the American way of life and the wholesome nature of this land and our ideals. But in the 60s and 70s fewer and fewer filmmakers use cinema to celebrate the US of A, and more and more filmmakers use cinema to critique its many flaws and downsides and what tradition may have viewed as uncinematic qualities."

I mean, parts of that I would agree with, but Old Hollywood *really* all about pushing propaganda? Certainly there are many films from that era don't fit the mold that he was trying fit them into. (And judging from some of his other posts/comments, he hasn't actually seen many films pre-1970)

Birth of a Nation

"Most enjoyable"? Well, now....

"Zorro" (Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, Linda Darnell. Superior swordfight between the two actors for real.)

"Dial 'M' For Murder." (Ray Milland, Grace Kelly. I never tire of the Inspector's "But he didn't.")

"North By Northwest." (Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint. Love the matchbook toss!)

"The Prince and the Pauper." (1937 version with Errol Flynn and the Mauch twins. Intriguing and funny!)

There are, of course, many more candidates!

R208, "Frenzy" was 1972.

R187/OP, What "shouting"?! The men are POWs who if anything try to keep their voices normal, if not low. Even in the climactic unmasking scene, the voices are barely raised.

In any case, it's a movie set during wartime. Don't be so sensitive.

I never understand questions like this when the asker gives no examples of what they usually like, not even a genre.

We could throw out names until the cows come home and never get close to finding what OP is looking for.

This Gun for Hire Double Indemnity Of Human Bondage

Woman of the Year

One of my favorites is Stage Door 1937, from the play of the same name.

Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller. . .

The writers listened to the young actresses talking and joking off set during rehearsals and incorporated their style of talking into the film. Director Gregory La Cava also allowed the actresses to ad lib during filming. Hepburn's famous lines during the play within the film, "The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day and now I place them here in memory of something that has died," are from The Lake (1934), the play for which Dorothy Parker panned Hepburn's performance as "running the gamut of emotions from A to B."

Sarcastic and witty it's a fun watch, like eating your favorite dessert.

Any Marx brothers film

Almost any Hitchcock but particularly Shadow Of A Doubt, Strangers On A Train, North By Northwest, Vertigo and Rear Window.

Almost any Wilder but particularly Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot and Sunset Boulevard

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Streetcar, All About Eve, Dinner at Eight, The Night of the Hunter, Born Yesterday, To Have and Have Not, Gilda, The Women, Stage Door, Camille, Rain (Joan Crawford version), His Girl Friday, Stella Dallas, Ninothcka

And some of the obvious, It’s A Wonderful Life, Wizard Of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane.

The Grand Illusion. It's a beautiful and profound film.

I'm glad someone finally mentioned Citizen Kane. I thought that would be an obvious one.

Children of Paradise. It was filmed under careful Nazi supervision and yet managed to convey anti-Nazi sentiment and be unabashedly pro-French. It's very much a dated film but any film that really captures it's own moment in history is going to be dated.

I know Wilder has been mentioned, but has anyone specifically mentioned Ace in the Hole? Wilder's political films are pretty sharp and hold up to modern scrutiny.

1-2-3 is my favorite Wilder film but I think it came out in 1961. It's very funny and it was the first time I realized that Arlene Francis actually had a career other than being a panelist on What's My Line? Not to mention that it features one of the sexiest and most useless actors of the era. Guess who I'm talking about? Also, many of the minor characters are gems and the whole thing is propelled by Cagney's great comedic performance. Interesting that the film was dated before it came out. Though they did address the construction of the Berlin Wall in post.

Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels is as sharp as anything Billy Wilder ever wrote and that's a high compliment. It's first very funny, then harrowing then funny again but always brilliant, insightful and vastly entertaining.

[quote]I liked Mildred Pierce! I have started Arsenic and Old Lace but it's giving me a headache. Maybe it'll get better.

OP, I don't know if you're still around but I laughed at this post, because I've known a few people who just loathed Arsenic and Old Lace, they acted like it kicked their puppy and stole their wallet, they were so mad about it. It may not be for you. I like it, but I can't get over the fact that Boris Karloff wasn't in it.

All About Eve

The Spirit Of St. Louis was a good movie until the last 5 minutes when Wilder cranked it up to an '11'.

R242, I'm still around and still open to suggestions.

I've seen a million old Hollywood films, but there are always ones I haven't caught up to on my list.

"Ball of Fire" with Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper

"Ninotchka" with Garbo and Melvyn Douglas

Both are a lot of fun.

The Technicolor epics and melodramas of the fifties.