Win me over! older movies 50's and earlier. black & white, color, mono, whatever goes (1 Viewer)

[Mike boettner]

Give me some suggestions on older movies. from the 50's or so and earlier. I'm not a big fan of older movies, maybe I just haven't seen the right ones? So, suggestions please, any style or type, to help me get into the "classic" stuff!
Mike

 

[george kaplan]

Well it really depends on your taste and why you don't like older movies. If you want big explosions, sorry, there aren't many. If you want lots of CGI, not many. If you don't like black & white because, well, you want color, then that's that.

But, I throw out a few titles that might be worth checking out depending on your taste:

First of all, classic Hitchcock:

North by Northwest
Rear Window
Vertigo

Some classic Bogie:

The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
Casablanca

Some classic comedies:

The Thin Man
Adam's Rib
Sullivan's Travels

Some other classics:

Bridge on the River Kwai
Citizen Kane
The Third Man
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Out of the Past

and if you really want to get open-minded,

Some classic silents:

The Gold Rush
Safety Last
The General

 

[Jason Seaver]

Well, might as well jump in all the way, right?

Spione (Spies) - three hours of silent German Fritz Lang goodness. Lang had an instinctual gift for composition that hasn't been matched yet.

 

[Mike boettner]

so far so good! I don't like CGI and i'm not an "action" only kinda guy. I do like movies that really make you think and/or strange/weird movies.

Also I love classic books. Swiss family Robinson, treasure island, 20,000 leagues under the sea.....etc. any movies like these would be great.
they don't have to be in color. i think i really enjoy abstract/not mainstream movies, if that helps.
Mike

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I agree with George's picks and submit the following additions:

PATHS OF GLORY
THE RED SHOES
BLACK NARCISSUS
PEEPING TOM
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
THE WAGES OF FEAR
THE GRAND ILLUSION
METROPOLIS

 

[Walter Kittel]

Comedy
My Man Godfrey
His Girl Friday
Arsenic and Old Lace
It Happened One Night
Harvey
War films
Twelve O'Clock High
Sahara
The Sands of Iwo Jima
From Here To Eternity
Run Silent, Run Deep
Crime / Noir
The Big Heat
Kansas City Confidential
The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
Kiss Me Deadly
The Naked City
Detour
Double Indemnity
To the list of classic Hitchcock, I would add
Rebecca - one of my favorites
Other classics to consider -
The 39 Steps
The Third Man
M
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
City Lights
The General
- Walter.

 

[Mike Hutman]

The only older movie that I have(and love) is The Hustler

 

[Edwin-S]

Under classic Bogie I would add
Treasure of The Sierra Madre
The Caine Mutiny (anyways, I think it is classic)
I'm not a big fan of silent movies but I was impressed with this one:
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The new background music inspired by this film was fantastic.
Someone already mentioned Wages of Fear but I will second it. Some intense scenes considering it was made in the Fifties.
Another one I would like to see on DVD is The Dawn Patrol (1938) .
Then there is:
All Quiet on The Western Front
The movie still impresses me, even though the acting is a little stilted compared to now.

 

[Todd_Brown]

Notorius, Citizen Kane , Cleopatra ,
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes these give a good cross section of classics from blockbuster, comedy, thriller, etc...
Todd

 

[terry deto]

the slient flim wings blew me away

 

[Patrick McCart]

City Lights
Safety Last
The Unknown
Ben-Hur (1925)
The Unholy Three (1925)
Greed
The Crowd
The General
Sherlock Jr.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I highly reccommend Citizen Kane as well as any film by Charlie Chaplin.

 

[Adam_S]

Some Like it Hot

 

[Paul D Young]

I'm not a big fan of older fan of older movies, maybe I just haven't seen the right ones?

I have always felt the same way, but there are a few that I have always liked.
My all time favorite old movie: Link Removed.
I also like:Link Removed, Link Removed, and Link Removed.
I will paying attention to this thread too as I am sure there are so many more great old movies to watch.

 

[george kaplan]

Well, Disney has versions of all three of those. I haven't seen Treasure Island, but 20,000 Leagues (1954) is very good, and Swiss Family Robinsion (1960) is out in a fantastic just released dvd.

 

[Agee Bassett]

One thing which is important to bear in mind is that older films were, by and large, crafted for more delicate sensibilities than those possessed of today's movie-going public. Consequently, it can be tough for one unfamiliar with the kind of experience offered by movies from bygone eras to appreciate the original impact they had on audiences of the day. Thusly, it might behoove the newcomer to begin with films which still remain relevant in these contemporary times in terms of intensity.
I would recommend the following films as standing out in their respective times in the vigor and intensity of their presentation, treatment, style, performance, or what-have-you (sound films only):
M, 1931
The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935
The 39 Steps, 1935
Gunga Din, 1939
The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
His Girl Friday, 1940
The Sea Wolf, 1941
Citizen Kane, 1941
The Devil and Daniel Webster, 1941
Sullivan's Travels, 1941
The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942
To Be or Not to Be, 1942
Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944
The Big Sleep, 1946
Great Expectations, 1946
Oliver Twist, 1948
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948
White Heat, 1949
Twelve O'clock High, 1949
The Third Man, 1949
The Big Carnival (a.k.a., Ace in the Hole), 1951
The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957
Paths of Glory, 1957
Sweet Smell of Success, 1957
A Face in the Crowd, 1957
12 Angry Men, 1957
Touch of Evil, 1958
Vertigo, 1958
North by Northwest, 1959
Some Like it Hot, 1959
Psycho, 1960
The Hustler, 1961
The Innocents, 1961
Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
The Manchurian Candidate, 1962
Dr. Strangelove, 1963
Seven Days in May, 1964
I would wager that you probably have a better shot of finding films, which appeal at least somewhat to your contemporary sensibilities, from among this list than any other.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Excellent choices here. HTF, yes!

 

[Seth Paxton]

I would just say that the lists presented already contain many of the great ones to see.

Some personal favs (mostly with great dialog)

Bogart at his very finest:
Maltese Falcon
Casablanca

Welles with some great acting
Touch of Evil - might take a 2nd viewing, it's awkward for new viewers I think, but once you get used to some of the style you find some excellent dialog

Third Man
Citizen Kane

2 good Errol Flynn movies (which means action for the time)
Adventures of Robin Hood
The Sea Hawk

See some Chaplin films. I prefer City Lights above all.

Keaton's The General is pretty impressive physical comedy/adventure too.

Some great comedies, often with that great sharp wit that most modern comedies have given up on...

Arsenic and Old Lace
His Girl Friday
It Happened One Night
Philadelphia Story (hepburn and grant)
Bringing Up Baby (hepburn and grant)

Speaking of Cary Grant (P. Story, Arsenic, HGF, BUB) he had several other fun comedies. 2 that both myself and the finacee like (which means cross appeal) are Monkey Business and Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.

My favorite Monroe picture is from '55 - The Seven Year Itch. In fact Billy Wilder is a solid director to start with when looking at older films, tough to go wrong with him. Sunset Blvd, Stalag 17, Double Indemnity, Some Like it Hot all being '50s and earlier.

It's tough to go wrong with the Hitchcock library. If you saw Mission Impossible 2 and would like to see the story done correctly, then check out Notorious (again with Grant).

Rear Window, North by Northwest, and Vertigo are classics for a reason.

I really like Hitch's older work too, stuff like 39 Steps or The Lady Vanishes (both Criterion btw).

And Kurosawa was going strong back then. Seven Samurai is a great action flick for example.

German Fritz Lang is another good foreign director, check out M and Metropolis for starters. Something like M is still rather dramatic by today's standards.


I also love the two Frankenstein films (Frank. and Bride of Frank).

 

[SteveGon]

I would recommend the following films as standing out in their respective times in the vigor and intensity of their presentation, treatment, style, performance, or what-have-you (sound films only):

I'd add Carol Reed's Odd Man Out and John Frankenheimer's The Train to that excellent list.
Another recommendation: Hell's Angels. If you like explosions, you'll like that scene where the German ammo dump blows up real good. Great special effects!

 

[Bill Slack]

Roman Holiday, Maltese Falcon, Strangers on a Train, and All About Eve are some of my favorites.

Casblanca pretty much goes without saying.

I'm planning on watching The Big Sleep for the first time later tonight, myself.