# "Classic" old films (pre-1968) that you don't like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095 "2006-08-17T16:20:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/61 "2006-08-19T19:30:47Z")
I love **Picnic** , but agree that Holden was miscast. Kim Novak’s acting ain’t that great either. But the movie **looks** great. The production designer (or whoever) really captured small midwest towns, and summer. That’s why I watch **Gone With the Wind** every time it’s on – for the look. Rhett’s the only character that rings true. Scarlett’s a spoiled selfish bitch, Melanie’s too good to be true, and Ashley wouldn’t inspire passion in **any** woman. But it’s a beautiful movie. I agree about the plot of **In the Heat of the Night** as well. There was a thread about it a few months back. Made no sense, how Tibbs deduced the culprit. But Rod Steiger knocked it out of the freakin’ **park**! I saw **Easy Rider** first run, and IMHO it wouldn’t be remembered if it weren’t for the ending. Too many classic movies have unrealistic dialogue. People just didn’t talk like that. I’m thinking of stuff like **Cat on a Hot Tin Roof** – platitudes and pronouncements and pontificating. Works okay in Biblical epics, where stiffness isn’t so noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/62 "2006-08-20T02:12:25Z")
I’m 20 now and saw The Graduate for the first time recently, and I actually really liked it. There were some great lines and I loved Dustin Hoffman’s deadpan delivery of them. I also loved Casablanca. I could somewhat appreciate Citizen Kane, but I didn’t enjoy it much, perhaps due to the fact that I knew the ending before I saw it. Night of the Hunter was kind of a mixed bag, but there was one shot that was very effective. It’s where he’s chasing the kids up the stairs out of the cellar. It’s a very creepy shot. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/63 "2006-08-20T02:56:44Z")
> [@Talon Karrde](#): > > Night of the Hunter was kind of a mixed bag, but there was one shot that was very effective. It’s where he’s chasing the kids up the stairs out of the cellar. It’s a very creepy shot. And the underwater shot, and the shot of Mitchum where he’s just a shadow, on his horse on a hilltop. I think fairy tale when watching it. Didn’t like the narration toward the end. If I remember right, it was some life-affirming bullcrap about how children/good people will “abide”. Well sure they will, if they can find the nice old shotgun toting grandma in the cottage in the woods, who rescues all the strays. Oh yeah, we all have one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/64 "2006-08-20T05:09:55Z")
The underwater shot wasn’t as effective for me as it could have been, because the water was way too clear. It was too unrealistic. But I agree about the part where he’s on the horse. Slowly singing that song, “leaning…leaning…”. I really liked Robert Mitchum’s singing The social commentary near the end wasn’t completely bad. It’s like a more syrupy Charles Dickens. I could appreciate it but it was a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/65 "2006-08-20T07:48:36Z")
Other “classics” I can’t stand are Jacques Tati films. I’ve seen “Mon Oncle” and “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” and found them to be tedious anti-fun. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/66 "2006-08-20T08:32:22Z")
Looking over the various IMDB best of lists, I can’t find films in the top 50 for the 1960s that I’ve seen that I take issue with. The 1950s: 1. North by Northwest. Apart from the plane scene, not one of Hitch’s best. 2. Sunset Boulevard. Too campy. And a film has to be stellar for me to get past the pretention of the narrator being dead 3. Touch of Evil. I’ve made it no farther than 15 minutes into this film…twice. 4. Strangers on a Train. Hokey as all hell. 5. The Caine Mutiny. Great up until the stupid reprimand speech at the end. The 1940s: 1. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is just silly. 2. Rope. Ditto. The 1930s: Other than the previously mentioned “Rules of the Game” by Renoir, I like every film on the list I’ve seen. I haven’t seen most of the films on the 1920s and 1910s lists, but the ones I’ve seen, I’ve liked. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/67 "2006-08-20T09:04:36Z")
I wonder how many people who dislike **Citizen Kane** have only watched it, or tried to watch it, on TV. I saw bits and pieces of it on TV all my life, and never got into it. I even tried to rent it a couple of times and had to turn it off because I was so bored. Then it was revived in the theaters for the 50th Anniversary, and the theater I went to showed a new print. I went because I thought I should. Seeing a new print, on the big screen the way Welles and God intended, made me FINALLY understand why so many people list this as the greatest film of all time. I heartily agreed. I was mesmerized from beginning to end (and yes, I already knew the ending). It’s not my _favorite_ movie of all time (that would be **Brazil** ) but I would agree that it’s the best and I do love it. I’d urge anyone who has doubts to withhold judgement and if at all possible, when possible, see it on a big screen. That’s probably impossible, but if you get the chance, do. Don’t not go because you think that if it wasn’t all that hot on the small screen, it can’t be any better on the big screen. The difference is huge. > [@scotandrsn](#): > > 1. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is just silly. _clutches chest…staggers away muttering “That’s one of the best movies ever…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/68 "2006-08-20T12:34:09Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > … > 45. The Caine Mutiny. Great up until the stupid reprimand speech at the end. > > … Really? I think that movie rocks, and I was just thinking how good Jose Ferrer was in that scene. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/69 "2006-08-20T13:30:55Z")
Despite what some in this thread are saying, it’s possible to not like **Casablanca** without being a brainless heathen. It’s got a good ending, I’ll admit, but I never bought the relationship between Rick and Ilsa. I was _glad_ she got on that damn plane at the end. It’s been years since I’ve seen it, but IIRC there’s a flashback scene to Rick and Ilsa driving around Paris, laughing inanely, which failed completely (for me) to make me believe or care about what these people had together. Moving on… **The Third Man** didn’t thrill me, and I don’t see why **Sunset Boulevard** stands so far above any other pulpy Hollywood noir. I got bored after 20 minutes of **The Searchers** , and as for those ‘hilarious’ Ealing comedies, **Passport to Pimlico** and **The Man in the White Suit** - laughter-free zones, both. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/70 "2006-08-20T13:39:31Z")
_Double Indemnity_ is tough for me, although I like film noir. It’s difficult because of the presence of Fred MacMurray. If I had never seen a Disney film or My Three Sons, it wouldn’t bother me. Nearly any movie with Grace Kelly annoys the crap out of me. How she was ever rated a great actress is beyond me. That whole helpless, whining, judgemental female schtick just pisses me off. _Mogambo, High Noon, Rear Window_: she pissed all over all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/71 "2006-08-20T14:23:42Z")
Vertigo is the Hitchcock movie I’ve never gotten. I don’t know if it’s the absurdity of the plot, or the fact that my college roommate looked just like Kim Novak, or (I think this is it) the _ **creeepy** _ unreality of Jimmy Stewart playing a sick twisted manipulative bastard. The ending … I was just … wow. Speechless. And not in a good way. Has anyone ever seen Knife in the Water, the movie that apparently made Roman Polanski’s career? BORING! Taut psychological drama around a game of pick-up-sticks. One character mutters, while gazing at the pile of sticks, “I once knew a man who was a master of the game…” Oh God. I’m convinced that you have to be drinking vodka, and a lot of it, to enjoy this movie. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/72 "2006-08-20T16:06:13Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > _Double Indemnity_ is tough for me, although I like film noir. It’s difficult because of the presence of Fred MacMurray. If I had never seen a Disney film or My Three Sons, it wouldn’t bother me. Rent **The Apartment** if you want to see what kind of prick MacMurray could _really_ play (in a great film, btw). ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/73 "2006-08-20T18:25:15Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Rent **The Apartment** if you want to see what kind of prick MacMurray could _really_ play (in a great film, btw). Another Fred MacMurray as prick film is the above mentioned _Caine Mutiny_. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/74 "2006-08-20T19:42:32Z")
I believe this is a year past the cutoff, but **2001: A Space Odyssey** bored me to tears. I found it plodding, and the bullshit hippie quasi-mystical undertones don’t even hold up a few years after release. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/75 "2006-08-20T20:40:48Z")
Agree. ''It’s got a touch of the _Two-Thousand And Ones_" is shorthand with me for boring, pretentious movie. Length need not be a problem if the story can sweep you along. I didn’t feel any of the LOTR movies were too long. But if, as I did during _Braveheart_ when the Bruce was wandering across the battlefield, you find yourself looking at your watch and thinking, “How much longer’s this bloody thing going to go on?” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/76 "2006-08-20T21:46:13Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > 1. North by Northwest. Apart from the plane scene, not one of Hitch’s best. > > \ > > 1. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is just silly. Do you mean the _train_ scene? There’s a plane at the end of the movie (when the baddie is talking about throwing Eva Marie St. off it) but IIRC they don’t actually get on it. Treasure of the Sierra Madre…silly?? > [@Glassy](#): > > Vertigo is the Hitchcock movie I’ve never gotten. I don’t know if it’s the absurdity of the plot, or the fact that my college roommate looked just like Kim Novak, or (I think this is it) the creeepy unreality of Jimmy Stewart playing a sick twisted manipulative bastard. The ending … I was just … wow. Speechless. And not in a good way. > > Has anyone ever seen Knife in the Water, the movie that apparently made Roman Polanski’s career? BORING! Taut psychological drama around a game of pick-up-sticks. One character mutters, while gazing at the pile of sticks, “I once knew a man who was a master of the game…” Oh God. I’m convinced that you have to be drinking vodka, and a lot of it, to enjoy this movie. **Vertigo** is one of those movies I feel bad for not liking. So many people regard it so highly, that I think I must be missing something. But…it just doesn’t do much for me. Yes, I get it: he’s remaking Judy in Madeleine’s image (I think those are the names). But…so what? Yeah, it’s an interesting concept, but it’s not enough to hang a whole movie on. **Knife in the Water** I loved though. Gotta love Polanski – just found his autobiography in a used bookstore a few days ago. > [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I believe this is a year past the cutoff, but 2001: A Space Odyssey bored me to tears. I found it plodding, and the bullshit hippie quasi-mystical undertones don’t even hold up a few years after release. Try to see it on a big screen. When I tried watching it on TV I quickly got bored and fast-forwarded to the Star Child scene at the end. Years later, I got the chance to see it on a big screen in a large, semi-circular auditorium in Vienna with cement floors and stiff wooden benches with tall upright backings (perfect setting, no?). And I _loved_ it. It’s one of the few times I’ve ever left a movie theater and looked at the world with a new sense of awe. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/77 "2006-08-20T22:15:48Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > When I tried watching it on TV I quickly got bored and fast-forwarded to the Star Child scene at the end. Years later, I got the chance to see it on a big screen in a large, semi-circular auditorium in Vienna with cement floors and stiff wooden benches with tall upright backings (perfect setting, no?). And I _loved_ it. It’s one of the few times I’ve ever left a movie theater and looked at the world with a new sense of awe. I watched it for the first time in a decade or so (on the TV) with my teenaged daughter (who hated it, maybe because of the size of the screen, and maybe not) and found it rather dull, mainly because the Jupiter special effects that were so dazzling are now nothing much. My daughter put it best: “I can do that with Photoshop,” and so she can. In 1968, no one could do those effects, no how, no way. Also, neither of us was on acid, which may have taken something away from the overall effect. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/78 "2006-08-20T23:01:27Z")
**The Searchers** Okay, John Wayne played a grumpy racist, which was a radical change of role for him; some of the scenery is great; the final scene with the doorway is cool. But the slapstick humor and the lame-o sidekick really didn’t belong. I know a lot of people claim it’s one of the greats, but I just don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/79 "2006-08-20T23:03:49Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > **The Searchers** > > Okay, John Wayne played a grumpy racist, which was a radical change of role for him; some of the scenery is great; the final scene with the doorway is cool. But the slapstick humor and the lame-o sidekick really didn’t belong. I know a lot of people claim it’s one of the greats, but I just don’t see it. I had a whole thread on this topic not too long ago. I find the movie unimpressive. Definitely not up to all the hype. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095/80 "2006-08-21T04:40:47Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > 1. North by Northwest. Apart from the plane scene, not one of Hitch’s best. > > Do you mean the _train_ scene? There’s a plane at the end of the movie (when the baddie is talking about throwing Eva Marie St. off it) but IIRC they don’t actually get on it. Doesn’t … remember … the … plane … scene … have you _seen_ the movie? It’s one of the iconic scenes of all time. Almost every poster for the film [included it](http://www.allposters.com/-st/North-by-Northwest-Posters_c53233_s16892_.htm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-films-pre-1968-that-you-dont-like/369095.md?page=5)