# Forgotten Classic Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2001, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023 "2001-01-08T16:52:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/41 "2001-01-09T18:21:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*And for the horrorphiles among us, there’s The Masque of the Red Death, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), all starring Vincent Price. > > **spooje** , I loved Matewan. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad Sayles film - and that reminds me, I need to go see The Return of the Secacus 7, too. > > Ooh, here’s another one: 1975’s The Sugarland Express, Spielberg’s first feature film, starring Goldie Hawn - but not a fluffy comedy, as the star and title might imply (it’s a lovers-on-the-lam road film). > \*\* “Matewan,” the first Sayles movie I ever saw, in high school history class. Damn, Dr. Aiello was a fine teacher to show us that and “Brother From Another Planet.” As for Vincent Price, I still consider “The Raven,” with Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson (directed by Roger Corman), to be one of the funniest movies ever made. Completely tongue-in-cheek version of Poe’s poem. Spielberg? You can’t go wrong with renting his early film “Duel,” about a guy driving to work who is terrorized by a anonymous guy in a truck. Strangely creepy movie. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/42 "2001-01-10T00:45:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by plnnr \* > \*\*Klute - Michael Kaine and Jane Fonda. > > Play Misty For Me - Clint Eastwood doesn’t play the hardboiled detective. He’s the object of a fatal attraction. > \*\* I have to agree with **Play Misty For Me** - I saw it once years ago. I should see it again. As for **Klute** (another great choice) - wasn’t it Donald Sutherland and not Michael Kaine in that film? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/43 "2001-01-10T03:08:37Z")
These may be kind of on the fringe, not forgotten but not household names either. _The Right Stuff_ – People toss that phrase around so easily, but no one’s done it justice since this movie (and Wolfe’s book was brilliant, too). It’s patriotic without being jingoistic. The more it cuts through the hype of the space race and the more intimate it gets, the more heroic the astronauts become. _Network_ – This movie was great when it came out, and it gets better every year. All the things that seemed outlandish and satirical in the mid-70s have come true. “Jerry Springer”, “Cops”, it was all predicted here two decades ago. I’m curious how this movie would play today to younger people. Would the integrity that crumbles away during the movie be seen as honorable or just quaint? ---
**Author:** ![Jeffro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jeffro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffro)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/44 "2001-01-10T03:53:46Z")
“Vanishing Point” ``` Got any reds? ``` “Hope and Glory” ``` Never trust a rat! ``` ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/45 "2001-01-10T04:15:31Z")
Over Christmas, I was talking to someone who majored in psychology and film – albeit some years ago – who told me her favourite single film of all time was **‘Gilda’** (starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford). Never knowingly seen the film but the recommendation comes high – apparently it’s a deep psychological drama. Another not mentioned (I think) is **‘Wages of Fear’** – if it rings any bells, trucks, dynamite, South American jungle……Heck of a gripper. And I mention this not because it’s forgotten but rather because it’s never done any real business in the US at all: **The Italian Job** - simply the best caper film ever made. I recommend this as highly as I possibly can. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/46 "2001-01-10T04:27:29Z")
LC is _Wages of Fear_ the French Movie which ends with them trying to go through a oil spill. If it is that’s a cracker. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/47 "2001-01-10T04:56:13Z")
For those who mentioned **Wages of Fear** , check out another Henri Georges Clouzeau movie **Diabolique**. It’s absolutely chilling and reportedly inspired Hitchcock in **Psycho**. Since most of John Sayles’ movies have been mentioned, let me fill in the gaps with **City of Hope** , and probably my favourite **Passion Fish**. **Queen Of Hearts** is a great hidden gem. A romantic fable with mysticism, melodrama, and a caper thrown in for good measure. **Grand Illusion** is probably the first, and best, anti-war/prison escape movies ever made. Cheers, Hodge ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/48 "2001-01-10T05:00:08Z")
_The President’s Analyst_, a 60s spy spoof with a slightly off-center sense of humor. It has been shown on AMC. James Coburn plays the analyst chosen to treat the President. Godfrey Cambridge as a US agent, Severn Darden as a Russian agent. William Daniels in a short scene as a gun-toting liberal. _Charlie Chan at the Opera._ With Boris Karloff as a mad baritone. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/49 "2001-01-10T05:58:40Z")
_ **KAH-BOOOOM !!!** _ Yep, **yojimbo**. Glad you’ve seen it, it really is a cracker. We do keep odd hours, don’t we ? **Hodge** Interesting and thanks for the suggestion. Will look into it. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/50 "2001-01-10T06:19:28Z")
_Wages of Fear_ was remade in the 70s by William Friedkin (director of _The Exorcist_) into a movie called _Sorcerer_. I’ve never seen the original, but I kinda like _Sorcerer_; it’d make a good addition to the list as well. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/51 "2001-01-10T12:55:43Z")
**Diabolique** was _also_ remade. Unlike **Sorcerer** , it isn’t worth the celluloid it’s printed on. It stars Sharon Stone ::shudder:: Cheers, Hodge ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/52 "2001-01-10T16:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JosephFinn \* > > As for Vincent Price, I still consider “The Raven,” with Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson (directed by Roger Corman), to be one of the funniest movies ever made. Completely tongue-in-cheek version of Poe’s poem. > > \*\* A hearty second endorsement to the above, Jack Nicholson has a fairly small part (it’s one of his earliest films) but the other three have wonderful parts. Price is the Good Sorcerer (retired) Karloff is the Bad Sorcerer and Lorre is the would-be-bad-but-is-just-too-inept Sorcerer. Lots of good scenes in sorcerer’s laboratory and a wonderful climatic sorcerer’s duel scene (in flying thrones, yet!) which reminds me of some of Steve Ditko’s work on the early Dr. Strange comic. (Coincidence?) Also a big second to \*\* zgystardst\*\* for \*\* The President’s Analyst\*\* with James Coburn at the top of his form and a “surprise” ending that still can send a chill up your spine in spite of the intervening deregulation. My own choice is \*\* Beau Geste \*\* the 1939 version with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preson, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, and even the young Donald O’Connor. It became a favorite as a gradeschooler in the late 1950s when my parents announced one night at dinner that there was a very special movie being shown on TV that night and that we kids would be allowed to stay up and watch it on a SCHOOL NIGHT! Needless to say, we were so curious about a movie that would motivate our parents to such an unusual action tha we paid close attention, to our great enjoyment. Some critics have said that the silent version is even better, but I have yet to see it and have avoided the many remakes. (One of them even starred Doug McClure, of all people!) Also I’d like to say a good word for another of my parent’s favorites, \*\* Harvey \*\* with Jimmy Stewart, the incomparable Jesse White and of course, everyone’s favorite pookah. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/53 "2001-01-10T16:35:53Z")
A correction to my earlier post: The title should be Casanova’s Big Night. I’ll also second Harvey. You don’t get the chance to see it very often, but Jimmy Stewart is wonderful as the very rational, very normal Elwood P. Dowd. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/54 "2001-01-10T20:58:35Z")
I rarely if ever see **Westworld** listed in the company of other great sci-fi movies. Sure, when watching it now, some of the scenes are rather cheesy, and Richard Benjamin is sorta dorky, but Yul Brenner’s robotic performance is truly CREEPY. It also has some pre- **Terminator** overtones–surely it was an influence on James Cameron. Come to think of it, that movie is hardly ever on cable anymore. Think I am gonna go over to IMDB right now to reminisce. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/55 "2001-01-10T21:50:19Z")
“Lord Love a Duck” starring Roddy Mcdowall and Tuesday Weld. It’s not on video yet, and it never shows up on cable. I saw it 20 years ago on the late late show on one of the LA stations (KTLA?) five times in a month and a half. I used to know most of it by heart. A hilarious send-up of mid-1960’s youth culture and the movies that pandered to it. Plus Ruth Gordon in one of her best crazy old lady roles. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/56 "2001-01-10T22:34:32Z")
Great call **spooje** with **The Manchurian Candidate** , the tea party/ampitheater scene was one of the creepiest of all time. The amazing thing about the scene is that it is just a quick celluloid story board for what was supposed to be a larger scale version of the scene. They shot the two scenes of the ampitheater and the tea party, intercut them and showed it the next day. It was roundly agreed upon that they was no way to surpass it and it was used in the final cut. Also, thanks for mentioning **The Conversation** as well. I showed it to friends that had never seen it or **Enemy of the State** either. Although **Enemy** has more action in the first ten minutes than **The Conversation** has through the whole film I find the latter to be the better study of the bugging craft. Finally, one that I forgot. The **Saboteur** (the later version that was shot in America) by Hitchcock was a d@mn fine bit of suspense. The scene in the desert where he’s trying to remove the handcuffs is almost as good as the Statue of Liberty ending. I’ll also toss in **King Rat** for good measure. Pygmy deer legs, yeah, right! ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/57 "2001-01-11T02:12:53Z")
[Logan’s Run](http://www.stellar-database.com/non-ISDB/LogansRun.html) from 1976. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/58 "2001-01-11T02:15:10Z")
dantheman wrote, in the OP: > [@](#): > > I just finished watching _The Wicker Man_ (1975), with Edward Woodward. How much wood would Edward Woodward chuck If Edward Woodward could chuck wood? ---
**Author:** ![FEotU](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@FEotU](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FEotU)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/59 "2001-01-11T03:40:29Z")
Some great titles appearing on the lists. I would also add “Colossus:The Forbin Project” a great film from the early 70’s about 2 super-computers taking over the world, and “After the Fox”, a Peter Sellers comedy where he plays a master criminal. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023/60 "2001-01-11T07:59:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*dantheman wrote, in the OP: > > > [@](#): > > > > I just finished watching _The Wicker Man_ (1975), with Edward Woodward. > > How much wood would Edward Woodward chuck > If Edward Woodward could chuck wood? \*\* I don’t know. And I haven’t seen the movie, either. But I HAVE seen some stills of a nude Britt Eklund from said film. Wowsers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-classic-movies/49023.md?page=4)