# Make your argument that \ was the greatest movie made before 1960. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569 "2013-04-01T20:23:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/21 "2013-04-01T22:56:49Z")
**King Kong** [ol] [li]The title character is absolutely unforgettable. [/li][li]The film made technological breakthroughs in its production. [/li][li]The players were eternally typecast afterwards. [/li][li]It has a rabid fan-base.[/li][li]Multiple sequels have been made (none as good as the original).[/li][li]Its symbolism fascinates scholars.[/li][li]It has spawned toys, novels, games, collectables & art.[/li][li]It has influenced the famous & mighty. Fans of Kong included both Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler.[/li][li] It defined a film genre.[/li][li] It was rather unique in its genre for years.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/22 "2013-04-01T23:02:50Z")
I came into this room to support the idea that Oz was the best. But, looking around at all these people who say otherwise, I am now retreating to a safer locale. Sorry, Skald, you’re on your own this time. You should have warned me to wear my pocket discombobulator. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/23 "2013-04-02T00:24:04Z")
I’ll go with Gone With The Wind. I like epics and it’s a beautiful movie with a complex main character. To be honest though, I’ve probably rewatched North By Northwest/Vertigo/Rear Window more often. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/24 "2013-04-02T01:10:05Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Casablanca. Bogie could beat the shit out of Chuck Norris and ripped shirt Captain Kirk at the same time. No movie ever made, before 1960 or after, is anywhere near as good as Casablanca. Most quotable movie ever, and that’s just counting Claude Rains lines. The sing-off was the best fight seen ever. Best getting dumped and left at the train station in the rain scene. Best rendition of As Time Goes By. Best bitter drunken rant at ex-Girlfriend in a Gestapo closed saloon. Best rank sentimentalist at heart. Best use of a fixed roulette table. Best hypocrite in a supporting role (again, Claude rains). Most escapes by a person from Nazi concentration camps (Victor Lazlo), and it’s all off screen. Best I’m dumping you bitch speech 'cuz I’m running off with a duplicitous Frenchman scene. Best war propaganda movie ever. > > One would have to be a watched media illiterate to think that anything other than Casablanca was the best movie ever made. > > Casablanca means “white house” bitches! You forgot “best non-North-by-Northwest\* macguffin” - those Letters of Transit were piffle at best, but moved the plot along perfectly… \*“government secrets, perhaps?” with no further reference in the movie… ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/25 "2013-04-02T01:34:26Z")
_Seven Samurai_ But if we have to stick with the english speaking world: _Casablanca_ or _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/26 "2013-04-02T01:37:42Z")
_Casablanca Ben-Hur_ _Oz_ doesn’t even register on the scale. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/27 "2013-04-02T01:46:51Z")
Casablanca. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/28 "2013-04-02T02:10:42Z")
Citizen Kane. Because of [this](http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2010/02/spoilers_linus_lucy_charles_m.html). ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/29 "2013-04-02T02:32:50Z")
I’ll cast my vote for The Third Man. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/30 "2013-04-02T02:41:25Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I’ll cast my vote for The Third Man. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/31 "2013-04-02T02:54:45Z")
The Court Jester. Reasons : [ul] Songs, could not gayer be Skies, could not bluer be Hearts, could not truer be Knights, full of chivalry Villains, full of villainy Maidens, fair (in silks, bedecked) Tried and true effects Research, authenticity, dust Authorship sometimes attributed to Shakespeare, Francis Bacon Plot (quite a lot) Scary tale at start, fairy tale at end Life couldn’t possibly, not even probably, life couldn’t possibly better be. [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/32 "2013-04-02T02:55:40Z")
Wild Strawberries gets my vote. Fellini had a few great ones before 60 as well. WS has such a depth of reflection of life, it was of the best of all time, what to speak of the 60s. Was Jules et Jim and 400 blows pre-60s? If they were, I would add them. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/33 "2013-04-02T03:10:32Z")
The correct answer is _Casablanca_. A more interesting question would be “What is the best movie before 1960 _besides Casablanca_?” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/34 "2013-04-02T03:20:04Z")
Gone with the Wind, because I haven’t seen one just as good (except maybe Singing in the Rain.) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/35 "2013-04-02T03:29:45Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > Was Jules et Jim and 400 blows pre-60s? If they were, I would add them. [Jules et Jim](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055032/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1) was released in 1962 so it’s just beyond the cut-off point. And I agree the greatest (American) movie made before 1960 is **Citizen Kane**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/36 "2013-04-02T03:44:16Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > You forgot “best non-North-by-Northwest\* macguffin” - those Letters of Transit were piffle at best, but moved the plot along perfectly… > > \*“government secrets, perhaps?” with no further reference in the movie… I gave it serious thought, but I thought it had serious flaws as a macguffin. Maybe the writers thought it would work when the movie was made, before the camps were liberated. Real Nazis would have just kidnapped and killed the lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/37 "2013-04-02T03:59:53Z")
There are a lot of small films I like better (_The Third Man, The Big Sleep, The Thin Man_, etc.) but of the big pre-1960 epics I have to go with _Around the World in 80 Days_ (1956). Huge all-star cast, elaborate sets, fantastic title and credit sequences, a fantastic Victor Young score and best of all…_Cantiflas_! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/38 "2013-04-02T04:32:31Z")
For a couple of new nominations … _All Quiet on the Western Front_ - great acting, great special effects for the time, remarkable in that it was from a German perspective even though made in Hollywood. _Paths of Glory_, maybe the best exposition ever of the futility and slaughter of trench warfare, and maybe Kirk Douglas’s greatest role. And I’m gonna throw in another Kirk Douglas flick, if the OP will pardon a release date in 1960 (surely it would have been in production in 1959!). _Spartacus_ succeeds as an epic film in all the areas so many others fail, plus has the benefit of an essentially humanist message of freedom without all the God crap thrown in. I am SPARTACUS! ---
**Author:** ![I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/39 "2013-04-02T05:05:00Z")
Dreyer’s [The Passion of Joan of Arc](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_of_Joan_of_Arc) is an expressionistic masterpiece from 1928, and still haunts me to this day (in a good way). Maria Falconetti’s performance as Joan is staggering – Pauline Kael said it “may be the finest performance ever recorded on film,” and IMO that should be changed from “may be” to “is.” Even though it’s a silent film from the 20s, it seems incredibly modern (to my film-novice eyes). I’ve never seen anything else like it. Casablanca Shmasablanca. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569/40 "2013-04-02T05:33:47Z")
I have watched _Thief Of Bagdad_ so many times I’ve lost count. Both 1924 and 1940. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-argument-that-blank-was-the-greatest-movie-made-before-1960/654569.md?page=3)