# Older Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154 "2007-01-30T19:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/1 "2007-01-30T19:58:35Z")
I watched the movie \*Father Goose \* starring the wonderful Cary Grant on AMC on Sunday morning. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Another favorite immediately followed: _Operation Petticoat_. Cary Grant AND Tony Curtis! The writing and the acting in both of these was amazing. 40 years or so after their theatrical release the charm and wit of the writing and acting was still evident to me. What older movies do you just love? ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/2 "2007-01-30T20:01:05Z")
[QUOTE=jali] I watched the movie \*Father Goose \* starring the wonderful Cary Grant on AMC on Sunday morning. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Another favorite immediately followed: _Operation Petticoat_. Cary Grant AND Tony Curtis! The writing and the acting in both of these was amazing. 40 years or so after their theatrical release the charm and wit of the writing and acting was still evident to me. What older movies do you just love? [/QUOTE] I was just talking about this with a fellow office film buff. I watched “Pocketful of Miracles” this past weekend, and was literally in tears from laughing at Peter Falk as JoyBoy. Hilarious. Father Goose is one of my faves, too - “This is the filthy beast!” 😃 VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/3 "2007-01-30T20:06:23Z")
I could list dozens. Of course, my definition of “older” is pre-1960 (not that there aren’t dozens of movies from the 60s that i love). Here are a few: **Casablanca Singin’ in the Rain Duck Soup City Lights The General The Wizard of Oz Miracle on 34th Street The Maltese Falcon The Big Sleep The 39 Steps Footlight Parade 42nd Street The Bank Dick The Thin Man She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Stagecoach** I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/4 "2007-01-30T20:10:46Z")
Two older movies I was just thinking about the other day (that aren’t pre-1960): **This Property is Condemned** **Splendor in the Grass** Both are Natalie Wood. Both make me cry. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/5 "2007-01-30T20:12:52Z")
_The Court Jester_ _The Quiet Man_ _Singin’ In The Rain_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/6 "2007-01-30T20:16:18Z")
If the OP likes Grant & Curtis, then definitely check out **Some Like It Hot** where Curtis does a very funny Grant imitation (“Nobody talks like that!”) Also check out **Sweet Smell of Success** for Curtis at his very best (Burt Lancaster, too). They, plus _Petticoat_, were all made within 3 years of each other, definitely the peak of his career. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/7 "2007-01-31T00:44:08Z")
For some odd reason, many of my favorite movies are about chain gangs. Old movies are no exception – Sullivan’s Travels and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. I love how they show the prevailing values in the 30s-40s. Compulsion with Orson Welles and Dean Stockwell is also a favorite, as are To Kill a Mockingbird and Hitchcock’s The Birds. ---
**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 31, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/8 "2007-01-31T01:37:13Z")
All the old Universal _Frankenstein_, _Dracula_, _Wolf Man_, _Mummy_, _Invisible Man_, and other horror films (especially \*The Black Cat \* with Karloff and Lugosi). ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/9 "2007-01-31T01:52:48Z")
Just about anything with Rex Harrison, but especially _The Ghost and Mrs. Muir_. I have loved that movie since I was a little girl. And, I love the old Tracy & Hepburn movies. I think my favorite of those might be _Desk Set_. Hand me anything by Hitchcock and I’m a happy girl 😃 But, actually the list could go on and on. I think I like more older films than newer ones (not sure what that says about me 😉 ). I almost forgot one of my most favorite movies of all time _Bell Book and Candle_. It’s from 1958 so it just makes that pre-1960 cutoff. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/10 "2007-01-31T02:00:46Z")
_Charade Breakfast at Tiffanys Sabrina Cape Fear_ (the original with Gregory Peck) _The Scarlet and the Black Doctor Zhivago To Kill a Mockingbird Roman Holiday My Fair Lady_ ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/11 "2007-01-31T02:38:09Z")
Almost all the movies my top20 list, last time I compiled it,\* are “old” movies: \*The Passion of Joan of Arc \*(1928) \*Europa '51 \*(1952) \*Solyaris \*(1972) \*Sunrise \*(1927) \*Crowd, The \*(1928) \*Tokyo Story \*(1953) \*The Night of the Hunter \*(1955) \*Ugetsu \*(1953) \*Sullivan’s Travels \*(1942) \*Once Upon a Time in the West \*(1968) \*The Searchers \*(1956) \*Singing Detective, The \*(1986) \*The General \*(1927) \*Barry Lyndon \*(1975) \*Distant Voices, Still Lives \*(1988) \*Showgirls \*(1995) \*Dancer in the Dark \*(2000) \*City Lights \*(1931) \*Rio Bravo \*(1959) \*Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia \*(1974) \*I think it’s due for a revision. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/12 "2007-01-31T03:09:18Z")
I like a lot of the movies listed above. Add to them (unless I accidentally repeat): **Born Yesterday** (The original version with Judy Holiday, William Holden and Broderick Crawford) **The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre** (one of my all time favorite Bogart movies, with the wonderful performance by Walter Houston) **Solid Gold Cadillac** (with Judy Holiday . . . almost anything with Judy Holiday is great as far as I am concerned) **Moby Dick** (the “old” version with Gregory Peck as Ahab . . . what a performance!) **The Music Man** (not the Disney travesty, but the original film version with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones . . . This picture still is a great big smile from beginning to end. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen it, but I always enjoy it.) **Inherit The Wind** (the first version with Spencer Tracy and Frederick March) Current films may have better special effects, but it’s hard to top the acting in films like those mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/13 "2007-01-31T03:21:44Z")
I love old dramas and westerns. Musicals and comedies, not so much. The ones I can watch over and over: Shane The Searchers The Third Man Casablanca A Face in the Crowd The Vikings (especially love the music) To Kill A Mockingbird Duel in the Sun, aka Lust in the Dust Key Largo King’s Row The Magnificent Ambersons Pretty much anything with Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Joseph Cotten, and Fredric March. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/14 "2007-01-31T03:24:02Z")
[QUOTE=jali] I watched the movie \*Father Goose \* starring the wonderful Cary Grant on AMC on Sunday morning. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. [/QUOTE] Not to hijack, but how can you stand watching chopped up movies on AMC? As for great older movies, lord, too many to name. Just about anything with Bette Davis, “Mildred Pierce,” “The Women,” many of the old Crawford pictures, all of the Thin Man films, and I love just tuning into TCM at random and catching something like a Torchy Blaine flick or an old 55 minute B movie that no one’s ever heard of. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/15 "2007-01-31T03:33:56Z")
Across the Pacific (The Japanese have an American Browning machine gun and Bogie shoots down their airplane with it, saving the Panama Canal) Key Largo (Jay Silverheels!) The Maltese Falcon (Wilmer is later in a Star Trek episode) The Big Sleep (At the Arts Center, folks clapped when Bogie shot Canino in the gut) The Sand Pebbles ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/16 "2007-01-31T04:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=jali] What older movies do you just love? [/QUOTE] You named two of them in your OP. My dad (a ‘mustang’ who served for 20 years in the Navy) preferred _Operation Petticoat_. He loved the motorcycle-off-the-pier gag. I preferred _Father Goose_. Keeping with the Naval theme: _Mister Roberts_ (1955). Films mentioned so far in this thread that I own: [ul][li]_Casablanca_[/li][li]_The Maltese Falcon_[/li][li]_The Court Jester_[/li][li]_To Kill A Mockingbird_[/ul][/li] Other faves: [ul][li]_Fail Safe_[/li][li]_Doctor Strangelove; or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb_[/li][li]_12 O’Clock High_[/li][li]_12 Angry Men_[/li][li]_The Caine Mutiny_[/li][li]_The Battle Of Britain_[/li][li]_The First Of The Few_[/li][li]_The Scarlet Pimpernel_[/li][li]_The Dam Busters_[/li][li]_To Catch A Theif_[/ul][/li]I’m sure there will be others as the thread progresses… ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/17 "2007-01-31T04:33:21Z")
[QUOTE=jali] I watched the movie \*Father Goose \* starring the wonderful Cary Grant on AMC on Sunday morning. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. [/QUOTE] Squeee! I just PVR’d “Father Goose” and I’m SO looking forward to it! Even moreso now. Thanks, **jali.** ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/18 "2007-01-31T07:37:08Z")
_We’re No Angels The African Queen Sabrina_ (with Bogie, Hepburn, and Holden) _Now, Voyager King’s Row Arsenic and Old Lace Rio Grande The Quiet Man Freaks Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner_ To name a few. TCM is my default channel, because even if the movie itself is sort of “meh”, the clothes and hairstyles alone can keep me entertained for hours. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/19 "2007-01-31T13:07:15Z")
[QUOTE=Veuve\_ClicquotNJ] I was just talking about this with a fellow office film buff. I watched “Pocketful of Miracles” this past weekend, and was literally in tears from laughing at Peter Falk as JoyBoy. Hilarious. [/QUOTE] That’s one of my favorite movies! “If you wasn’t a woman I’d kick you right in the stomache!” “… Joey, go sock the weasel.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154/20 "2007-01-31T13:33:29Z")
Many of my favorites have already been listed. Three I don’t see are [**Red River**](http://imdb.com/title/tt0040724/) (1948) [**My Darling Clementine**](http://imdb.com/title/tt0038762/) (1946) [**Anatomy of a Murder**](http://imdb.com/title/tt0052561/) (1959) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies/390154.md?page=2)