I also saw Night of the Hunter, Mockingbird, Rope, lots of the movies mentioned here on netflix instant watch. I really hope they keep up with the old movies.
There is a box set of Fritz Lang movies that I shamelessly plug … http://eurekavideo.co.uk/Eureka is a british company, the films are in german [of course] with english subtitles.
So many great films already named. If you have cable or satellite and have access to Turner Classic Movies, you will find a veritable treasure trove of pre-1965 movies that hold up.
I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned it already, but frankly “The Wizard of Oz,” needs to be included - and my how it’s held up through the years! I’d also had a couple (more) of my own personal favorites: “The Apartment,” with Jack Lemmon (one of my very favorite stars of all time :)) and “The Mis-Fits,” which turned out to be the last picture for both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. She is in a very fragile state but turns out a great performance, imho. I do so love “Some Like it Hot,” too.
A lot of what I was thinking of are war films… The Longest Day, In Which We Serve… but maybe not for a teenage girl.
I also love Rebel Without A Cause, .
If she likes “cinema” then try the Eisenstein movies, which are a great experience - start with Alexander Nevsky. At least it provides evidence that great direction was coming out of other countries and not just Hollywood. Or watch Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven back to back.
Some of the epics can be great watching too - so many of my memories of Christmas Eve back in England revolve around being allowed to stay up to watch El Cid or Ben Hur.
Well kids, here are approximately 186 films from the mid-1960’s or earlier that someone at SDMB thinks you’ll like as much as Iron Man.
A lot of them have the word or numeral “seven” in the title: Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
Seven Samurai
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Seven Men From Now
Seven Year Itch
Seventh Seal
The Magnificent Seven
For a variety of reasons, I’ll be adding the following to my Blockbuster queue tomorrow:
Rope
Dr. Lao
The Trouble With Harry
Rio Bravo
Singing In the Rain
The Little Foxes
Red River
…with others to follow in the fullness of time.
The list (and please pardon me if I missed your contribution):
Rear Window
Duck Soup
Nosferatu
Casablanca
Wizard of Oz
High Noon
Hard Day’s Night
Father Goose
Harvey
Rope
The Searchers
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Fistful of Dollars
Ben-Hur
The Quiet Man
The Third Man
Citizen Kane
Gone With the Wind
Metropolis
Gojira
The Bedford Incident
Forbidden Planet
The Trouble With Harry
The Court Jester
The Thing from Another World
Plan 9 from Outer Space
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Brigadoon
Lawrence of Arabia
Bridge on the River Kwai
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
African Queen
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
North by Northwest
To Have and Have Not
Rio Bravo
Only Angels Have Wings
The Hustler
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Donovan’s Reef
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Horse Soldiers
The Little Foxes
Twelve O’Clock High
Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
Jason and the Argonauts
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Arsenic and Old Lace
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Operation Petticoat
The Red Shoes
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Some Like It Hot
The Grand Illusion
Singing in the Rain
The Seven Samurai
The Lavender Hill Mob
The LadyKillers
Rebel Without a Cause
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Bride Of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman
The Wolfman
Dracula (Transylvania segment)
Phantom of the Opera
The Invisible Man
The Time Machine
Roman Holiday
Sabrina
Wait Until Dark
The Haunting
Psycho
The Guns of Navarone
Mary Poppins
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Fantasia
Cinderella
Gulliver’s Travels
Days of Wine and Roses
12 Angry Men
Road To Morocco
Road To Utopia
My Favorite Blonde
The Enemy Below
The General
Dial “M” for Murder
Bringing Up Baby
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (F. March)
Design For Living
Trouble In Paradise
Double Indemnity
Sunset Boulevard
The Apartment
Wait Until Dark
Cape Fear
Shane
Seven Men From Now
Freaks
The Magnificent Ambersons
Now Voyager
Dark Victory
How Green Was My Valley
A Night at the Opera
I Happened One Night
Sullivan’s Travels
Red River
The Gold Rush
Desk Set
Father of the Bride
Father’s Little Dividend
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
How to Marry a Millionaire
Stage Door
Holiday
My Man Godfrey
His Girl Friday
The Thin Man
The Awful Truth
Rebecca
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
All About Eve
Whisky Galore
Paths of Glory
It’s A Wonderful Life
Goodbye Mr. Chips
A Matter of Life and Deaths
The 39 Steps
M
Fury
The Life and Death of Col. Blimp
The Big Carnival
Shirley Temple Films
Fred and Ginger Films
The Crimson Pirate
Adam’s Rib
The Girl Can’t Help It
Seven Year Itch
The Philadelphia Story
Balls of Fire
Funny Face
Charade
Pork Chop Hill
Giant
Elmer Gantry
A Face in the Crowd
The Sweet Smell of Success
Dr. Strangelove
Inherit the Wind
Gentleman’s Agreement
Chimes at Midnight
The Wind
Love Me Tonight
Footlight Parade
Man’s Castle
It’s a Gift
The Crime of M. Lange
Only Angels Have Wings
Pinocchio
The Shop Around the Corner
The Lady Eve
Meet Me in St. Louis
La Belle et la Bete
The Big Sleep
Black Narcissus
Intruder in the Dust
Ugetsu Monogatari
Ordet
The Man from Laramie
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Seventh Seal
Vertigo
Rio Bravo
Ride the High Country
The Naked Kiss
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Night of the Hunter
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
The Mis-Fits
The Longest Day
In Which We Serve
Alexander Nevsky
The Magnificent Seven
Snow White and the Three Stooge
War of the Worlds
Which* 3:10 to Yuma*? The recent one was a remake of an oldie with Glen Ford in the bad guy role. I thought it was much better than the Russell Crowe version.
Not to pick fights, but I have to disagree strongly with a couple of entries on the list:
Dracula. Does not hold up well AT ALL to anyone accustomed to modern horror films. The scene in Dracula’s castle where there are 'possums and armadillos roaming the basement will have any bright teenager laughing hysterically. Not to mention the stilted dialogue.
**
Wait Until Dark**. I know this scared the bejeebers out of a generation of baby boomers, but it doesn’t hold up. Having watched it as an adult Gen Xer, I was very underwhelmed. The tension and scares just weren’t there for me. There was one “BOO!” moment and that was it.
I’d suggest The Mark of Zorro, in fact I just got this a few days ago and still enjoy it as much as when I was a kid.
While it’s been a bit since I’ve seen any of them, I’d think some of the Abbot and Castello movies would still hold up. Although I think the target audience is younger than a teenager. I enjoyed them around the 8 - 11 age I think.
The Oxbow Incident - 1943, Henry Fonda The Odd Couple - okay, it’s 1968 It’s A Wonderful Life The Flight of the Phoenix - 1965, James Stewart Zulu - 1964, with a VERY young Michael Caine
I thought The Bad Seed was awful. Great story, but Patty McCormack was terribly wooden. Maybe she was supposed to be, being a psychopath and all, but I thought she sucked. I don’t think she had much of a career after this, so maybe I’m right.
Now just wait, somebody’ll pop in with an IMDB list of 50 movies she was in.
Awesome list. However I still haven’t seen one of my favorites mentioned: “Stalag 17”
(If I have overlooked it, forgive me)
I also want to Nth “My Man Godfrey”. Although set in the depression, I think the amazing dialog and characters make this movie timeless. I keep thinking this would be ripe for a remake…and then thank the stars that they haven’t tried
