# What old movies should I watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587 "2018-01-14T05:11:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [January 15, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/61 "2018-01-15T00:28:24Z")
The 1974 version of **The Taking of Pelham One Two Three**. Still holds up today. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/62 "2018-01-15T00:37:23Z")
I know that critics love to praise _The Searchers_, but I’ve seen the whole thing a few times, and I don’t think it’s very good. Lots of cheesiness and cliches. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/63 "2018-01-15T01:39:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The movie you are thinking of is _Three Days of the Condor_. You are probably confusing the title with _Day of the Jackal_, which is an even better film. Yeah. my bad. Thanks! Day of the Jackal is good, but again, see the original, not the shitty remake. I seem to say that a lot. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/64 "2018-01-15T03:08:39Z")
[The Americanization of Emily](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057840/?ref_=tt_urv) – Cynical WWII comedy/drama starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas and James Coburn. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/65 "2018-01-15T03:17:06Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > **A Bridge Too Far** > **Gallipoli** > **The Dirty Dozen** > **The Manchurian Candidate** - A presidential candidate is a communist agent. Frank Sinatra, a Korean War POW, has to figure out what is going on. > **Day of the Condor** - Robert Redford is a CIA political analyst who becomes a fugitive when his entire research section is wiped out. > **The Parallax View** - Warren Beatty is an investigative reporter investigating the assassination of a political candidate who learns of a secret corporation that apparently recruits the mentally unhinged as assassins, and goes undercover. The film-within-a-film that is used to test his aptitude to be an assassin is amazing. > **The Conversation** - Gene Hackman is a withdrawn expert in electronic espionage, who gets drawn into a conspiracy when he is hired to bug a young couple’s meeting and finds himself getting personally involved. > **Fail Safe** - A serious view of the same situation that happens in **Dr. Strangelove.** Interesting ending. > **1984** - the version actually made in 1984. Absolutely perfect adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, with great performances by John Hurt and Richard Burton. Agree with all of these, and would add _The Fourth Protocol_ with Pierce Brosnan as a KGB operative trying to plant a nuclear bomb next to an air base, and _The Day of the Jackal_, the 1973 version. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/66 "2018-01-15T03:21:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I don’t think one can go wrong with a Jimmy Stewart movie. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Harvey, It’s a Wonderful Life, Glenn Miller Story, Flight of the Phoenix, Spirit of St. Louis, Anatomy of a Murder. How can you leave out Jimmy Stewart’s The Cheyenne Social Club? It’s Western but it’s a hoot. Some suggestions: Earth vs Flying Saucers When Worlds Collide The 6th Day The Adventures of Ford Fairlane Almost an Angel Armegeddon Being There Bicentennial Man Casino Royale 007 (Daniel Craig as James Bond, kick ass) Ah, I just remembered, The Man from Earth. This one is a mind bender. It’s about a 2000 year old man. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/67 "2018-01-15T03:26:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It also became an episode of _ **Twilight Zone** _. I would say, rather, the TZ dedicated one of it’s time slots to presenting this French made gem. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/68 "2018-01-15T03:32:17Z")
One of my favorite old movies is the 1934 version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. A semi-prophetic line about when a nation goes mad, it can commit any horrors within its own borders. The prince patting his big fat belly and saying “Beef and Beer! It gives a man a figure!” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/69 "2018-01-15T03:52:15Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > **A Bridge Too Far** > **Gallipoli** > **The Dirty Dozen** > **The Manchurian Candidate** - A presidential candidate is a communist agent. Frank Sinatra, a Korean War POW, has to figure out what is going on. > **Day of the Condor** - Robert Redford is a CIA political analyst who becomes a fugitive when his entire research section is wiped out. > **The Parallax View** - Warren Beatty is an investigative reporter investigating the assassination of a political candidate who learns of a secret corporation that apparently recruits the mentally unhinged as assassins, and goes undercover. The film-within-a-film that is used to test his aptitude to be an assassin is amazing. > **The Conversation** - Gene Hackman is a withdrawn expert in electronic espionage, who gets drawn into a conspiracy when he is hired to bug a young couple’s meeting and finds himself getting personally involved. > **Fail Safe** - A serious view of the same situation that happens in **Dr. Strangelove.** Interesting ending. > **1984** - the version actually made in 1984. Absolutely perfect adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, with great performances by John Hurt and Richard Burton. Agree with all of these, and would add _The Fourth Protocol_ with Pierce Brosnan as a KGB operative trying to plant a nuclear bomb next to an air base, and _The Day of the Jackal_, the 1973 version. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/70 "2018-01-15T04:55:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Here’s what I do like: > > Action > War movies > Dramas about important issues > Horror. Not suspense horror, but supernatural horror. > Disaster! Love disaster films, although cheesy stuff like invasions of giant spiders doesn’t really hold up for me anymore. > Political thrillers. Now that I think about it, I have seen Dr. Strangelove. Stuff like that is cool. > Scifi with good science. Not “message” scifi like the Day the Earth Stood Still, or camp sci fi like nuclear radiation making giant creatures. > Non-Disney animation I might not know about. > > I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never seen a Sean Connery Bond movie. Except for Never Say Never Again, which was 1983. Of the categories you list here, I have a few suggestions, some of which already have been made. _Twelve Angry Men_: A drama about a very important issue - prejudging people as a jury. One of the best movies ever made. _Andromeda Strain_: Science Fiction that was generally well-acted, decently ok on the science, and didn’t follow a plot-line that a two-year-old could predict the ending to. I think it’s a better movie than _2001: A Space Odyssey_, but I that’s because I find the latter a bit weird. _The Adventures of Robin Hood_: Classic period piece with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone. You might prefer _Dawn Patrol_, which is set in WWI, or _Captain Blood_, which is set during the 1700s (and is based upon an excellent book by Rafael Sabbatini). All three movies star Flynn and Rathbone (_Dawn Patrol_ gives you David Niven to boot!). Btw: you said nothing about your tastes in comedy. From your posts on the Board, I believe you to be a person with significant intelligence, who probably finds comedy that has some intelligence behind it to be fun. In this vein, and given the above recommendation, you might try _The Court Jester_, an excellent Danny Kaye movie, which also stars Basil Rathbone (in a role in which he basically mocks his roll from the Robin Hood film, among others). It also has a VERY young Angela Lansbury in it, and I think you’ll be shocked at what she looked like at the time. Just remember where the pellet with the poison is! ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/71 "2018-01-15T15:52:55Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > A few others I forgot to mention: > > - **The Hustler** (1961) with Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott. > > - Two heist movies starring Sterling Hayden: John Huston’s **The Asphalt Jungle** (1950) and Kubrick’s\*\* The Killing\*\* (1956). Sterling Hayden was a good actor and led an interesting life - he was an operative for the OSS (forerunner of the CIA) in Yugoslavia in WWII. I heard an interesting interview with the director of\*\* My Favorite Year\*\* (another recommendation). His first job as a film director was directing Peter O’Toole, which he found a little overwhelming. They were filming a scene after midnight in Central Park, and he was trying to get everything set up in the park and wanted to be careful not to forget anything and look bad in front of O’Toole. He saw a figure come walking up out of the darkness from a drainage culvert, and was surprised to see it was Sterling Hayden, who said he was trying to get mentally ready for a film role and asked to be introduced to Peter O’Toole. He said it was an odd moment. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/72 "2018-01-15T17:18:58Z")
Just saw **Steel Yard Blues** (1973). Took forever to make its point. Was neat seeing Hesseman in a straight role. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/73 "2018-01-15T18:09:33Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > Sterling Hayden was a good actor and led an interesting life - he was an operative for the OSS (forerunner of the CIA) in Yugoslavia in WWII. He was also the tallest leading man in Hollywood history, at 6’5.” Also an excellent sailor who only took movie work to pay for his boats, including a canal barge, which he lived on in France in the late 60s. Also liked to smoke hashish. Hayden appeared in a ridiculous number of great films, many included in this thread. Might as well add another one: Robert Altman’s 1973 **The Long Goodbye** , starring Elliott Gould (!) as Philip Marlowe. After the aforementioned **The Big Sleep,** my favorite Raymond Chandler adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/74 "2018-01-15T19:34:16Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > He was also the tallest leading man in Hollywood history, at 6’5.” Also an excellent sailor who only took movie work to pay for his boats, including a canal barge, which he lived on in France in the late 60s. Also liked to smoke hashish. > > Hayden appeared in a ridiculous number of great films, many included in this thread. Might as well add another one: Robert Altman’s 1973 **The Long Goodbye** , starring Elliott Gould (!) as Philip Marlowe. After the aforementioned **The Big Sleep,** my favorite Raymond Chandler adaptation. i like that film too, although it’s perhaps the oddest Chandler adaptation. He was also in one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies, **The Last Days of Man on Earth** (UK: **The Final Programme** ). I remember him as a frequent guest on Johnny Carson and Tom Snyder with that long beard, extolling the virtues of cannabis. He was definitely his own man who never seemed to give two foxes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/75 "2018-01-15T20:00:19Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Might as well add another one: Robert Altman’s 1973 **The Long Goodbye** , starring Elliott Gould (!) as Philip Marlowe. If you’re looking for another non-comedy Elliott Gould movie, check out _The Silent Partner_ (1978). Gould plays a bank teller who lives a boring life. His bank is robbed but he foils the robbery by hiding the money. But nobody else realizes the money was hidden and everyone assumes the robber (Christopher Plummer) took it. So Gould takes the money himself rather than turning it in. Plummer figures this out when he sees the news reports saying he has the money. So he contacts Gould and tries to threaten him into giving up the money. Gould doesn’t want to give up the money but he also can’t turn Plummer in because he would then tell the police Gould had the money. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/76 "2018-01-15T23:49:02Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > Yeah. my bad. Thanks! > > Day of the Jackal is good, but again, see the original, not the shitty remake. I seem to say that a lot. Yes, I definitely meant the original. The remake wasn’t horrible, but it’s nowhere near the film the original was. I also really liked _Judgement at Nuremberg_. Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, Burt Lancaster. And you get Capt. Kirk as a bonus! And Colonel Klink as an extra bonus! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/77 "2018-01-16T00:26:55Z")
Monty Woolley, one of the greatest comedy performances ever, in “The Man Who Came to Dinner”. There are some classic foreign films that I never get tired of watching: “A Man and a Woman” and “Umbrellas of Cherbourg”. And Fellini is a must, maybe best in “Juliet of the Spirits”. Be sure “Butch Cassidy” and “Bonnie and Clyde” are on your list. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/78 "2018-01-16T02:03:35Z")
Ukulele Ike writes: \> He [Sterling Hayden] was also the tallest leading man in Hollywood history, at 6’5. So you don’t count any of these?: Brad Garrett, 6’8" James Cromwell, 6’7" James Arness 6’7" Fred Thompson, 6’6" Christopher Lee 6’ 5" Michael Clarke Duncan, 6’5" Dwayne Johnson, 6’5" Tim Robbins, 6’5" Armie Hammer, 6’5" Dolph Lundgren, 6’5" Vince Vaughn, 6’5" Tyler Perry, 6’5" Chuck Connors 6’5" ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/79 "2018-01-16T14:32:53Z")
Sidney Poitier films are worth it too. _In the Heat of the Night_ tells the story of a black police detective in the rural bigoted South, and how he earns the respect of the sheriff (Rod Steiger). Speaking of Rod Steiger, I was always a fan of _The Illustrated Man,_, though it can be argued it doesn’t do the book justice. Still, "They are not tattoos! They are _skin illustrations!_ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587/80 "2018-01-16T15:12:05Z")
> [@Leo\_Krupe](#): > > Speaking of Rod Steiger, I was always a fan of _The Illustrated Man,_, though it can be argued it doesn’t do the book justice. Still, "They are not tattoos! They are _skin illustrations!_ I’m partial to _ **The Pawnbroker** _ myself. He also made a great Pontius Pilate in _ **Jesus of Nazareth** _. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-movies-should-i-watch/806587.md?page=5)