For a few years now, I have delved back to the “Golden Years” of Hollywood in search for quality material. Much to my own surprise, I quickly stumbled upon a gold mine of entertainment. I sifted through large amounts of material to discover some amazing stories with depth that were delivered with top shelf acting performances. Here’s a list of 40 of my favourites that I highly recommend to those who don’t mind watching B&W, or viewing life in simpler times. Some amazing viewing here for you to enjoy. In no particular order…
Doorway To Hell ( Cagney in rare supporting role for this classic Gangster flick)
In Harms Way ( The Duke & Douglas in pacific WW2 flick )
Shanghai Express ( M. Dietrich in amazing backdrop )
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison ( Robert Mitchum, D. Kerr in high tension pacific WW2 flick)
Dark Passage ( Bogart & Bacall )
Spartacus ( Sir Lawrence ,Douglas, Curtis , Simmons )
Torrid Zone (Cagney, Ann Sheridan)
An Affair to Remember ( C. Grant, D Kerr )
Casablanca ( Bogart, Bergman, Lorre )
Knight Without Armor ( M. Dietrich, Donet - set during Russian Revolution )
Some Like it Hot ( Monroe, Lemmon & Curtis )
The Gunfighter ( Gregory Peck)
The Roaring Twenties ( Cagney, Bogart)
The Philadelphia Story ( Hepburn, Grant, Stewart)
The Killers ( Burt Lancaster)
Mrs. Miniver ( Greer Garson, W. Pigeon )
To Have & Have Not ( Bogart, Bacall, Brennan )
Zigfeld Girl ( Lana Turner, J. Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, J. Garland)
A Guy Named Joe ( Spencer Tracey, Van Johnson )
Cape Fear ( G. Peck, R. Mitchum )
Rio Bravo ( Wayne, Martin , Brennan & Dickenson )
High Sierra (Bogart, Ida Lupino )
Macou ( R.Mitchum, Jane Russell)
His Kind of Woman ( R. Mitchum, Jane Russell)
G Men (Cagney)
Thirty Second Over Tokyo (V. Johnson, S. Tracey, R. Mitchum, P. Thaxter )
So glad to find a post like this @Vanderlegend. I did the same thing a few years ago. I love that/those early era/s. I rewatch them regularly. Especially love the classic Noir stuff, which I watched nearly every night for a year, and kept notes on.
Very good list BTW. Another I think of just now, given you’ve mentioned her a couple of times, is Niagra, with Monroe. Very gritty and a different role for her. Think I’ll put together my own list. Out of the Past, will definitely make it. Have you seen Sunset Blvd.? Easily my favourite movie of all time. Another brilliant Bogey film, not often mentioned is, In A Dark Place. Check them out.
Thanks Zimmer. There are still plenty of movies from this era that I haven’t caught up with yet, including the Monroe one you mention. It’s hard/ expensive to track some down, but I certainly hope to given the chance. Unfortuneatly, the TV networks choose to rinse and repeat family classics, rather than play some of the gems I listed. It’s a discredit to all the hard work that went into making them. It would be a shame if they became buried in the past.
Pulp Fiction
Goodfellas
The Good,The Bad & The Ugly
Wedding Crashers
Talladega Nights
The Matrix
Fight Club
Catch Me If You Can
Stephen King’s IT
Billy Maddison
The Thing - Kurt Russell Version
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Good Will Hunting
Wolf of Wall Street
Scarface
-Snatch1 (swear filter really?)
Any Star Wars. ( ok, Return of the Jedi)
Saturday Night Fever
Independence Day
Forrest Gump
Its a wonderful life
I know where I’m going
Snow white and 7 dwarves
Wizard of oz
2001
To kill a mockingbird
Annie hall
Jurassic park
Matrix
Lotr: fellowship
Exorcist
Indiana Jones
The prestige
I Am Legend
The Lost Boys
Pulp Fiction
Risky Business
Mad Max
Starship Troopers
Birdman
Inglorious Basterds
Roadhouse
Running on Empty
The Big Lebowski
The Breakfast Club
Platoon
The Fifth Element
Fight Club
Blade Runner
Any Which Way But Loose
Avatar
Ex Machina
Wierd Science
Boogie Nights
The Bourne Legacy
Predator
Breakdown
Dirty Harry.
Casablanca
Animal Kingdom
Schindler’s List
A Separation
Indendies
Fargo
No Country for Old Men
12 Angry Men
The 39 Steps
Rear Window
Life of Brian
LA Confidential
Arrival
Silence of the Lambs
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Brokeback Mountain
North By Northwest
Fight Club
