Your favourite Old Hollywood films?

Some like it hot. It’s hilarious and all the leads are brilliant.

I posted a ridiculously long list but there are so many great old films that I keep thinking of ones that I forgot to include.

Some, like To Kill a Mockingbird, have been suggested by others but I don't think anyone has mentioned All About Eve. That's a brilliant film.

I think I included a couple of Hitchcock films but they are all worth watching. He was an absolute shit in RL but knew how to make a film.

Something that is completely different from anything else on this thread is Freaks, the 1930s horror film. It was unusual because it employed people with disabilities and portrayed them as real people with feelings rather than as caricatures. It's classified as a horror but I don't think that does it justice.

I've got a soft spot for very early horror films. I think that the original Frankenstein is very moving, especially when the creature is trying to be accepted by humans.

For fast moving, wisecracking comedies, The Marx Brothers films hold up well.

@MuckFuskWe're probably both thinking of the same version of The 3rd Man. I had to Google to double check but it's considered a British film albeit one with American influences.

Sunset Boulevard

Move Over Darling
Cheaper by the Dozen
Little Women (Elizabeth Taylor)

I love this thread, I will be printing out these lists and working my way through them. Thanks so much x

Oooh this thread has inspired me to watch some old movies I've never seen before. Thank you all!! 🙏

Brief Encounter and GWTW.

Oh I love The Misfits - so much that I have two copies on DVD. It must be time I watched it again.

What a great list. I've seen almost all of them (some I've seen many times) and I liked most of them.
Kind Hearts and Coronets in particular is not terribly well known and it should be. Adore it.
I've never seen the British cut of The Third Man, just the American one. Does it cut out any of that constant, inane music?

Film noir is what I love best, but I will watch pretty much anything with Bogie or Bette Davis in it. Also love the duo of Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet.
My fave suspense film of all time is the Mask of Dimitrios and my fave comedy is Some Like it Hot.
Fave Bogie film; Dark Passage
Fave Bette Davis film; The Letter.

I love the partnership between Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor - they were incredibly talented and athletic.

Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane. I watched it when I was quite young and it terrified me! Superb acting, even though they despised each other in real life.

James Cagney

White Heat
Public Enemy
Angels with Dirty Faces

Yanky Doodle Dandy

shows how versatile he was, gangster baddie, to song-and-dance man

Love the old black and white musicals.

Easter parade
Roman holiday
singing in the rain
etc

Anything with Audrey Hepburn, Gene Kelly, etc in it.

Bloody hideous movie (sorry!)

A Matter of Life and Death, starring David Niven

Perfect timing for this list! DH is going to be away from home for a few weeks, soon, and I've been making notes of films and TV to keep me entertained.

I seem to remember enjoying Desk Set.

Not sure if this is old enough, but I have a soft spot for Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Oh, and The Bad Seed (1956).

Favourite old Hollywood films - mostly film noir or wisecracking comedies with a sprinkling of feel good Frank Capra

Strangers on a train
Night of the hunter (original version with Robert Mitchum)
The postman always rings twice
Gilda
Laura
The Maltese Falcon
Double Indemnity
His girl Friday
The big sleep
Mildred Pierce
Casablanca
It's a wonderful life
Key Largo
12 Angry men
Mr Smith goes to Washington
Mr Deeds goes to town
Bringing up baby
Some like it hot

Favourite old British films - mostly Ealing comedies, with some classic Powell and Pressburger, some kitchen sink drama and a few darker ones:

Brighton Rock
The ladykillers
The lavender hill mob
Passport to Pimlico
kind hearts and coronets
the man in the white suit
A matter of life and death (this one freaked me out for years because I watched it when I was very young and then just remembered a few scenes but didn't know where I remembered them from, only that they were very creepy. But I love it now)
The black narcissus
The red shoes
A Canterbury Tale
seance on a wet afternoon
Bunny Lake is missing
The fallen idol
went the day well?
the 3rd man
dead of night
It always rains on Sunday
Brief Encounter
green for danger
room at the top
the spy who came in from the cold
our man in Havana
I'm alright Jack
Tiger Bay
whistle down the wind
the league of gentlemen
the 39 steps (original with Robert Donat)
the lady vanishes
I know where I'm going
goodbye Mr Chips
Saturday Night and Sunday morning
Gaslight

Same. Every one. Plus It's a Wonderful Life.

Coming back to add Gigi - story is a bit of an eyebrow raise, but Lesley Caron is so beautiful and the songs are gorgeous.

Wow! So many great films mentioned that I had forgotten about.

Thanks everyone for jogging my memory.

My top picks (not in any particular order) are:

It's a wonderful life
Now Voyager
Some like it hot
Imitation of life
Whatever happened to Baby Jane
Seven brides for seven brothers
Gone with the wind (which I shouldn't like but I do)
Brief Encounter
Cat Ballou
Paint your wagon
The war of the world's (1950's sci fi)
East of Eden
The African Queen

Plus many, many more. Spent a lot of Sunday afternoons when I was a child watching black and white movies with my Mum

It’s been mentioned already but definitely Double Indemnity - the three leads are so perfect in their roles and I love that snappy, sardonic dialogue so much.

It’s His Girl Friday! One of my favourites, too.

Kay Largo, The Big Sleep, The Women, Ninotchka, To Have and Have Not, Now Voyager, An American in Paris, All About Eve, and anything by Powell and Pressburger.

There’s also all the ‘epic’ movies like Cleopatra, Spartacus, Ben Hur etc.