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Original poster

Recommend to me old films!

210 replies

Susu49 · 15/02/2022 20:18

Watching Casablanca for the first time...I love old films but don't feel I've seen that many of them.

Can you please give me your recommendations?

Off the top of my head, ones I've loved in the past include The Ladykillers and pretty much anything with Alistair Simm!

OP posts:
GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 19/02/2022 09:22

@thistimelastweek

Kind Hearts and Coronets.

(Alec Guinness in multiple rolls. Seriously brilliant. )

I once read that when this first came out - maybe a stage play first? - some theatre/film critic told another that he must go and see it, the young actor was brilliant.

2nd critic duly went along and later said, Yes, he was good, but didn’t think he was anything outstanding.

First critic said, ‘You did realise that he was playing all those roles?’

Second critic: ‘WTF???’ (Or words to that effect!)

gelatodipistacchio · 19/02/2022 12:44

Just finished the More the Merrier. Very charming and enjoyable!

Tezza1 · 19/02/2022 20:05

@CocktailNapkin "Giant, starring Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, about a Texas oil dynasty"

The main thing I remember about "Giant" was that Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson looked like gods who had stepped down from Mount Olympus, and then had a son who look like Dennis Hopper, who seemed to have been on a starvation diet.

Susu49 · 19/02/2022 23:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Thursa · 20/02/2022 02:23

Another vote for Ice Cold in Alex
Waterloo Bridge
Stalag 17
Giant
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Guns of Navarone
Rear Window

CocktailNapkin · 20/02/2022 04:54

@Tezza1 Exactly, they tried to age Liz for the matriarch scenes end of the movie and it didn't really work. And the son was indeed Dennis Hopper, although I believe his first film credit was for Rebel Without A Cause the year prior.

CocktailNapkin · 20/02/2022 04:55

I forgot to add:

Rebecca

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 20/02/2022 06:34

I started watching the 1940 P&P yesterday as I'd never seen it before. Odd is the word! The costumes were weird. Instead of setting it in the 1810s it seemed to be 1830s, so more Victorian than Regency. A visitor arrived in the middle. Not sure I'll watch the rest. If it hadn't been for Laurence Olivier I would have switched it off a few minutes in.

Tezza1 · 20/02/2022 17:59

@Susu49 Kenneth More played Douglas Bader. He could play the stiff upper lipped Englishman to perfection.

Which reminds me of the film "A Night to Remember." Kenneth More had the lead in it. It's about the sinking of the Titanic, and is far superior in my opinion to the James Cameron film. Very, very touching in parts.

Kenneth More reminds me of Doctor in the House, which reminds me of Dirk Bogarde. A lot of his films were excellent as well. He could play absolutely lovely characters and absolutely vile ones with equal ease and believability.

BoreOfWhabylon · 20/02/2022 20:02

Which reminds me of the film "A Night to Remember." Kenneth More had the lead in it. It's about the sinking of the Titanic, and is far superior in my opinion to the James Cameron film. Very, very touching in parts.

Couldn't agree more. It's outstanding.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 20/02/2022 21:35

Another vote for A Night to Remember. Far better than Titanic (not hard, frankly).

Original poster
Susu49 · 20/02/2022 23:34

I saw A Night to Remember as a child and have been keeping an eye out for it to watch again as I've only ever heard opinions that match yours!

I remember Kenneth Moore now, really lovely manner to him.

I don't think Stalag 17 or Giant are on the list so I'll add them, thank you.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g yep not sure I'd bother!

OP posts:
All4Love · 21/02/2022 05:28
  1. The Goddess

There is also a film lecture about it here

Many considered The Goddess as one the the greatest film in China's cinematic history.The actress Ruan Lingyu committed suicide a year after this film and she was only 24.

  1. New Women - also Ruan Lingyu and a drama about women in a patriarchal society
  1. Labourer's Love - slaptic romcom
  1. Hua Mu Lan - the 1939 version of Mulan. China was at war with Japan and between the two Chinese Civil Wars
  1. Street Angels - drama about the struggles of the underclass in Shanghai 1930s
Delectable · 21/02/2022 13:46

@All4Love why did she commit suicide?

All4Love · 21/02/2022 14:22

@Delectable
www.bbc.com/culture/article/20171025-ruan-lingyu-the-greta-garbo-of-china

It's a mystery. She died of barbiturate overdose and her suicide note had something like "Gossip is a fearful thing"

She was going through a rough time, she was in the middle of divorcing her gambler/spendthrift husband and things were not so good with her new partner.

Some say her suicide note was forged and that she might have been killed by her lover. However it can also be an accidental overdose. Remember, during this time "pep pills" and "downers" were common.
www.history.com/news/judy-garland-barbiturates-hollywood-studio-drugs

Delectable · 21/02/2022 16:22

@All4Love thanks. That's a shame. I've saved it to watch later.

Towerofjoyless · 21/02/2022 17:13

Absolutely loving this thread. My late DF was a huge fan of old movies (mostly musicals) so I grew up watching many of the films recommended on this thread. Also, thank you to the pp who listed many of Humphrey Bogarts movies. I watched the Big Sleep last year and loved him in it, only other one of his I'd seen previously was Sabrina Fair.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 21/02/2022 19:17

The Maltese Falcon (his breakthrough film, I think) is absolutely wonderful. Not a single duff performance.

Thoosa · 21/02/2022 19:19

Bogart did a little film called In A Lonely Place that is a bit of a forgotten gem.

Bloatstoat · 21/02/2022 20:37

Some great suggestions here, am definitely due a rewatch of some of these that I haven't seen for ages!
OP if you like Casablanca, try To Have and Have Not - it's the film when Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met, it's like a darker version and one of my all time favourites.

freshcarnation · 22/02/2022 15:55

Metropolis

BoreOfWhabylon · 24/02/2022 14:40

An absolute classic on BBC4 at 8pm tonight.

The Third Man (1949)
Developed by Graham Greene from an idea jotted down on the flap of an envelope, this virtually flawless thriller is one of the best British films of all time. Set in postwar occupied Vienna, the plot is a corker, littered with memorable moments and played to perfection by an unforgettable cast that's led with distinction by Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten, whose amiable American pulp novelist uncovers all sorts of murky dealings while looking for old friend Harry Lime. A master of place, angle and shade, director Carol Reed (helped by his Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Krasker) fashions a city in which menace lurks around every corner, while Anton Karas's jaunty zither music uniquely echoes the wit and drama of this dark yet daringly playful picture.

LetsGoCrazyPurpleBanana · 24/02/2022 15:05

Rebel without a cause.

Original poster
Susu49 · 24/02/2022 15:09

Thanks all!
I noticed Top Hat is on iplayer so planning to watch it in the next few days. After a strong start, I've had less time this last week so looking forward to my next quiet evening :)

OP posts:
Towerofjoyless · 25/02/2022 16:24

Going to have a look and see if The Third Man is showing on iplayer, I know they sometimes have recently shown films on catch-up for a bit.

Anyone got any good recommendations for film noir-type movies?