Favorite "regular" classic movies

**anklebiter** · January 27th, 2009, 08:38 PM

I'm a Clint Eastwood freak, and also John Wayne.I guess if I had to pick, I'd say the entire western genre is my favorite.
What are your favorite classic movies?

A few of mine:
1-The Outlaw Josey wales Clint Eastwood)
2- Rio Grande (John Wayne)
3-Angels With Dirty Faces ( James Cagney)
4 Hang Em High (Clint Eastwood)
5- The entire martin & Lewis collection, but especially The Delicate Delinquent.

They truly don't make them like they used to.I can appreciate CG effects, but it's no replacement for good acting.

**Greenman** · January 28th, 2009, 06:51 PM

One film above all others that for its time was innovative when it used special effects and a great story, albeit a slightly soppy British/US one but with a terrific cast including David Niven was AMATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH-which I got on DVD for Christmas. If you ever get a chance to see it do so because it is a brilliantly made film.

**Farowt** · January 30th, 2009, 07:58 AM

I love movies, so have quite a list of favorites. But keeping with the question of all time favorite(1): The Jules Verne Classic "Mysterious Island". I liked all the movies based on Jules Verne novels, but for some reason, just always liked this one the best.

**Mad Koala Bear** · January 30th, 2009, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenman

One film above all others that for its time was innovative when it used special effects and a great story, albeit a slightly soppy British/US one but with a terrific cast including David Niven was AMATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH-which I got on DVD for Christmas. If you ever get a chance to see it do so because it is a brilliantly made film.

AMoLaD is indeed a great film, full of hope, compassion, optimism, wit, you name it. I think of it as a companion piece to the earlier Powell and Pressburger masterpiece The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Made in 1943 and partly set at the other end of the conflict to AMoLaD, it contains, in Anton Walbrook's impassioned speech at the aliens registration office, the most devastating denunciation of Nazism you will ever see. It never fails to bring a lump to my throat. And Deborah Kerr is gorgeous in it, 3 times.

**scoundrel** · January 30th, 2009, 11:11 PM

AMoLaD was probably their finest film but they made several real masterpieces such as Black Narcissus (camp and overacted though this was) and Battle of the River Plate. BotRP is a really interesting work for the subtlety and humanity of its portrait of the officers and men of the Graf Spee, most unusual for German characters in British films of the period. In particular, Peter Finch was excellent as Captain Langsdorff and I think the film does justice to the actual man, his courage his dignity and ultimately his tragic suicide to redeem the honour of his crew after he had ordered them to save themselves by scuttling their ship. He caused a lot of trouble for the Allied cause early in the war but always fought with honour and respect for the law of the sea. He was no typical Nazi, not like the scumbag who commanded his supply ship, the Altmark. Peter Finch gave dramatic life to this dangerous and strangely admirable man. It was very characteristic of Powell and Pressburger that they could rise above mere steriotypes and take a good look at the enemy as men.

**Mad Koala Bear** · January 30th, 2009, 11:39 PM

The British come across as a bit stiff upper lip, but it is undoubtedly a fair portayal of a man who was probably a very decent, atypical, dedicated naval officer, albeit on the 'wrong' side. But then P & P were never ones to portray decency unfairly.

As for Michael Powell, his rather unwarranted fall from grace with Peeping Tom was a very sad loss to us all. I always had a soft spot for that film as I was a focus-puller for years, though not one that killed starlets whilst taking cheesy after hours snaps of course.

**scoundrel** · January 31st, 2009, 12:33 AM

I think you are right about the British characters. Both Bernard Lee (Captain Dove of the SS Africa Shell, sunk by Langsdorff in Portuguese territorial water: NB I commended Langsdorff for respecting the law of the sea, not necessarily for obeying all the rules all of the time. We British were not too proud to bend the rules a little bit either) and Anthony Quayle as Commodore Harwood did a competent acting job but were not given much to work with. Peter Finch had more scope and created a subtle anti-heroic, three dimensional performance well worth watching.

Incidentally, the German surface navy was the least ''reliable'' service from a Nazi point of view. Langsdorff professed loyalty to Hitler in his suicide letter but his conduct as an officer and a man was very odd for a Nazi. Admiral Lutyens, who commanded the Bismarck, made a special point of not using the Hitler salute. I have seen German newsreel footage of him greeting Hitler with a traditional naval salute and a facial expression which looked like he had just eaten three lemons without sugar: Hitler cannot possibly have missed the non-verbal communication. There are other examples as well, notably Captain Rogge of the raider Atlantis, known to the British as Raider C, who always showed great humanity to his prisoners. The Powell and Pressburger film picks up on this little byplay in WW2 history quite well.

Re Peeping Tom, it isn't Powell's best film but it is certainly not a bad one. The problem was that it offended against the spirit of its time. Powell did not slavishly follow the crowd (as with his rather sympathetic portrait of the Germans in BotRP) and on this occasion he was made to suffer. Hitchcock made a much inferior thriller called Frenzy in the seventies and it quietly faded into well deserved obscurity, causing few of the waves raised by Peeping Tom, a much better film.

**Mad Koala Bear** · January 31st, 2009, 09:50 AM

Frenzy is probably the Hitchcock picture I would gladly never see again. Dreadful film.

**Mad Koala Bear** · January 31st, 2009, 09:56 AM

Just to get this back on track, my favourite 'classic' movies in no particular order, and probably different to favourites I would pick this afternoon are:

The 39 Steps (Hitchcock version)
Railway Children (Watched it being made)
Went the Day Well?
The Conversation
Charlie Varrick
Kind Hearts and Coronets

quacksacker · February 1st, 2009, 02:57 AM

The Bride of Frankenstein-1935, The Uninvited-1944, The Time of Their Lives-1946?, The Mouse That Roared19--?, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes-1970, My Favorite Brunette-1948?, The Haunting-1960, Bell Book and Candle-1965, How to Murder your Wife-1965, A Guide for The Married Man-19..?It's a MadX4World-1963, The Night Stalker-1972, Night Strangler-1973, Little Big Man-1970...Too many to list.

BTW, what was the first movie you remember watching in the theater? For me it was Night of Dark shadows-1971. I've had a crush on Kate Jackson ever since.

January 27th, 2009, 08:38 PM	#1
anklebiter Palerider Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: United States Posts: 509 Thanks: 5,603 Thanked 9,862 Times in 515 Posts	Favorite "regular" classic movies I'm a Clint Eastwood freak, and also John Wayne.I guess if I had to pick, I'd say the entire western genre is my favorite. What are your favorite classic movies? A few of mine: 1-The Outlaw Josey wales Clint Eastwood) 2- Rio Grande (John Wayne) 3-Angels With Dirty Faces ( James Cagney) 4 Hang Em High (Clint Eastwood) 5- The entire martin & Lewis collection, but especially The Delicate Delinquent. They truly don't make them like they used to.I can appreciate CG effects, but it's no replacement for good acting.

January 28th, 2009, 06:51 PM	#2
Greenman Live Legend of VEF Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Underground lair somewhere in the world Posts: 20,353 Thanks: 30,936 Thanked 383,516 Times in 19,356 Posts	One film above all others that for its time was innovative when it used special effects and a great story, albeit a slightly soppy British/US one but with a terrific cast including David Niven was AMATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH-which I got on DVD for Christmas. If you ever get a chance to see it do so because it is a brilliantly made film. __________________ There was only ONE Greenman, and you accepted no substitutes! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Rest in peace MaxJoker-you will be sorely missed. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. 20,000: Milestone reached!

January 30th, 2009, 07:58 AM	#3
Farowt Former Staff Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Golden State Posts: 2,268 Thanks: 23,556 Thanked 34,070 Times in 2,230 Posts	My Favorite I love movies, so have quite a list of favorites. But keeping with the question of all time favorite(1): The Jules Verne Classic "Mysterious Island". I liked all the movies based on Jules Verne novels, but for some reason, just always liked this one the best. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Please PM me with any link problems. Don't post your thanks, hit the "Thanks" button! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

January 30th, 2009, 11:11 PM	#5
scoundrel Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 26,238 Thanks: 162,399 Thanked 278,496 Times in 26,183 Posts	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger AMoLaD was probably their finest film but they made several real masterpieces such as Black Narcissus (camp and overacted though this was) and Battle of the River Plate. BotRP is a really interesting work for the subtlety and humanity of its portrait of the officers and men of the Graf Spee, most unusual for German characters in British films of the period. In particular, Peter Finch was excellent as Captain Langsdorff and I think the film does justice to the actual man, his courage his dignity and ultimately his tragic suicide to redeem the honour of his crew after he had ordered them to save themselves by scuttling their ship. He caused a lot of trouble for the Allied cause early in the war but always fought with honour and respect for the law of the sea. He was no typical Nazi, not like the scumbag who commanded his supply ship, the Altmark. Peter Finch gave dramatic life to this dangerous and strangely admirable man. It was very characteristic of Powell and Pressburger that they could rise above mere steriotypes and take a good look at the enemy as men.

January 31st, 2009, 12:33 AM	#7
scoundrel Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 26,238 Thanks: 162,399 Thanked 278,496 Times in 26,183 Posts	I think you are right about the British characters. Both Bernard Lee (Captain Dove of the SS Africa Shell, sunk by Langsdorff in Portuguese territorial water: NB I commended Langsdorff for respecting the law of the sea, not necessarily for obeying all the rules all of the time. We British were not too proud to bend the rules a little bit either) and Anthony Quayle as Commodore Harwood did a competent acting job but were not given much to work with. Peter Finch had more scope and created a subtle anti-heroic, three dimensional performance well worth watching. Incidentally, the German surface navy was the least ''reliable'' service from a Nazi point of view. Langsdorff professed loyalty to Hitler in his suicide letter but his conduct as an officer and a man was very odd for a Nazi. Admiral Lutyens, who commanded the Bismarck, made a special point of not using the Hitler salute. I have seen German newsreel footage of him greeting Hitler with a traditional naval salute and a facial expression which looked like he had just eaten three lemons without sugar: Hitler cannot possibly have missed the non-verbal communication. There are other examples as well, notably Captain Rogge of the raider Atlantis, known to the British as Raider C, who always showed great humanity to his prisoners. The Powell and Pressburger film picks up on this little byplay in WW2 history quite well. Re Peeping Tom, it isn't Powell's best film but it is certainly not a bad one. The problem was that it offended against the spirit of its time. Powell did not slavishly follow the crowd (as with his rather sympathetic portrait of the Germans in BotRP) and on this occasion he was made to suffer. Hitchcock made a much inferior thriller called Frenzy in the seventies and it quietly faded into well deserved obscurity, causing few of the waves raised by Peeping Tom, a much better film. Last edited by scoundrel; January 31st, 2009 at 12:41 AM..

January 30th, 2009, 11:39 PM	#6
Mad Koala Bear Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 869 Thanks: 30,809 Thanked 10,733 Times in 850 Posts	The British come across as a bit stiff upper lip, but it is undoubtedly a fair portayal of a man who was probably a very decent, atypical, dedicated naval officer, albeit on the 'wrong' side. But then P & P were never ones to portray decency unfairly. As for Michael Powell, his rather unwarranted fall from grace with Peeping Tom was a very sad loss to us all. I always had a soft spot for that film as I was a focus-puller for years, though not one that killed starlets whilst taking cheesy after hours snaps of course.

January 31st, 2009, 09:50 AM	#8
Mad Koala Bear Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 869 Thanks: 30,809 Thanked 10,733 Times in 850 Posts	Frenzy is probably the Hitchcock picture I would gladly never see again. Dreadful film.

January 31st, 2009, 09:56 AM	#9
Mad Koala Bear Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 869 Thanks: 30,809 Thanked 10,733 Times in 850 Posts	Just to get this back on track, my favourite 'classic' movies in no particular order, and probably different to favourites I would pick this afternoon are: The 39 Steps (Hitchcock version) Railway Children (Watched it being made) Went the Day Well? The Conversation Charlie Varrick Kind Hearts and Coronets

February 1st, 2009, 02:57 AM	#10
quacksacker Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 36 Thanks: 398 Thanked 256 Times in 36 Posts	The Bride of Frankenstein-1935, The Uninvited-1944, The Time of Their Lives-1946?, The Mouse That Roared19--?, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes-1970, My Favorite Brunette-1948?, The Haunting-1960, Bell Book and Candle-1965, How to Murder your Wife-1965, A Guide for The Married Man-19..?It's a MadX4World-1963, The Night Stalker-1972, Night Strangler-1973, Little Big Man-1970...Too many to list. BTW, what was the first movie you remember watching in the theater? For me it was Night of Dark shadows-1971. I've had a crush on Kate Jackson ever since.