Old Movies That Folks Should See

[Beestie]

No one has mentioned Fritz Lang's Metropolis so I will point it out. An amazing film - especially when you consider it was made in 1927.

I have to give a big for Metropolis. I saw it not too many years ago, and wondered why I'd never seen it before. Truly a great film.

My mini-list of films to see:

How to Steal a Million ('66)
Charade ('63)
Roman Holiday ('53) (and yes, I love Hepburn)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane ('62)
The Producers ('68)
The Wrong Box ('66) (with a very young Michael Caine, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, plus Peter Sellers as Dr. Pratt, whose office is wall to wall cats--you just *have* to see what he uses as an ink blotter)

(I saw Wolf say something about a bad movie thread (which I can't find)...is that for unwatchably bad movies, or for movies that are so bad they're fun to watch? If the latter, I've got some to add to that list, if they aren't already there.)

[Griff]

Saw Valley Girl last weekend. Talk about your dated film. I remembered the bar scenes as being really edgy... oh well, youth. Still has a nice sound track Plimsoles etc.. and you can see why Nick Cage was the only one to make it in the movie biz.

[SteveDallas]

I recommend "It's a Wonderful Life."


EDIT: Oh, wait, sorry, I thoguht it said "Moveis That Old Folks Should See."

Hmmm... my list...

The Sting (dammit when are we going to get a letterboxed SCS version??)
The Best Years of Our Lives
A Night at the Opera
A Clockwork Orange

[Sun_Sparkz]

For christmas this year i got my partner and i the complete hitchcock limited edition set for just over $300. It is every sound movie from 1929, Starting with "The Lodger".
Very Cool.
Once i have seen them all i will let you know which ones are the best.. but it will probably be all of them!

My Fav:
the good the bad the ugly series
pipi longstockings
gone with the wind
rear window (thats my #1 old movie fav.)

[Sun_Sparkz]

SteveDallas,
I got a clockwork orange in my Kubrick collection, i thought it was awful! the scenes made me sick. sometimes i just dont know what 'ol stanley was thinking! (or smokin!)

[wolf]

What a difference a generation makes.

I thought Clockwork Orange was brilliant.

[busterb]

Guess I misread the start of this thread "old folks" How about Maw & Pa Kettle?

[Clodfobble]

What a difference a generation makes.

I thought Clockwork Orange was brilliant.

Did you ever read the book? I wrote a whole paper in college discussing why the author was so royally pissed off at what Kubrick had done.

[wolf]

Actually I read the book before I saw the movie. The extended version too ... most of the American published versions of the book leave out the last chapter.

Once upon a time, nobody, I mean nobody had VCRs, cable TV was in it's early stages, and there is NO WAY that Clockwork would run on regular TV.

I got the book when I was in high school and read it several times. There were a few false starts as I was having a hard time with Nadsat, but eventually worked it out. Saw the movie in my freshman year of college, when a theater in town quite unexpectedly decided to run it. It was a big deal at the time (1980) and reporters swarmed the theater in hopes that teens would be incited into rioting by viewing the film. I was very amused to watch one of the distinguished members of the press approach a young man who was attending the showing, likely because she knew that she'd get a good quote, and so she did, "Like yeah, I came to see it because like I know it's really violent."

I and my friend were there, looked respectible, and would have provided fairly boring statements, in her perspective, regarding the social commentary of the film.

Oh well.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Griff

Scaramouche: Stewart Granger Janet Leigh. In some ways you'd like to see an update of this flic but there is a certain charm to seeing it the way things were done in 1952. There is a six and a half minute foil duel at the the end that really is well done.

I was thinking of that movie when Zell Miller talked about challenging Chris Matthews to a duel. In Scaramouche, the reform party is literally under attack by the reigning party, which finds excuses to challenge their opponents to duels while not in session. Scaramouche comes along and evens the odds.

If you like that kind of movie, I recommend Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac. I think he's scarier than Granger's character. Steve Martin did a nice parody of Cyrano in Roxanne.

[richlevy]

I sometimes like watching old time college movies, the ones where pledges actually wear beanies and everyone walks around with huge amounts of repressed sexual energy.

High Time is a movie about a tycoon going back to finish college. Bing Crosby brings it off. Rodney Dangerfield's college movie was in some ways a remake of this one.

In Daddy Longlegs , the millionaire played by Fred Astaire sponsors a lovely French orphan to college and ends up romancing her.

Of course, movie morality is pretty pliable. In It Happens Every Spring , Ray Millands character finds a way to cheat at baseball and joins the majors. He gets away with it and gets the girl.

I'll pull some more examples later.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by richlevy

I was thinking of that movie when Zell Miller talked about challenging Chris Matthews to a duel. In Scaramouche...

Thanks for bringing this name up again, rich. Now I'll be singing all day (just like I did the first time Griff mentioned it,)

Scaramouche!
Scaramouche!
Will you do the fandango?
Thunderbolts of lighting!
Very very frightening, me!
GALILEO - Galileo - GALILEO - Galileo - GALILEO Figaro!....

[Radar]

A movie came out not long before Gilda Radner died called, "It Came From Hollywood" and it had Gilda Radner, John Candy, Cheech & Chong, and Dan Akroyd talking about old B movies on different topics. They had a whole section about Ed Wood. Another section covered drug movies like "Reefer Madness", another was about the incredible shrinking man, 50 foot woman, etc, etc.

It is so funny and entertaining it's amazing. I watched it again the other day and one the clips they show is the most blatantly racist thing I've ever seen. It's a Hollywood dance number with Al Jolson where a black guy goes to heaven. Apparantly it's black heaven. Everyone has tin foil wings, and halos and is singing or tap dancing. Then you see a gigantic watermelon break into pieces and inside is a black tap dancing man, children dressed up in black face singing "Hydee Hydee Hydee Hydee Ho!", etc.

It's so shocking and racist it actually is kind of funny to me. They never credited the clip in the credits of "It Came From Hollywood" but I did some research and found out it was a 1934 movie called "Wonder Bar". I just ordered it from Amazon and I'll let you know what I think when it gets here. It turns out Busby Berkeley actually worked on this film too.

Here's the lyrics to the song where Jolson goes to black heaven...

(St. Peter:) Here you is, in the heavenly land where the good folks go;
(Gabriel:) Come right in, hallelujah to you,
(Kids:) And a hi-de-ho!
(St. Peter:) Step right up, get a new pair o' wings and a new halo.
(Al Jolson:) Thank you, suh, and my thanks to the Lawd.
(Kids:) And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho!
And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho!
(Jolson:) Oh, Saint Peter, is I goin' where the pork chops am a-growin' on the trees?
(Picks:) On the trees.
(Jolson:) Tell me, is I goin' where the watermelon vines am a-blowin' in the breeze?
(Picks:) In the breeze.
(St. Peter:) Yes, you is an' the chickens am free 'cause they roam at large,
Help yourself to the fat of the land, and there ain't no cover charge.
(Jolson:) Who's dat there?
That's a friend of mine, why, it's Old Black Joe;
Hear him play on his little banjo.
(Picks:) And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho-o!
(Jolson:) Who's dat there?
Why, it's ol' Uncle Tom that I used to know;
I'm so glad that he landed up here with his cabin show.
Seems like home from the things I've seen and the folks I've met.
(Gabriel:) Wait a while,
You'll have a reason to smile,
'Cause you ain't seen nothin' yet.

[Oaktree67]

My two cents on old movies worth checking out:
Sunset Boulevard
Stalag 17
The Day The Earth Caught Fire
Things to Come