NationStates Jolt Archive

What's your favorite old movie? I'll define "old" here as pre-1970.

Discuss.

What's your favorite old movie? I'll define "old" here as pre-1970.

Discuss.

"Casablanca" or "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp", both enormous warm hearted anti-fascist romances shot through with tragedy.

48 hours.

I've mentioned my favorite old movie several times in this forum. It's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

My oldest favorite movie (see how I changed it up there?) is M, by Fritz Lang

12 Angry Men

Good one.

Originally a tv movie yanno.

How Tv's quality has changed...

Arsenic and Old Lace is up there.

As is Casablanca.

I'm not sure if it is pre-1970, but Barefoot in the Park is also among my favorites.

12 Angry Men
Good one.

Pre 1970? dont know the year, but I like "the secret life of Walter Mitty"

then there is "the Wizard of Oz"

gone with the wind

48 hours.

I'd be very surprised if that was pre-1970 :p

The Great Escape is one of my favorites though I don't know if it was before 1970

Bridge on the River Kwai.

The Vikings


The Maltese Falcon


*aaarrrrgh, there's too many to list mate!* :p

Oh man, i adore the vikings, such cheesy goodness.

And The Maltese Falcon? :')

Battleground

North by Northwest

The Vikings

Gunga Din

High Noon

Beau Jest

Sergeant York

The Maltese Falcon


*aaarrrrgh, there's too many to list mate!* :p

anything with audrey hepburn is good i like the old house on haunted hill too.. with blood dripping from the sealing.. thats the right movei yes?

I'd be very surprised if that was pre-1970 :pI'm having trouble finding it, but I'm talking about the movie about an American spy being captured in WWII in Lisbon 48 hours before D-Day and the plan to get information on D-Day by making him think he's being treated for amnesia in an American hospital in Germany.

Arsenic and Old Lace is up there.

As is Casablanca.

I'm not sure if it is pre-1970, but Barefoot in the Park is also among my favorites.


Tries to look innocent and offers Cat a glass of elderberry wine :p :D

Aresnic and Old lace
The producers (1968)
TV version of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella circa 1965
Pillow talk


it's really hard to decide......
yeah I give up I am going with Cinderella.

Passport to Plimico
Lavenderhill Mob
The Ladykillers
The Blue Lamp
THe Dambusters
Nosferatu
Zulu
Battle of Britian
Reach for the Sky
Carry on Sergeant
Carry on up the Khyber

Bridge on the River Kwai.
You have impeccable taste. That's a great film.

High Noon and Bridge on the River Kwai rank very high on the list, but I'd probably have to go with Casablanca.

I'm having trouble finding it, but I'm talking about the movie about an American spy being captured in WWII in Lisbon 48 hours before D-Day and the plan to get information on D-Day by making him think he's being treated for amnesia in an American hospital in Germany.

Ah that does ring very vague bells.

It's not 48 hrs though, unless Eddie Murphy plays the spy ;)

"Casablanca" was good but I also liked "Strangers on a Train". Had some better qualities then the more modern flick, "Throw Momma from the Train". :p

Ah that does ring very vague bells.

It's not 48 hrs though, unless Eddie Murphy plays the spy ;)Not 48 hrs, but 48 hours. That's the only title I know it by and I haven't found it anywhere. I've seen it several times on Turner Classic Movies (when I still got that) and it was black and white, so I doubt it's post 70s.

Not 48 hrs, but 48 hours. That's the only title I know it by and I haven't found it anywhere. I've seen it several times on Turner Classic Movies (when I still got that) and it was black and white, so I doubt it's post 70s.
maybe this movie (http://imdb.com/title/tt0035429/) I have seen it and I think it is what you are talking about. It was released some places as 48 hours.

maybe this movie (http://imdb.com/title/tt0035429/) I have seen it and I think it is what you are talking about. It was released some places as 48 hours.

Completely different plot though.

I've seen "Went the day well", a minor classic of the genre.

maybe this movie (http://imdb.com/title/tt0035429/) I have seen it and I think it is what you are talking about. It was released some places as 48 hours.It isn't, but thanks for trying.
The movie I'm talking about takes place in Germany 48 hours prior to the landings in Normandy. An American spy is caught in Lisbon and shipped to a fake American military hospital in Germany, where everyone pretends to be an American. They try to get him to reveal the information about the invasions (location, time, etc.) by tricking him into thinking that he can't remember the past 3 years because he's had amnesia.

It isn't, but thanks for trying.
The movie I'm talking about takes place in Germany 48 hours prior to the landings in Normandy. An American spy is caught in Lisbon and shipped to a fake American military hospital in Germany, where everyone pretends to be an American. They try to get him to reveal the information about the invasions (location, time, etc.) by tricking him into thinking that he can't remember the past 3 years because he's had amnesia.
I'll have to ask my hubby, that is more his genre where as I am more familiar with 50s sci-fi Bmovies. Ask about giant spiders taking over the world or aliens that just want to go to a sock hop and I am all over it, but war movies esp old ones gotta go to hubby, I will post anything he comes up with. Being a big movie fan it bothers me that I am not clicking to what movie you are talking about....

It isn't, but thanks for trying.
The movie I'm talking about takes place in Germany 48 hours prior to the landings in Normandy. An American spy is caught in Lisbon and shipped to a fake American military hospital in Germany, where everyone pretends to be an American. They try to get him to reveal the information about the invasions (location, time, etc.) by tricking him into thinking that he can't remember the past 3 years because he's had amnesia.

As i said, it does ring very very vague bells, i think i've seen it, late night. Buggered if i can remember the name though.

Duck Soup my friend

Oh, GOOD CALL SIR, GOOD CALL!

Duck Soup my friend

As i said, it does ring very very vague bells, i think i've seen it, late night. Buggered if i can remember the name though.
I've seen it when we still had Cartoon Network available over here (TCM took over the night program). That was ages ago, and 48 hours was the only title I remember it being referred to. The guy that plays Schulz in Hogan's Heroes plays a corrupt Volkssturm (old men and boys drafted to defend the homeland):
"Oh, I am verrry loyal to ze Führer. He tells me: 'Venn ze enemy comes to your country, you must drrrrrive him out!' And since I have no car, I'll have to make you valk..."

Does Catch-22 count? It was released exactly in 1970. If not, I would go with The Manchurian Candidate (the 1960s original, not the recent remake). Certainly Angela Lansbury's best role ever =)

Monty Python!!!! the Holy Grail and the Life of Brian in particular

"your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries" is one of my favorite lines

1. The Graduate
2. The African Queen
3. Rebel Without a Cause

The Asphalt Jungle

Monty Python!!!! the Holy Grail and the Life of Brian in particular

"your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries" is one of my favorite lines

That one is definitely after 1970.

sorry

wasn't there a huge war epic named Das Boat or something like that? Does that movie deserve mention in this topic?

Dr. Strangelove
"Your commie has no regard for human life - not even his own"

Does "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" count as an old movie?

1. The Graduate
2. The African Queen
3. Rebel Without a Cause

re: #3
Still lookin' for that blue-jean baby queen
prettiest girl i ever seen
see her face on the movie scrreen
Jimmy Dean!
Rock On!

hehe

the Young and the Restless guy (Michael Damian) remade that song in the late 80s i think. lmao

"the gold coin" a french film considered to be the first porno movie

Out of these choices, Casablanca wins. But there are so many good movies that it's hard to pick just one.

I kind of like "To Have and Have Not". You know how to whistle, don't you?

wasn't there a huge war epic named Das Boat or something like that? Does that movie deserve mention in this topic?Nah. That's got to be post 1970, considering that all the actors are alive, well, and comparably young.

Nah. That's got to be post 1970, considering that all the actors are alive, well, and comparably young.

Das Boot was mid 80s, as i recall.

danke

don't laugh

has anyone mentioned Breakfast At Tiffany's yet?

Probably the Purple Rose of Cairo. I think that was pre 1970

..or how about The French Connection (not sure if it's pre-'70)?

I am a sucker for "Its A Wonderful Life". Also on my list, "Mary Poppins" (don't remember when that was made), "Singin' in the Rain", "The Wizard of Oz", "Miracle on 34th Street" (the original), "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (hmmm, again, don't know when that was made), most anything with Gene Kelly dancing in it, most any Jimmy Stewart comedy, likewise Katherine Hepburn comedies, and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (which I think doesn't make it under the 1970 rule, but again, I am not sure). There are others, too. I guess I just like old fun movies.

don't laugh

has anyone mentioned Breakfast At Tiffany's yet?
Gosh, anything with Audrey Hepburn is great. Roman Holiday was another good one.

just an fyi

I plan on seeing White Heat soon

I am a sucker for "Its A Wonderful Life". Also on my list, "Mary Poppins" (don't remember when that was made), "Singin' in the Rain", "The Wizard of Oz", "Miracle on 34th Street" (the original), "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (hmmm, again, don't know when that was made), most anything with Gene Kelly dancing in it, most any Jimmy Stewart comedy, likewise Katherine Hepburn comedies, and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (which I think doesn't make it under the 1970 rule, but again, I am not sure). There are others, too. I guess I just like old fun movies.

Check out Gigi it's a fun musical and I believe that Gigi is played by a young Audrey Hepburn (I know I'll be corrected if I am wrong). ;)

Two other movies I love that don't make the 1970 cut: The Princess Bride, and Young Frankenstien. I know, I know a topic for another thread.

Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war
http://imdb.com/title/tt0029210/

Die Feuerzangenbowle
http://imdb.com/title/tt0036818/

Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
http://imdb.com/title/tt0049293/

Das Schwarze Schaf
http://imdb.com/title/tt0054281/

Er kann's nicht lassen
http://imdb.com/title/tt0055960/

Des Teufels General
http://imdb.com/title/tt0047572/

The Longest Day
http://imdb.com/title/tt0056197/

All Quiet on the Western Front
http://imdb.com/title/tt0020629/

Die Brücke
http://imdb.com/title/tt0052654/

The Bridge at Remagen
http://imdb.com/title/tt0064110/

Kelly's Heroes (Stoßtrupp Gold)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0065938/

Once Upon a Time in the West
http://imdb.com/title/tt0064116/

A Fistful of Dollars
http://imdb.com/title/tt0058461/

For a Few Dollars More
http://imdb.com/title/tt0059578/

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
http://imdb.com/title/tt0060196/

Hang'em High
http://imdb.com/title/tt0061747/

Where Eagles Dare
http://imdb.com/title/tt0065207/

In the Heat of the Night
http://imdb.com/title/tt0061811/

Bullit
http://imdb.com/title/tt0062765/

Battle of Britain
http://imdb.com/title/tt0064072/

The Enemy Below (Duell im Atlantik)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0050356/

There's plenty more but those are my classics I've at least watched a couple of times, thus applying for favorite old movies before 1970.

don't laugh

has anyone mentioned Breakfast At Tiffany's yet?
Ah, how could I not include that in my list!!!

Here's another good one:

Herbie
http://imdb.com/name/nm1888329/

BTW:
Das Boot (1981)
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/

48 hours.
I believe you're half a day off!!!

36 Hours
http://imdb.com/title/tt0057809/

Good thing you mentioned "Schultzi", crossreferenced him that way.

Check out Gigi it's a fun musical and I believe that Gigi is played by a young Audrey Hepburn (I know I'll be corrected if I am wrong). ;)

Two other movies I love that don't make the 1970 cut: The Princess Bride, and Young Frankenstien. I know, I know a topic for another thread.
You were correct. You will be corrected. The actress in Gigi is Leslie Caron. Another real gem.

For Upper Botswomething, try out "Bringing Up Baby". It's a cute movie with a young Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant.

What's your favorite old movie? I'll define "old" here as pre-1970.
Discuss.
Casablanca indeed! I love the slease bag - Chief of Police - french guy - good friend - Captain Renault. Good ole' Claude Rains; playing this character must have been a gas.

OTHER OF COURSE!

Seven faces of Dr. Lao

Best movie ever!

"His Girl Friday" w/ Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell

Gosh, anything with Audrey Hepburn is great. Roman Holiday was another good one.

I have Roman Holiday on dvd. haven't seen it yet but if you think its good....

[QUOTE=MyrmidonisiaFor Upper Botswomething, try out "Bringing Up Baby". It's a cute movie with a young Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant.[/QUOTE]

i think ive seen that... or have katherine hepburn and cary grant been in any other movies together? for my fave pre-70's movie its Laurance (?) of Arabia.
another dvd version.

Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
http://imdb.com/title/tt0049293/I've only seen the new one (though it was hilarious too :D)
Die Brücke
http://imdb.com/title/tt0052654/Good one.

I've only seen the new one (though it was hilarious too :D)
Yes, Harald did a great job in the new one.

By the way, was 36 hourse the movie you meant earlier in the thread? (I did fit your description!)

Jaws or the great escape, i dont know when they were made, but they are excellent

Maltese Falcon. It's so fast and cool for such an old movie!

Dr. Strangelove is the best comedy.

Rope is the best thriller (25-minute shots, anyone?)

Rear Window was good too.

For a fistful of dollars- great! When Clint didn't do cheesy dramas.

Sjunde inseglet - oddly captivating.

King Kong! :D

Ususally the classics let me down, I'm probably born too late, but those I've listed were all great.

But we have the worst movie ever made before 1970 too! MANOS!

..or how about The French Connection (not sure if it's pre-'70)?

Think it's about 71-72, gets lumped in with the whole wave of new directors, the movie-brats, even though friedkin was, i believe, directing before this.

Maltese Falcon. It's so fast and cool for such an old movie!

Dr. Strangelove is the best comedy.

Rope is the best thriller (25-minute shots, anyone?)

Rear Window was good too.

For a fistful of dollars- great! When Clint didn't do cheesy dramas.

Sjunde inseglet - oddly captivating.

King Kong! :D

Ususally the classics let me down, I'm probably born too late, but those I've listed were all great.

But we have the worst movie ever made before 1970 too! MANOS!
Fistful of Dollars was stolen from a Kurosawa movie -- not Seven Samurai, there was another one that lent itself to American/Spaghetti westerns. Do you know the name? I can't seem to google the right combinations.

What's your favorite old movie? I'll define "old" here as pre-1970.

Discuss.


For shame! You didnt include Strategic Air Command! Yes, it was propaganda, but it had Jimmy Stewart in it. Not to mention that its worth watching just for the planes, and the strict adherence to realism. I guarantee that you wont find a movie made today that bothers to go through all the start up procedures when they're getting ready to have a plane take off.

Does "To Kill a Mockingbird" count as old?

I rather like "The Italian Job." Why isn't that up there on the poll? You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

Seven Samurai, though I've only seen parts... What I've seen is very good, though.

Aside from that? Wow, that's a tough choice. There are so many! I really liked The Great Escape.

The Third Man

Metropolis, (1927) Without Metropolis there would be no sci fi :O

All the marx brothers, like:
The wild west
A night in Casablanka
a night at the opera
A day at the races
The big store,

All are hilarious!

PS. I don't think thats how you spell marx.

Fistful of Dollars was stolen from a Kurosawa movie -- not Seven Samurai, there was another one that lent itself to American/Spaghetti westerns. Do you know the name? I can't seem to google the right combinations.

Yojimbo.

Ironically, Yojimbo was adapted from a Dashiel Hammett novel, Red Harvest. Later re-adapted into "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis.

Yojimbo.

Ironically, Yojimbo was adapted from a Dashiel Hammett novel, Red Harvest. Later re-adapted into "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis.
That's an odd evolution. I always think of the Thin Man series when I think of Hammett, but here is another detective story that ended up in Japan and back to the US as a Western and then back to a gangster movie.
I guess Woodie Guthrie summed it up pretty well when he was talking about his songs, "...but I steal from everybody".

Das Boot (1981)
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/


I just go through watching the three hour twenty-six minute version of Das Boot last week... only to find out that there is an even longer version which clockls in at four hours and fifty-three minutes. If I'd have known the uncut version existed I'd have hunted that one out in preference.

Metropolis, (1927) Without Metropolis there would be no sci fi :O

cough... La Voyage Dans La Lune (1902) ...cough

Just to list a few I guess:

"The Man who Shot Liberty Valance"- John Wayne at his bleeping best, James Stewart at his bleeping best. Really do I need to say more? Just go and watch it.

"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"- It's allready been mentioned here, but really, is Sergio Leone awesome or what? The Whole Dollars Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West, are all first rate movies which to this day are probably some of the best shot films ever. As a side note, on IMDB.com, when I first bought TGTBATU on DVD, it was at #19 on the top 250, now, it's at #10 and I suspect someday soon, it'll crack the top ten very shortly.

"Mr. Smith goes to Washington"- Solid show all around, shows that in the end, the will of the people will come through no matter how much a poltical machine tries to stop it. Simply put, a great show.

"Judgement at Nuremberg" Another great film, excellent acting, direction and plot. A film can't really get better than that can it?

I just go through watching the three hour twenty-six minute version of Das Boot last week... only to find out that there is an even longer version which clockls in at four hours and fifty-three minutes. If I'd have known the uncut version existed I'd have hunted that one out in preference.
I think you are referring to what was aired on German television: the longest, uncut version of 6 episodes nearing almost 5 hours. And it is the best version there is. The new director's cut is good, but the atmosphere and character sketch of those aboard U96 is better captured in that long version. If you have a chance to watch the really long version, go ahead and do so; it's definitely worth it.
I usually watch it once or twice a year (whenever it's on). There's little that's better than going on a Feindfahrt... Alaaaaaaaaaarm! Tauchen! Tauchen...

Ping...

Ping...

Ping...

cough... La Voyage Dans La Lune (1902) ...cough

it may very well have been the first Sci Fi, but without Metropolis there would have been no Star Wars, no Matrix, no Blade Runner, and without them films we would have no Harrison Ford, no George Lucas, no Steven Spielburg, nothing we would have to rely on Star Trek for the rest of our lives :O

... and without them films we would have no Harrison Ford, no George Lucas, no Steven Spielburg...

Ford's first major role was in American Graffiti, which definitely was not a science-fiction movie, made by a chap called George Lucas... the pair are not limited to sfnal films, even if Lucas's first film was, and Spielberg prior to Close Encounters produce a sequence of films which don't fit the sf mould either, even if Duel can be described as part of the 'uncanny'.

I think you are referring to what was aired on German television: the longest, uncut version of 6 episodes nearing almost 5 hours. And it is the best version there is.

Yup, that's the one.

The new director's cut is good, but the atmosphere and character sketch of those aboard U96 is better captured in that long version.

Well, the so called 'Director's Cut' was actually the 3h30min one that I watched, and it certainly felt somewhat cramped in that timeframe - issues are raised, but not developed and then later resolved. You definitely felt that bits were missing. This cut can hardly be described as 'new' as it was released in '97, whereas the full version was only released last year under the name 'Das Boot: Uncut Version'.

If you have a chance to watch the really long version, go ahead and do so; it's definitely worth it.

I intend to, but not so soon after seeing the other version.

I usually watch it once or twice a year (whenever it's on). There's little that's better than going on a Feindfahrt... Alaaaaaaaaaarm! Tauchen! Tauchen...

Ping...

Ping...

Ping...

Yeah, despite the fact that by German language skills are almost entirely non-existent, despite my efforts, I watched the original language version and relied on the English subtitles. Watching it dubbed into English would have just felt palin wrong.

Surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet, sorry if it has and I missed it. My favourite old film is '2001 - A Space Odyssey'.
That's one film that certainly doesn't look like it was made in 1968.

I can't pick one, so I'll have to go with anything Hitchcock.

Has anybody heard of the silent film, Metropolis? It was a science fiction movie that came out in the 1920s.

This cut can hardly be described as 'new' as it was released in '97, whereas the full version was only released last year under the name 'Das Boot: Uncut Version'.
Okay, well, "new" in that respect because I watched 'Das Boot' together with my father when it first aired on German television many years ago ;)


Yeah, despite the fact that my German language skills are almost entirely non-existent, despite my efforts, I watched the original language version and relied on the English subtitles. Watching it dubbed into English would have just felt plain wrong.
Wow! I must say that deserves my sincere respect.
You might have noticed the crew having many different dialects from all over Germany (even Austria) because U-Boatmen usually were not from coastal regions but chosen because of their engeneering skills. (But you probably knew that)

The Trivia remarks on imdb.com and dasboot.com give some more insight on the shooting and are worth a look.
I have personally visited the U96 near Munich - what a cramped little iron tube! Very impressive. And I have "worked" on the conning-tower of the Boat in Germany's WarnerBrother's Movie World. I got sooo soaked :D

(Thanks to DVD I can now do the same with English movies and I can say that one is actually watching two different movies depending on the language - whenever I can, I prefer the original. Except for Chinese, that wouldn't make much sense to me...).

Has anybody heard of the silent film, Metropolis? It was a science fiction movie that came out in the 1920s.
Can't say I have - I'm still trying to get my fingers on a copy... Which isn't as easy as I thought 'Metropolis' being a German film :rolleyes:
But it's supposedly very good as indicated by other posters above.

12 Angry MenThat's a great one. I also REALLY like one made by the same people a little later - Network. Incidentally, I was watching this movie a few days ago, and there is one scene that strongly resembles the theme of Jennifer Government; I'd be willing to bet that Max Barry had been influanced byt this film before writing his book.

Ayway, my all time favorite old movie is The Blues Brothers.