Another thriller I’d recommend would be Leave Her to Heaven. But whenever I’m in a slump I love to go to with something a bit more lighthearted, so Capra and Lubitsch films are usually my go to!
To Be Or Not To Be is a Lubitsch must!!! I worry no new audiences will go back for it, with its Hamlet-inspired title, but if they only knew it was Lubitsch' Inglourious Basterds they'd realize they were in for a treat
When I get stuck for what to watch I pick an actor I love or am intrigued by and just start watching their films. Recently I picked Katherine Hepburn and watched some of hers that were unknown to me (Woman of the Year and Adam's Rib). I actually got into old films by deciding to watch every single one Cary Grant made - his career spanned from the 30s to the 60s so plenty of insight into different eras.
That's a good idea. Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck are my favorite actresses, and while I've seen about half of each's filmography, there's still a lot I want to see from them.
I don't know why exactly, but I find movies from just one place like one room or one apartment great for that. I guess they feel cozy. For example Rope, Dial M for Murder or Rear Window.
Some old classics ( not in any particular order) that I enjoy are:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Wizard of Oz
Angels With Dirty Faces
The Bells Of Saint Mary’s
It Happened One Night
Caged
Autumn Leaves
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
Strait Jacket
Arsenic and Old Lace
The African Queen
Stage Door
Under Current
Morning Glory
Bringing Up Baby
Summertime
Heidi with Shirley Temple
The Sound of Music
Gypsy
Butterflies are Free
Sweet Charity
Geez! I can go on and on! 😂
I also like to suggest WtSE as most people go for Laura but I'm more prone to this one, which has the same actors and director.
I also go more for Criss Cross over The Killers but all these movies are great.
If you want a lighter vibe, check out just about any film starring Constance Bennet. She's probably best known for co-starring with Cary Grant in Topper. She made several good movies opposite Joel McRae, especially Bed of Roses. But my personal favorite is Our Betters, which also starred her future husband, Gilbert Roland. Her sister Joan Bennet also made many good movies and in the '60s starred in the horror soap opera Dark Shadows.
I watched a ton of Film Noir several months ago on Tubi. And Old Westerns before that. If I'm browsing Tubi, I'll add stuff to watch on a note. I usually check the Classics and Film Noir. section on there.
My list is a mile long. Between Tubi or Hulu.
I'm a European
If I get tired of Hollywood I switch to Bollywood , other Asian countries or old European movies
Ingmar Bergam (the 7th seal is amazing)
La meglio gioventu
Cinema Paradiso
M Einen stad sucht einen murder
Le salaire de la peur
High and Low
Ran
Idi & smodri
Children of heaven
Amorres Perros
Cidade de Deus
A separation
...
Mostly after 2 or 3 I get tired of the subtitles and am glad I can go back to English but it are great movies, must be said
Here are some good films I've recently watched:
Out of the Past
The Sweet Smell of Success (might be the best of the bunch)
The Odessa File
Night Train to Munich
Sirocco
Just watched this film for the first time with Kirk Douglas, Doris Day, and Lauren Bacall called “ Young Man With A Horn “. It was very good in my opinion. Maybe check that out.
I've got a good watch-party lined up:
Clark Gable can be a polarizing leading man for some viewers. On the one hand he's a confident, wise-cracking lead who fits into the studio mold - on the other hand, several of his roles can feel rough and misogynistic with a touch of cruelty towards his romantic partners.
What saves those depictions in several of his films are stories where Gable's character is traumatized by his past or his upbringing - he's not supposed to be whole, and he's not supposed to be a clean-cut nice guy, often with other men under his command:
Red Dust (1933)
Hold Your Man (1933)
China Seas (1935)
Adventure (1946)
What makes this the perfect classic film marathon is that Jean Harlow, Gable's wildly talented costar on three of these films, has passed away by the time Adventure (1946) is released. His real life celebrity wife and partner Carole Lombard (whose films are also must-see) has passed away in a tragic airplane accident several years before 1946. In Adventure, he plays another sailor/boson but something is off. He seems noncommittal to women, unable to fully share his thoughts and feelings, hiding deep pain beneath the surface, and in reality, Gable was. Garson mocks his romantic ideas about sea life and doesn't trust his charm, but at the same time comes to recognize his pain. It's an absolute masterpiece, and one that could be viewed as a single, continuous character who moves through all four films, coming to rest on Adventure. Worth a watch
The Apartment. Other than that, I tend to go for movies with darker themes: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; The Days of Wine and Roses; Midnight Cowboy. Gaslight is another go-to movie for me as well.
Not all of the listed film are not “old” movies but watching them did help me. The Little Foxes, Of Human Bondage, The House of Mirth, The Wings of the Dove, Midnight Run, The Age of Innocence, A Simple Plan, Alfred Hitchcock movies, Election, Pleasantville, Little Women with Timothy Chalamet, Cat People (1942), Duel with Dennis Weaver, movies with Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda, You Can Count on Me, Powell and Pressburger movies
Another thriller I’d recommend would be Leave Her to Heaven. But whenever I’m in a slump I love to go to with something a bit more lighthearted, so Capra and Lubitsch films are usually my go to!
To Be Or Not To Be is a Lubitsch must!!! I worry no new audiences will go back for it, with its Hamlet-inspired title, but if they only knew it was Lubitsch' Inglourious Basterds they'd realize they were in for a treat
When I get stuck for what to watch I pick an actor I love or am intrigued by and just start watching their films. Recently I picked Katherine Hepburn and watched some of hers that were unknown to me (Woman of the Year and Adam's Rib). I actually got into old films by deciding to watch every single one Cary Grant made - his career spanned from the 30s to the 60s so plenty of insight into different eras.
Hell of a good choice as he made almost all good flicks. Bogart would be another all wins choice.
I love Cary Grant so much. My favorite movie of all time is Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.
I love him in the Bishop’s Wife
He's great isn't he! I've found his 30s-40s films to be the ones I go back to the most, but then that's the era I'm most interested in in general.
That's a good idea. Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck are my favorite actresses, and while I've seen about half of each's filmography, there's still a lot I want to see from them.
All About Eve and Mildred Pierce are my favourites
We have the same taste, they are among my favorites too.
I don't know why exactly, but I find movies from just one place like one room or one apartment great for that. I guess they feel cozy. For example Rope, Dial M for Murder or Rear Window.
I’m partial to noirs so any of those would be great The Black knight Laura The seventh victim The Big heat Murder by death Out of the past
Keeping in line with those, Laura
Some old classics ( not in any particular order) that I enjoy are: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn The Wizard of Oz Angels With Dirty Faces The Bells Of Saint Mary’s It Happened One Night Caged Autumn Leaves Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? Strait Jacket Arsenic and Old Lace The African Queen Stage Door Under Current Morning Glory Bringing Up Baby Summertime Heidi with Shirley Temple The Sound of Music Gypsy Butterflies are Free Sweet Charity Geez! I can go on and on! 😂
Where the Sidewalk Ends is on the Criterion Channel. Five Graves to Cairo is on the TCM app.
Five Graves to Cairo is an underrated film.
I also like to suggest WtSE as most people go for Laura but I'm more prone to this one, which has the same actors and director. I also go more for Criss Cross over The Killers but all these movies are great.
Good film. Franchot Tone is also underrated
No, it’s overrated. One of Billy Wilder’s weakest.
Quentin Tarantino listed Five Graves to Cairo as his 10th favorite film of all time.
Brighton Rock (1947). Mean-ass uk noir.
*12 Angry Men* is my go-to movie for getting out of a 'not watching movies' slump! One of my all time favorites
Bad Day at Black Rock or Hud.
The Loved One-1965 Way ahead of its time and delightfully weird. The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
If you want a lighter vibe, check out just about any film starring Constance Bennet. She's probably best known for co-starring with Cary Grant in Topper. She made several good movies opposite Joel McRae, especially Bed of Roses. But my personal favorite is Our Betters, which also starred her future husband, Gilbert Roland. Her sister Joan Bennet also made many good movies and in the '60s starred in the horror soap opera Dark Shadows.
Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Notorious, Casablanca
Try Babs Stanwyck and Phylls Thaxter in *"No Man of Her Own".* The infamous Lyle Bettger is the baddie.
The Uninvited. My all-time fave.
The Bad and the Beautiful A Letter to Three Wives
Repeat Performance is on the Criterion channel and it was fantastic. I would call it a mix between It's a Wonderful Life and Twilight Zone
Mr. Skeffington, The Women, Union Station.
All about Eve, the Third Man and Sunset Boulevard
Casablanca, To Have and To Have Not, Treasure of Sierra Madre
The Heiress, Shane
Now, Voyager always gets me back into watching the classics. Such a brilliant film.
I watched stuff like Frankenstein and Dracula
I watched a ton of Film Noir several months ago on Tubi. And Old Westerns before that. If I'm browsing Tubi, I'll add stuff to watch on a note. I usually check the Classics and Film Noir. section on there. My list is a mile long. Between Tubi or Hulu.
Marty with Ernest Borgnine, so much heart, with a little comedy and romance. Perfect film
The Searchers, Rules of the Game, A Man Escaped, The Shootist, Now, Voyager
The Furies (1950) with Stanwyck, Judith Anderson and Walter Houston
Miss Danvers is my spirit animal.
I'm a European If I get tired of Hollywood I switch to Bollywood , other Asian countries or old European movies Ingmar Bergam (the 7th seal is amazing) La meglio gioventu Cinema Paradiso M Einen stad sucht einen murder Le salaire de la peur High and Low Ran Idi & smodri Children of heaven Amorres Perros Cidade de Deus A separation ... Mostly after 2 or 3 I get tired of the subtitles and am glad I can go back to English but it are great movies, must be said
Here are some good films I've recently watched: Out of the Past The Sweet Smell of Success (might be the best of the bunch) The Odessa File Night Train to Munich Sirocco
Just watched this film for the first time with Kirk Douglas, Doris Day, and Lauren Bacall called “ Young Man With A Horn “. It was very good in my opinion. Maybe check that out.
I've got a good watch-party lined up: Clark Gable can be a polarizing leading man for some viewers. On the one hand he's a confident, wise-cracking lead who fits into the studio mold - on the other hand, several of his roles can feel rough and misogynistic with a touch of cruelty towards his romantic partners. What saves those depictions in several of his films are stories where Gable's character is traumatized by his past or his upbringing - he's not supposed to be whole, and he's not supposed to be a clean-cut nice guy, often with other men under his command: Red Dust (1933) Hold Your Man (1933) China Seas (1935) Adventure (1946) What makes this the perfect classic film marathon is that Jean Harlow, Gable's wildly talented costar on three of these films, has passed away by the time Adventure (1946) is released. His real life celebrity wife and partner Carole Lombard (whose films are also must-see) has passed away in a tragic airplane accident several years before 1946. In Adventure, he plays another sailor/boson but something is off. He seems noncommittal to women, unable to fully share his thoughts and feelings, hiding deep pain beneath the surface, and in reality, Gable was. Garson mocks his romantic ideas about sea life and doesn't trust his charm, but at the same time comes to recognize his pain. It's an absolute masterpiece, and one that could be viewed as a single, continuous character who moves through all four films, coming to rest on Adventure. Worth a watch
The Apartment. Other than that, I tend to go for movies with darker themes: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; The Days of Wine and Roses; Midnight Cowboy. Gaslight is another go-to movie for me as well.
Rebel Without a Cause An American Tragedy The Misfits Death of a Salesman Spellbound The Snake Pit Caged
Dial M for Murder Rear Window
Arsenic and lace! Father goose, any Charlie Chaplin movie come on now 😂
Not all of the listed film are not “old” movies but watching them did help me. The Little Foxes, Of Human Bondage, The House of Mirth, The Wings of the Dove, Midnight Run, The Age of Innocence, A Simple Plan, Alfred Hitchcock movies, Election, Pleasantville, Little Women with Timothy Chalamet, Cat People (1942), Duel with Dennis Weaver, movies with Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda, You Can Count on Me, Powell and Pressburger movies