Favourite Film (Pre-1970)?

[The Book of Steeden]

There’s so much talk around past films from the 70’s, 80’s & onward, I thought we could dedicate a little love to the best of the pre-70’s. What is your favourite film from those eras?

Although I’d personally say the best objectively would be Double Indemnity or Metropolis, I am a sucker for science-fiction, & especially monster or alien movies. That in mind, I’d probably say my answer is Them! (1954). One of my top 10 favourite movies of all-time, Aliens, owes so much to this classic from the golden age of Hollywood creature features.

 

[mongoose]

Haven't seen too many but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is still worth a watch.

Dr Strangelove and 2001 are interesting

I've actually seen Citizen Kane, pretty boring...

 

[The Book of Steeden]

Haven't seen too many but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is still worth a watch.

Dr Strangelove and 2001 are interesting

I've actually seen Citizen Kane, pretty boring...

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly is a good choice among the great Westerns. I’m not a big fan of the traditional Western genre generally, but a great movie is a great movie.

In the same vein, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969) & Shane (1953) are two of my favourites of the genre, particularly the former.

 

[horrie hastings]

There are two Bette Davis movies I can put on and watch over again and again.

Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and Dead Ringer.

Also two Barbara Stanwyck movies I can watch over again and again.

No Man Of Her Own and Titanic.

Special mention to The Birds.

 

[horrie hastings]

If you go back to the 30s I love watching Dracula and Frankenstein then the follow up sequels

The Bride Of Frankenstein
Son Of Frankenstein
Ghost of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman
House Of Frankenstein
House Of Dracula.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

The Forbidden Planet
The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Snake Pit
The Party
Planet Of The Apes
12 Angry Men

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Special mention to The Birds.

Good shot sir.

 

[The Book of Steeden]

Now we are talking. What a credit to Hitchcock that he could make birds gripping as a horror subject. That takes some doing, but he pulled it off (that sequence inside the attic is intense).

12 Angry Men...that one just gets me angry LOL, because as compelling as that movie is, my God was that kid the guiltiest little punk ever brought to heel!

 

[horrie hastings]

The Snake Pit

Is that the Olivia De Havilland movie set in a mental institution ? I recently bought it on DVD but have not watched it yet.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Is that the Olivia De Havilland movie ? I recently bought it on DVD but have not watched it yet.

That's it. Set in a mental asylum.

 

[horrie hastings]

The Dark Mirror, a nice thriller with Olivia De Havilland playing twins and one is murderer.

The Adventures Of Robin Hood which starred the charasmatic Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone playing an evil role for once and a very beautiful Olivia De Havilland playing Maid Marion.

 

[horrie hastings]

That's it. Set in a mental asylum.

I will have to watch that soon, I love anything with Olivia De Havilland in it and the film previews looked quite harrowing, also interested in seeing Celeste Holm in it too.

 

[Tommy Smith]

And of course Olivia is still going strong at 102 years old. What an innings.

I'm a big fan of early Japanese cinema so amongst my favourites would include The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru, Sansho the Bailiff, and Tokyo Story.

Fritz Lang's 'M' might be my favourite though. My English teacher showed it to us in Grade 10 and I thought it was awesome even then. 88 years later and it still holds up well to this day which is remarkable.

The Italian neorealism period also had some classics with my favourite being Bicycle Thieves. The French new wave as well with The 400 Blows.

My favourite Hitchcock movies would probably be Rear Window and Psycho.

Also a big fan of Westerns:

The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
Shane
The Searchers
High Noon
Rio Bravo

The Adventures of Robin Hood was a good call. Such a classic. And from the same time you can't go past the Wizard of Oz.

So many classics yet to be mentioned but it really was a golden age for cinema across the globe after World War II. Even prior to that stretching back to silent era produced many great movies.

 

[The Book of Steeden]

And of course Olivia is still going strong at 102 years old. What an innings.

I'm a big fan of early Japanese cinema so amongst my favourites would include The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru, Sansho the Bailiff, and Tokyo Story.

Fritz Lang's 'M' might be my favourite though. My English teacher showed it to us in Grade 10 and I thought it was awesome even then. 88 years later and it still holds up well to this day which is remarkable.

The Italian neorealism period also had some classics with my favourite being Bicycle Thieves. The French new wave as well with The 400 Blows.

My favourite Hitchcock movies would probably be Rear Window and Psycho.

Also a big fan of Westerns:

The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
Shane
The Searchers
High Noon
Rio Bravo

The Adventures of Robin Hood was a good call. Such a classic. And from the same time you can't go past the Wizard of Oz.

So many classics yet to be mentioned but it really was a golden age for cinema across the globe after World War II. Even prior to that stretching back to silent era produced many great movies.

Couldn’t disagree with a word of any of that. Although, possibly I prefer Metropolis to M. The fact that both are tangible influences on my all-time favourite movie (Dark City), a film made decades & decades later, speaks volumes of their staying power.

 

[Game_Breaker]

I haven’t seen too many pre-1970 films

My favourites are:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Ben Hur
Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
It’s a wonderful life

 

[The Book of Steeden]

I haven’t seen too many pre-1970 films

My favourites are:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Ben Hur
Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
It’s a wonderful life

Why don’t you tell us your favourite genre of film, & I’m sure many of us would happily recommend some of the best of that style.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

It's obvious that I'm a fan of science fiction. So I'll throw in The Time Machine with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimeux.

 

[The Book of Steeden]

It's obvious that I'm a fan of science fiction. So I'll throw in The Time Machine with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimeux.

You can spot a 25-year-old Clint Eastwood in a certain science fiction monster movie from the 1950’s.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

You can spot a 25-year-old Clint Eastwood in a certain science fiction monster movie from the 1950’s.

At first I thought of The Blob but that was Steve(n) McQueen. Go for Revenge of the Creature.

 

[Game_Breaker]

Why don’t you tell us your favourite genre of film, & I’m sure many of us would happily recommend some of the best of that style.

Psychological thrillers and crime (fiction or based on true stories) are probably my favourite genres, but I can appreciate any film with intriguing characters, great plot and screenplay