Classic Movies: Most Popular Articles

Great Kids' Movies
Eight great old kids' movies that will keep the adults entertained as well. Wholesome adventures with great art, terrific old-school special effects, live animals, singing dancing and merriment - from Mary Poppins to Willy Wonka, from Doctor Doolittle to the Swiss Family Roninson.

Ten Romance Movies
Everybody likes a good love story, and the best aren't always found in chick flicks. Adventures, war movies, even ghost stories can have great romances. Here's ten classic movie romances that won't disappoint.

Best Hitchcock Movie List
A list of Hitchcock movies that should be on any fan's must-see list. Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, made thrillers, spy movies, horror films and mysteries that set modern standards and still delight new audiences.

Classic Movie Genres
A quick guide to the genres and styles that define classic movies. Film noir, B-movies, epics, sci-fi, biopics, it's all here, along with great examples in every genre.

Six Great Movie Directors
Sometimes finding a director you like is the best way to find the movies you'll love. Here are six of the finest directors Hollywood has ever known - Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, John Ford, William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston -- aong with suggestions for some of their best classic films.

Casablanca Review
[i]Casablanca[/i] is the movie on just about every "top ten" list in the known galaxy. With Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a great romance, it's a thrilling wartime drama with an unforgettable ensemble cast. Play it again, Sam!

To Kill a Mockingbird Review
In Depression-era Alabama, softspoken lawyer Atticus Finch takes on the case of a black man accused of assaulting a white woman. A classic coming-of-age movie from Harper Lee's best-selling novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

10 Movies About Politics
Hollywood loves politics. Here are ten movies about politics that explore the use and misuse of power, greed and corruption in politics from Washington to the city streets. Some are cyncial; some are funny; some are uplifting -- and they're all great old movies.

Gone with the Wind Review
A sweeping movie about the Old South, the Civil War and the adventures of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind is the epitome of a star-studded Hollywood blockbuster based on a best-selling novel. A soap opera, a period piece, a costume drama and a Civil War epic all rolled into one of the most famous films of all time.

Hitchcock Profile
The undisputed king of movie mystery and mayhem, director Alfred Hitchcock combined suspense, sex and dark humor to create masterpieces of classic film. One of the most influential directors in movie history, Alfred Hitchcock was often imitated, rarely equaled.

Some Like it Hot
One of the funniest screwball comedies ever, [i]Some Like it Hot[/i} is sweet bit of comic fluff with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in drag, hiding out from the mob in an all-girl band, and Marilyn Monroe as a dim-but-luscious singer. [i]Some Like it Hot[/i] tops many lists of the best American comic films.

Alpha Review List
An alphabetical list of classic movies reviewed on this site and their star ratings.

Ten Classic Movies
If you're new to classic films, here's ten great choices to get you started, from a range of genres and stylkes. Try Casablanca, It Happened One Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dr. Strangelove, Psycho, The Day the Earth Stood Still, or Ben Hur.

Family Movie Gift List
Classic movies make great gifts, enjoyed not only by the recipient, and anybody else in the household. So if you don't know what to get Mom for her birthday, or Sis for graduaton, here’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek list of great classic films for every family member.

The Searchers
The Searchers is a classic American western, with John Wayne searching for a kidnapped niece in a bitter battle with a Comanche tribe across the wild scenery of Utah's Mounument Valley. Thought by many to be the first film to take on the racism underlying the culture clash between Indians and settlers on the frontier.

Ten Great Movie Classics
Classic Movies to Get You Started - Must-See Classic Films

7_Early_Movie_Monsters
Many of the great movie monsters got their start in the 1930s, when Hollywood took classic horror novels and made them into black-and-white thrillers. Here's seven iconic monsters from The Bride of Frankenstein to King Kong, the legends who started it all.

Vertigo
Vertigo is first a dreamlike story of obsession and only second a mystery/suspense film. The movie with James Stewart and Kim Novak garnered mixed reviews when it debuted, but is now widely viewed as a Hitchcock masterpiece that bears repeated viewings.

Hayley Mills Does Disney
Hayley Mills was the perfect Disney star for the '60s - wholesome, adorable and a great little actress. Her films were not only completely safe and engaging for kids, they were mostly enjoyable as well. Here are six great examples.

Tips for Enjoying Classic Film
If you think classic films are slow, boring and colorless, think again. Hollywood produced engrossing and entertaining films in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s that any movie fan will enjoy. You may just have to change your expectations a little. Here are some tips for getting the most out of classic films.

Breakfast at Tiffany's Review
A glib, stylish, bittersweet romance that defined Audrey Hepburn's film career, and established an indelible image of American fashion. With George Peppard, Patricia Neal and a truly wretched bit part for Andy Rooney, Breakfast at Tiffany's is still a tasty classic movie dish.

9 Frank Capra Movies
Inspiring, heartfelt, patriotic, witty - the hallmarks of director Frank Capra. Here are nine of the very best classic films from a director who brought an idealized vision of small-town America and the common man to the screen.

African Queen Review
The African Queen is the only screen pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, a rip-roaring adventure movie with a satisfying love story. Director John Huston's sweeping film is set in colonial Africa during World War I. It pits English spinster Hepburn, scruffy Canadian expat Bogart and their plucky little boat, the African Queen, against the Germans.

Christmas_Movies
There’s nothing like a great classic movie to bring all the holiday memories back with a rush. Cuddle up on the couch with some hot cocoa and mini-marshmallows, and watch one of these great Christmas movies to get in the holiday spirit.

Great Screen Couples
When the chemistry's good, the romance is great. Here are three of Hollywood's most famous screen couples - Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and William Powell and Myrna Loy - who kindle true Hollywood magic.

Best Picture Oscars - 1950s
In the 1950s, sweeping epics, expensive musicals and dark dramas dominated the Best Picture category at the Oscars, along withone sleeper hit thrown in for good measure. Here are the ten classic movies that won the the top Academy Award in the 1950s - and some of the excellent films they bested.

North by Northwest
Hitchcock's diverting suspense film romps from the sophisticated streets of New York in the '50s to the stone faces on Mount Rushmore. Fast-paced and witty, North By Northwest is classic Hitchcock with star Cary Grant at his urbane best.

Sabrina
A bubbly romantic comedy about a chauffeur's daughter in love with a rich playboy. Audrey Hepburn goes to Paris for polish and comes back to charm William Holden and Humphrey Bogart in Sabrina, a classic movie directed by Billy Wilder.

The 39 Steps Review
A fast-paced, tightly woven 1935 suspense film by Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps establishes many of the themes that would return in Hitchcock's later work. With clever dialog, darkly comic scenes, and Robert Donat as the dashing hero.

Rear_Window_Review
A thrilling Hitchcock suspense film, Rear Window features witty dialog, clever camera angles and a still-fresh take on the war between the sexes, from amorous newlyweds to a henpecked husband who may have murdered his wife. One of Hitchcock's finest.

Strangers On A Train
What if two strangers on a train meet and plan a couple of murders - but only one of them knows it's not an idle joke? Alfred Hitchcock's tense thriller plays it out in a movie with a memorable villain.

9_Scary_Movies
If you're looking for thrills and chills, classic movies have plenty to offer. While some may not have the gore or the shock value of newer films, a great story well told can still scare the bejabbers out of you. Here's nine that should do the trick.

Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles
Provocative, crude and hilarious, Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" is a classic comedy that turns the western movie genre on its head, and takes on racism with daring humor. A side-splitting, raucous spoof like no other.

Carrie Movie Review
Carrie, the classic that launched a bloody deluge of teen horror films, still packs plenty of suspense, a little humor, a bit of camp, and a few genuine chills. The first and one of the best film versions of a Stephen King novel, Carrie is a great movie about a really bad prom.

Bogart Page
All things Humphrey Bogart - links to stories about his life, his work and his best movies. Reviews, a biography, and great movies from the Bogie filmography. Here's lookin' at you, kid!

The Apartment
Billy Wilder's darkly comic Best Picture winner about an office schnook whose bosses use his bachelor apartment for romantic trysts. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star in a smart, bittersweet love story that won Best Picture in 1960.

Six Bogart Movies
A list of some of Humphrey Bogart's best movies, from hard-boiled private detectives in classic film noir to a paranoid ship captain. See his full range, from Casablanca to The Maltese Falcon, from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to The Caine Mutiny.

Classic Charlton Heston Movies
Born to be a leading man, Charlton Heston played Biblical prophets and princes, tortured artists and worn-down cowboys, policemen and clerics during his long and varied career. Here are seven classic films featuring Charlton Heston, a classic Hollywood hero.

Incredible Shrinking Man
Everyman Scott Carey gets a double-dose of pesticides and radiation in this classic science fiction movie proving that size does matter. The Incredible Shrinking Man is a prime example of 1950s sci-fi films that fretted about the evils of radioactive fallout.

Classics Remade in 2007
Every year, Hollywood revisits classic movies and decides to remake them. The results are always mixed. Here are a few of the classic films remade for release in 2007, for better or worse. (Thank goodness they can't touch the originals!)

Humphrey Bogart Profile
Humphrey Bogart was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in its golden age, a legend on and off screen. Here's a profile of Humphrey DeForest Bogart, star of [i]Casablanca[/i], [i]The Maltese Falcon[/i] and other classic American films - his life, his work, and his legacy.

10 Billy Wilder Movies
Director Billy Wilder gave the world classic movies across the genres of film noir, romantic comedy, social realism and screwball comedy. Here are ten of the writer-director's finest classic films.

Close Encounters Third Kind
A classic science fiction film by Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters ignites a sense of awe through both its special effects and its compelling story. Beautifully realized, a little funny, a little frightening, but most of all, uplifting and inspiring.

Young Frankenstein Review
Few spoofs are as spot-on and funny as Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. It’s a stylish tribute to the great old monster movies - and if you can watch it without laughing out loud, you’re just not human.

American Graffiti
American Graffiti is George Lucas's fond look back at his small-town California upbringing. A funny, touching coming of age story, it influenced dozens of films to come and launched the film careers of Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Martin Smith and Paul LeMat.

It Happened One Night
In the great grandmother of all screwball comedies, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert tussle and tease their way through a witty script, and tempt the blue-noses of the day with double entendre. A great classic movie and a sweet-natured romantic comedy.

Maltese Falcon Review
[i]The Maltese Falcon[/i] established Humphrey Bogart as a megastar, and is thought by many to be the first film noir. With Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet as international fortune-hunters who'll do anything to get their hands on the Maltese Falcon, Bogart as detective Sam Spade, from the pulp fiction masterpiece by Dashiell Hammett.

Cat Ballou Review
A pretty school marm, a dastardly villain, a couple of rakish outlaws and a legendary gunslinger round out the western cliches in this great spoof, Cat Ballou. Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his double role in this classic movie.

Tim Plant's Bio
Biography of Tim Plant, guest author on classic movies and classic films

Strangelove Review
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is the funniest movie ever made about global nuclear destruction. Peter Sellers plays three roles, including the bizarre Dr. Strangelove, in Stanley Kubrick's classic black comedy of Cold War military macho and political blundering. A masterpiece.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
A messenger from the stars lands among the Washington monuments with his giant silver robot and makes first contact with humankind. One of the great science fiction films of the '50s, [i]The Day The Earth Stood Still[/i] is a classic movie with a message, but still good fun. "Klaatu barata nikto," sci-fi fans!

1933 Invisible Man Review
Claude Rains stars in the original Invisible Man, the first movie made from H.G. Wells' classic science fiction novel. A bit campy, the special effects hold up surprisingly well, and Rains' liquid voice carries the movie when his unseen face cannot.

Bogart Movies
Here's a list of some of Humphrey Bogart's best movies, from hard-boiled private detectives in classic film noir to a paranoid ship captain. See Humphrey Bogart;s full range, from [i]Casablanca[/i] to [i]The Maltese Falcon[/i], from [i]The Treasure of the Sierra Madre[/i] to [i]The Caine Mutiny[/i].

Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The best film ever made about the power of greed to corrupt men's souls. Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston in a sweeping tale of fortunes made and lost in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico.

Ben Hur Review
One of the greatest sword-and-sandal epics ever filmed, [i]Ben Hur[/i], stars Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins and Stephen Boyd in a magnificent, thrilling story of the Roman Empire and the birth of Christ. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

War of the Worlds 1953
The 1953 version of the. H.G. Wells classic War of the Worlds had spectacular special effects for its day, and set the standard for Martian invasion movies. With Gene Barry as the requisite egghead scientist and some nasty Martians.

ForbiddenPlanetReview
Inspired by Shakespeare's Tempest, Forbidden Planet is a seminal science fiction film with terrific special effects and a smart script. Featuring the debut of Robby the Robot, Forbidden Planet also offers a young Leslie Nielsen as a space commander.

Monty Python's Life of Briian
Monty Python's Life of Brian is a merry sendup of old-style Bibilical epics, and a biting satire on religion, politics and fanaticism. Rude, crude and side-splitting funny, it follows the life of Brian of Nazareth, an ordinary guy who is mistaken for the Messiah.

To Catch a Thief
A frothy, stylish romp on the French Riviera with two gorgeous stars and a great director, Alfred Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" puts Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in the witty tale of a reformed jewel thief chasing a copycat burglar.

Sunset Boulevard Review
A film noir classic, Sunset Boulevard is a jaundiced look at the excesses of Hollywood, and a great story about an aging film goddess and her doomed gigolo. Witty, cynical and mesmerizing.

Classic Movies - Articles
An index of Articles for the Classic Movies guide site.

The Big Sleep
A complex film noir, The Big Sleep features Humphrey Bogart in one of his most layered roles as Phillip Marlowe, and provides a great showcase for the Bogart and real-life love Lauren Bacall. Clever dialogue highlights this intelligent, suspenseful mystery.

Three-Ten to Yuma
A serviceable western with a solid cast and a classic Old West storyline, the original 3:10 to Yuma is a showcase for veteran actor Glenn Ford as a charming outlaw and Van Heflin as a stoic rancher caught in a tense conflict.

All About Eve
Meow! The classic movie about an aging Broadway star (Bette Davis) and the scheming young wannabe (Anne Baxter) who wants to take over the star's career and her life. "All About Eve" earned the 1950 Best Oscar.

She Done Him Wrong
Mae West utters her most famous - and most often misquoted line - in She Done Him Wrong, a scandalous melodrama that shot Cary Grant to stardom in 1933. Sexual frankness and racy songs helped spur enduring censorship after the blue-nose backlash to She Done Him Wrong.

Sergeant York Review
Sergeant York is a sharp-shooting pacifist from the backwoods of Tennessee becomes an unlikely war hero in the true story of Sergeant York and his courage in WWI. Gary Cooper stars in this great classic movie as Sergeant York, wrestling with duty to God and country.

Considering Doris Day
The book "Considering Doris Day" is a look at the top female box office star of all-time, arguing that Doris Day's "girl next door" image made her underrated as an actress. Thomas Santopietro writes an admiring bio, not a tell-all scandal book about the wholesome Hollywood heroine.

Shop Around the Corner Review
A wry and gentle romantic comedy about two people who can't stand each other by day, but unknowingly write soul-stirring letters to each other by night. Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in Ernst Lubitsch's charming movie.

Balaban Close Encounters
On the 30th Anniversary of the sci-fi classic, veteran character actor Balaban reflects on Spielberg, Truffaut and the making of the seminal alien contact movie.

The Man Who Came to Dinner
The film version of a smash Broadway play, 'The Man Who Came to Dinner' is a bit stagey, but showcases a terrific cat fight between Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan, and offers a view of bygone Broadway glitterati.

Doris Day Movies2
Author Tom Santopietro has written and admiring book about screen legend Doris Day as an actress and a singer. Here he tells us his top ten Doris Day films, and why he loves them.

Classic Movies - FullReviews
An index of FullReviews for the Classic Movies guide site.

Witness for the Prosecution
Billy Wilder's witty screen adaptation of the Agatha Christie play features Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton in a classic movie courtroom battle with plenty of twists and a surprise ending.

Stalag 17
A compelling study of human nature set in a WWII POW camp, Stalag 17 is also a sly dig at the red-baiting of the communist era. Billy Wilder directed William Holden to a Oscar for his cynical perfomance as the outsider in Stalag 17.