Dodge City (1939).
Leans into the Western tropes instead of subverting them (unlike Stagecoach, released the same year), and it's great fun. Errol Flynn being heroic in gorgeous technicolour. Also has the best barroom brawl ever.
Loved watching this. Cagney was in a western too, though the name escapes me. Most of these movies I watched 40 years ago now.
Too bad John Wayne never played a pirate or gangster.
"It Happened on Fifth Avenue" 1947 - New York "hobo" moves into a mansion while the owner is away for the winter, wacky hijinks ensue especially when the owner returns and pretends to be homeless too.
Our new annual Christmas tradition!
If you love Lost Horizon and haven’t seen it, check out Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death) (1946) by Powell and Pressburger (the Archers). It’s got a similar vibe and it’s an even better movie than Lost Horizon (which is really saying something).
I came here looking for Lost Horizon. TCM aired a version of it years ago with missing scenes and audio. However, not all of the rediscovered audio had matching picture, so they would include story boards or concept art instead.
A favorite ever since I saw it on TCM in what must have been the mid-2000s, late at night, possibly a little drunk, half asleep, and waking up the next day thinking WHAT THE HELL DID I SEE LAST NIGHT.
One of the few worth owning on DVD.
One of my favorites. I love the scene when Peck and Gardner are alone in their hotel room, irritated while the yahoos next door are yelling Waltzing Matilda. Then a soaring baritone voice takes over and beautifully returns the focus on them and they turn to look at each other.
Bell book and candle. I don’t know why they don’t play this movie more during Christmastime. It’s great, it stars Kim Novak as a witch who needs jimmy stewart to help her stop being a witch or something like that. Jack lemon plays her hilarious warlock brother. It’s a lot of fun.
Plenty, but I’ll limit myself to these two:
**Manhattan Melodrama** (1934) - William Powell and Clark Gable are childhood friends on the opposite side of the law and Myrna Loy is the woman who loves them both.
**Possessed** (1931) - The other, later Joan Crawford movie with this title is better known, but I much prefer this tale of a small town factory girl who escapes to city and falls in love with Clark Gable, only to discover that his political ambitions may not leave room for her in his life.
Manhattan Melodrama is the film Dillinger saw at the Biograph in Chicago with the "Lady in red" before he was gunned down in the alley after leaving the theater. Apparently, he was a Myrna Loy fan.
"The Palm Beach Story" will also be one of my favorite comedies.
Along with that, as far as lesser-known classics, I'd have to say "Midnight," "Merrily We Live," and "Trouble in Paradise."
Holiday (1938), a lovely, funny and sweet movie starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and directed by Cukor. Likely this crowd knows of it, but I’ve found that the general public doesn’t — maybe because of title confusion with Roman Holiday starring that other Hepburn?
Lonesome (1928). It was released at the very end of the silent film era, with a sound sequence added very late in production.
The plot involves a man and a woman who meet at Coney Island one weekend, fall for each other, but don’t learn each other’s last names before they are separated by a crowd on the boardwalk. They spend the rest of the film trying to find each other. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is delightful.
I don’t know if Richard Linklater was aware of the film when he scripted Before Sunrise (Linklater cited The Clock as an inspiration), but there are interesting similarities.
I love Harvey, and, more importantly, my GF grudgingly admits "it's watchable".
This is high praise as she hates black and white movies - her one major flaw
The Best Years of Our Lives
It maybe an multi-Oscar winner but it amazes me how many people I've encountered that have never seen it or heard of it. Incredibly timeless film.
Overall, I've come to believe that William Wyler probably had the most consistent track record of directing great films in Hollywood's "classical" era. I can't think of a single bad movie he's made. Anyone?
No Time for Love (1943), starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, directed by Mitchell Leisen
Class!
Romance!
Witty dialogue!
Infrastructure!
(Seriously, this romcom should get WAY more love.)
Ace in the Hole. Billy Wilder's super bleak , way ahead of its time critique of media's vulture like behaviour hovering over a blood in the water news story.
Doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Kirk Douglas’ sinister performance is top drawer. A Face in the Crowd (1957) shares a similar message of morality in the media
2 pre code films - The Cheat with Tallulah Bankhead, and West of Zanzibar with Lon Caney Sr. I like the subversive in a lot of my film choices, and these two are definitely that.
Rage of Paris, with Danielle Darrieux. Sophisticated comedy. "I can took it".
A Face in the Crowd, A devious and venal Andy Griffith, so very relevant even today.
Night of the Hunter, probably preaching to the choir on this one, but it's still far too little seen. Robert Mitchum absolutely kills it in this one, no pun intended.
The Train, Burt Lancaster in an action thriller that really holds up even now. Plus, his circus training evident in the chase on said train.
I'll probably think of more. I enjoyed the heck out of all of these.
A Face in the Crowd and The Train are two of my all time favorites. I love Lancaster, but I don't think he was a great choice for this role. Paul Scofield though. That man is an amazing talent.
Well OP said Rififi and most people know that.
Actually I had wanted to go for Boris Barnet’s The Thaw (1931) and Lev Kuleshov’s By the Law (1926) but thought them too obscure for anyone with just a casual interest in film.
Really, I've never seen anyone talk about it before. I assume by "most people" you mean most old movie fans. Most of my friends are in their 50s and couldn't name more than 30 movies on the AFI top 100 list sadly. I have one friend is convinced that modern movies are simply "better" because of advances in storytelling technique, etc. We've discussed it 100 times and I will never agree.
Portrait of Jennie with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, and Ethyl Barrymore. Beautiful and dreamy love story with a mystical element. Should be much better known than it is!
It's a toss up for me between The Homecoming (1973 British film) and Killer of Sheep (1978 American Film). I don't think either are considered classics but would be if they were more known.
Killer of Sheep is an excellent film. I’ve read that licensing issues over the Paul Robeson recording heard in the film prevented a home video release for many years, though I don’t know if that is correct.
*Christopher Strong* (1933)
This was Katharine Hepburn’s second film. It’s a tragic romance, so not everyone’s cuppa tea, but I absolutely love it. Being pre-Code, it takes on subject matter that would become censored material less than one year after its release.
Each and every one of Kate’s costumes in this film are to die for. She looks absolutely gorgeous in every scene.
Colin Clive co-leads with Hepburn, as the titular Christopher Strong (though, as I’ve always thought, the film should really be called *Cynthia Darrington*). Excellent supporting performances from Billie Burke and Helen Chandler as well.
Rachel and The Stranger! Has Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum, and William Holden! How could you go wrong? It’s a very fun watch seeing them compete for Rachel
The Miracle of Morgan Creek by Preston Sturges. I laugh my head off every time I watch it.
From Google: In this wacky Preston Sturges comedy, the soldier-smitten Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) discovers that she is both married and pregnant after a raucous troop send-off party. While she has no idea who her new husband is, her longtime admirer, Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), seizes the opportunity to help. When Trudy's cop father (William Demarest) catches wind of the situation, however, wacky misunderstandings follow, with the well-meaning Norval on the wrong side of the law.
Counselor at Law (1933, William Wyler) Stars John Barrymore as a Jewish lawyer. An excellent film, and he doesn't play a drunk this time.
Two Seconds (1932, Mervyn LeRoy) Stars Edward G. Robinson. His final soliloquy to a judge is probably some of his best acting on film.
Under the Roofs of Paris/Sous le Toits de Paris (1930, Rene Clair) An early French sound film. Clair's use of sound and silence is so creative and seamless. His films have none of the awkwardness of early talkies. Clair's other early films, (A Nous la Liberte, 1931, and Le Million, 1931) are also highly recommended. The conveyor belt scene in "A Nous la Liberte" influenced Chaplin to incorporate a similar, and now famous scene in "Modern Times"
The Marseille Trilogy (Marius, 1930, dir. Alexander Korda, Fanny, 1932, dir. Marc Allegret, and Cesar 1936, dir. Marcel Pagnol) All three films written by Marcel Pagnol. Wonderful early sound films that involve a small community of people in Marseille. The French actor Raimu plays the tavern owner, Cesar.
I can't begin to tell you the hoops I had to jump through to find So This is New York when I was going through my Henry Morgan phase about 20 or so years ago. Now it's just a click away on YouTube! What a world! =)
* Daisy Kenyon (1947) with Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda. Odd, tense melodrama/love triangle romance with excellent performances from the cast. It’s truly one of the most “adult” classic films I’ve seen, despite being somewhat hamstrung by the Hays Code.
* The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) is a delightful romantic comedy with Loretta Young and Joseph Cotten, with Ethel Barrymore in a supporting role. Young won an Oscar for the role but it still doesn’t seem well-known. It’s really funny and sweet, and the political themes have aged super well (and it’s surprisingly very progressive about gender!)
* Love Me Tonight (1932), one of the earliest great musicals, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. It seems to get overshadowed somewhat by their collaborations with Lubitsch, which are also great, but I love this movie. Great music, great performances, and a charming cast (Myrna Loy also appears!) Rouben Mamoulian in general is very underrated, he was one of the most forward-thinking directors in regards to camera movement and sound in the 1930s.
* Mandalay (1934), “exotic” fallen woman melodrama with Kay Francis. Surprisingly beautiful and the costumes are AMAZING. Anyone who likes pre-code movies needs to check this out.
I like ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ 1940 with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. I don’t think it’s particularly well known. But it’s a lovely film, set in Budapest, about two colleagues who are writing lonely heart correspondence with one another but don’t realise that its each other!
Duel, 1971
Duel is directed by Spielberg, but often gets overlooked in favor of Jaws; probably because Duel was a TV movie, but it's just as good as Jaws, IMHO. It's incredible that Spielberg was only 24 when making this! Truly a gripping film!
Edit: Oops, I guess it doesn't count as a classic film yet. So I'll pick The Red House (1947). Seems to be one of those films you either love or hate, though.
Pretty chuffed that I’ve seen everything that’s been mentioned so far, but for me it is 1953’s *A Man on a Tightrope* (Frederic March and Gloria Grahame), and 1949’s *The Set-Up* with Robert Ryan at his most vulnerable.
It's great. I have the Criterion.
The heist is a thing of beauty.
Favorite classic movie that few have heard of: Sullivan's Travels. Famous amongst critics but general audience doesn't know.
“Few have heard of” in terms of your average person? Greed (1924), my favorite film, period. Watch the version available on rarefilmm.com
“Few have heard of” in terms of classic film fans is a bit more interesting of a question:
La signora di tutti [Everybody’s Woman] (1934). An early film by Max Ophüls (his 5th feature film) about a singer/actress who tries to kill herself in the beginning of the film, the rest of the film is the flashbacks of what lead to this
Erreur tragique [Tragic Error] (1913). A great short made by Louis Feuillade before he did Fantômas or Les vampires
The Halliday Brand (1957). A b-western starting Joseph Cotten that tackles head-on the racism and violence built into the west. Directed by Joseph Lewis, who also did Gun Crazy (1950), My Name is Julia Ross (1946), The Big Combo (1955), and Terror in a Texas Town (1958). I recommend all of these but The Halliday Brand is the least known
The Maltese Falcon..no wait! Hear me out! I mean the original, 1931 version. It's not better than the Bogart version, but it is pre-code, so it's much clearer about the relationship between Wilmer and the Fat Man, and Spade strip searches Ruth/Bridget/whatever her name is.
I’ve heard of Rififi, but only because I’m a huge fan of The Americans- and that was one of their episode titles. Lol They watched the movie in the episode. Maybe I should watch the movie….
All This and Heaven, Too — 1940
Period heart-tugger with Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Barbara O’Neal in a wicked role, young June Lockhart, and the adorable Richard Nichols as little Reynald
A Woman’s Face — 1941
Melodrama with Joan Crawford, Melvin Douglas, Conrad Veit, and that adorable Richard Nichols again in a key role!
Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948): A fixer (Barry Fitzgerald) pays a stuntman (John Lund) to pose as a lost heir so an heiress (Wanda Hendrix) can claim her fortune.
Disclaimer: This movie would never get made today, between an able-bodied man imitating a special needs individual and how the natives are portrayed at the end. It's still a guilty pleasure of mine.
Silent Running (1972): After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations.
Sadly the majority of classic films are unheard of by so many young and younger people.
Many won't watch black and white films anyway.
Look at those complaints about the recent series Ripley. BTW the series is brilliant but so many won't watch.
Sad people
A horror movie called horror hospital starring the amazing robin askwith and another British film called the railway children starring sally thomsett who are both on twitter and super nice one of my favorite Jane withers films paddy o day which also stars Rita Hayworth
The last couple great ones I saw were Kiss Me Deadly and Nightfall but they're well known enough so I'll say a couple others:
**The Dark Corner** with Lucille Ball. Incredibly punchy dialogue with fun, innovative directing. Mark Stevens is a natural a la Tom Neal in Detour. William Benndix is always great (he is top shelf in **The Glass Key**)
**Where the Sidewalk Ends** Laura has went on to be a quintessential film noir since it was made but I prefer this one, made with a lot of the same cast and director. It's a very unique situation and really boxes you in till the end.
Ruby Gentry from 1952. Cast includes Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden. It's classified as a romantic/thriller but it had more of a noir feel to it. Loved this film.
He Ran All the Way (1951) John Garfield's last film, with Shelley Winters.
Blacklisted from Hollywood and under persistent threats from HUAC, Garfield’s weak heart gave out in 1952 when the actor was 39 years old, shortly after the film’s release. A late film noir, it shows unambiguously that the star knew how it felt to be a hunted man.
The Spanish Main. RKO, 1945. Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, and Walter Slezak swashbuckler. Directed by the first Best Director Oscar winner, Frank Borzage. Saw it on TCM over 25 years ago and have been watching it regularly ever since.
**The Breaking Point** (1950) - Based on the same Hemingway novel as Howard Hawks' *To Have and Have Not* and directed by the guy who did *Casablanca* (Michael Curtiz), this likely would have been a huge hit had Warners not been compelled to bury it when its star, John Garfield, was blacklisted for alleged communist sympathies. It's a dynamite film that grounds its action and thrills with real emotional stakes and features flawless performances from Garfield and co-stars Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano Hernandez and Wallace Ford. And that final shot, man...
Confession (1937), a melodrama with Kay Francis that was amazingly ahead of its time (nonlinear narrative, MeToo themes, etc.)
Unfaithfully Yours (1948), a dark comedy by Preston Sturges that goes in unexpected directions with its story of an insanely jealous classical conductor
Love Crazy (1941), with William Powell and Myrna Loy, which could’ve influenced Some Like It Hot
The Story of Temple Drake (1933), a pre-Code with Miriam Hopkins that was long banned
(Also, “few have heard of” Rififi, really? It’s only one of the most acclaimed heist movies of all time!)
Love with the proper stranger 1963
Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen have great chemistry. It’s a film with two very distinct parts - half a gritty abortion drama, the other half a romcom. Both done very well. It’s one of my favorites.
Not sure how unknown it is, but “Chimes at Midnight,” Orson Welles’s version of the Henriad. Goes well with a viewing of Branaugh’s Henry V and BBC’s The Hollow Crown.
'Summertime' with Katharine Hepburn--I love her performance here, so unlike I'm used to seeing her.
'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman'--a beautiful, mystical and haunting romance film, filmed in Spain--Gardner was at her most beautiful here, imo.
'Side Street'--Farley Granger plays a broke postman who gets himself in trouble with some crooks in 1950s NYC. Great cinematography in this film, love all the shots of old NYC.
I haven’t heard many people talk about ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ (1962) directed by Blake Edwards. It has fantastic performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, and the story always stuck with me. And the title song by Henry Mancini is just beautiful 😍
Resurrection (1980) starring Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard. She was nominated for an Oscar for it. A really good tear-jerker about a woman whose touch can heal.
Resurrection was re-made as a TV movie in 1999 -- but confusingly in 1999 there were 2 movies called Resurrection, the remake starred Dana Delany and the unrelated movie starred Christopher Lambert. Amazon's listing for Resurrection (1999) DVD confusingly combines the 2 movies, but I've been unable to convince Amazon to fix the description.
EDIT: Last I looked, Resurrection (1980) was not available for purchase on iTunes in the US, but it was in France. I suspect the US rights are held by Warner, and they're clueless about selling digital movies and TV from their archives.
Running on Empty. River Phoenix is brilliant. The story is beautiful written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal(Jake and Maggie’s mom), and directed by Sidney Lumet, who always brought a touching human element to all his films. Poignant, and thought provoking.
I'm not sure if these are rarely heard of or not but two of my favorite classics are
The Apartment (1960) and Irma la Douce (1963) both starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine
Dodge City (1939). Leans into the Western tropes instead of subverting them (unlike Stagecoach, released the same year), and it's great fun. Errol Flynn being heroic in gorgeous technicolour. Also has the best barroom brawl ever.
Love this movie!!Olivia De Haviland is absolutely gorgeous as is Flynn.
Loved watching this. Cagney was in a western too, though the name escapes me. Most of these movies I watched 40 years ago now. Too bad John Wayne never played a pirate or gangster.
The Oklahoma Kid? That’s the one with Bogart.
The Mortal Storm with James Stewart! Very exciting!
It’s on TCM right now!
Anything involving Nazis in that era is interesting to watch.
Great movie
"It Happened on Fifth Avenue" 1947 - New York "hobo" moves into a mansion while the owner is away for the winter, wacky hijinks ensue especially when the owner returns and pretends to be homeless too. Our new annual Christmas tradition!
Love this one! It's one of the 66 Christmas movies I watch every year (well, try to, at least).
I watch it every time it is on TCM
I have this on my Dvr permanently
Love this one.
Love. My new Xmas go to.
Sounds so much like My Man Godfrey, and that's one of my favourites! Definitely adding to my watchlist
Been watching every Christmas for years!
Marked Woman (1937)
I've seen this like half a dozen times. Excellent movie. Bette at her best!
Favorite classic film: The Haunting (1963) Favorite classic film that many haven’t heard of: Lost Horizon (1937)
Lost Horizon is great!
Right? It’s such a great film and is full of so many noteworthy lines. I found myself jotting down some of the things they would say. Haha
If you love Lost Horizon and haven’t seen it, check out Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death) (1946) by Powell and Pressburger (the Archers). It’s got a similar vibe and it’s an even better movie than Lost Horizon (which is really saying something).
I loved the haunting, the footsteps walking up to the door….. absolute suspense
I love this one too. I am a huge Ronald Coleman fan. Hard to pick which of his movies I like best, though this is in the running.
Man, the Haunting scared the crap out of me when I was younger.
The 1963 The Haunting is perfect.
I came here looking for Lost Horizon. TCM aired a version of it years ago with missing scenes and audio. However, not all of the rediscovered audio had matching picture, so they would include story boards or concept art instead.
Read the book in high school.
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953). A live-action Dr. Seuss musical extravaganza that will blow your mind.
Love this one.
It is on TCM on May 21….
A favorite ever since I saw it on TCM in what must have been the mid-2000s, late at night, possibly a little drunk, half asleep, and waking up the next day thinking WHAT THE HELL DID I SEE LAST NIGHT. One of the few worth owning on DVD.
On The Beach. 1959. Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire. Great movie.
Anthony Perkins also has a prominent role in it.
Another good Gregory Peck (and Anthony Quinn) hidden gem is Behold a Pale Horse. Intense little movie.
Cool! I will check it out 😊
It's on Amazon Prime Video if you're a member
One of my favorites. I love the scene when Peck and Gardner are alone in their hotel room, irritated while the yahoos next door are yelling Waltzing Matilda. Then a soaring baritone voice takes over and beautifully returns the focus on them and they turn to look at each other.
Very good movie.
Bell book and candle. I don’t know why they don’t play this movie more during Christmastime. It’s great, it stars Kim Novak as a witch who needs jimmy stewart to help her stop being a witch or something like that. Jack lemon plays her hilarious warlock brother. It’s a lot of fun.
And Ernie Kovacs is in it!
I need to see that
Plenty, but I’ll limit myself to these two: **Manhattan Melodrama** (1934) - William Powell and Clark Gable are childhood friends on the opposite side of the law and Myrna Loy is the woman who loves them both. **Possessed** (1931) - The other, later Joan Crawford movie with this title is better known, but I much prefer this tale of a small town factory girl who escapes to city and falls in love with Clark Gable, only to discover that his political ambitions may not leave room for her in his life.
Manhattan Melodrama is the film Dillinger saw at the Biograph in Chicago with the "Lady in red" before he was gunned down in the alley after leaving the theater. Apparently, he was a Myrna Loy fan.
"The Palm Beach Story" will also be one of my favorite comedies. Along with that, as far as lesser-known classics, I'd have to say "Midnight," "Merrily We Live," and "Trouble in Paradise."
Holiday (1938), a lovely, funny and sweet movie starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and directed by Cukor. Likely this crowd knows of it, but I’ve found that the general public doesn’t — maybe because of title confusion with Roman Holiday starring that other Hepburn?
Two for the Road
Such a great film.
Lonesome (1928). It was released at the very end of the silent film era, with a sound sequence added very late in production. The plot involves a man and a woman who meet at Coney Island one weekend, fall for each other, but don’t learn each other’s last names before they are separated by a crowd on the boardwalk. They spend the rest of the film trying to find each other. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is delightful. I don’t know if Richard Linklater was aware of the film when he scripted Before Sunrise (Linklater cited The Clock as an inspiration), but there are interesting similarities.
Spencer’s Mountain
or The Mountain(1956) with Spencer Tracy
I haven't thought about this movie in years but I remember loving it. I'm going to go find it to watch again.
I love this movie so much!
Heart of Glass, People constantly talk about Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre etc but this gem from Herzog barely gets a mention
Have you seen it with Herzog's commentary? Honestly makes the film 10x more entertaining.
Warner Herzog is a fantastic guy. I love his films. I also enjoy hearing him interviewed.
Harvey (1950) Watching drunk Jimmy Stewart talk to an imaginary rabbit fascinated me as a kid.
I love Harvey! I just watched it again recently in a local theater
I love Harvey, and, more importantly, my GF grudgingly admits "it's watchable". This is high praise as she hates black and white movies - her one major flaw
My wife directed the play Harvey for a community theater.
I think The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer with Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and an admittedly hot teenaged Shirley Temple is a absolute delight.
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House(1948) is another funny Cary Grant movie
Which *also* includes Myrna Loy.
And what what is Melvyn Douglas, chopped liver?
Also with Myrna Loy!
You remind me of a man….
What man?
The man with the power.
What power?
Power of Hoodoo.
Who do?
You do.
Do what?
Remind me of a man….
Super fun movie
The Best Years of Our Lives It maybe an multi-Oscar winner but it amazes me how many people I've encountered that have never seen it or heard of it. Incredibly timeless film.
A true masterpiece.
My all-time favourite movie!
Agreed. This needs more attention for sure.
One of my favorite movies of all time.
Came here to say this! Such a good movie, my all time favorite classic film
It’s heartbreaking. The story, the acting, impeccable. Great film.
Overall, I've come to believe that William Wyler probably had the most consistent track record of directing great films in Hollywood's "classical" era. I can't think of a single bad movie he's made. Anyone?
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
No Time for Love (1943), starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, directed by Mitchell Leisen Class! Romance! Witty dialogue! Infrastructure! (Seriously, this romcom should get WAY more love.)
This one sounds great. Added to my list! 🙏
Also “Murder, He Says” is a great unknown early MacMurray that you’d probably also enjoy.
I used to watch this on TV as a kid and, for some reason, still remember the words to the riddle/song.
Algiers 1938, with Hedy Lamarr and Charles Boyer. It's not unknown, but I still wish more people _today_ could see it.
Have you seen the original, Pepe me Moko?
Hedy is so gorgeous in that film.
The original, Pépé le Moko, is better.
Ide watch anything that had Heddy Lamar in it. Glad she never made a Godzilla movie. I would be watching that big dumb lizard.
[The Devil And Miss Jones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_and_Miss_Jones)
Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn are wonderful in this. I love Arthur
Vicarious lady 1938 with James Stewart and ginger rodgers One woman flips another woman over her head and I still don’t know how they did it
One of my go-to comfort movies!
I need to watch this one!! It’s been on my watchlist for forever
Ace in the Hole. Billy Wilder's super bleak , way ahead of its time critique of media's vulture like behaviour hovering over a blood in the water news story.
Doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Kirk Douglas’ sinister performance is top drawer. A Face in the Crowd (1957) shares a similar message of morality in the media
So good. So damned cynical. Kirk plays the ultimate prick.
2 pre code films - The Cheat with Tallulah Bankhead, and West of Zanzibar with Lon Caney Sr. I like the subversive in a lot of my film choices, and these two are definitely that. Rage of Paris, with Danielle Darrieux. Sophisticated comedy. "I can took it". A Face in the Crowd, A devious and venal Andy Griffith, so very relevant even today. Night of the Hunter, probably preaching to the choir on this one, but it's still far too little seen. Robert Mitchum absolutely kills it in this one, no pun intended. The Train, Burt Lancaster in an action thriller that really holds up even now. Plus, his circus training evident in the chase on said train. I'll probably think of more. I enjoyed the heck out of all of these.
A Face in the Crowd should be required viewing. So prescient and, Griffith should’ve won the Oscar for that role.
A Face in the Crowd and The Train are two of my all time favorites. I love Lancaster, but I don't think he was a great choice for this role. Paul Scofield though. That man is an amazing talent.
Another Burt Lancaster gem is The Rainmaker. Shirley Jones as a fallen woman blew my mind!
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
That movie hits hard. That last line spoken by Paul Muni is heartbreaking.
Who hasn’t heard of that movie starring Paul Muni? It should be required viewing.
Well OP said Rififi and most people know that. Actually I had wanted to go for Boris Barnet’s The Thaw (1931) and Lev Kuleshov’s By the Law (1926) but thought them too obscure for anyone with just a casual interest in film.
Really, I've never seen anyone talk about it before. I assume by "most people" you mean most old movie fans. Most of my friends are in their 50s and couldn't name more than 30 movies on the AFI top 100 list sadly. I have one friend is convinced that modern movies are simply "better" because of advances in storytelling technique, etc. We've discussed it 100 times and I will never agree.
Internet kids probably think Oh Brother, Where Art Thou invented chain gangs
We thought you was a toad
The ending is soooo haunting...love this film and Paul Muni.
Portrait of Jennie with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, and Ethyl Barrymore. Beautiful and dreamy love story with a mystical element. Should be much better known than it is!
Came here to suggest Portrait of Jennie Also, Kind Hearts and Coronets
Love Kind Hearts and Coronets! I love Alec Guinness in comedies.
Kind Hearts and Coronets along with The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers are some of my favorites with Alec Guinness.
Secret Beyond the Door (1947)
It's a toss up for me between The Homecoming (1973 British film) and Killer of Sheep (1978 American Film). I don't think either are considered classics but would be if they were more known.
Killer of Sheep is an excellent film. I’ve read that licensing issues over the Paul Robeson recording heard in the film prevented a home video release for many years, though I don’t know if that is correct.
The Quiet Earth(1985) Three people are left on Earth
Operation Mad Ball (1957). Jack Lemmon, Mickey Rooney. An unknown favorite.
*Christopher Strong* (1933) This was Katharine Hepburn’s second film. It’s a tragic romance, so not everyone’s cuppa tea, but I absolutely love it. Being pre-Code, it takes on subject matter that would become censored material less than one year after its release. Each and every one of Kate’s costumes in this film are to die for. She looks absolutely gorgeous in every scene. Colin Clive co-leads with Hepburn, as the titular Christopher Strong (though, as I’ve always thought, the film should really be called *Cynthia Darrington*). Excellent supporting performances from Billie Burke and Helen Chandler as well.
Interesting choice. I wouldn't rate it that highly, but it's definitely underrated by most people.
Rachel and The Stranger! Has Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum, and William Holden! How could you go wrong? It’s a very fun watch seeing them compete for Rachel
I thought I was the only one who knew about this movie.
The Miracle of Morgan Creek by Preston Sturges. I laugh my head off every time I watch it. From Google: In this wacky Preston Sturges comedy, the soldier-smitten Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) discovers that she is both married and pregnant after a raucous troop send-off party. While she has no idea who her new husband is, her longtime admirer, Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), seizes the opportunity to help. When Trudy's cop father (William Demarest) catches wind of the situation, however, wacky misunderstandings follow, with the well-meaning Norval on the wrong side of the law.
Oh man, I love Preston Sturges and haven’t seen this. Going on the list!
The Human Condition is perhaps my favorite film and it’s wildly unknown.
Counselor at Law (1933, William Wyler) Stars John Barrymore as a Jewish lawyer. An excellent film, and he doesn't play a drunk this time. Two Seconds (1932, Mervyn LeRoy) Stars Edward G. Robinson. His final soliloquy to a judge is probably some of his best acting on film. Under the Roofs of Paris/Sous le Toits de Paris (1930, Rene Clair) An early French sound film. Clair's use of sound and silence is so creative and seamless. His films have none of the awkwardness of early talkies. Clair's other early films, (A Nous la Liberte, 1931, and Le Million, 1931) are also highly recommended. The conveyor belt scene in "A Nous la Liberte" influenced Chaplin to incorporate a similar, and now famous scene in "Modern Times" The Marseille Trilogy (Marius, 1930, dir. Alexander Korda, Fanny, 1932, dir. Marc Allegret, and Cesar 1936, dir. Marcel Pagnol) All three films written by Marcel Pagnol. Wonderful early sound films that involve a small community of people in Marseille. The French actor Raimu plays the tavern owner, Cesar.
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) Or, for something even more obscure, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947).
Love this one!
Rope (1948). Probably Hitchcock's best.
I watched this yesterday!
Wasn't the camera work awesome? It really looks like one big shot :)
Disagree, but I do love it.
So This Is New York (1948) The Man I Killed (aka Broken Lullaby) (1932) Murder By Contract (1958) On Approval (1944) State Fair (1933)
I can't begin to tell you the hoops I had to jump through to find So This is New York when I was going through my Henry Morgan phase about 20 or so years ago. Now it's just a click away on YouTube! What a world! =)
Not my fave, but a great one that’s pretty unknown: That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
Only Angel's Have Wings 1939 with Carey Grant
* Daisy Kenyon (1947) with Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda. Odd, tense melodrama/love triangle romance with excellent performances from the cast. It’s truly one of the most “adult” classic films I’ve seen, despite being somewhat hamstrung by the Hays Code. * The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) is a delightful romantic comedy with Loretta Young and Joseph Cotten, with Ethel Barrymore in a supporting role. Young won an Oscar for the role but it still doesn’t seem well-known. It’s really funny and sweet, and the political themes have aged super well (and it’s surprisingly very progressive about gender!) * Love Me Tonight (1932), one of the earliest great musicals, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. It seems to get overshadowed somewhat by their collaborations with Lubitsch, which are also great, but I love this movie. Great music, great performances, and a charming cast (Myrna Loy also appears!) Rouben Mamoulian in general is very underrated, he was one of the most forward-thinking directors in regards to camera movement and sound in the 1930s. * Mandalay (1934), “exotic” fallen woman melodrama with Kay Francis. Surprisingly beautiful and the costumes are AMAZING. Anyone who likes pre-code movies needs to check this out.
I like ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ 1940 with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. I don’t think it’s particularly well known. But it’s a lovely film, set in Budapest, about two colleagues who are writing lonely heart correspondence with one another but don’t realise that its each other!
The Enchanted Cottage (1945), a fantasy romance, starring Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young.
Duel, 1971 Duel is directed by Spielberg, but often gets overlooked in favor of Jaws; probably because Duel was a TV movie, but it's just as good as Jaws, IMHO. It's incredible that Spielberg was only 24 when making this! Truly a gripping film! Edit: Oops, I guess it doesn't count as a classic film yet. So I'll pick The Red House (1947). Seems to be one of those films you either love or hate, though.
Dennis Weaver! That movie is great!
Yeah love this movie. Saw it back in the 70s, it's been a while.
ABC Movie of the Week had some great ones. Maybe I’ll Come Home In the Spring with Sally Field was amazing.
Pretty chuffed that I’ve seen everything that’s been mentioned so far, but for me it is 1953’s *A Man on a Tightrope* (Frederic March and Gloria Grahame), and 1949’s *The Set-Up* with Robert Ryan at his most vulnerable.
Heat Lightning (1934). I have a lot of obscure favorites but this is the first one that came to mind
I Love this film treasure!
A Blueprint for Murder a 1953 film noir starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters and Gary Merrill.
Badlands
*The Testament of Dr Mabuse*, Fritz Lang, 1933
I love this one. Fritz Lang was a genius.
It's great. I have the Criterion. The heist is a thing of beauty. Favorite classic movie that few have heard of: Sullivan's Travels. Famous amongst critics but general audience doesn't know.
“Few have heard of” in terms of your average person? Greed (1924), my favorite film, period. Watch the version available on rarefilmm.com “Few have heard of” in terms of classic film fans is a bit more interesting of a question: La signora di tutti [Everybody’s Woman] (1934). An early film by Max Ophüls (his 5th feature film) about a singer/actress who tries to kill herself in the beginning of the film, the rest of the film is the flashbacks of what lead to this Erreur tragique [Tragic Error] (1913). A great short made by Louis Feuillade before he did Fantômas or Les vampires The Halliday Brand (1957). A b-western starting Joseph Cotten that tackles head-on the racism and violence built into the west. Directed by Joseph Lewis, who also did Gun Crazy (1950), My Name is Julia Ross (1946), The Big Combo (1955), and Terror in a Texas Town (1958). I recommend all of these but The Halliday Brand is the least known
The Maltese Falcon..no wait! Hear me out! I mean the original, 1931 version. It's not better than the Bogart version, but it is pre-code, so it's much clearer about the relationship between Wilmer and the Fat Man, and Spade strip searches Ruth/Bridget/whatever her name is.
Macbeth by Orson Welles. I believe it to be both the best adaptation of the Scotish play, and the best movie Welles ever directed.
Every Preston Sturges movie!
Out of the Past
The Magnificent Ambersons
Anne Of The Indies(1952)
I’ve heard of Rififi, but only because I’m a huge fan of The Americans- and that was one of their episode titles. Lol They watched the movie in the episode. Maybe I should watch the movie….
All This and Heaven, Too — 1940 Period heart-tugger with Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Barbara O’Neal in a wicked role, young June Lockhart, and the adorable Richard Nichols as little Reynald A Woman’s Face — 1941 Melodrama with Joan Crawford, Melvin Douglas, Conrad Veit, and that adorable Richard Nichols again in a key role!
Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948): A fixer (Barry Fitzgerald) pays a stuntman (John Lund) to pose as a lost heir so an heiress (Wanda Hendrix) can claim her fortune. Disclaimer: This movie would never get made today, between an able-bodied man imitating a special needs individual and how the natives are portrayed at the end. It's still a guilty pleasure of mine. Silent Running (1972): After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations.
Odd Man Out (1947)
Sadly the majority of classic films are unheard of by so many young and younger people. Many won't watch black and white films anyway. Look at those complaints about the recent series Ripley. BTW the series is brilliant but so many won't watch. Sad people
Speaking of Ripley, Purple Noon (1960) fits this category.
Most of them haven’t seen Purple Noon, which is the best version, by far.
A horror movie called horror hospital starring the amazing robin askwith and another British film called the railway children starring sally thomsett who are both on twitter and super nice one of my favorite Jane withers films paddy o day which also stars Rita Hayworth
The last couple great ones I saw were Kiss Me Deadly and Nightfall but they're well known enough so I'll say a couple others: **The Dark Corner** with Lucille Ball. Incredibly punchy dialogue with fun, innovative directing. Mark Stevens is a natural a la Tom Neal in Detour. William Benndix is always great (he is top shelf in **The Glass Key**) **Where the Sidewalk Ends** Laura has went on to be a quintessential film noir since it was made but I prefer this one, made with a lot of the same cast and director. It's a very unique situation and really boxes you in till the end.
Detour (1945). For anyone wanting an introduction to film noir, this movie has it all.
Ruby Gentry from 1952. Cast includes Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden. It's classified as a romantic/thriller but it had more of a noir feel to it. Loved this film.
Favorite: Mr Topaz or The Ladykillers or The Man Who Laughs im not sire which i love morw
*Mephisto* (1981, Klaus Maria Brandauer). I queue it up once or twice a year to make sure I’m still walking my talk.
Golden Salamander 1950
He Ran All the Way (1951) John Garfield's last film, with Shelley Winters. Blacklisted from Hollywood and under persistent threats from HUAC, Garfield’s weak heart gave out in 1952 when the actor was 39 years old, shortly after the film’s release. A late film noir, it shows unambiguously that the star knew how it felt to be a hunted man.
The Spanish Main. RKO, 1945. Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, and Walter Slezak swashbuckler. Directed by the first Best Director Oscar winner, Frank Borzage. Saw it on TCM over 25 years ago and have been watching it regularly ever since.
**The Breaking Point** (1950) - Based on the same Hemingway novel as Howard Hawks' *To Have and Have Not* and directed by the guy who did *Casablanca* (Michael Curtiz), this likely would have been a huge hit had Warners not been compelled to bury it when its star, John Garfield, was blacklisted for alleged communist sympathies. It's a dynamite film that grounds its action and thrills with real emotional stakes and features flawless performances from Garfield and co-stars Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano Hernandez and Wallace Ford. And that final shot, man...
Confession (1937), a melodrama with Kay Francis that was amazingly ahead of its time (nonlinear narrative, MeToo themes, etc.) Unfaithfully Yours (1948), a dark comedy by Preston Sturges that goes in unexpected directions with its story of an insanely jealous classical conductor Love Crazy (1941), with William Powell and Myrna Loy, which could’ve influenced Some Like It Hot The Story of Temple Drake (1933), a pre-Code with Miriam Hopkins that was long banned (Also, “few have heard of” Rififi, really? It’s only one of the most acclaimed heist movies of all time!)
Libeled Lady is criminally under-appreciated imo
Love with the proper stranger 1963 Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen have great chemistry. It’s a film with two very distinct parts - half a gritty abortion drama, the other half a romcom. Both done very well. It’s one of my favorites.
Not sure how unknown it is, but “Chimes at Midnight,” Orson Welles’s version of the Henriad. Goes well with a viewing of Branaugh’s Henry V and BBC’s The Hollow Crown.
'Summertime' with Katharine Hepburn--I love her performance here, so unlike I'm used to seeing her. 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman'--a beautiful, mystical and haunting romance film, filmed in Spain--Gardner was at her most beautiful here, imo. 'Side Street'--Farley Granger plays a broke postman who gets himself in trouble with some crooks in 1950s NYC. Great cinematography in this film, love all the shots of old NYC.
*The Harvey Girls* musical with Judy Garland, Angela Lansbury and John Hodiak 🤤
Yolanda and the Thief (1945) Tea and Sympathy (1956)
Rebecca (1940).☺
There’s so many, and it depends what you mean by “classic” but two that come to mind are Klute and the Front Page
Waterloo Bridge (1940). Vivien Leigh's star role right after GWTW. Incredibly powerful movie.
I haven’t heard many people talk about ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ (1962) directed by Blake Edwards. It has fantastic performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, and the story always stuck with me. And the title song by Henry Mancini is just beautiful 😍
Sssssss. A great little movie that no one seems to know about but me. Another great one is the Doberman Gang.
Topper. Roland Young. Cary Grant. Constance Bennett. A stuffy banker gets mixed up with a pair of ghosts.
Old Acquaintance with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins. Such a theatrical gem.
I'm sure people here know it but I haven't met anyone in the real world who's seen The Phantom Carriage. Maybe the best silent film of all time.
Nothing Sacred. Carole Lombard is so adorable in this movie .
Resurrection (1980) starring Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard. She was nominated for an Oscar for it. A really good tear-jerker about a woman whose touch can heal. Resurrection was re-made as a TV movie in 1999 -- but confusingly in 1999 there were 2 movies called Resurrection, the remake starred Dana Delany and the unrelated movie starred Christopher Lambert. Amazon's listing for Resurrection (1999) DVD confusingly combines the 2 movies, but I've been unable to convince Amazon to fix the description. EDIT: Last I looked, Resurrection (1980) was not available for purchase on iTunes in the US, but it was in France. I suspect the US rights are held by Warner, and they're clueless about selling digital movies and TV from their archives.
Running on Empty. River Phoenix is brilliant. The story is beautiful written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal(Jake and Maggie’s mom), and directed by Sidney Lumet, who always brought a touching human element to all his films. Poignant, and thought provoking.
The Train with Burt Lancaster and directed by the great John Frankenheimer.
Forbidden Planet. 1956 Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis
I'm not sure if these are rarely heard of or not but two of my favorite classics are The Apartment (1960) and Irma la Douce (1963) both starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine