Classic film must see starter list
I made this classic film must see starter list for a friend, and thought it might be worth sharing here. Of course, these are just my own essential favorites (& there are many more films I enjoy, but I was trying to make the list at least somewhat reasonable in length), so you may beg to differ as to what belongs on such a list. To which I respond: Make your own list! ;) So here are my essentials.
Silents:
Nosferatu (1922)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Lady of the Night (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
The Wind (1928)
Pre-Codes:
The Divorcee (1930)
A Free Soul (1931)
Private Lives (1931)
Dracula (1931)
M (1931)
Scarface (1932)
Grand Hotel (1932)
3 on a Match (1932)
Duck Soup (1933)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
42nd Street (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Baby Face (1933)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
I’m No Angel (1933)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
1939 (The greatest year in film):
The Women
Mr. Smith goes to Washington
The Wizard of Oz
Gone with the Wind
Dark Victory
Ninochka
1940s:
His Girl Friday (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
The Letter (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Now, Voyager (1942)
Casablanca (1942) (THE BEST FILM EVER)
Woman of the Year (1942)
Gaslight (1944)
Laura (1944)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
On the Town (1949)
1950s:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
All About Eve (1950)
Born Yesterday (1950)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Guys & Dolls (1955)
Picnic (1955)
Giant (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Peyton Place (1957)
Raintree County (1957)
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
The Long Hot Summer (1958)
Gigi (1958)
Auntie Mame (1958)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Gidget (1959)
The Best of Everything (1959)
A Summer Place (1959)
Suddenly Last Summer (1959)
1960s:
The Apartment (1960)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Where the Boys Are (1960)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Gypsy (1962)
The Haunting (1963)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964)
The Group (1966)
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
Funny Girl (1968)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Hello, Dolly (1969)
For beginners, I'd say start with the 1939 films. Then do the 40s & 50s. Then go back to the Pre-Codes (you're ready for them now). Then silents, then 60s.
Silents:
Nosferatu (1922)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Lady of the Night (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
The Wind (1928)
Pre-Codes:
The Divorcee (1930)
A Free Soul (1931)
Private Lives (1931)
Dracula (1931)
M (1931)
Scarface (1932)
Grand Hotel (1932)
3 on a Match (1932)
Duck Soup (1933)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
42nd Street (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Baby Face (1933)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
I’m No Angel (1933)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
1939 (The greatest year in film):
The Women
Mr. Smith goes to Washington
The Wizard of Oz
Gone with the Wind
Dark Victory
Ninochka
1940s:
His Girl Friday (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
The Letter (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Now, Voyager (1942)
Casablanca (1942) (THE BEST FILM EVER)
Woman of the Year (1942)
Gaslight (1944)
Laura (1944)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
On the Town (1949)
1950s:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
All About Eve (1950)
Born Yesterday (1950)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Guys & Dolls (1955)
Picnic (1955)
Giant (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Peyton Place (1957)
Raintree County (1957)
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
The Long Hot Summer (1958)
Gigi (1958)
Auntie Mame (1958)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Gidget (1959)
The Best of Everything (1959)
A Summer Place (1959)
Suddenly Last Summer (1959)
1960s:
The Apartment (1960)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Where the Boys Are (1960)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Gypsy (1962)
The Haunting (1963)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964)
The Group (1966)
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
Funny Girl (1968)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Hello, Dolly (1969)
For beginners, I'd say start with the 1939 films. Then do the 40s & 50s. Then go back to the Pre-Codes (you're ready for them now). Then silents, then 60s.