Could you please recommend me some great 1930s, 1940s and 1950s movies?

Gustav said:

...Stoo and Saboteur for your lists because I haven't even heard of some of those.

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We hadn't heard of them either until...well, we did. So I'm glad to pass along what I can. Though, I'm sure you haven't heard of some of them simply because they were lost in the transition to DVD from VHS. The Mob was just released on DVD; Cry Danger still isn't on DVD; and I don't think Mr. Dynamite was ever released on video.

Stoo said:

Nice list, Sabbie.

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Yours too, Stoo. I was torn between putting together a purely pulp adventure list or a film noir list, but decided on diversifying it a bit. It's still too crime heavy, but 1940-58 was the proverbial Golden Age of film noir.

And here's a few more for anybody that's interested.

1930s
"Barbary Coast" (1935)
"The Dawn Patrol" (1930)
"Scarface" (1932)
"Okay, America" (1932)
"Roadhouse Nights" (1930)
"Little Caesar" (1930)
"Captain Blood" (1935)
"I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" (1932)

1940s
"High Tide" (1947)
"The Black Swan" (1942)
"The Blue Dahlia" (1946)
"The Killers" (1946)
"Border Incident" (1949)
"Meet me in St. Louis" (1944)
"Miracle on 34th St." (1947)
"The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)

1950s
"Damn Yankees!" (1958)
"High Society" (1956)
"An American in Paris" (1951)
"Gun Crazy" (1950)
"On Dangerous Ground" (1952)
"The Devil Makes Three (1952)
"Funny Face" (1957)
"Naked Alibi" (1954)

Rio Bravo (1959)

Right at the edge of the period requested, but a fantastic western with John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson.

The Bravados (1958)

Just watched it. It's an unusual and powerful western with Gregory Peck and Joan Collins.

Raiders112390 said:

Thank you very much for your recommendations, I'm sorry for not responding sooner. If you or anyone else has any others, t'would be greatly appreciated

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I'm still reluctant to answer until I've got a firmer handle on the question.

Do you want:

A) Films that will primarily give you a sense of the stars of the era?
B) Films that will give you a sense of filmmaking as a whole of the era, different genres and so forth?
C) Films that we consider the best, most-worth seeing of the era?

Or some combination thereof?

Attila the Professor said:

I'm still reluctant to answer until I've got a firmer handle on the question.

Do you want:

A) Films that will primarily give you a sense of the stars of the era?
B) Films that will give you a sense of filmmaking as a whole of the era, different genres and so forth?
C) Films that we consider the best, most-worth seeing of the era?

Or some combination thereof?

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A and B. B, to be specific, I'd love to see films which show off the era itself by virtue of being set whenever they were made--Meaning no period films (Westerns are exempted). Any genre is OK. Thank you.

Some more GREAT ones that nobody has mentioned yet:

"The 39 Steps" (1935)
"White Heat" (1949)
"Paths of Glory" (1957) Not a contemporary story but REQUIRED viewing.
"Touch of Evil" (1958)

(I have a funny feeling that Attila will want to mention Billy Wilder's, "The Apartment", but that one was right on the cusp, in 1960.)

Gustav said:

Hey, Vi, thanks for the reassurance. How have you been? and how long have you been a moderator?

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I'm alright. Been on the move again, like you. I was made mod about year ago (ironically around the same time I managed to finally meet John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen and recorded some stuff for the Indycast). Other than that pretty much same old.

And getting back to the topic at hand, I would definitely recommend anything of Hitchcock as he made films in all three decades. It's interesting how his technique changes over time.

Stoo said:

Some more GREAT ones that nobody has mentioned yet:

"Paths of Glory" (1957) Not a contemporary story but REQUIRED viewing.

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That one has made me shed a tear on several occasions. One of Stanley's finest.

I owe you a response here, and I'll do more, but here's the 30s, which is easier, since I know it the least of the three. I'll also stick to Hollywood film, since it seems to suit the question. And since I guess I'll make some rules to myself, to allow myself to stretch them, I'm allowing myself as many as three period pictures* and one non-star picture^ in each set of ten. Period pictures reflect, sometimes more strongly, what an era cares about, while the other exemption allows a worthy other to be included.

1930s:

The Public Enemy (William Wellman, 1931)
-Exemplary pre-Code gangster picture w/ James Cagney & Jean Harlow

I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931)
-Socially conscious prison picture w/ Paul Muni

Dinner at Eight (George Cukor, 1933)
-All-star ensemble comedy/drama w/ Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, and Jean Harlow

Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
-Anarchic, satiric comedy w/ the Marx Brothers & Margaret Dumont

It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934)
-Populist screwball comedy w/ Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert

Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1935)^
-Sweet, sad, Depression comedic romance about aging, w/ Beulah Bondi, Victor Moore, and Thomas Mitchell

Swing Time (George Stevens, 1936)
-Light New York musical w/ Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, 1938)*
-Swashbuckling adventure w/ Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, and Basil Rathbone

Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)*
-Iconic Civil War epic w/ Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Thomas Mitchell, & Hattie McDaniel

Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939)*
-Unconventional, slow-moving biopic w/ Henry Fonda

1940s:

The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)
-Realist Depression adaptation of the novel w/ Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, & John Carradine

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
-Light, evocative romantic comedy w/ James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, & Frank Morgan

His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
-Fast-paced screwball comedy (contrast w/ above) w/ Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell

Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
-Serious, satirical comedy w/ Joel McCrea & Veronica Lake

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
-Hollywood-style war romance w/ Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, & Peter Lorre

Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)*
-Musical heralding onset of post-war darkness w/ Judy Garland & Margaret O'Brien

Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
-Quintessential, sharp noir w/ Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, & Edward G. Robinson

The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
-Great post-war story of returning veterans w/ Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, & Harold Russell

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
-Mexican-set adventure noir w/ Humphrey Bogart & Walter Huston

Fort Apache (John Ford, 1948)*
-Community-oriented cavalry Western w/ Henry Fonda & John Wayne

1950s:

A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951)
-Method acting vs. Hollywood w/ Marlon Brando & Vivian Leigh

Them! (Gordon Douglas, 1954)^
-Atomic age anxieties fought by science w/ James Whitmore & giant ants

It's Always Fair Weather (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1955)
-Unconventionally bitter musical seeped in the 50s w/ Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, & Cyd Charisse

All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955)
-Adult melodrama of alienation w/ Jane Wyman & Rock Hudson

Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955)
-Teen melodrama of alienation w/ James Dean, Natalie Wood, & Sal Mineo

Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Todd, 1956)*
-Lengthy, cameo-filled widescreen epic w/ David Niven & Cantinflas

The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)*
-Racism-themed Western shows shift in use of stars w/ John Wayne & Jeffrey Hunter

Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)*
-Methodical, hang-out Western w/ John Wayne, Dean Martin, & Ricky Nelson

North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
-Slick thriller of the ad-man age w/ Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, & James Mason

Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959)
-Solid, deliberate courtroom drama w/ James Stewart, Lee Remick, & Ben Gazzara

I'm going to throw the 60s in there too, since it's the last decade of the studio system. And because Stoo's comment makes it seem necessary. This decade in particular can't be understood without the British inclusions; read which films seem to be missing as telling in itself.

1960s:

The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
-Sad romantic comedy about NYC offices w/ Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacClaine, & Fred MacMurray

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
-The television aesthetic & non-mystical, non-atomic horror ascend w/ Janet Leigh & Anthony Perkins

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)*
-Elegaic Western shoots holes in myth w/ James Stewart & John Wayne

The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis, 1963)
-Comedy auteur skewers Rat Pack & college culture w/ Jerry Lewis

Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
-Cold War black comedy w/ Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)
-Explicit language and adult themes in documentary-style drama w/ Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967)
-Socially conscious drama on race is last pairing w/ Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, & Sidney Poitier

Casino Royale (Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish, & Val Guest, 1967)
-The logical conclusion of film excess & a distillation of all 60s pop culture w/ David Niven, Peter Sellers, Orson Welles, Ursula Andress, & Woody Allen

Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)*
-American New Wave crime film of youthful rebellion w/ Faye Dunaway & Warren Beatty

The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)*
-Violent, men-on-a-mission Western finishes what Liberty Valance started w/ William Holden, Ernest Borgnine & Robert Ryan

So, what with it being Oscar night...anyone finding the suggestions in this thread useful?

Le Saboteur said:

"My Man Godfrey" (1936)

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Saw this recently - it's a really fun movie. William Powell is great in it, of course. The very definition of a 'screwball comedy' with some biting satire on the depression era.


A country store was selling bundles of five DVDs for £1 a bundle. My Man Godfrey was on of them, along with Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), Blood on the Sun (1945), Mr. Imperium (1951) and The Last Time I Saw Paris (1955).

Of the others I've only seen Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr.. Though it's outside of the scope of this thread it's worth seeing for the stunts!

I have no idea what the others are going to be like yet.


Bringing Up Baby (1938) is another fine '30s screwball comedy, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Blood on the Sun (1945) wasn't a spectacular movie by any means, but it is a thriller with a lot of atmosphere.

An American reporter working in Tokyo during the 1930s stands up to the repressive Japanese government, and exposes a secret plot to take over America, and ultimately the world.

As he becomes their public irritation number one intrigue and murder ensue.

The highlight is Cagney's frenzied fight close to the end.

In fact, Bey Logan's commentary on the special edition of Way of the Dragon referenced Cagney's jiu-jitsu in Blood on the Sun, and compared him to that other accomplished dancer, Bruce Lee.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

I really liked this one. Starts with a storm, has a cat, a murder and a mid-point cliffhanger so you don't know how the story will eventually unfold.

It was also Kirk Douglas' first film, co-starring with Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin and Lizabeth Scott.

In the battle of the broads I'd have to pick Lizabeth as the clear winner. She was so hot and sultry, and mysterious.

This is great piece of nourish melodrama.

Here's the trailer (which is unfortunately not as good quality as the actual print on the DVD):

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/O9JSZDLtbzU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Montana Smith said:

Bringing Up Baby (1938) is another fine '30s screwball comedy, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

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Such a large baby too.

Since Stoo and Herr Knight forced me to embark on yet another viewing of Casablanca, I've been on something of a Bogart run, his War Era pictures in particular.

While not one of Bogart's finest outings, Sahara ranks as a personal favorite.

The below clip is from around the middle third of the flick. I was looking for a trailer, but couldn't seem to find one. It doesn't really give anything away in my opinion, but it does detail the movies core conflict -- ideology versus survival. It'll probably remind certain individuals of The Lost Patrol.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rzjyW40XEEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Passage to Marseille is another favorite. It's something of an unofficial sequel to Casablanca since almost all of the same cast is back again, but the story goes in a completely direction. Peter Lorre is an exceptional standout in this one. If for nothing else, check it out for its use of practical SFX.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2_c20fCNMuY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


And on an unrelated note, do make a point to see the ravishing Gene Tierney in The Shanghai Gesture. The things Josef von Sternberg gets away with under the Haye's Code is phenomenal. The concentric circles of Hell that are Mother Gin Sling's gaming establishment are equally great.

Le Saboteur said:

Such a large baby too.

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Indeed!

Le Saboteur said:

Since Stoo and Herr Knight forced me to embark on yet another viewing of Casablanca, I've been on something of a Bogart run, his War Era pictures in particular.

While not one of Bogart's finest outings, Sahara ranks as a personal favorite.

The below clip is from around the middle third of the flick. I was looking for a trailer, but couldn't seem to find one. It doesn't really give anything away in my opinion, but it does detail the movies core conflict -- ideology versus survival. It'll probably remind certain individuals of The Lost Patrol.

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"Sahara" is good (and happens to be the very first Bogart movie that I ever saw), though it's highly doubtful that many people here will get your reference to "The Lost Patrol".

In the pre-internet days of the early '90s, I was in a hot pursuit to find "Lost Patrol" but couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually, I came across a magazine ad for Video Search Service, to whom I wrote a letter with requests and they were able to find & mail it to me! Good stuff and an early John Ford classic. Much closer to "Lost Patrol" is the WW2 flick, "Bataan", because the story & ending is almost identical.

Le Saboteur said:

Passage to Marseille is another favorite. It's something of an unofficial sequel to Casablanca since almost all of the same cast is back again, but the story goes in a completely direction. Peter Lorre is an exceptional standout in this one. If for nothing else, check it out for its use of practical SFX.

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Coincidentally, I happened to watch "Passage to Marseille" a few months ago after not seeing it in many, many years. It used to be one of my Bogie faves but not anymore. Claude Rains is great (as always) but it's like a propaganda film for France. The dialogue is too patriotic and flag-waving for my tastes now. However, it IS a well-made movie and intriguing because it shows a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within the main story frame. That's 4 levels of timeframe which go backwards and then forwards, which is cool.

Another good WW2-era Bogie flick is, "To Have and Have Not".

Found and watched this last weekend:



It's the 1939 remake of a 1927 silent film, which was an adaptation of the 1922 Broadway play.

From the back of the DVD cover:

Bob Hope built a career out of the persona of the fussy, fast-talking lothario spooked by sex, the blowhard who crumbles at the first sight of trouble, in The Cat and The Canary Hope gave this character its first outing and never looked back, the film to this day is still one of the best horror spoofs ever made.

Ten years have passed since the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman, his attorney gathers his six remaining relatives in his old mansion in the swamps of Louisiana to read the will. The family maid appears and announces that the spirits have told her that one of them will die that night and Hendrick, the local prison [actually asylum] guard warns them that 'The Cat' a homicidal maniac has escaped and could appear at any minute. This sets up a night filled with murders, mysteries and intrigue. Hope has one great one-liner after another in this old dark house mystery-comedy.

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I liked this film a lot. Right from the start as the attorney is being paddled through the bayou to the creepy old house, and then deserted by the boatman.

Secret passageways, hidden treasure, plenty of atmosphere, an indication of the supernatural, and a sense of foreboding and isolation reminiscent of the zombie movies of the '30s and '40s, yet with humour running through it by way of Hope's character.

Montana Smith said:

Found and watched this last weekend:



It's the 1939 remake of a 1927 silent film, which was an adaptation of the 1922 Broadway play.

From the back of the DVD cover:



I liked this film a lot. Right from the start as the attorney is being paddled through the bayou to the creepy old house, and then deserted by the boatman.

Secret passageways, hidden treasure, plenty of atmosphere, an indication of the supernatural, and a sense of foreboding and isolation reminiscent of the zombie movies of the '30s and '40s, yet with humour running through it by way of Hope's character.

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I watched this last week, and have seen it many times, I have it in a double DVD set with another Bob Hope film called Ghost Breakers.

But this version of The Cat and the Canary is IMO the best of the old dark house murder mystery films. Creepy yet funny whilst being atmospheric too. I never get tired of watching this. George Zucco (the attorney) seemed to make a career of being creepy.

What a Carve Up was a film in a similar vein and was no doubt inspired by Cat and the Canary, that was made in 1960 or 61 though but has all the credentials of the old dark house movies of the 30's and 40's. In that one Sid James and Kenneth Connor provide the comic relief.

There were also 2 Basil Rathbone old dark house films that are good in this genre too, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death and Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear, both feature people within the house being murdered one by one. Well worth checking out.

AndyLGR said:

I watched this last week, and have seen it many times, I have it in a double DVD set with another Bob Hope film called Ghost Breakers.

But this version of The Cat and the Canary is IMO the best of the old dark house murder mystery films. Creepy yet funny whilst being atmospheric too. I never get tired of watching this. George Zucco (the attorney) seemed to make a career of being creepy.

What a Carve Up was a film in a similar vein and was no doubt inspired by Cat and the Canary, that was made in 1960 or 61 though but has all the credentials of the old dark house movies of the 30's and 40's. In that one Sid James and Kenneth Connor provide the comic relief.

There were also 2 Basil Rathbone old dark house films that are good in this genre too, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death and Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear, both feature people within the house being murdered one by one. Well worth checking out.

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I remember you mentioning old dark house murder mysteries in the Cliffhangers thread.

Thanks for the Sherlock recommendations. I've found they're available on YouTube:

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I'm downloading them now.

I'm a fan of the post war movies set in England, theres something naieve about them and they have a certain charm that I love.

23 Paces to Baker Street - reminds of a Hitchcock movie, with a blind playwrite over hearing a kidnapping plot and so he sets out to solve the crime before its committed. Set in 1950's London with Van Johnson as the lead and featuring many familar British actors of the period.

Tears for Simon (aka Lost) - this is another kidnapping film set in 1950's London, I've not seen this for years but I have memories of it being a gritty crime drama. Again familar British actors appear. I need to track this down.

Gideons Day - Jack Hawkins plays inspector Gideon and this film follows him on a typical day solving crimes.

The 39 Steps - both the 30's and the 50's versions. I enjoy both equally.

The League of Gentlemen - more Jack Hawkins, surely one of the best crime heist movies ever? A gang of ex-soldiers plan a robbery.

I'm also a fan of the Ealing films of the 40's and 50's. Favourites of mine are:

Hue and Cry - where a gang of kids in post second world war London stumple upon a gang of criminals sending messages through a kids comic and they try to solve the crime.

The Long Arm - More Jack Hawkins is trying to solve safe cracking crimes that are plaguing London.

Ladykillers - Does that film need any introduction?

The Lavender Hill Mob - Alec Guniness plots a gold robbery from the bank he works for.

Kind Hearts and Coronets - Alec Guiness plays multiple roles as his family are bumped off one by one by a prospective heir to the fortune.

The List of Adrian Messenger - not an Ealing film, but clearly inspired by Kind Hearts and Coronets. Its possibly one of the strangest films I've ever seen. Its a murder mystery with members of a family being killed off one by one, but the thing that sets this movie apart is the cast of stars who appear in heavy prosthetics and it becomes a game of guess the actor too. A curiosity worth finding.

I know a couple of these movies fall just in the 1960's but their echos of 50's movie making, themes and style are clear to see.

Montana Smith said:

I remember you mentioning old dark house murder mysteries in the Cliffhangers thread.

Thanks for the Sherlock recommendations. I've found they're available on YouTube:

I'm downloading them now.

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I knew I'd mentioned them somewhere, I actually thought it was this thread. If you know the Conan Doyle stories you will recognise which ones these 2 films were loosely based on. As many film series from this era they were very much of their time, made on a budget, slightly wooden acting, with actors that you will think, 'I've seen him somewhere before', usually because they were in multiple films in the series playing different characters.

Speaking of Holmes murder mysteries, The Scarlet Claw is posssibly the best of the Basil Rathbone films, (personally its a toss up between this, Terror by Night, Hound or House of Fear for me), Scarlet Claw features a series of linked murders in a small Canadian village which is permanently shrouded in fog. Its the old dark house theme but expanded out to this small village. That has elements of the supernatural too. Equally Terror by Night follows the formula but is set on a train.