Classics (1930-1969)
by bjm-975-850236 | created - 21 Jan 2014 | updated - 13 Oct 2017 | PublicA list of classic films. Before Blockbuster Movies.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 863,562 | Gross: $4.36M
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 498,684
3. Casablanca (1942)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Romance, War
A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
Votes: 605,417 | Gross: $1.02M
4. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 717,462 | Gross: $32.00M
5. The Great Dictator (1940)
G | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 237,133 | Gross: $0.29M
6. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,742 | Gross: $13.28M
7. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 465,572 | Gross: $1.59M
8. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Votes: 260,388 | Gross: $8.82M
9. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 132,325 | Gross: $5.01M
10. Some Like It Hot (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft
Votes: 283,244 | Gross: $25.00M
11. The Apartment (1960)
Approved | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston
Votes: 196,516 | Gross: $18.60M
12. The Great Escape (1963)
Approved | 172 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson
Votes: 258,595 | Gross: $12.10M
13. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Passed | 100 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre
Votes: 166,471 | Gross: $2.11M
14. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 333,971 | Gross: $198.68M
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Votes: 226,565 | Gross: $102.31M
16. Touch of Evil (1958)
PG-13 | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 109,713 | Gross: $2.24M
17. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor | Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr
Votes: 428,185 | Gross: $2.08M
18. Ben-Hur (1959)
G | 212 min | Adventure, Drama
After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
Votes: 253,392 | Gross: $74.70M
19. Strangers on a Train (1951)
PG | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll
Votes: 140,907 | Gross: $7.63M
20. The Big Sleep (1946)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers
Votes: 90,450 | Gross: $6.54M
21. Oliver Twist (1948)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
In Charles Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Robert Newton, Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Francis L. Sullivan
Votes: 13,639
22. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Votes: 121,304 | Gross: $9.60M
23. The Devil's Brother (1933)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Musical
Two wannabe bandits join the service of a dashing nobleman who secretly masquerades as notorious outlaw Fra Diavolo.
Directors: Hal Roach, Charley Rogers | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dennis King, Thelma Todd
Votes: 2,091
24. Bonnie Scotland (1935)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy
Stan and Ollie mistakenly enlist in the army and find themselves posted to the Northwest Frontier in India on a dangerous mission.
Director: James W. Horne | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Lang, William Janney
Votes: 2,103
25. Going Bye-Bye! (1934)
Passed | 21 min | Short, Comedy
After testifying in court against a dangerous criminal, the boys plan to skip town, but the criminal escapes prison and comes after them.
Director: Charley Rogers | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Walter Long
Votes: 1,526
26. Swiss Miss (1938)
Approved | 71 min | Comedy, Musical
Laurel and Hardy, rat trap salesmen who are unable to do business in Switzerland, having no money to pay for lunch end up working for the hotel where a composer, who has run away from his wife, has taken refuge.
Directors: John G. Blystone, Hal Roach | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Grete Natzler, Walter Woolf King
Votes: 2,323
27. Earth (1930)
Unrated | 75 min | Drama
In the peaceful countryside, Vassily opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.
Director: Aleksandr Dovzhenko | Stars: Stepan Shkurat, Semyon Svashenko, Yuliya Solntseva, Yelena Maksimova
Votes: 6,393
28. Among the Missing (1934)
Approved | 62 min | Drama
Two young jewel thieves, Tommy and Gordon, stash their jewels on slightly dotty Aunt Martha to avoid the cops. They dupe her into helping them fence the goods. She moves in with the boys, ... See full summary »
Director: Albert S. Rogell | Stars: Richard Cromwell, Henrietta Crosman, Billie Seward, Arthur Hohl
Votes: 102
29. Shen nu (1934)
TV-PG | 85 min | Drama
Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China.
Director: Yonggang Wu | Stars: Lingyu Ruan, Tian Jian, Zhizhi Zhang, Keng Li
Votes: 2,468
30. A Free Soul (1931)
Passed | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable
Votes: 2,932
31. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
TV-PG | 86 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Anne Chevalier, Matahi, Hitu, Bill Bambridge
Votes: 6,377
32. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Not Rated | 112 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
Directors: Sergei Eisenstein, Dmitriy Vasilev | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitriy Orlov
Votes: 12,251
33. Happiness (I) (1935)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A hapless man undergoes misadventures with avaricious clergy, a tired horse, and a walking granary on his road to collectivized happiness.
Director: Aleksandr Medvedkin | Stars: Pyotr Zinovyev, Yelena Yegorova, Mikhail Gipsi, Viktor Kulakov
Votes: 1,198
34. They Caught the Ferry (1948)
11 min | Short, Drama, Horror
A man and a woman on a motorcycle arrive with a ferry to Assens. They want to catch the next ferry in Nyborg, on the other side of the island, but this ferry will leave in three quarters of... See full summary »
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Star: Joseph Koch
Votes: 1,326
35. Fast Workers (1933)
Passed | 66 min | Drama
Gunner and Bucker are pals who work as riveters. Whenever Bucker gets the urge to marry, which is often, Gunner will hit on his girl to see if she is true or not. So far, Gunner has not ... See full summary »
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: John Gilbert, Robert Armstrong, Mae Clarke, Muriel Kirkland
Votes: 854
36. Peter Ibbetson (1935)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A Victorian-era architect commissioned by the Duke of Towers to design his stables falls in love with the Duchess.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Gary Cooper, Ann Harding, John Halliday, Ida Lupino
Votes: 2,563
37. Temptress of a Thousand Faces (1969)
83 min | Action, Crime
A Hong Kong reporter (Tina Chin) sets out to thwart the evil "witch" boss of a gang (Pat Ting Hung) bent on world domination.
Director: Chang-hwa Jeong | Stars: Tina Chin-Fei, Liang Chen, Pat Ting Hung, Liang Hua Liu
Votes: 218
38. Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958)
Not Rated | 88 min | Biography, Drama, History
As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Serafima Birman, Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Zharov
Votes: 8,044
39. Me and My Pal (1933)
Passed | 20 min | Short, Comedy, Family
On his wedding day, Oliver and his best man Stanley become absorbed in a jigsaw puzzle. Eventually the taxi driver, the butler, a policeman and a messenger boy all get involved with the puzzle, making them late for the wedding.
Directors: Charley Rogers, Lloyd French | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Marion Bardell
Votes: 1,529
40. Overlord (1975)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, History, War
During World War 2, a young lad's called up and, with increasing sense of foreboding, undertakes his army training for D-day.
Director: Stuart Cooper | Stars: Brian Stirner, Davyd Harries, Nicholas Ball, Julie Neesam
Votes: 3,228
41. Reefer Madness (1936)
PG | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.
Director: Louis J. Gasnier | Stars: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien
Votes: 9,325
Tell Your Friends