Dusting Off Celluloid: Which old movie would you like to see?
These are movies recommended by poll board users. Which of these relatively little-known but highly recommended films, all released before 1940, would you most like to see (again or for the first time)?
(Where there are comments next to a movie, they were provided by the Poll Board member who nominated the film.)
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Vote in "Dusting Off Celluloid 1940s: Which Old Movie Would You Like to See?" here.
(Where there are comments next to a movie, they were provided by the Poll Board member who nominated the film.)
Discuss here
Vote in "Dusting Off Celluloid 1940s: Which Old Movie Would You Like to See?" here.
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- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsEdna PurvianceClarence GeldertCarl MillerA kept woman runs into her former fiancé and finds herself torn between love and comfort.Nominated by ElMaruecan82: This film "left me with two certitudes: Chaplin is the greatest film-maker who ever lived, and the film, had it not been 'sold' as a Chaplin film, would probably stand today as one of the most influential movies ever."
- DirectorLotte ReinigerCarl KochA handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.Nominated by cocoken, who describes this film as "a charming early animation of an Arabian Nights style fairy tale, made with incredibly intricate cut out silhouettes, which are moved bit by bit in front of an illuminated coloured glass background. Supposedly it took three years to make the 81 minute film." One of the earliest feature-length animated films (only two Argentinean films, both now lost, may predate it).
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiDavid MannersAmerican honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.Nominated by The-Social-Introvert, who describes this as "a great movie for Lugosi and Karloff to face off against each other for the first time. The film in genuinely creepy and atmospheric, and the two lead are at the top of their game." The-Social-Introvert adds that the film probably also marks "the first time toccata and fugue in d minor has been used in a Universal horror movie (the music that has become synonymous with Dracula movies)."
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandLionel AtwillAfter treating a Monmouth rebel against King James II in 1680s England, a young Irish doctor is exiled as a slave to Jamaica where he captures a Spanish galleon and becomes the most feared pirate of the Caribbean.Nominated by jamesh5: "Director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) brings us a tale of slavery, piracy and war!" Nominated for five Oscars, including best picture.
- DirectorRobert FloreyJoseph SantleyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxDuring the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.Nominated by TheMovieSmith: "Marx Brothers film set during the Florida land boom and bust of the late twenties. Plenty of Marx brothers hallmarks and laugh out loud moments throughout."
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneySpencer TracyWalter AbelWhen a wrongly-accused prisoner barely survives a lynch-mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to fake his death and frame the mob for his supposed murder.Suggested by cartman_1337: "A wrongfully accused man miraculously escapes alive after a lynching mob convinced of his guilt takes the law into their own hands. With the help of his brothers he then charges the mob for his murder, and takes the case to court."
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.Nominated by rubyfruit76: "This film, whose director was nominated for an Oscar, was the first sound movie to have an all black cast. It is worth seeing just to experience the performance of the trail-blazing entertainer, Nina Mae McKinney, but the story of an African American sharecropper, Zeke, and a juke joint is compelling, and the music, dancing, and solid performances bring the narrative to life even more so. This film was a groundbreaker in cinematic history for several reasons, and it is a classic tale of forgiveness and redemption. It is included in the National Film registry and is considered to be a top film of its time by the National Board of Review.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.Nominated by cocoken: "Lovely film, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn at their very best. Cary Grant even doing a couple tumbling acts and antics, once even with Kate Hepburn!"
- DirectorRené ClairStarsAnnabellaRené LefèvreJean-Louis AllibertAn impoverished painter and his rival engage in a race across Paris to recover a jacket concealing a winning lottery ticket.Nominated by TsarStepan, who explained that "Le Million is a lighthearted musical comedy of errors that revolves around an artist, his wife, a misplaced coat, and a lost winning lottery ticket."
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.Nominated by pbn, who recommended "One of the most famous early documentaries, documenting everyday life and the filmmaking process in an extraordinary style."
- DirectorJames ParrottStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyDinahLike the legendary Sisyphus, deliverymen Laurel and Hardy struggle to push a large crated piano up a seemingly insurmountable flight of stairs.Suggested by dan_dassow, who describes this film as "a classic Laurel and Hardy short. Like the legendary Sisyphus, deliverymen Laurel and Hardy struggle to push a large crated piano up a seemingly insurmountable flight of stairs."
- DirectorRobert SiodmakEdgar G. UlmerRochus GlieseStarsErwin SplettstößerBrigitte BorchertWolfgang von WaltershausenTwo men and two women enjoy a pleasant Sunday at the beach amid the unending toil of the working week.Nominated by albstein: "A half-documentary story of how several "ordinary" people spend their only free day of the week."
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.Nominated by Dweezer: "Three men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I. A great gangster/romance film featuring my favorite actors James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart."
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsCharles LaughtonMary BolandCharles RugglesAn English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.Nominated by misspaddylee: "A charmer starring Charles Laughton as an English valet whose life is changed forever when his employer loses his services to wealthy Americans in an ill-considered poker game."
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeGerda MaurusWilly FritschThe mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.Nominated by pencho15
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdna May OliverThe story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step.Nominated by brien1951: "Here's one of those rare films that I like where there are no villains, just a nice, old-fashioned story with good people. Of all the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films, I would guess this gets the least amount of publicity and if that's true, it's a shame. Also, for me it's always enjoyable to see a young version of an actor that you've seen several times only as an older one - in this case Walter Brennan (I first saw him as Grandpa on The Real McCoys)."
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.Nominated by jalapenoman