corny?....maybe

[Smoking Joe]

Ive recently developed a fetish for the older movies. Films with actors such as Charles Laughton,Robert Donat,John Mills,Celia Johnson, Greer Garson,Alec Guiness,Ralph Richardson,to name but a few,and yes....even Charlie bloody Chaplin. I find them so much more enjoyable than todays garbage churned out by present day film producers.There seems to have been much more emphasis placed on characters and plot then.Or maybe they were also just better actors ,actresses.Maybe instead of endlessly churning out movie after movie to satisfy ever increasing numbers of channels and so forth,as they do today, the film makers of yesteryear had time to concentrate on quality.The only recent movie Ive watched that I thought was worthwhile was the film "Hugo"....before that Goodfellas, and maybe Casino.Im not including documentaries in my diatribe ,because those are of course, a completely different genre.
A few film here that Ive thoroughly enjoyed ,and others may,or may not agree ..or might want to try them.
Goodby Mr Chips(Robert Donat)
Holly and the Ivy (Ralph Richardson)
Rachel and the Stranger(wIlliam Holden)
Lost Horizon( Donat again)
Mrs Miniver
The history of Mr Polly
Last Holiday (Guiness)
Le Casque D or
Le D iaboliques

Maybe someone might have a few from that era they could suggest?

[Robert]

Hi Smoking Joe

Where to begin? There are all the Ealing comedies, the Hammer and Amicus horror films, the war films...................

Here are a couple of 'neglected' ones worth a look, in the vein of detection/suspense :

John Mills - Mr Denning Drives North
Ralph Richardson - Home at Seven

[The Good Michael]

Bogart

Mike

[Limehouse]

I totally adore Donat in Goodbye Mr Chips. Also, a great favourite of mine is This Happy Breed with Celia Johnson, Stanley Holloway, Robert Newton and John Mills.

[Albert]

How about 'Footsteps in the fog' or 'Gaslight'?

[DVV]

Tod Browning, Murnau, and so many others...
I love old movies, however my fav is quite recent (Unforgiven, 1992)

Nice to see Clouzot in your list, Smoking Joe

[Smoking Joe]

DVV yes ,Clouzot made several good films,yet the film regarded by many as his best, Le Corbeau ,I thought was awful.....Italian ,and French films in particular have an awful lot to offer.Many people I think avoid anything foreign because of having to read subtitles,which is a pity because theyre missing out on awful lot filmwise.
Limehouse, Im glad Im not alone in liking "goodbye Mr Chips"...whenever Ive mentioned it ,I usually get a reply like "why would you watch sentimental rubbish like that for" Sentimental it might be,but you wont find
many better IMO..
Robert ,Ive noticed the film "Mr Denning drives North" now on Youtube,Ill download it before it gets deleted by the copyright Police or whoever deletes it,and give it a try. Thanks.
Its refreshing to watch films where Nobodys entrails get splashed all over the screen ,and one doesnt have the by now obligatory bare arse walking across the screen every 10 minutes.
Thank goodness for torrents not that I use them anymore,

[Mayerling]

Huge number of films to select. Here are just 10

MADELEINE - Ann Todd
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS - Alec Guiness, Dennis Price
SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC - John Mills, Derek Bond
GREEN FOR DANGER - Alistair Sim, Trevor Howard, Leo Genn
THE GREEN MAN - Alistair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas
SCROOGE - Alistair Sim, Mervyn Johns, Michael Hordern
ASK A POLICEMAN - Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffat
TUNES OF GLORY - Alec Guiness, John Mills, Dennis Price
THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS - Claude Rains, Ann Todd, Trevor Howard
AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLAND - Trevor Howard, Robert Morley, Ralph Richardson, Wendy Hiller, George Coulouris

I will add these foreign films (all Italian comedies)

BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET - Marcello Mastroiani, Vitorio Gassman, Toto
GHOSTS OF ROME - Mastroiani, Gassman
DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE -Mastroiani

Jeff

[DVV]

Oh, like Le Corbeau.
It's full of French heroes from WW2, heh-heh ! (borrowed from Lynn)

[The Good Michael]

Claude Rains. Here was a man who couldn't turn in a poor performance. Melodramatic, yes, but he was good at that too. Peter Lorre too, who was mostly a character actor, but he always did great stuff.

Mike

[Steve S]

Ice Cold in Alex
Blythe Spirit
The Way Ahead
In Which we Serve
Carve her name with Pride
Oliver Twist
The Prisoner of Zenda

[Robert]

Proof that you don't need big bucks special effects nonsense if you've got a good story, a good actor and a good director :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnHjfGaN3kw

[Smoking Joe]

Its also proof that Universal Studios have a lenient attitude to copyright infringement......so far.

[Smoking Joe]

Im in my "Book of Lists " mode at present so here goes.

Dunkirk (John mills)....didnt expect much of it,but was pleasantly surprised.
A canterbury tale )(pressburger,Powell film)
I know where Im going
The Suspect (charles Laughton)....it also had an alternative title ,which I cant bring to mind.
Bicycle theives (De sica)
Anything directed by Claude Chabrol
Smulstronnat (Wild strawberries)
Lacombe
L armee des ombres (melville ) The best french resistance movie I ve seen
the ghost goes west (that man Donat again)

[DVV]

Anything directed by Claude Chabrol

Now I'm sure you're a man of taste