/r/classicfilms

Photograph via snooOG

A community for classic cinema enthusiasts who engage in discussions, share insights, and celebrate films from the early 20th century to the mid-1960s. Members appreciate the rich history, themes, techniques, and cultural significance of classic movies.

For the purposes of this sub, we define classic film as the era ending in the early to mid 1960s, when the studio system collapsed.

So please keep this in mind when posting and try to remain on topic.

UPDATE: Due to an influx of reports, posts linking to streaming movies need to be in the public domain and/or are clearly licensed to be streamed at the site.**

++ Please do not post spoilers when posting synopsis :) ++

CLASSIC FILMS is a subreddit founded by Stroud and monoglot for discussing and recommending films in the Golden Age of Cinema, Film Noir, Black & White (Classic) films. It is moderated by them with the help of Jaxspider for CSS development.

  • Secondarily, some classic genres like for example, the noir genre, has several permutations and may be added to the subreddit.

  • Lastly, Period-era Films should be submitted to: Period-Era Films

Reddit Pre-1990 Films Top 250

Subreddits of Interest:

Others:

External Links:

/r/classicfilms

57,445 Subscribers

4

City for Conquest: The Best!

Anyone else a huge fan of James Cagney and Anthony Quinn in City for Conquest (1940)? This was a gem I found looking for Cagney films. We know White Heat and Public Enemy, but by far, this was one of his best performances 🩷 And we love a young Anthony Quinn, too! Fantastic storyline from start to finish, very powerful narrative and well-developed characters - this was one of those characters where he didn’t play the fast-talking, mobster-bully type. Wonder if anyone else loved it, too?!

8 Comments
2025/01/31
22:03 UTC

77

Remembering Jean Simmons on her 96th birth anniversary! She looks great in this clip from Black Narcissus (1947)

11 Comments
2025/01/31
20:35 UTC

6

Classic film art

In danger of being off-topic, does anyone here appreciate classic film art? Including, but not exclusively, film posters? Would anyone be interested in a sub that had this as a theme? This is probably the most iconic.

Metropolis (1927)

5 Comments
2025/01/31
19:06 UTC

14

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965) Review!

2 Comments
2025/01/31
18:56 UTC

71

Favorite film by Willy Wilder?

123 Comments
2025/01/31
16:33 UTC

24

I want to know how Buster Keaton rehearsed his stuff.

I know he improvised certain scenes. I just want to know how he practiced them beforehand.

Did he have a regular schedule for keeping himself physically agile and also practicing the stunts?

12 Comments
2025/01/31
13:35 UTC

142

Grace Kelly on the set of The Country Girl

5 Comments
2025/01/31
09:57 UTC

1

Who should have won the 14th Academy Awards (1941)?

These were the main awards:

CategoryWinnerNominees
Outstanding Motion PictureHow Green Was My ValleyBlossoms in the Dust
Citizen Kane
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Hold Back the Dawn
The Little Foxes
The Maltese Falcon
One Foot in Heaven
Sergeant York
Suspicion
Best DirectorJohn Ford (How Green Was My Valley)William Wyler (The Little Foxes)
Orson Welles (Citizen Kane)
Alexander Hall (Here Comes Mr. Jordan)
Howard Hawks (Sergeant York)
Best ActorGary Cooper (Sergeant York)Cary Grant (Penny Serenade)
Orson Welles (Citizen Kane)
Walter Huston (All That Money Can Buy)
Robert Montgomery (Here Comes Mr. Jordan)
Best ActressJoan Fontaine (Suspicion)Bette Davis (The Little Foxes)
Olivia de Havilland (Hold Back the Dawn)
Greer Garson (Blossoms in the Dust)
Barbara Stanwyck (Ball of Fire)
Best Supporting ActorDonald Crisp (How Green Was My Valley)Charles Coburn (The Devil and Miss Jones)
Walter Brennan (Sergeant York)
James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan)
Sydney Greenstreet (The Maltese Falcon)
Best Supporting ActressMary Astor (The Great Lie)Teresa Wright (The Little Foxes)
Margaret Wycherly (Sergeant York)
Sara Allgood (How Green Was My Valley)
Patricia Collinge (The Little Foxes)
Best Original ScreenplayHerman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles (Citizen Kane)Norman Krasna (The Devil and Miss Jones)
John Huston, Howard Koch, Abem Finkel, and Harry Chandlee (Sergeant York)
Karl Tunberg and Darrell Ware (Tall, Dark and Handsome)
Paul Jarrico (Tom, Dick and Harry)
Best ScreenplaySidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller, based on the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall (Here Comes Mr. Jordan)Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, based on "Memo to a Movie Producer" by Ketti Frings (Hold Back the Dawn)
Philip Dunne, based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn (How Green Was My Valley)
Lillian Hellman, based on the play by Lillian Hellman (The Little Foxes)
John Huston, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon)
7 Comments
2025/01/31
09:42 UTC

4

Humphrey bogart

Does anyone know what the number 309 signifies in a Humphrey bogart movie? It's for a riddle assigned in class

6 Comments
2025/01/31
03:37 UTC

23

Movies you liked as much as or better than the book

So often the comment is made that the movie was not as good as the book. What are some movies you believe were as good as or better than the book?

I enjoyed the Dorothy Hughes novel In A Lonely Place. The Humphrey Bogart Gloria Grahame movie based on this book was altered in plot and focus and the result was every bit as good.

144 Comments
2025/01/31
02:25 UTC

49

"The Adventurer" (Mutual; 1917) -- Charlie Chaplin with leading lady Edna Purviance

3 Comments
2025/01/31
02:23 UTC

30

On January 29, 1920, 18-year-old Walt Disney started working at the Kansas City Film Ad Co. for $40 a week.

1 Comment
2025/01/31
00:17 UTC

163

Brigitte Helm in Metropolis(1927)

7 Comments
2025/01/30
22:39 UTC

109

Joan Crawford - promo shot for Letty Lynton (1932)

12 Comments
2025/01/30
15:32 UTC

149

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 - I just watched it for the first time. It felt like the movie won't let you breathe from how there is constantly something going on. Great movie and great Paul Muni. And scary ending. How do you like it?

42 Comments
2025/01/30
15:00 UTC

62

Genr hackman turns 95

Hackman's two Academy Award wins included one for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's acclaimed thriller The French Connection (1971) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Little" Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992). His other Oscar-nominated roles were in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988).

Hackman gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and its sequels Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). He also acted in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Scarecrow (1973), The Conversation (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Under Fire (1983), Power (1986), Loose Cannons (1990), The Firm (1993), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Enemy of the State (1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), and Runaway Jury (2003). He also appeared in 1961 Mad Dog Coll,1964 Lilith, and 1966 Hawaii.

9 Comments
2025/01/30
13:37 UTC

5

Who should have won the 13th Academy Awards (1941)?

These were the awards that year:

CategoryWinnerNominees
Outstanding ProductionRebeccaAll This, and Heaven Too • Foreign Correspondent • The Grapes of Wrath • The Great Dictator • Kitty Foyle • The Letter • The Long Voyage Home • Our Town • The Philadelphia Story
Best DirectorJohn Ford for The Grapes of WrathGeorge Cukor for The Philadelphia Story • Alfred Hitchcock for Rebecca • Sam Wood for Kitty Foyle • William Wyler for The Letter
Best ActorJames Stewart for The Philadelphia StoryCharles Chaplin for The Great Dictator • Henry Fonda for The Grapes of Wrath • Raymond Massey for Abe Lincoln in Illinois • Laurence Olivier for Rebecca
Best ActressGinger Rogers for Kitty FoyleBette Davis for The Letter • Joan Fontaine for Rebecca • Katharine Hepburn for The Philadelphia Story • Martha Scott for Our Town
Best Supporting ActorWalter Brennan for The WesternerAlbert Bassermann for Foreign Correspondent • William Gargan for They Knew What They Wanted • Jack Oakie for The Great Dictator • James Stephenson for The Letter
Best Supporting ActressJane Darwell for The Grapes of WrathJudith Anderson for Rebecca • Ruth Hussey for The Philadelphia Story • Barbara O'Neil for All This, and Heaven Too • Marjorie Rambeau for Primrose Path
Best Original ScreenplayPreston Sturges for The Great McGintyCharles Bennett and Joan Harrison for Foreign Correspondent • Norman Burnside and Heinz Herald for Angels Over Broadway • Ben Hecht for Angels Over Broadway • Charles Chaplin for The Great Dictator
Best Original StoryBenjamin Glazer and Hans Székely for Arise, My LoveHugo Butler and Dore Schary for Edison, the Man • Walter Reisch for Ninotchka • Leo McCarey for My Favorite Wife • Bella Spewack and Samuel Spewack for My Favorite Wife
Best ScreenplayDonald Ogden Stewart for The Philadelphia StoryRobert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison for Rebecca • Nunnally Johnson for The Grapes of Wrath • Dalton Trumbo for Kitty Foyle • Howard Koch for The Letter
Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-WhiteCedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse for Pride and PrejudiceLionel Banks and Robert Peterson for Arizona • Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright for Lillian Russell • Hans Dreier and Robert Usher for Arise, My Love • Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk for My Son, My Son!
Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, ColorVincent Korda for The Thief of BagdadCedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie for Bitter Sweet • Alexander Golitzen for Down Argentine Way • Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright for North West Mounted Police • Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson for Lillian Russell
Best Cinematography, Black-and-WhiteGeorge Barnes for RebeccaErnest Haller for All This, and Heaven Too • James Wong Howe for Abe Lincoln in Illinois • Charles B. Lang Jr. for Arise, My Love • Rudolph Maté for Foreign Correspondent
Best Cinematography, ColorGeorges Périnal for The Thief of BagdadArthur C. Miller and Ray Rennahan for Down Argentine Way • Leon Shamroy and Ray Rennahan for North West Mounted Police • Sidney Wagner and William V. Skall for Northwest Passage • Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey for Bitter Sweet
Best Film EditingAnne Bauchens for North West Mounted PoliceHal C. Kern for Rebecca • James E. Newcom for The Doctor Takes a Wife • Warren Low for The Letter • Sherman Todd for The Grapes of Wrath
Best Sound RecordingDouglas Shearer for Strike Up the BandJohn Aalberg for The Grapes of Wrath • Bernard B. Brown for Spring Parade • Thomas T. Moulton for Too Many Husbands • Charles L. Lootens for Behind the News • Elmer A. Raguse for Captain Caution • Loren L. Ryder for North West Mounted Police • Nathan Levinson for The Sea Hawk
Best Special EffectsLawrence W. Butler and Jack Whitney for The Thief of BagdadRoy Seawright for Topper Returns • Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings for Dr. Cyclops • A. Arnold Gillespie and Douglas Shearer for Boom Town • Fred Sersen and Edmund H. Hansen for The Blue Bird • John P. Fulton and Bernard B. Brown for The Invisible Man Returns
Best Music (Scoring)Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, and Ned Washington for PinocchioAlfred Newman for Tin Pan Alley • Victor Young for Arise, My Love • Werner Heymann for The Road to Singapore • Louis Gruenberg for The Fight for Life
Best Music (Original Song)Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, and Ned Washington for "When You Wish Upon a Star" from PinocchioRoger Edens and Georgie Stoll for "Our Love Affair" from Strike Up the Band • Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson for "I'd Know You Anywhere" from You'll Find Out • James Monaco and Johnny Burke for "Only Forever" from Rhythm on the River • Artie Shaw and Johnny Mercer for "Love of My Life" from Second Chorus
Best Short Subject (Cartoon)The Milky WayPuss Gets the Boot • A Wild Hare
Best Short Subject (One-reel)Quicker'n a WinkLondon Can Take It! • More About Nostradamus • Siege
Best Short Subject (Two-reel)Teddy, the Rough RiderEyes of the Navy • Service with the Colors
Best Documentary Short SubjectThe Fight for LifeInside Nazi Germany • Kukan • A New Voice
Best Documentary FeatureThe LandThe Ramparts We Watch
13 Comments
2025/01/30
11:25 UTC

0

Oh, butter my arse!

2 Comments
2025/01/30
09:06 UTC

11

Robert Mitchum on The Jimmy Durante Show (1956)

0 Comments
2025/01/30
06:19 UTC

0

EarBuds

I have been using earbuds to watch these old classics.
I have found it to be a more immersive experience .

Try it -- maybe cool for you too

1 Comment
2025/01/30
05:33 UTC

8

Where to watch WC Fields’ “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.”

I don’t see any streaming options, free or paid, but maybe I’m missing something. Seems an obvious classic to have available one way or another, although I have yet to see the whole movie—would love to if anyone has a lead.

Thanks, Paul

8 Comments
2025/01/30
02:45 UTC

65

Your Most visually beautiful classic films of all time?

155 Comments
2025/01/30
01:37 UTC

32

classic film love

Hi, I am new to the group and I love classic films. My most recent purchase of a classic movie is "The Thin Man Collection " on blu ray from Warner Archive, George Feltenstein and the folks over at Warner Archive did a fantastic job of restoring the films. It is one of my favorite movie series . So my question is what are some of your favorite classic movie series ?

12 Comments
2025/01/30
00:48 UTC

61

Favorite film by Vincente Minnelli?

74 Comments
2025/01/29
23:09 UTC

62

"Doctor X" (Warner Bros; 1932) -- Fay Wray with Lee Tracy at Laguna Beach, CA -- two different camera shots of the exact same moment -- one from the 2-color Technicolor version, and one from the alternate Black & White version -- both versions directed by Michael Curtiz.

8 Comments
2025/01/29
22:44 UTC

33

Flying Monkey costume test from The Wizard of Oz (1939)

0 Comments
2025/01/29
21:51 UTC

24

Four movie locations, then and now, 1924-1939 vs today. More details at bottom of the photo.

0 Comments
2025/01/29
21:45 UTC

0

Where can I find All That Heaven Allows (1955) dubbed in another language (not subtitled, but dubbed)

What the title says. Any other language is fine. If there is an audio file, I can work with that as well.

1 Comment
2025/01/29
17:38 UTC

Back To Top