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All Time Hollywood Classics

by jeroboam-26661 • Created 5 years ago • Modified 1 year ago
I'm trying to compile a definitive list of movies considered Hollywood classics in the Talkie era. I've also included films in English not produced by Hollywood but are also considered classics. I've taken information from a number of sources and have tried to use a number of qualifiers and filters.

1. The IMDB rating is not necessarily a determining factor on whether a movie is considered a classic. I think that it may indicate how well a movie has aged or is appreciated today in some respects.
2. Historical relevance is another factor taken into consideration and how influential or important a film is.
3. Award wins and nominations are another factor but even Best Picture winners are no guarantee to make it on to this list and some in fact have been excluded because they haven't stood the test of time.
4. The overall lasting popularity of a movie is a large factor in determining a classic. If a movie has not been forgotten, people are still watching, and still it's relevant today there is a good chance that it will make this list.
5. Box office numbers are taken into consideration but only to strengthen the case of a likely candidate.
6. A film has to be at least 10 years old to be considered for this list.

I'm open to suggestions or input.
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  • 530 titles
  • Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)

    1. Dodsworth

    19361h 41mApproved
    7.7 (11K)
    A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.
    DirectorWilliam WylerStarsWalter HustonRuth ChattertonPaul Lukas
  • James Cagney and George Raft in Each Dawn I Die (1939)

    2. Each Dawn I Die

    19391h 32mApproved
    7.2 (4K)
    A corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
    DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane Bryan
  • The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)

    3. The Ox-Bow Incident

    19421h 15mApproved
    8.0 (26K)
    Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel inspires an account of a lynch mob that seeks revenge for a rancher's murder.
    DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth Hughes
  • Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet, and Dennis Morgan in Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

    4. Christmas in Connecticut

    19451h 41mApproved64Metascore
    7.3 (13K)
    A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
    DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsBarbara StanwyckDennis MorganSydney Greenstreet
  • Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck in Spellbound (1945)

    5. Spellbound

    19451h 51mApproved78Metascore
    7.5 (55K)
    A psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.
    DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael Chekhov
  • The Spiral Staircase (1946)

    6. The Spiral Staircase

    19461h 23mApproved
    7.3 (12K)
    In 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with "afflictions"; one night during a thunderstorm, the mute Helen feels menaced.
    DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsDorothy McGuireGeorge BrentEthel Barrymore
  • Gregory Peck, Claude Jarman Jr., and Jane Wyman in The Yearling (1946)

    7. The Yearling

    19462h 8mApproved89Metascore
    7.2 (6.8K)
    A boy persuades his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?
    DirectorClarence BrownStarsGregory PeckJane WymanClaude Jarman Jr.
  • Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

    8. Monsieur Verdoux

    19472h 4mApproved
    7.8 (20K)
    A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
    DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison Roddan
  • Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young in The Bishop's Wife (1947)

    9. The Bishop's Wife

    19471h 49mApproved73Metascore
    7.6 (23K)
    A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
    DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid Niven
  • Shirley Temple and John Agar in Fort Apache (1948)

    10. Fort Apache

    19482h 8mApproved
    7.4 (21K)
    At Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley Temple
  • Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, and Richard Widmark in Yellow Sky (1948)

    11. Yellow Sky

    19481h 38mApproved
    7.4 (6.2K)
    A pistol-packing tomboy and her grandfather discover a band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in the neighboring ghost town.
    DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGregory PeckAnne BaxterRichard Widmark
  • Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

    12. Kind Hearts and Coronets

    19491h 46mApproved
    8.0 (41K)
    A distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
    DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie Hobson
  • Gregory Peck and Helen Westcott in The Gunfighter (1950)

    13. The Gunfighter

    19501h 25mApproved94Metascore
    7.7 (14K)
    Notorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.
    DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHelen WestcottMillard Mitchell
  • Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen (1951)

    14. The African Queen

    19511h 45mPG91Metascore
    7.7 (87K)
    In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.
    DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartKatharine HepburnRobert Morley
  • Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, and Eleanor Parker in Scaramouche (1952)

    15. Scaramouche

    19521h 55mApproved
    7.5 (6.7K)
    In France during the late 18th Century, a man sets out to avenge the death of his friend at the hands of a master swordsman.
    DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsStewart GrangerJanet LeighEleanor Parker
  • Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man (1952)

    16. The Quiet Man

    19522h 9mApproved85Metascore
    7.7 (44K)
    A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry Fitzgerald
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

    17. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

    19542h 7mG83Metascore
    7.2 (39K)
    A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
    DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul Lukas
  • Gary Cooper, Anthony Perkins, Pat Boone, Richard Eyer, Dorothy McGuire, and Samantha the Goose in Friendly Persuasion (1956)

    18. Friendly Persuasion

    19562h 17mApproved
    7.3 (8.2K)
    The pacifist attitude of a Quaker family is tested as a result of the American Civil War.
    DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperDorothy McGuireAnthony Perkins
  • Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, and Burl Ives in The Big Country (1958)

    19. The Big Country

    19582h 46mApproved61Metascore
    7.9 (23K)
    A New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.
    DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGregory PeckJean SimmonsCarroll Baker
  • Coral Browne, Peggy Cass, Fred Clark, Patric Knowles, Rosalind Russell, Roger Smith, and Forrest Tucker in Auntie Mame (1958)

    20. Auntie Mame

    19582h 23mApproved
    7.9 (13K)
    An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.
    DirectorMorton DaCostaStarsRosalind RussellForrest TuckerCoral Browne
  • Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in El Cid (1961)

    21. El Cid

    19613h 2mApproved79Metascore
    7.2 (17K)
    The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
    DirectorAnthony MannStarsCharlton HestonSophia LorenRaf Vallone
  • James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Andy Devine, Vera Miles, and Edmond O'Brien in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

    22. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

    19622h 3mApproved94Metascore
    8.1 (86K)
    A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera Miles
  • Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Carroll O'Connor, Michael Kane, William Schallert, and Bronze Star in Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

    23. Lonely Are the Brave

    19621h 47mApproved
    7.5 (11K)
    A fiercely independent cowboy gets himself locked up in prison to escape with an old friend.
    DirectorDavid MillerStarsKirk DouglasGena RowlandsWalter Matthau
  • Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in Ride the High Country (1962)

    24. Ride the High Country

    19621h 34mApproved92Metascore
    7.4 (16K)
    An ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
    DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette Hartley
  • Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Sal Mineo, Eddie Albert, Richard Beymer, Red Buttons, Jeffrey Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Rod Steiger, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka, Arletty, Mel Ferrer, Steve Forrest, Gert Fröbe, Fabian, Jean-Louis Barrault, Bourvil, Ray Danton, Irina Demick, Leo Genn, Henry Grace, John Gregson, Paul Hartmann, Werner Hinz, Curd Jürgens, Alexander Knox, Peter Lawford, Christian Marquand, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Ron Randell, Madeleine Renaud, Robert Ryan, Tommy Sands, Richard Todd, Tom Tryon, Peter van Eyck, and Stuart Whitman in The Longest Day (1962)

    25. The Longest Day

    19622h 58mG75Metascore
    7.7 (61K)
    The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
    DirectorsKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard Burton

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