Friday, January 1, 2010

Classic Movies for the New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope you had a happy celebration!  We enjoyed a family party at a friends' home - much food, laughter, games and fun until one am. Our kids did great, and the girl is still thrilled about blowing her party horn (note to self: throw away party horn when girl is distracted...)

2 nights ago we had friends over, and Mike mentioned that his last year's resolution had kind of fizzled.  This year he and Rachel were thinking of watching classical movies as a goal, as they hadn't seen a lot. I immediately lent them "White Christmas" to watch before this holiday season slips away.

 I LOVE old movies... which got me thinking about making a list of my top 12 list of favourite old movies. (1 old movie/month). The first is my favourite, the rest are in chronological order. There are more movies from the 70's, 80's and 90's I love - but "old" means from before I was born!
  1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - it's not Christmas if I don't watch this one, my all-time favourite.
  2. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - my husband still has not seen this in it's entirety - but we loved the Broadway musical "Wicked" which is a side story about the witches of Oz.
  3. A Philadelphia Story (1940) Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart AND Katherine Hepburn. Almost as good is the remake with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra in 1956 musical called "High Society".
  4. Casablanca (1942) Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman... tragic romance.
  5. Harvey (1950), okay I admit, Jimmy Stewart is one of my favourites. This one is great about a man with an imaginary friend!
  6. Scrooge (1951), better known as "A Christmas Carol" - this is the best version with Alastair Sim. Every Christmas my uncles would gather around the tv to watch it.
  7. Rear Window (1954), Hitchcock directed with Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart.
  8. To Catch a Thief (1955), Hitchcock again, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. I think the words "Suave" and "debonair" were created while watching this one.
  9. Rebel Without a Cause (1955), James Dean, Natalie Wood - tragic teen angst.
  10. North by Northwest (1959), my favourite Hitchcock movie with Cary Grant.
  11. The Sound of Music (1965), Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer
  12. Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood - gripping war-time thriller!
What movie would you list as a "favourite classic"?

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