Here are five classic movies that everyone should see their in lifetime when the Golden Age of Hollywood was still golden and not tarnished with celebrities using sex tapes as a career launch pad, celebrities pimping out their children, starring in reality television shows or twittering their life away. Following are a selection of Hollywood movie greats starring an array of stars such as Clarke Gable, Vivien Leigh, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American drama romance and was based on Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1936. The film is set in the American South in and around the time of the Civil War and stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland. Gone with the Wind is a story about a spoiled Southern girl’s (Vivien Leigh) hopeless love for a married man played out against the backdrop of the Civil War. Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the black sheep of a wealthy Charleston family is instantly fascinated by the feisty, thoroughly self-centered Scarlett and eventually wins over her heart. Gone with the Wind won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar).
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is an American drama film made in 1941 and the first feature film directed by Orson Welles. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards but only won an award for Best Original Screenplay by Herman Mankiewicz and Welles. The film traces the life and career of multimillionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane played by Orson Welles who dies alone in his extravagant mansion speaking a last word: “Rosebud”. In an attempt to figure out the meaning of this word, a reporter tracks down the people who worked and lived with Kane and they tell their stories in a series of flashbacks that reveal much about Kane’s life.
Casablanca
Casablanca was made in 1942 and starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Michael Curtiz. Set during World War II, it focuses on a former freedom fighter turned nightclub-owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart), whose life in Casablanca is shaken up by the arrival of old flame Elsa (Ingrid Bergman) with her Resistance leader husband. In the end it comes down to the age-old love triangle where Bergman is still in love with Bogart but feels obligated to support her husband and Bogart is in the situation of being in control of the destiny of the man who is married to the woman he loves. Casablanca won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of Audrey Hepburn’s most famous movies and every woman’s style reference. Set in 1961, Audrey Hepburn stars as Holly Golightly, a gold digger who is looking for the perfect husband. Gold digging never looked this good as Audrey Hepburn was the popular muse of French couturier, Hubert Givenchy and wore his designs throughout the movie. Holly Golightly meets Paul Varjak (George Peppard) who moves into her apartment block and is a struggling young writer supported by a married woman. The central struggle of the movie is whether the two of them can accept happiness and possible poverty together, or continue their attempts to trade up and find a rich spouse.
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Academy Award winning screenplay was faithfully adapted by screenwriter Horton Foote from the 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. Released in 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird reflected the state of deep racial problems and social injustice that existed in the South and was released at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Gregory Peck stars as Atticus Finch and is a lawyer and widower, raising two small children: Scout (Mary Badham) and her older brother Jem (Phillip Alford). To Kill a Mockingbird won three Academy Awards including Best Actor.
These five movies are just a small representation of the classic movies that graced our screens from the 1930s to the 1960s. Rent out the DVD from your local video store, microwave some popcorn, make yourself comfortable and get ready to be entertained.