What I've learned from watching classic movies
As a young girl, I used to watch old, classic films with my grandfather. He had great taste in what movies he liked to watch and taught me the importance of these kinds of films. His preference usually ranged anywhere from 1930s films all the way until the early 1980s and that’s what I usually define as, “classic.” I remember him always saying, “Sit down. You have to see this. It’s a classic!” I never found any of these films to be boring and the eight-year-old me knew that whatever I was watching wasn’t something to be ignored.
These habits of watching films carried right into my adulthood and it has become so much more for me than simply watching an old film. I now pay closer attention to the genre, acting, cinematography, and year of the films. I’ve dug so much deeper into this area that I feel I may even want to eventually pursue a degree in it. I just think classic films are true treasures.
I often enjoy a channel called TCM or Turner Classic Movies (the long title). This TV network has been around for decades and shows classic films 24 hours a day without commercials, unless related to films or the network. I love this channel because it doesn’t just simply show the movies. It is dedicated to honoring and preserving classic films as well as educating people on their history and importance in the film industry. There are five hosts on the channel who are outstanding film historians and they introduce all of the iconic films before they’re shown. You can also find many actor profiles and interviews in between the movies. It’s such an informative channel and has played an astronomical role in my journey with classic films.
I want to touch on different genres in film history as well as why the classics are so important to today’s films. The first thing to be said is that we wouldn’t be where we are now without the progression of technology in film through the years. Each decade has brought new and refreshed ways of shooting film and that has influenced the way we view and perceive them. Without black and white films, we would probably never have moved to color. Without silent films, we would never have had the addition of audio. Each milestone in film has led to the next and we have the incredible and masterful production teams to thank for these great inventions. I really don’t want to say anything negative about today’s films because we’ve really come so far and we should be proud of where we are, but there is something truly special about the acting and plots in older films that are incomparable to now. Everything seemed more serious, suspenseful in some cases, and held your interest right until the end. There was more concentration on the acting because there weren’t special effects to distract us from the actors or plot. We really just had the stories and how they were portrayed and I find that idea fascinating.
There is also something to be said about the fact that at one time, that older form of movie-making was considered their “new,” just as if our “new” right now will be considered old in 20 years. I think because of that, all periods of film are extremely important and should never be underrated. I feel that each decade holds a certain cinematography to the point where if you look at a certain movie from that time, you can almost tell what decade it was from. These turning points are important.
The genres of classic films are my favorite subject to talk about. One spectacular area that my grandfather absolutely loved and is exclusive to classic films is “Film Noir.” This style of film covers darker crime dramas usually from the period of 1944 to 1954. These movies are often characterized as suspenseful with a mood of pessimism and they often have complicated detective plots. These are the kinds of movies where you might see actors like Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, and many other iconic names playing roles. Unfortunately, this period is just that….a period of time in film and it has an end date. This is a genre that’s not necessarily carried on into modern films which is why it’s so unique. It has its own blocked out time covering a certain span of years. We will never see anything like it again. Similar types of movies after 1954 are usually considered post film noir. This is a genre that makes classic films so special.
Fred MacMurray & Barbara Stanwyck in ‘Double Indemnity’
The next genre I want to jump into, in no particular order, is Westerns. Everyone loves a good Western now and then. These films were shot through the 1930s all the way until the 1980s in some cases. We see them in black and white in the early years, but we most notably see them in color. Westerns usually covered the period of the 1850s to end of the 19th century within the movie plots. The special idea around Western films is that it covered important periods of time in American history and told the stories of the people of that time. To some, Westerns are an acquired taste, but they’re an important genre that’s not seen so much in today’s films. I think the name that comes to mind the most with actors from this genre is John Wayne.
Next up are comedies, which is a very light hearted and funny genre and it is one that is carried well into today’s films. The purpose of a comedy is to simply make us laugh and let us escape from the seriousness of life for a while. I think we see comedies more so now than we did in the classic time period, but that doesn’t make it any less prominent back then. Everyone loves a good laugh. I think 50 years ago, comedies were done much differently. They were almost like a standup comedy show or slapstick. In today’s films, we see it more as comedic acting built into a structured plot such as romantic comedies. Both are great, but comedy has definitely evolved and changed. Some famous names for the classics are the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. We also see humor often in early silent films. The beauty of that is we really concentrate on the slapstick humor rather than what they’re saying or any modern special effects. Comedy is a must and balances out all of the pure drama and romance films we spend so much time watching.
Musicals in film, especially older films, are another great genre that is usually loved by people involved in theater or anyone who just loves a good old-fashioned musical. Basically, a musical in film is a film adaptation of a stage musical. Most often, the musical is first written and produced for the stage, and if film producers think it would eventually work well on the big screen, they rewrite it into a screenplay and then make it into a film. There are tons of musical films that range from the 1920s all the way until now. Some of the well-loved names from those old fashioned, classic musical movies are Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and even Elvis Presley. The movies were fun and brought joy to people’s lives. I think this is an area where we have grown immensely and the musical movies that are out there now are excellent to say the very least.
The next area I want to talk about is classic war films. This genre is so important to the history of America or any country being represented within the film. Just like Westerns, these films document important moments in time that we can never forget. Every decade from 1920 and on has had countless war films produced and the plots can date as far back as the 1700s. These kinds of films make us tear up and feel a lot of emotion. I believe some of the greatest acting is in the early war films and even some of the greatest effects were used which is amazing considering the limited technology of that time. Moving into the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, I think these films only got better. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a bad war film period. The plots are incredible and the actors are so gifted to be able to portray such brave and tough roles. Pick up a few early war films and then continue to watch them throughout the decades. They’re a must for any collection. You will not be disappointed.
An all-time favorite genre of mine is thrillers. Some of the best thrillers were made from the 1940s to the 1970s. One of my favorite directors and filmmakers in this genre is Alfred Hitchcock who, in my opinion, is the King of classic psychological thrillers. Covered in his filmography are classics like North by Northwest, Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, Rope, and To Catch a Thief. You can judge by the titles that they’re attention-grabbing. These movies will have your eyes locked on the screen from start to finish. That is a guarantee. Thrillers are meant to hold our attention and keep us watching. They often have exciting plots with a sense of mystery that a crime film might have. Hitchcock takes the cake for most classic thrillers. I highly recommend watching and studying all of his films.
Horror is another acquired taste, but one genre that no film collection is complete without. The purpose of horror films is to instill fear in their audiences solely for entertainment. It may evoke suspense as thrillers do, but these films are much more gruesome and often have darker subject matters with creatures that we would never see in reality. They can sometimes express apocalyptic events as well. These movies are the furthest thing from reality. The history of horror dates back to as early as 1930. Some of the most well-known horror characters were created in these early days such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). This led to countless spin-off movies in the 1940s through the 1980s. Another interesting concept in horror films is the fact that the Alfred Hitchcock films were loosely related and sometimes intertwined with the horror genre. People often get confused between the genres, but there is a difference. At the same time, there are similarities. I often put horror and thrillers on one side of the spectrum. My advice is to start with the classic films in horror and understand them before you move into today’s films. Understand the characters of Dracula and Frankenstein and then move into the spin-offs. I find it helps to work in chronological order.
The last genre that I feel is the most important to cover, although I know there are others I didn’t touch on, is a drama. I feel this is an interesting style and is often overlapped in other genres. For example, there are crime films that are also dramas. There are romance films that are dramas. There are even Westerns that are dramas. This genre was very prominent in early plays, operas, ballets, and even television. The word we usually associate with it is “tragedy.” We see a lot of drama in Shakespeare plays as well. My favorite time period for dramas in film was the 1940s and 1950s. You literally cannot beat the stories told and characters portrayed in this time frame. There is a sense of class and they are timeless and iconic. Some favorite titles of mine in this period are Casablanca, A Streetcar Named Desire, Citizen Kane, To Kill a Mockingbird, and so many more. Moving into the decades that followed, there were some great dramas like The Godfather. Just as I said with horror films, Alfred Hitchcock’s movies are also covered in the drama genre. So many films can be a drama as well as another style which makes this genre so diverse.
I tried to hit the most important styles in film that have a strong classic background and I hope this list was informative. I think the most important thing that can be said about classic films is that it’s where we came from. You watch these films and you think wow, this is our history and that is so important. We have to really understand where we came from in order to understand how we got to where we are now.
I think it is absolutely vital for film lovers to honor, admire, and learn from these early classics. You are selling yourself short if you’re only paying attention to the now. Grab yourself some of these movies, sit back, and enjoy!