Best, most entertaining movies by decade

[Naphtali]

I prefer movies of "the code" era and barely beyond -- the best of them rely on viewer imagination rather than graphic visuals. But there are a bazillion movies of this era, and I have not viewed most of them.

Of those you have viewed -- not read about -- what are your three best? I use the word "best" and the phrase "most entertaining" interchangeably.

Today, these are mine, decade by decade.

1. 1931-1940.
Comedy -
Twentieth Century (John Barrymore, Carole Lombard) 1934.
His Girl Friday (Cary Grant, Roslind Russell) 1940.
A Slight Case of Murder (Edward G. Robinson, Allan Jenkins) 1938.

Drama -
The Thin Man (William Powell, Myrna Loy) 1934.
The Prince and the Pauper (Errol Flynn, Claude Rains) 1937.
The Sea Hawk (Errol Flynn, Flora Robson) 1940.

Western -
The Westerner (Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan) 1940.
Northwest Passage (Spencer Tracy, Robert Young) 1940.
Stagecoach (John Wayne, Claire Trevor) 1939.
***
2. 1941-1950.
Comedy -
The Lady Eve (Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck) 1941.
The Palm Beach Story (Claudette Colbert, Joel McRea) 1942.
The Talk of the Town (Cary Grant, Ronald Colman) 1942.

Drama -
The Third Man (Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles) 1949.
The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor) 1941.
The Search (Montgomery Clift, Aline MacMahon) 1948.

Western -
Red River (John Wayne, Montgomery Clift) 1948.
My Darling Clementine (Henry Fonda, Victor Mature) 1946.
The Spoilers (John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich) 1942.
***
3. 1951-1960.
Comedy -
The Lavender Hill Mob (Alec Guiness, Stanley Holloway) 1951.
The Ladykillers (Alec Guiness, Katie Johnson) 1955.
The Apartment (Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine) 1960.

Drama -
The African Queen (Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn) 1951.
Friendly Persuasion (Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire) 1956.
From Here to Eternity (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift) 1953.

Western -
Vera Cruz (Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster) 1954.
The Searchers (John Wayne, Vera Miles) 1956.
Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Angie Dickinson) 1959.
***
4. 1961-1970.
Comedy -
Father Goose (Cary Grant, Leslie Caron) 1964.
The Americanization of Emily (James Garner, Julie Andrews) 1964.
One, Two, Three (James Cagney, Horst Buchholtz) 1961.

Drama -
The Manchurian Candidate (Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey) 1962.
The Train (Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield) 1965.
The Reivers (Steve McQueen, Rupert Crosse) 1969.

Western -
The Professionals (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin) 1966.
Will Penny (Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett) 1968.
Hombre (Paul Newman, Frederick March) 1967.

 

[Delia's Gone]

The Women (1939) is my favorite movie of all time, and it is hilarious. Here is a great montage:

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