Someone I know doesn't care for old movies mostly (he hasn't said yet how old is "old").
I want to recommend an old one to him based on the fact that he did see and enjoy TWELVE ANGRY MEN (1957) and CITIZEN KANE (1941).
I've never seen the former, and am stumped to recommend anything quite like the latter, except perhaps TOUCH OF EVIL (which is as creative as KANE but not nearly the same in subject matter, to my mind).
Any help from the hive mind that are the Kendalloids?
The line up. And the marlowe stuff. Kiss me deadly ralph meeker etc. Double indemnity. Somebody up there likes me. Paul newman. The set up. Robert ryan
No reason except these were recommended to me by wiser older film buffs and i loved em.
Well 1, i make it a rule never to recommend unwatchable shit, and 2, those on my list so far are widely regarded as mini-classics and decent albeit maybe not quite the same classic level as the two you mention.
I've run into people who "refuse" to watch black-and-white films because "they're unrealistic".
I had to shame one into watching my selection because I had watched his. I showed him "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". He totally got into it and forgot it wasn't color.
That's what the modern generation is like nowadays!
Other old ones I'd recommend:
"The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937) -- Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, David Niven & Douglas Fairbanks Jr. This is the best ever version of the tale of a British visitor who is an identical look-alike of the soon-to-be king. In fact, he's a relative (bastard, yes). Brilliant performances, lots of swash being buckled, fantastic production values, a brilliant score (by Alfred Newman) and the beauty of Madeleine Carroll make this film a treasure time and time again.
"The Uninvited" (1944) - Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp & Gail Russell. Wonderful ghost story set on Britain's Cornish coast. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey are brother and sister who buy an old house and discover it has ghosts. Gail Russell's first film. A wonderful story, beautifully told. And then there is Victor Young's score and "Stella By Starlight" (lyrics came later than film).
"The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942) - Joseph Cotton, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt & Agnes Moorehead. Moody, intense and, for me, more involving Orson Welles production than "Citizen Kane". Troubled family falls on hard times but won't give up snobbery.
“12 Angry Men” and “Citizen Kane” both have a fairly unique timeless quality in that the psychology of the characters is always front and foremost in their respective narratives – with dialogue that has not dated for the most part, etc. Perhaps films that are driven by character more than genre-incidents (or are penetrating character studies in one way or another) might work for him:
Repulsion The Ox-Bow Incident The Wages of Fear The Third Man Diabolique Wild Boys of the Road
Rather than take away Princess Points from those naughty, naughty Kendalloids who failed to give reasons why they think my friend who likes those 2 movies would like their choices.....
I'm just going to AWARD Princess Points to those who DID.
I'm a recent convert to Rififi - excellent film (and score) and highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the style of films prevalent in the mid-50s but with a gallic twist.
