Okay so before I go any farther or start, I just want to say that not all these films are “classics” but they do contain famous actors from classic films, or famous classic directors.

I had a lot of fun watching these films this month. It’s different from the films today. They are super long, but some of them are super good. Let’s get started.

Like last month, I’ll let you know whether to watch or skip.

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Casablanca: Rick runs his own saloon, when he comes into possession of these letters. Victor Laszlo arrives in Casablanca and the police do everything in their power to please him. When Victor comes in with Ilsa, Rick is reminded of his time in Paris, with her, the woman he loves. Rick is angry to see Ilsa again after how things ended between them, but he hears her out and they plan a way to get away together, only Rick has other plans. He puts his ego aside to make the decision Ilsa isn’t willing to make. It’s a bit of a dull film if you’re not into politics, but it’s also a very romantic film. The romance beats out the politics at times, and it’s an enjoyable film. The actors were a little dramatic at times, but for the most part were very convincing of who they were playing. Overall, it is a classic for a reason, the storytelling is amazing, and actors who made the story, really brought it to life.

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Sunset Boulevard: The film is told in the form of a flashback of the last six months of Joe Gillis’ life. Joe is a screenwriter who can’t afford to pay for his car, or where he lives. One day he stumbles into the house of famous silent movie star, Norma Desmond, and he finds his life changes. He soon finds himself living with her, where he feels trapped. She’s a faded Hollywood actress who so desperately wants to make a comeback, but nobody cares for her script. Joe finds out that Norma has fallen in love with him, but he’s fallen in love with someone else. He tries to get out of town, but Norma won’t have it. It’s a dramatic film, where the actors over dramatize everything, but it’s fun to watch. The plot is really well done, it’s engaging to the audience and the viewer can never quite tell where the film is going to go, giving it that hint of suspicion. The actors seem to fit their roles perfectly, which helps the film and make it more believable. Overall, it’s a great classic that should be seen by writers especially for the plotline.

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A Streetcar Named Desire: Blanche finds herself going to visit her sister Stella in New Orleans. What Blanche doesn’t realize is Stella’s husband, Stanley, is a complete drunk who abuses her. Blanche tries to get Stella to leave him, but she can’t fathom leaving Stanley, plus she’s going to be having his baby. Blanche falls in love with Stanley’s friend Mitch, but Stanley obviously gets in the way of this and tells Mitch about Blanche. Blanche and Stanley hate each other and so one night when they’re alone together, Blanche gets the full force of his anger. The film has a good plotline, though the film is lengthy, some scenes needed to be there to really hone in on the point of the film, while other scenes just felt redundant, and the point of the scene has already been explained. The ending was great though. It was like Stella finally opened her eyes to what’s going on around her. The actors played their roles very well, and none of them over dramatized the scenes so they all felt real and authentic, rather than fake and cheesy. Overall, it was a great film with a great message.

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Rebel Without a Cause: Jim Stark is new to town. He seems to jump from place to place due to his troublesome background. In this new town Jim strives to meet new friends and find love, which he does and a whole lot more. He befriends Plato, and makes an enemy from Buzz, and falls for Judy. The film had an interesting plotline, with Jim just wanting to find love from others that he couldn’t find with his family. The film just seemed extremely long for no reason. There were so many scenes that showed James Dean; it felt, just to show him. Some of the scenes just felt really dry and useless. The actors who played in the film did an okay job, but it didn’t really enhance the film much. Overall, it was an all right film that really isn’t worth watching once, let alone a second time.

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Some Like It Hot: Joe and Jerry are a couple of musicians who witness a massacre, they need to find a way out of Chicago but the only way they can is through an all-girl band. Pretending to be Josephine and Daphne they meet a young girl Sugar who both men fall for. [Joe]sephine tries to be with her, by being her best friend Josephine, and a young millionaire. At the same time, Osgood, a rich old man, asks Daphne for her hand in marriage. When the gang they ran away from follows them to Florida, they have to find a way out of the big mess they got themselves into. It’s a fun film with clever plot twists. The beginning starts off slow, but as the viewer gets father in, the plot takes hold and it’s hard not to watch. It’s funny, and it’s slightly romantic. Marilyn Monroe is brilliant in this film, as with all the other actors, they play their roles so well. Overall, it’s definitely a classic comedy that shouldn’t be missed!

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Funny Face: One day while working in a bookshop, a photographer and his team ambush Jo. That day the photographer, Dick Avery, sees something in Jo. He begs for her to be the new model of the fashion magazine. Reluctantly she accepts the offer as it gives her a chance to visit Paris. She soon figures out that she loves modeling, among other things. It’s a romance film wrapped in a drama, sung around a musical. There was at least singing in every scene, but it didn’t feel forced like some musicals do when they just burst into song for no reason. This film had the proper setting for the characters to start singing. The plot was cute and as much as it was predictable, it was still entertaining and worth watching. The acting was also very well done. Overall, it was a fun, relaxing film.

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Dial M for Murder: Margot is a very wealthy woman. Her husband Tony is a professional tennis player, but he quits to spend more time with her. When he finds a letter addressed from a Mark Halliday to his wife he figures there is an affair going on. Jealous, and angry Tony plans the perfect murder on his wife so he can inherit her fortune. Only the perfect murder doesn’t occur, but a spontaneous one does. The film is, if you’re not paying attention, confusing because the story seems to change as things happen. Characters find out they can’t get out of a jam, so they cause more plot twists for the viewer to try and make sense of. The viewer knows what happened, but watching the characters try and piece it together is very entertaining. The acting is a little dramatic, but overall keeps the viewer interested. At first, it doesn’t seem like it will be a good film, but once you get over that dry beginning, which is intended to set up the whole film, it really takes off and is a wonderful film. Overall, this film is a great murder mystery.

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The Day The Earth Stood Still: It’s a world just after World War II, and the Cold War is beginning where an alien spaceship lands in Washington DC. Klaatu, an alien emerges from the ship has come to Earth with his robot Gort to bring people an important message. He is shot, and escapes, pretending to live among humans. It’s an interesting film, but the viewer doesn’t find out what the message is until the very end of the film. The music in the film makes scenes five times more dramatic then they actually are. The acting is well done though, and it doesn’t come off cheesy or fake, but believable. The plot was good. Even though this film was made in 1951, it still did a great job of capturing the audience. First off, the viewer doesn’t know what is going to happen, and second the robot character was a great mystery and was very intriguing. Also the viewer just wants to know how it all will end. The ending was somewhat abrupt as if the whole story isn’t over. Overall, it was a good film and worth watching.

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Niagara: Polly and Bud are vacationing to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon when they meet Rose and George, a very strange married couple. Rose is planning to get rid of George, but things go very wrong. George gets away and is trying to flee Canada for the US. He steals a boat with Polly on it where they run out of gas causing panic. It’s a thrilling ending to find out what will happen, will they fall to their doom or will they be rescued. The plot is a little confusing at first because the viewer doesn’t understand how the two couples correlate with each other. Once the viewer finds out what is going on it’s a great plot that keeps the viewer interested. The actors and characters were good, a little on the cheesy side, but overall they worked for this film. Marilyn Monroe was okay in this film, definitely not her best film. Overall, this film was okay as a murder mystery, but it was a good dramatic film.

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Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary and her husband Guy move into a new apartment with a bad reputation. They become friends with their neighbours Roman and Minnie. As time goes on strange things start to happen. Once Rosemary finds out she is pregnant things get even weirder. She believes that everyone is slowly after her and wants her baby, She tries to get away, but she realizes that there is no one she can trust. The film has a crazy plotline, but it’s so good. The viewer has to figure out if the witches are going to take her baby. The beginning of the film starts off slow, but it sets everything up very well. As much as it is slow, it’s not boring. Every scene is entertaining and gives the viewer another clue into the films ending. The actors also do a fabulous job, which helps move things along. Mia Farrow plays Rosemary so well. Her acting is superior and truly something to watch. Overall, it is well worth the two plus hours to watch because every second is that good.

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An Affair to Remember: Nicky and Terry meet on a cruise from Europe to New York. From there the two of them become romantically involved despite both being engaged to other people. The two of them decide to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months time, but things take a turn. Terry doesn’t show up due to an unfortunate accident, and Nicky has thoughts that she married another. It isn’t until the very end of the film that Nicky finds out what has happened. The film was rather boring. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes, and scenes that were extremely long, but didn’t need to be. The acting was good though so that made up for the lack of plot. The plot was basic, nothing exciting really happened that the viewer didn’t see coming. Some scenes the viewer might not have seen coming but for the most part it felt really predictable. Overall, it was a very long romantic film that felt like it dragged on for way too long.