Film Noir

So I'm a bit of an old movie buff. Definitely attribute that to my mother and grandmother who sat me down in front of a black and white television screen practically before I was even out of my Barney phase. Anyway, a friend just recently asked me for some recommendations, and that request forced me to group my favorites together, and I'm pretty sure I have compiled a pretty decent list that I'd like to share with all of you! 


All of these were ranked as the American Film Institute's top 100 movies of all time (coincidentally, I just have great taste :P) and they are in themselves an homage to a different era, a classier time which one can only hope to embody in the present.

This is CUL-CHA, PEOPLE. 
Enjoy (: If you watch, or have watched, any of these please let me know what you think!

1) Singin' in the Rain: My favorite movie of all time. It's a movie about the transition from silent films to the "talkies" and what the industry had to deal with. It has everything...great songs and dances, hilarious laughs, emotional moments, handsome guys, beautiful girls, amazing costumes and sets, you can't go wrong. Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds...perfection.

2) Casablanca: The romance movie of romance movies. Nearly every line is quotable, considered one of the most perfect films ever made.

<<<I should probably add that past this point the movies are in no particular order.>>>

3) Sunset Boulevard: One of my mom's favorites, as is with the next one on the list. Drama drama drama.

4) Gone with the Wind: Three hours long, but if you can sit through it it's a really emotional movie, and it dealt with some pretty controversial issues for the time. And hey, at least it isn't 6 hours long like their first unedited take...(yikes.)

5) It's a Wonderful Life: I watch this movie every single Christmas with my family. It will never get old.

6) To Kill a Mockingbird: One of the few movies that I feel actually rivals the book it was inspired by.

7) Rear Window: Starring two of my favorites, Jimmy Stewart and the beautiful Grace Kelly. Hitchcock's best if you ask me.

8) North by North West: If Rear Window is my first favorite Hitchcock film, then North by Northwest is my second. That crop-duster scene...

9) The Thin Man (series): Some of the oldest films I've seen, and some of the most entertaining. The whimsical chemistry between Myrna Loy and William Powell translates even to this day. Not to mention their dog Asta is the cutest thing ever (almost named one of my dogs after him), and you get all of this wrapped up in an awesome and very classic film noir detective plot.

10) High Society: I just love looking at Grace Kelly. And listening to Bing Crosby.

11) White Christmas: Bing Crosby, again. So excellent. Another Christmas staple.

12) There's No Business Like Show Business: A movie very near and dear to my heart. The progression of a musical family through different shows and different lives, with Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Conor, Ethel Merman. It's a good one. Corny, but good.

13) The Philadelphia Story: Two of the most handsome men (Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant) with one of the most stunning ladies (Katherine Hepburn).

14) All About Eve: Bette Davis. "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

15) Sorry, Wrong Number: SUCH a good horror film. Even amongst today's high-packed action films and special effects, this movie from 1948 holds its' own. I highly discourage watching this movie alone.