80 Reasons Why I Love Classic Films (Part IV)

I started this blog six years ago as a way to share my passion for classic films and Old Hollywood. I used to watch dozens of classic films every month, and every time I discovered a new star I liked I would go and watch their entire filmography. But somewhere along the way, that passion dimmed down. For instance, I watched 73 classic films in 2016, and only 10 in 2020.

The other day, I found this film with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. that I had never heard of — the film is Mimi (1935), by the way — and for some reason it made me really excited about Old Hollywood again. It made me really miss the magic of that era and all the wonderful actors and actresses. And it also made me think of all the reasons why I fell in love with classic films in the first place. I came up with 80 reasons, which I thought would be fun to share. Most of them are just random little scenes or quirky little quotes, but put them together and they spell Old Hollywood to me. This is part four (the final one) of the 80 reasons why I love classic films. If you missed my previous posts, you can also check out part one, part two and part three.

61. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor tap dancing to «Moses Supposes» in Singin' in the Rain (1952). This was the scene that ignited my passion for classic films.

62. John Wayne forcing Maureen O'Hara to walk five miles with him in The Quiet Man (1952). It's only five miles. It's a good stretch of the legs. They love each other, really.

63. Audrey Hepburn getting her hair cut in Roman Holiday (1953). Cute as a button.

64. Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck's comedy bits in Stalag 17 (1953). The way I see it, Hollywood missed a golden opportunity to make a comic duo out of these two.

65. Marlon Brando's «I coulda had class...» speech in On the Waterfront (1954). You don't understand! He coulda had class, he coulda been a contender, he coulda been somebody.

66. Lucille Ball trying to make dinner in a moving trailer in The Long, Long Trailer (1954). What that a salad she was making? If so, who puts raw eggs on a salad!?

67. James Dean laughing in East of Eden (1955). Could he be any cuter?

68. James Dean crying out, «You're tearing me apart!» in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Poor baby. I just want to cuddle him.

69. Ernest Borgnine's speech at the end of Marty (1955). His friends don't like her, his mother don't like her. Well, he likes her, and that's all that matters.

70. James Dean laughing like a crazy man after striking oil on Giant (1956). He's a rich 'un. He's a rich boy. He's gonna have more money than all of them stinkin' sons of... Benedicts.

71. Dolores Gray dumping a plate of ravioli on Gregory Peck's lap in Designing Woman (1957). She wasted a perfectly good meal, but he sort of, kind of deserved it.

72. Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn fooling John McGiver in Love in the Afternoon (1957). John McGiver was terribly confused, but at least Gary Cooper found his left slipper.

73. Rock Hudson struggling to get into a car in Pillow Talk (1959). Either he was abnormally large, or the car was abnormally small.

74. Jack Lemmon as «Daphne» in Some Like It Hot (1959). He wishes he was dead.

75. Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard kissing in the rain in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1960). Sometimes people do belong to people.

76. Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin's first encounter in Come September (1961). He's very stuuu-pid, but he's loads of fun. He's cute, too.

 77. Cary Grant having a shower with his clothes on in Charade (1963). He goes through that ritual every day. The suit manufacturer recommends it.

78. Robert Redford and Natalie Wood running towards each other in This Property is Condemned (1966). Why is it that Robert Redford never gets the girl in Sydney Pollack films?

79. Spencer Tracy eating an ice-cream in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). That ice-cream was not the stuff, but it wasn't bad, you know. Not bad at all. 

80. Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn insulting each other at the end of Two For the Road (1967). She's a bitch and he's a bastard, and they're perfect for each other.

 

And this concludes my 80 reasons why I love classic films. They may not have the best or even the most well-known scenes in film history, but to me they are the definition of Old Hollywood.