A Classic Movie Primer for the Millennials in Your Life

This weekend I (Keely) had the pleasure of dining with my younger nephew and my niece. They rock (just to establish their bona fides up front).

BUT

They are as yet unschooled as to the magic of The Golden Age of Movies. This means I have failed in my duty as super-spectacular aunt, font of all nifty wisdom and cool experiences.

BUT

The good news is that ignorance is fixable and family movie nights are fun. Am I right? Yes.

SO

I gave it some thought and came up with my Top Ten Primer - the movies I'd like to share with my rocking peeps to give them a glimpse into a whole new (old) world of black and white film and a chance to expand their cultural literacy (shh, don't tell them that. They're supposed to think this is fun).

My framework for choosing these films: they are all black and white classics made in Hollywood during the 1930s and 40s. They are films *I* enjoy re-watching. A little comedy, a little drama, a little song and dance. And not one of them is Citizen Kane. There, I outed myself. In my opinion, that flick is a big yawn.

Here goes:

1. Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains 1942 - "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." And other fine quotes. Need more be said?)

2. The Philadelphia Story (Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart 1940 - sophisticated, elegant. All three actors are at the top of their games here)

3. The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor 1941 - arguably the kick off to film noir)

4. The Gay Divorcee (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers 1934 - really, almost any Fred and Ginger film would work as a great introduction to the uniqueness that is the movie musical. Add in a score by the inimitable Cole Porter and you can't go wrong)

5. Shadow of a Doubt (Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton 1943 - *shivers* Hitchcock shows us the evil that lies in wait behind the mask of normalcy. Eek!)

6. His Girl Friday (Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell 1940 - screwball comedy at a lightning fast pace)

7. The Thin Man (William Powell and Myrna Loy 1934 - my absolute favorite onscreen couple. See Lisa's blog on chemistry from a couple of weeks ago. This pair has it in spades!)

8. It Happened One Night (Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert 1934 - in which one learns about hitchhiking and how to dunk a donut)

9. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, Basil Rathbone 1938 - romance AND fencing? What's not to love?)

10. Footlight Parade (James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler 1933 - more interesting story than the better know 42nd Street)

What's on your list?