The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together

by Ty Burr

If a child can watch Barney , can’t that same child also enjoy watching Charlie Chaplin or the Marx Brothers? And as they get older, wouldn’t they grow to like screwball comedies ( His Girl Friday ), women’s weepies ( Imitation of Life ), and westerns ( The Searchers )? The answer is that they’ll follow because they’ll have learned that “old” does not necessarily mean “next channel, please.”Here is an impassioned and eminently readable guide that introduces the delights of the golden age of movies. Ty Burr has come up with a winning prescription for children brought up on Hollywood junk food. FOR THE LITTLE ONES (Ages 3 — 6): Fast-paced movies that are simple without being unsophisticated, plainspoken without being dumbed down. Singin’ in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby are perfect. FOR THE ONES IN BETWEEN (Ages 7 — 12): “Killer stories,” placing easily grasped characters in situations that start simply and then throw curveballs. The African Queen and Some Like It Hot do the job well. FOR THE OLDER ONES (Ages 13+): Burr recommends relating old movies to teens’ contemporary without Hitchcock, there could be no The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, without Brando, no Johnny Depp.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Film, Reference, Media Tie In, Education, Pop Culture

375 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2007

About the author

TY BURR is the film critic for The Boston Globe. For more than a decade he wrote about movies for Entertainment Weekly, and he has also served in the film acquisitions department of HBO. He estimates that after thirty years of serious movie-watching, he has seen on the order of 10,680 films. On a good day, he remembers 7,000 of them.

Reviews

[thefourthvine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ty Burr definitely has the knack of making movies sound appealing; we read this book out loud, and when we were finished, we had added 100 movies to our Netflix queue. So, you know, fair warning: unless you've already seen all the old movies there are to see (and he does not focus on just the classics and the well-known ones, so don't think you're in the clear just because you have a substantial black-and-white collection already), you will probably end up watching a lot of old movies if you read this book. Which is no bad thing, of course.

In addition to Burr's unholy ability to sell you on movies he loves, there's a sort of underlying not-quite-narrative that makes this book more readable and enjoyable than you might expect. In addition to providing lists of movies that might work for children of various ages (with reviews and notes of things to be worried about and quite possibly just a smidgeon of dark magic that takes over your brain), Burr also talks a lot about his own experiment of getting his children to watch old movies. This is fascinating, and never more so than in the chapter where he describes where he went wrong. Seriously, the book is worth reading just for that.

This is also a useful book if you have issues that make you hesitant to pick up a random movie and watch it. Burr tends to warn for things that might be disturbing or sad or seriously upsetting. Admittedly, this is a service he's mostly providing with children in mind, but if you just cannot cope with certain kinds of movies, then this will be a godsend for you, too.

Oh, and if you're wondering if his recommendations actually work: so far, we've seen a handful of the hundred movies we picked from his lists and descriptions, and we've enjoyed about 75% of them. (Not counting the one that he specifically said people our age shouldn't watch. He was right: we didn't like it. You can be too old for Laurel and Hardy, and if you're using this site, you are. I understand this now.)

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitter that I did not read this when it originally came out in 2007 when my kids were 6 & 9. It would have been such a great resource - ugh, so irritated! This is a perfect gift to give new parents. Really, anyone with kids under the age of 10 needs to go get this book. Seriously, go order this book right now.

The book is slightly dated in the sense that the method of watching movies has changed so dramatically in the last dozen years. He writes of finding movies on VHS or in your local video store. Yep, not such viable options for many people anymore. Of course, it's easy enough to google in order to find out where a movie is streaming and if it isn't streaming anywhere, then where it's available for purchase. You don't need this book for that.

The main benefit of this book is to provide a guideline for what old movies to show your kids, at what general age and in what order. It's so helpful to have a movie critic, film major & general movie fanatic tell you how to go about introducing your kids to the golden era of Hollywood. I mean, I love old movies and have seen a bunch but I've never consciously sat down and thought about the best way to first view them. For me it just sort of happened organically. These were movies my parents had enjoyed growing up so we'd watch them if they showed up on tv and when video stores opened, we'd rent them. Kind of like how my kids have seen a lot of 70's & 80's movies& tv from my childhood. You want to introduce your kids to the toys, games & media you enjoyed as a kid.

At this point, the golden era of Hollywood is a looooong time ago to kids today. I'll be watching an old movie from say 1933 and marvel that it was filmed 85 years ago. In 1933, 85 years ago was 1848. 85 years is a long time! My kids think something from 2000 is ancient. At this point in time, convincing a kid to watch The Thin Man or High Noon or Duck Soup takes some doing. It's like convincing them that books written more than 50 years ago can be good. But that's a whole other topic.

My kids are not kids anymore at 20 & almost 17. As Ty Burr puts it in his introduction, if you are planning to introduce old movies to a teen - well, that ship has already sailed. The horse has left the barn. Luckily, I did make my kids watch old movies with me over the years. Not to the extent this author did with his kids - I want to kidnap his oldest daughter and watch movies with her, he's so lucky to have a kid to share his passion with him. Sadly, neither of my kids developed an obsession or even a deep love for old movies. I tried! I really tried! I think I would have been more successful if I'd had this book to guide me.

I did feel somewhat gratified that my kids had seen a fair amount of the movies he lists. Not a ton, but definitely more than most of their peers have, I think. They have even liked some of them! Yay! Just last year my daughter & I sat down & watched a Thin Man movie marathon on tv. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed them. She shouldn't have been because they are great movies, still super funny & Myrna Loy & William Powell make a perfect married couple. Goals!(well, not all the boozing, but otherwise, yeah, a great relationship to aim for).

Burr points out that kids are individuals and just because his kids liked a movie or you liked it as a kid, doesn't mean your kid will like it too. Hence the need to introduce them to a wide variety of classics and then follow their interests and delve further in what they like, whether it be comedy or westerns or whatever. Just be prepared to feel sad when your kids don't gush over a movie you adore! Our son is named after Cary Grant's character in The Philadelphia Story - one of my all time favorites. I LOVE IT. So naturally we showed him the movie when he got older. Waaah, he thought it was "ok, I guess". UGH. However, over the years he has really enjoyed 12 Angry Men, Rear Window, Some Like it Hot, Charade.....well, ok, he prefers his old movies to be from the 60s-90's. That list would be a lot longer. My daughter has liked more old movies over the years - maybe because I tended to show more "girly" movies? I don't know. She still prefers YouTube and Netflix to sitting down to view a 2 hour black & white movie.

Maybe you will be lucky and create a movie-watching partner in crime out of your young child the way Ty Burr did with his oldest daughter. Good luck!

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been slowly devouring this book over the past week, and it’s fair to say I’m obsessed. Burr is a film critic for the Boston Globe and a father of two young girls. He shares with the reader his experience showing old movies to young audiences.

I fell in love with old movies in high school with stars like Errol Flynn, Fred Astaire, and Cary Grant. And while I’ve seen more black and white films than the average person, probably, this book gave me so many more to add to my list. I loved the rationale the author gave for each film, the little trivia bits and other bits. I literally snorted out loud laughing in the library reading this book.

I love the idea that classic films (pre-1960) don’t have to be a foreign land, but you can introduce children to some of these films at a young age, and then introduce others as they mature. I will definitely be buying a copy for my personal library!

[TheCultureVulture · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a reference guide but I read it front to back to familiarize myself with some films I didn't know about and to learn more about ones I've seen. This book should be on more household's bookshelves because people should be watching more classic film. TCM is a fantastic resource more people should take advantage of and if you don't get that channel I know y'all got a library card. 😀

[Kathleen]

This guy loves--loves!--Katharine Hepburn (and what's not to love?): "Hepburn stayed true. She didn't come to us, but waited, patiently and for years, for us to catch up with her" (315.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and found it useful. I think my favorite part about it was the story of his five-year-old daughter's movie-viewing birthday party. They watched Bringing Up Baby and I laughed because my daughter loved that movie as a little girl. She watched it ten or eleven times when she was seven. I found Ty Burr's idea of age-appropriate movies to be different from mine, but he still gave me some good ideas. I'm glad I read it, but I won't be buying it.


2/5/25
Why Oh why didn't I check my GoodReads before buying this? UGH!

[Jason Gacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book: if kids are exposed to classic films, they may very well end up liking--if not loving--them. Left to their own devices, they'll watch a lot of junk. Also, it's really fun to watch great films with kids and to witness the delight and joy they experience from seeing these films at such a formative age. Also, this is just a really fun book to browse. I've now seen many of these films, and many more are in my watchlist. This is a great resource, and Burr's love of classic film is infectious. Recommended!

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing read that held my attention (though I did skim some parts) and lengthened my to-watch list considerably.

[Mitch Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been thumbing through this and no book makes me want to have a kid more than this. I'll probably show them Double Indemnity at age 3.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm, affectionate, Brilliant. I have enjoyed Mr. Burrs works for years, first discovering that I liked his taste in movies in Entertainment Weekly and more recently rediscovering how much I enjoy regularly reading him once he came from behind the Boston Globe pay wall. I highly recommend Ty Burr’s Watchlist on Substack! This book is a must read for old movie lovers and parents, especially those who are both. My one regret is that I didn’t read it earlier. My boys have entered and are entering their teen years and I can see some of the hopelessness addressed in this book of trying to turn teens in to old movie connoisseur’s. Reading the book opened up my ideas of how to watch a movie with young children, it never occurred to me to read subtitles in a foreign film, even though I have done so with silents. And pausing to explain, I was taught to watch straight through. I believe the book made me a more open minded and thereby a better movie watcher, and in small ways a better parent. As an old movie lover it was a treat. Burr gave beautiful voice to things I already thought, everything he said about Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock. Gave me added insight about others, Howard Hawks, John Ford. Inspired me to seek out some I have not connected with or simply never sought out, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo. And the movies oh the movies. Between the discussions of dozens, possibly hundreds of movies and the dozens of rapid fire also mentions there is a cornucopia of old movie treasure herein. What makes it so great is that it is not another best of list, I have seen most of those movies, and am working on the rest. Incidentally if your looking for a great list see Mr. Burr’s own 50 movies to see if you want to know what your talking about. It is both unique and brilliant. Meanwhile in this book you will find so many movies, some you may want to pass on, many more you won’t. There is literally something for every taste here and since it is aimed at introducing and hopefully inspiring young viewers it offers many a perfect entry point to a star, a director, a genre, an era. It may be the most perfect movie starter kit ever. If you are new to old movies and want to see what all the fuss is about I’m going with Mr. Burrs argument that Singing in the Rain might be the best first movie anyone ever see’s. Check it out and if you think I’m crazy look in the different sections of the book and you’ll find something that peeks your interest. If your a parent same thing goes. If your fortunate enough to have found this book as your starting your parenting journey start with Singing’ in the Rain. If your children are older look through the different sections for the right place to start. I couldn’t recommend this book enough. I look forward to wandering through it periodically again and again. But for now I have a list to make.

A note on reading the book itself. The authors says up front it is not a book to read cover to cover. I first picked over the sections that peeked my interest most and then went back and read start to finish filling the gaps and re-reading parts I enjoyed enough to partake twice.

[Megan Christman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this a few times now, getting ideas and jump starts to how to introduce my passion and love of Classic Films, to the young ones in my life. It helped when I babysat twins for 4 years, and I picked it back up recently because my daughter is turning 2, and I wanted to get a jump start. I love Ty Burr’s voice and the stories peppered throughout about his daughters and their interactions with the films. It’s made me more excited than ever to start showing my little girl these films!

[Lisa Okeefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful reference for our homeschool "film as art" curriculum. It is not exhaustive, as the author does not include anything after 1969. Also, unless it has been updated since publishing in 2007, the tips for finding some of the films are outdated. I'd love a new edition that knows we have to go somewhere other than Blockbuster to find some of the less common titles. I checked this out at the library, but it is one I will definitely purchase for later reference.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: Informational, lots of recommendations, had similar suggestions at the end

Cons: only went up to movies in 1950's, even with the book being from 2007, that is still missing lots of old movies from 1960-1980.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful resource if you’re looking for where to start help your children enjoy ‘old, boring movies.’

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun and informative! Reminded me how much I loved watching old movies growing up and how I want that for my kids, too :)

[Viccc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a really good guide to old movies, I read it cover to cover as a child and picked out movies to watch like it was a catalog. I would even recommend it to adults who want to get into Hollywood classics but don't know where to start, or want to start with old movies that are a little more engaging.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to find a copy of The Best Old Movies for Families in my local library. As a Christian and a mother I disagree, however, with many of Burr’s “family” choices. He writes that “Some Like It Hot” is one of the funniest movies ever made (and it may be), but I found the effeminate, lustful males and sensuous, brainless females to be highly inappropriate entertainment in a household where we are trying to train our boys to be honorable men.

If I needed any proof that Burr and I are not on the same page I had only to read page 351 where he states that Billy Wilder’s 1963 film, Kiss Me Stupid, us “amazingly lewd and, as such, highly recommended to thirteen year old boys.” Really?

It may sound like I didn't like the book, but there was a lot in it that I really appreciated. I strongly agreed with two of Burr’s main points.

On page seven he writes,"Entertainment for children is mostly awful. Where’s the antidote to the Disneyfied pap and computer generated overstimulation that passes for children’s entertainment these days? Wouldn’t it be pleasant to sit down and watch a movie with your kids that wasn’t presold on sequels and Happy Meals? Or take them to an action movie that didn’t either freak them out or weigh down their little bones with premature irony? I guess you could lock them in the attic. A better solution might be to vary their media diet, and one way to do that is with old movies."

Secondly, classic films give children a broader understanding of what it means to be an adult. He writes, "Consider the ways that various types of human beings are portrayed in kiddie media. I’m talking about their staple diet, as purveyed by such keepers of the corporate castle as Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, etc. How are people presented? Parents are either yammering, well-intentioned fools or thin-lipped martinets who come around in the last act. And other grown-ups? They barely exist as two-dimensional objects of fear, ridicule, or blank incomprehension. A cranky next-door neighbor, a dithery old lady, a suspicious shop owner, a sexless teacher, a cretinous middle school janitor – that’s about it.

Why such paltry options? Why are kids’ movies and TV shows uninterested in adults who are interesting? Because they need to flatter the children who are watching the ads and buying the tie-in toys… The upshot is that your kids get a super-empowering media reality that revolves around them the way the ancients used to think the universe spun around the earth." (p. 30)

He then goes on to suggest a viewing of The African Queen where two adult caricatures (town drunk and prudish missionary) evolve into living, breathing human beings full of emotions, dignity and courage.

Burr may be somewhat out of touch with Christian values when it comes to film choices, but he’s right on target when he encourages parents (1) to dig around for family-friendly films that portray men and women as thinking, feeling adults, and (2) to consider classic films as great alternatives to the overly scary, or overly child-centered present-day options.

By all means, get this book if you want to catch up on the classics you may have missed. (He has a great list in the back of the book.) But don’t accept all of his suggestions for family viewing without doing your homework.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book I didn't know I was looking for but still hoped to find. The author is a movie critic for a paper in Boston and has also written for Entertainment Weeekly and other newspapers and such.

Once he had children he said he realized that the entertainment fare children are marketed was not what he wanted for his children. This book is for parents who want to expose their children to cultural icons of the past or just give them a good basis for selecting materials in their future.

The book is ordered beautifully. It begins with listing a handful of old movies to watch with your toddlers, then a section of movies to watch with your tweens (7-12-ish) and a section for the teenagers. But that's not all.

More breakdowns follow: by genre, by actor, by director with a good succinct list in the back. The organization is one of the reasons I enjoyed reading it. I could skip or skim the sections that I'm not interested in or which don't apply to our current season of family life.

Mr. Burr's background was also instructive. I knew director's added a certain stamp on each of their films, but not being a film-junkie knowing what those stamps were was just a vague idea to me. Thanks to the director section, I now have a better grasp on Capra, Hawks, Wilder, and Ford (among others) and how they are different from each other.

He gives a good argument for introducing children to Westerns. What? I hadn't thought of that. My dad loved John Wayne but I steered clear of them until I was in college. Then, to show my dad I loved him, I decided to watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. I was hooked. I watched several more westerns with the Duke but hadn't thought of sharing them with my own family. Now I have a new perspective to think on as we make our weekly family movie selection.

We have been holding a weekly family movie night where my husband and I pick the shows we show our children - shows they don't know about but we want to share with them. Some are favorites from when we were kids, some are classic tales. We were starting to run low on ideas when I happened on this book in the library.

It's a good read. If you are not up for a commentary by a movie critic about movies that hold your heart, you may not love this one. I admit, the author's distaste for "My Fair Lady" was a point where we disagree. But the beauty is he doesn't care - he states in the introduction that he probably left out your favorite movie. He says to write to him and tell him what it is or better yet, watch it with your children.

Good point.

[Larissa Borglum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sure, his writing style is good. And sure, he does make some truly witty observations. But other than that, I really wasn't all that impressed with this book. Why? There are reasons:
1) There simply aren't enough reviews for the book to be satisfying.
2) The reviews themselves are mostly fluff, focusing more on the history of the movie being reviewed or ranting about the troubles with the world today.
3) Ty Burr seems to have some bias against computer animation, or animation in general ("... It's even worse when you're a boy. Then the choice is either bad American animation or bad Japanese animation."). This is reflected upon with the fact that he only allows his book to have live-action movies. And he makes Pixar sound like this money-grubbing company that cranks out movies exclusively for kids.
4) He seems to think that all old movies are good and all new movies are bad, which is NOT TRUE BY ANY MEANS!!! Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a prime example (It actually is good, but only because it's so jaw-droppingly terrible).
5) He could stand to be much more conservative with his age ratings. There's one movie he reccomends for ages ten and up, even though there's "a brief bit of nudity".
6) The arrangement of chapters is confusing.
The Best Old Movies For Families isn't all bad. Again, I do like some of the comments the author makes.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a wonderfully fun book! Lots of great movies to expose the girls too, who already have a pretty good appreciation for B&W movies. They loved "The Kid", enjoy the 3 Stooges and really had fun with "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" (even if Burr disparages that classic).

Definitely going to show them "Bringing Up Baby" and "Meet Me In St. Louis" next. Wish more of these were available on demand as opposed to DVD rental, but hey, what can you do?

So if you love "old" movies, even if you don't have kids, get this book. There are lots of recommended movies, with plenty of interesting tidbits, to keep you entertained for hours.

If you have kids, don't really know old movies, and want to show them the classics, get this book. Burr goes to great lengths to explain why a movie might appeal to a younger generation, splitting the movies up into 3 groups - for the youngest of them, "tweeners" and teenagers. With 2 daughters of his own, this book hits particularly close to home and I am anxious as all get out to try a few more on them.

I'm marking this as "Read" but really will be returning to it often. My first purchase on my new Nook and a great reference to keep stored there.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really like watching movies. I would pick a good book any day. I would, however, be interested in exposing my avid movie-watching kids to some classics--and reserved some at the library. We will see how it goes. I agree with the author when he says that the contemporary movie culture has become stuck in a rut and uses the same tools over and over (flatulance to get a laugh?!?).

Also, I like what the author says in the introduction in regards to teaching kids that old stuff is good. We live in a disposable culture always looking for the next best thing--this can be true with books too. I would like my kids to have respect for things of quality--if it has stood the test of time, there is probably a reason. Eli has read through the illustrated classics, I hope it will give him an appetite for the real deal when he gets older.

When Hannah (my neice) was visiting this summer we checked out "What's up Doc?" I didn't know how it would go over. She laughed so hard and said it was the funniest movie she had ever seen.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a terrific book! More than just a list of movies to watch with kids, Burr gives us intelligent reviews and background on classic films that even cinemaphiles without kids in the house could appreciate. It's beautifully written and full of thoughtful commentary on what children get out of films, how a director's fingerprints show on the screen, and the value of black-and-white in a high-def full-color world. He missed a few of our family favorites (what, no True Grit?), but his recommendations are spot-on -- I would never have thought to show my daughter Born Yesterday, but she adored it.

My only quibbles are that, because the same films show up in the more than one chapter, it's a bit repetitive if read straight through (he has to give the same background each time), and I wish he would not use the hideous coinage "tweener" to describe 9-12 year olds. "Tween" is plenty bad enough!

[Terri Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I found this book in our favorite public library a few years ago. We enjoyed reading it because our family- all ages- loves and prefers old movies of all kinds. Ty Burr is spot-on in his belief that if you introduce children to good movies that they will enjoy a lifetime of quality entertainment and be more prone to choose well. This applied to our own family not just in movies but also in music, books, and food. This book has become a comfortable old friend and makes a fun read.

I recommend this book to parents for the purpose of seeking quality entertainment for the kids and I suggest starting very young. We never let ours see junky movies and books in the first place nor listen to junky music or eat junky food and as a result we have a vegan family with great taste in entertainment. This book is a great start.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this out of the library but found myself wishing I owned a copy. I like the author's conversational, anecdotal descriptions of watching the movies with his daughters, and his description of things to watch out for (for example, he might point out a scene that could be problematic for younger kids) and fun points about the actors or directors to share with the family. I also liked the personally-curated style - this is not a giant tome, but a manageable number of movies to consider for family viewing.

Some of the movies he features - some of the horror and several of the adventure movies - my boys have seen and loved. Some movies he recommends seem to me to be only for the die-hard junior movie-lover. But many others are new to me and sound interesting for family movie night. This is a great resource for browsing the "Classic Films" shelves at your library.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun little read that I just happened to stumble upon while looking for something else in the library. Many of the movies I had seen before and forgotten about, but he had so many other good suggestions for classics I had never seen (I still can't figure out why not - I mean, it's Citizen Kane, after all). The greatest part was that he separated it out by age groups - at what age it would be appropriate to show children - and a little plot diddy so you would have an idea of the storyline before renting. All in all, I came out with a list longer than my arm for my Netflix queue!

[S.N. Arly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great suggestions for old films to watch with kids, and these aren't specifically kids' films. He's done a nice job breaking things down in a variety of useful ways, including suitability by age, genre, actor, etc. He explains why he's recommending the films, and some interesting talking points.

I have many fond memories of watching old films with my dad, some good and others terrible. Arsenic and Old Lace will forever remind me of my dad. And I wanted to be able to start sharing these with my kids before they get to their teen years just in case they decide anything I like is uncool at that point.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't READ this, but I did thumb through it and added a lot of films to my "to watch" list with my film-enthusiast teenage daughter. Sections are: 1)Starter Kits: First Old Movies to Watch with Your Toddler, Tweener, or Teenager; 2)The Kong Island Theory, or Old Movies NOT to Watch with Your Children; 3-8) genres--comedy/drama/musicals/action adventure westerns/ horror sci fi fantasy/ foreign-language classics (we call these "sub-title movies" in our family and 9)The People Who Made Them. An index is included listing just the films, organized by group. Little sub-sections are included such as "The Dark Pleasures of Film Noir". Enjoy!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written summary of classic films that are appropriate for kids - wisely divided into age groupings and genres and with plenty of personal stories about the widely ranging reactions of the author's children.

Note: this book is written from a secular perspective, so if you're looking for a "safe movies to show my Christian homeschooler", this is the WRONG book for you. (Though it's still worth your time to consider how to use films with discernment & discussion to help you to raise thoughtful & gracious adults.)

[Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed old movies (and by that I mean black and white) but this book opened me up even more. On its reccomendation, we saw High Noon, with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, which was excellent. A truly gripping western, it took place in real-time, which made it all the more suspenseful. Anyway, I highly reccomend this book to everyone who is tired of the big-bugdet blockbusters of today.

[Courtney Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start for individuals or families who want to get to know classic movies, actors, and directors. Filled with essays about why classic movies are important and how to get your children to watch them. Each of the movies he recommends comes with a short synopsis, an age recommendations, a little bit of trivia, and suggestions on what you may have to explain to children before they watch it. Buying a copy of this today so I can begin marking it up as I explore these movies.