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by Brody Wilder 03/14/2026, 8:42pm PDT |
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Since COVID hit, I've managed to watch over 3700 films released between 1928 and 1967. Now I'd like to share the very best of them with you, the sole remaining Caltrops reader. Think of it as a crash course in Old Hollywood. But first, here are some ground rules (I'm not fucking around with this):
Talkies ONLY
There are some good silent films, but ain't nobody watching those. Bringing them up here would be a waste of both of our time.
English ONLY
I don't care where you're from - Canada, the United States, Great Britain or miscellaneous - we can all agree that only English counts as a language.
Feature Length
I didn't watch no 3700 Looney Tunes. Well, not recently. We can talk about those in the comments.
Speaking of comments, DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY TO THIS POST.
I plan to make a little sub-comment for each year, starting with 1930. You can reply to that. If I catch you replying to this I will drive to your house and shoot you with the gun that I keep in my car. Don't test me.
Why am I starting with 1930?
This is more a clarification than a rule, but I'll allow it. The truth is that almost every talkie I've sen from the '20s (the other '20s) sucks dick. It's not their fault, it took people a while to get sound recording figured out. Not only did they not yet have the ability to dub audio over video shot seperately, they didn't even have boom mics! And motion picture cameras at the time were so loud they had to be encased in largely immobile soundproof booths. So what you mostly got was a static shot of people sitting around a drawing room, taking turns speaking into a teapot. On top of that, silent films rarely used a full script, meaning Hollywood hadn't developed much of a pipeline to produce their own. This caused studios to turn to plays - goddamn stage plays - and atrocious warbly high-pitched Broadway musicals for content. Not worth it.
Is there a single good talkie from the 1920s?
Yes! The Marx Brothers produced a film adaptation of their first narrative stage show, The Cocoanuts, in 1929. It's pretty great if you can put up with the scratchy audio. More anarchic and just plain funnier than their censored post-code stuff. Let's call that Best Movie #0. |
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The Best Movie of Every Year by Brody Wilder 03/14/2026, 8:42pm PDT 
The Best Movie of 1930 by Brody Wilder 03/14/2026, 8:46pm PDT
Best thread in ages NT by Gaige Grosskreutz 03/15/2026, 1:05pm PDT
Do you have a job/family NT by Mysterio 03/15/2026, 3:16am PDT
God forbid. NT by Brody Wilder 03/15/2026, 8:56am PDT
Is this Tom Chick? NT by mysterio 2 03/17/2026, 11:37pm PDT
He might honestly be the last person to read and post here. NT by Kenji Carter 03/18/2026, 8:05am PDT
The Best Movie of 1931 by Brody Wilder 03/15/2026, 3:53pm PDT
Holy cow, Caltrops is back! by Mischief Maker 03/15/2026, 4:46pm PDT
Are your motivss pure, Maker of MischIEF? NT by Tomorrow People 03/16/2026, 9:39pm PDT
Re: The Best Movie of 1931 by E. L. Koba 03/19/2026, 5:15pm PDT
Set your expectations for "early talkie" and you should have a good time. by Brody Wilder 03/19/2026, 6:25pm PDT
Dubbing is actually pretty crucial, when you think about it. by Brody Wilder 03/19/2026, 7:21pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1932 by Brody Wilder 03/16/2026, 6:15pm PDT
Keep 'em coming! NT by MM 03/16/2026, 6:34pm PDT
That's SIR Ian McKellan to you, smart guy. NT by caltrops analyzer 03/17/2026, 6:54am PDT
I gave Sir Ian's knighthood to Charles Laughton, who never got one. by I felt like he deserved it. 03/17/2026, 4:46pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1933 by Brody Wilder 03/17/2026, 4:45pm PDT
Thanks for doing these. by Ice Cream Jonsey 03/17/2026, 8:48pm PDT
Thanks for reading! NT by Brody Wilder 03/17/2026, 8:56pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1934 by Brody Wilder 03/18/2026, 1:06pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1935 by Brody Wilder 03/19/2026, 5:43pm PDT
Hitchcock by Gaige Grosskreutz 03/19/2026, 8:28pm PDT
I like Hitchcock. by Brody Wilder 03/19/2026, 9:22pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1936 by Brody Wilder 03/20/2026, 7:35pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1937 by Brody Wilder 03/21/2026, 7:30pm PDT
We need more movies with electric chairs in them. by Gaige Grosskreutz 03/22/2026, 9:50am PDT
The Best Movie of 1938 by Brody Wilder 03/22/2026, 7:33pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1939 by Brody Wilder 03/23/2026, 4:59pm PDT
I have nothing to contribute, but I love these. NT by Hangman 03/25/2026, 12:58pm PDT
Fukk yes NT by Gary 03/25/2026, 10:02pm PDT
Re: Fukk yes by PICKLES 03/26/2026, 5:47pm PDT
#Beep# NT by Hero detector 03/26/2026, 7:07pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1940 by Brody Wilder 03/26/2026, 7:25pm PDT
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! by HES BACK YOU LITTLE SHIITS! 03/26/2026, 8:47pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1941 by Brody Wilder 03/27/2026, 8:02pm PDT
I love Hammett. An actual real-life PI turned author, his writing rings true. by Mischief Maker 03/27/2026, 10:48pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1942 by Brody Wilder 03/29/2026, 8:20pm PDT
I was half-expecting you to be edgy and not pick Casablanca. NT by Mischief Maker 03/29/2026, 9:35pm PDT
I admit, I considered doing Arabian Nights with Maria Montez and Sabu. by Brody Wilder 03/29/2026, 9:57pm PDT
Wizard of Oz is still good, right? 1939? NT by Gaige Grosskreutz 03/30/2026, 8:39am PDT
Probably, but it's not my cup of tea. by Brody Wilder 03/30/2026, 4:43pm PDT
I didn't realize these weren't Oscar Best Picture winners until just now by laudablepuss 03/31/2026, 11:43am PDT
The Academy has rarely selected films of cultural, historical, or aesthetic impo by Brody Wilder 03/31/2026, 5:25pm PDT
How the hell did "Arthur" wind up being oscar-bait? by Mischief Drunkard 03/31/2026, 5:43pm PDT
Vince Gilligan said the comedic engine of Pluribus is a descendant of Bewitched. by Fullofkittens 03/30/2026, 7:26am PDT
Re: Vince Gilligan said the comedic engine of Pluribus is a descendant by Gaige Grosskreutz 03/30/2026, 8:40am PDT
Ooooh. So Bogart was 43 in Casablanca, not 37 as the script says. I'd chalked it NT by up to the smoking & booze -MM 03/31/2026, 8:53pm PDT
This was supposed to be a reply to the 1944 list. Whoops! NT by MM 03/31/2026, 8:54pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1943 by Brody Wilder 03/30/2026, 9:22pm PDT
I'm cumming!!! NT by 8======D ~ ~ ~ 03/31/2026, 4:48am PDT
The Best Movie of 1944 by Brody Wilder 03/31/2026, 8:20pm PDT
Double Indemnity is the first of these I have seen, and a top 10/15 movie for me by Ice Cream Jonsey 03/31/2026, 9:18pm PDT
Loving these! NT by The entire world 04/01/2026, 5:48am PDT
Justifies ICJ not pulling the plug on this place in 2011. NT by Keister M. Feister 04/01/2026, 7:33am PDT
The Best Movie of 1945 by Brody Wilder 04/01/2026, 7:47pm PDT
Waaaaaaaait a minute! by Mischief Maker 04/01/2026, 9:23pm PDT
Lots of people like that movie! I could be anyone. by Brody Wilder 04/02/2026, 2:49am PDT
The Best Movie of 1946 by Brody Wilder 04/05/2026, 8:36pm PDT
Brody, what makes for good film noir - to you? NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/05/2026, 9:33pm PDT
First of all, it has to hate women as much as I do. by Brody Wilder 04/05/2026, 10:46pm PDT
I'm still working on your question. Thank you for asking it. NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/08/2026, 9:42pm PDT
The Best Movie of 1947 by Brody Wilder 04/08/2026, 3:24am PDT
The Best Movie of 1948 by Brody Wilder 04/11/2026, 11:08pm PDT
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