I fancy myself a person who appreciates film. I have watched some of the best and worst the film industry has to offer and have managed to take something away from them with every reel. I cannot explain enough how pained I am when I hear someone either my age or otherwise mention The Breakfast Club or Cocktail as the oldest movie they have ever seen (despite my love for them). Yes, true, now that it is 2013, 80s and 90s movies have become quite old, but they are nowhere near the age of their classic predecessors. The 40s, 50s, and even 60s offered up screen gems that are the basis or even the original to todays hit movies. Part of my relationship with my mother involves watching such gems on rainy days with popcorn and a nice blanket. I enjoy them just as much, if not more so, than the latest comedy or Nicholas Sparks fueled drama. I vowed that I would find at least one suitable counterpart for all, if not most, of the major film genres that would satisfy the majoritys taste for entertainment. I believe the following list will both impress and inspire!
7. Romance - The Clock (1945)
Starring Judy Garland, this movie is about an average working girl in New York City during Fleet Week. She meets a sailor in Penn Station, whose sweet and charming persona attracts her enough to show him around NYC while he is in town for a few days. After they spend one amazing and rather laughably interesting night together, they are absolutely smitten. The rest of the movie is one spontaneous decision after another as they make the most out of the time they have before he returns to the Navy. I think this film is a nice start to this list because it is a true romance story. It is hard to find a true romance these days that doesnt have severe dramatic events and scenes that feed the backstory of our main characters. The Clock only gives us the information about our main characters that they know about each other, which is the fun part. We are in their shoes, falling in love as quickly as they do with each other. The element that I like most about this film, though, is that it supports fleeting happiness. Its hard to find an entire movie that doesnt have at least one character overthinking every move. The time the characters in The Clock do think about their decisions is so short because the outcome of their decisions is so much larger than either of them could ever hope for. A true Romeo and Juliet in Manhattan, The Clock supports all that is good about new love and spends very little time on responsibility or consequence.