Summary

Although the classic age of Hollywood film is now long - gone , its brightest stars created movies which are still being discovered by new rooter decades by and by . In 1999 , the American Film Institute curated a lean of the great motion-picture show stars of classic Hollywood picture palace . ( viaAFI ) The inclination let in 25 Man and 25 women who appeared in many of the greatest motion picture of all time .

While these principal have earned their place in history , they have such impressive bodies of work that it can often be hard to make up one’s mind where to part . Despite their coherent excellence , some thespian still have movies which stand out from the rest . They are not just their greatest movies . They are also a heavy introduction for any freshman , as they show these classic Hollywood mavin at the blossom of their might .

Hollywood ’s Golden Age may have finish long ago , but many Graeco-Roman movie actors from that period are still highly watchable even today .

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz

10Fred Astaire

Top Hat (1935)

" boldness to Cheek " has since been covered by Ella Fitzgerald , Frank Sinatra and Billie Holliday , but the original translation which appears inTop Hathas become iconic for its optic splendor .

Fred Astaire is perhaps the majuscule social dancer that Hollywood has ever roll in the hay , and his movies with Ginger Rogers are a huge reasonableness why . He and Rogers made 10 moving picture in total . Top Hatis one which has stood the test of sentence , and is just as witching for melodic lover and newcomer almost 90 year later on . Astaire plays an American tap terpsichorean who travels to Britain to star in a West End show , but he becomes more consumed by his endeavour to woo a local woman he meets .

Top Hatis a classic screwball comedy , with a series of laughable misunderstandings and a few neandertal side characters . finally , the plot of ground is n’t as important to the movie ’s enduring appeal as its joyous musical number . " Cheek to Cheek " has since been covered by Ella Fitzgerald , Frank Sinatra and Billie Holliday , but the original version which appears inTop Hathas become iconic for its optic brilliancy , with Rogers ' feathered garb and a lavish Old Hollywood set . " Top Hat , White Tie and Tails " show Astaire at his best without a mate .

Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man No Way Home and Fred Astaire dancing and smiling

The approaching Fred Astaire biopic starring Tom Holland gets an encouraging raw update from director Paul King after two years of secretiveness .

9Greta Garbo

Ninotchka (1939)

Garbo is bright as the deadpan Soviet broker , and the character evoke that she could also have been one of the enceinte drollery stars of the epoch if she had wanted to be .

Greta Garbo is one of a few movie sensation who successfully rode out the changeover from the silent era to " talkies,“and she became known for her subtlety and emotional nuance , traits which are n’t often associated with silent picture . She deliver a string of brawny spectacular performances in the 1930s , including inMata Hari , Anna KareninaandCamille , soNinotchkawas an unexpected act toward comedy .

Although it is n’t the moving-picture show which best represents the whole picture of her career , Ninotchkais arguably Garbo ’s best and most entertaining work . She stars as an wintry Soviet diplomatist whose heart begins to melt when she fill an American in Paris . Despite her dedication to her suit and her hate of the Mae West , Ninotchka unstrain her hard outside . Garbo is brilliant as the deadpan Soviet agent , and the part suggests that she could also have been one of the majuscule clowning stars of the era if she had wanted to be .

Josh Hartnett looking shocked in Fight or Flight

8Marlon Brando

The Godfather (1972)

Cast

The Godfathershowed that Brando was still a towering natural endowment long after outgrow the variety of roles which made him renowned .

Marlon Brando exploded onto the scene in the 1950s , earning Oscar nominations for Best Actor four years in a row . His most enduring movies from this era areA Streetcar Named DesireandOn the Waterfront , but neither have had the lasting impingement ofThe Godfather . Brando play Vito Corleone , the head of a prestigious Italian - American crime family who want to ensure that his family line and his legacy outlast him .

Marlon Brando is a formidable mien on screen as Vito Corleone , and the fact thatThe Godfathertakes inspiration from actual - life gangstersmakes his carrying into action even more scarey . He was already a screen caption at this compass point in his career , and he helped motivate Al Pacino and Francis Ford Coppola to stardom . The Godfathershowed that Brando was still a towering talent long after outgrow the kind of roles which made him famous .

Custom image of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant

Custom image by Debenjana Chowdhury

7Ingrid Bergman

Casablanca (1942)

It ’s practically impossible to notice any list of the greatest movies of all metre which does n’t placeCasablancasomewhere near the top .

Ingrid Bergman star opposite Humphrey Bogart inCasablanca , one of the greatest love tarradiddle in the history of cinema . While Bogart is often credited for so much of the movie ’s success , and he certainly gets the social lion ’s share ofCasablanca ’s best quotes , Bergman ’s influence on the pic ’s appeal can not be hyperbolise . She is pitch arrant as Ilsa Lund , a woman from Rick Blaine ’s past tense who walks into his nightclub in Casablanca in pauperization of help .

It ’s much insufferable to find any listing of the big movies of all time which does n’t placeCasablancasomewhere near the top . The timeless tarradiddle touch on the ecumenical human struggle of beloved versus responsibility , and serving oneself versus serve up the greater goodness . Bergman and Bogart divvy up an electric dynamicas two lovers whose prison term has sadly passed , andCasablancagives them the perfect finish to their story .

Marlon Brando

6James Stewart

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

James Stewart pull ahead his third Oscar nominating speech forIt ’s a Wonderful biography , which is something that seems unthinkable by the standards of modern Christmas picture show .

James Stewart mastered a variety show of genre , from taut thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock to romantic funniness likeThe Philadelphia Story . He also starred in one of thebest Christmas moviesof all time . It ’s a Wonderful Lifeis much more than typical holiday fluff , however . While it still delivers an uplift finish , It ’s a Wonderful Lifehas some in truth dark moments , and a inviolable moral argument that go beyond the clichés of the writing style .

James Stewart won his third Oscar nominating address forIt ’s a Wonderful sprightliness , which is something that seems unthinkable by the standards of modern Christmas movies . The plot is loosely revolutionise by Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol , but it put an original twist on the write up . Stewart roleplay a military personnel who contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve , but he is visited by a guardian angel who shows him what the populace would be like without him .

Headshot of Al Pacino

5Audrey Hepburn

Roman Holiday (1953)

Although it was a very early role in her career , Hepburn is perfectly cast as the adventuresome and uninitiate princess .

Audrey Hepburn may have delivered her most iconic performance inBreakfast at Tiffany’s , with a little help from some iconic costume designs , butRoman Holidayis her greatest movie , and it has aged much more gracefully too . papistical Holidaystars Hepburn as a rebellious princess who run away from her chaperone to savor a whirlwind romance in Rome with an American reporter played by Gregory Peck .

Roman Holidayis a must - watch for fans of romance movies . It ’s a sweet and sincere movie which believes wholeheartedly in its content , and it would take a hard heart to defy its charms . Although it was a very early character in her career , Hepburn is utterly cast as the adventuresome and uninstructed princess . She and Peck are grand company to spend prison term with , and the script gives them muckle of breathing room to let their innate spell beam through .

Headshot Of James Caan

4Cary Grant

North by Northwest (1959)

Hitchcock strings together his fast - pace legal action localize pieces with a lot of humor and a compelling mystery . This gives Grant the chance to show off many of his best trait .

North by Northwestis one ofAlfred Hitchcock ’s best movies , and it bears many of the stylemark of the great director , include a pillowcase of false individuality and a beautiful blonde - hirsute comrade . Cary Grant asterisk as an advertizing executive who gets pursued by a mysterious condemnable organization across the country when they get him lost for a undercover agent . The chase leads him all across the United States .

North by Northwestis a relentlessly entertaining thriller . Alfred Hitchcock twine together his fast - paced action set piece with a lot of humor and a compelling mystery . This gives Grant the chance to show off many of his best traits . He shares a sparkling dynamic with Eva Marie Saint , but he has plenty of moment where he has to declare the audience ’s aid by himself . The iconic prospect in which he is chased by a low - fly plane is made even more exciting by his wordless terror .

Headshot Of Robert Duvall In The 40th Anniversary and World Premiere of Apocalypse

3Bette Davis

All About Eve (1950)

In a picture show fill with great carrying into action -All About Evereceived four dissemble nomination at the Oscars - Davis is still a excision above the relief .

Bette Davis may not be as wide - beloved today as some of the other names on this tilt , but she was undoubtedly one of the fine spectacular actor of classic Hollywood cinema . She received an astonishing 10 Oscar nomination , and she even placed third in 1934 as a write - in campaigner . All About Everemains her most compelling execution , and therefore one of the greatest of the era .

All About Evestars Davis as Margo Channing , a Broadway worker who turns 40 and start to fret over the future of her calling . Margo is a legend in the theater scene , and she takes pity on a young rooter and permit her into her orbit . She presently discovers that Eve Harrington is not as uninitiate as she first seem to be . In a movie fill with great functioning -All About Evereceived four act nominations at the Oscars - Davis is still a cutting above the rest .

Cast Placeholder Image

2Humphrey Bogart

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falconset the blueprint for infinite hardboiled investigator moving-picture show which followed , but Bogart ’s nerveless , competent detective has never been bested

Humphrey Bogart built a reputation for gangster movie , but he could just as well encounter character on the other side of the police . The Maltese Falconstars Bogart as Sam Spade , a private detective who gets caught up in a complex case involving a slip statue , a femme fatale , and a pair of cold - blooded villains . Sam Spade has gone down in chronicle as one of celluloid ’s most iconic detectives , and this is largely thanks to Bogart ’s performance .

The Maltese Falconis a masterpiece of film noir . In many way , it plant the design for innumerous hardboiled investigator movies which followed , but Bogart ’s nerveless , competent detective has never been outdo . Bogart has an unparalleled ability to make every blood out of his lip memorable . He takes to the function of Sam Spade with repose , and he ’s supported by a strong mould include Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet , who both appeared alongside Bogart inCasablancaa class later .

Headshot Of Eva Marie Saint In The 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival

1Katharine Hepburn

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Bringing Up Babymay have fall flat at the box position , but it has since been re - evaluated as a classic .

Katharine Hepburn stands alone at the top of the inclination of the most Academy Awards for Best Actress . She win four in total , with her first in 1934 and her last coming in 1982 . She was n’t even nominated forBringing Up Baby , but there ’s no deny that the nut case comedy is one ofKatharine Hepburn ’s best movies . It may have fall through at the box power , but it has since been re - evaluate as a classic .

At the clip , Bringing Up Babywas met with confusion for its absurd style of comedy . The plot features pot of wild antic , pompous misunderstandings and even a resilient Panthera pardus . However , these are some of the thing which have made the movie so popular in the decades since its release . Hepburn and Cary Grant are a pleasure to watchas they equal brain and stress to outstrip one another , and the Panthera pardus is a bold way to stir thing up in their moral force .