the 20 best films
by gwcrump01 | created - 20 Nov 2010 | updated - 02 Jan 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,134
2. Trouble in Store (1953)
Not Rated | 85 min | Comedy
Norman, a stockroom worker at a London store, aspires to be a window dresser. Pursuing his dream, he falls for a shopgirl and they uncover a robbery plot, miraculously foiling the thieves.
Director: John Paddy Carstairs | Stars: Norman Wisdom, Margaret Rutherford, Moira Lister, Derek Bond
Votes: 1,153
3. The 39 Steps (1959)
Approved | 93 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In London, a diplomat accidentally becomes involved in the death of a British agent who's after a spy ring that covets British military secrets.
Director: Ralph Thomas | Stars: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda de Banzie, Barry Jones
Votes: 2,332
4. Murder at the Gallop (1963)
Approved | 81 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When a wealthy old man appears to have been "frightened to death" by a cat, Miss Jane Marple suspects one of his four relatives, all heirs to his estate, of his murder.
Director: George Pollock | Stars: Margaret Rutherford, Stringer Davis, Robert Morley, Flora Robson
Votes: 6,801
5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 54,913 | Gross: $2.65M
6. Sergeant York (1941)
Passed | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
A Tennessee farmer and marksman is drafted in World War I, and struggles with his pacifist inclinations before becoming one of the most celebrated war heroes.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias
Votes: 19,790 | Gross: $16.40M
7. Carry on Sergeant (1958)
Approved | 84 min | Comedy, War
Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But what a motley bunch they turn out to be.
Director: Gerald Thomas | Stars: Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, William Hartnell, Shirley Eaton
Votes: 3,005
8. Sabrina (1995)
PG | 127 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An ugly duckling having undergone a remarkable change, still harbors feelings for her crush: a carefree playboy, but not before his business-focused brother has something to say about it.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Greg Kinnear, Nancy Marchand
Votes: 44,439 | Gross: $53.67M
9. One Good Cop (1991)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An NYPD Detective (Michael Keaton) and his struggle for justice, while taking care of his late partner's three little girls after he is killed in the line of duty.
Director: Heywood Gould | Stars: Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway
Votes: 4,532 | Gross: $11.28M
10. Breakdown (I) (1997)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey
Votes: 61,732 | Gross: $50.13M
11. It Could Happen to You (1994)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A police officer promises to share his lottery ticket with a waitress in lieu of a tip.
Director: Andrew Bergman | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 44,638 | Gross: $37.80M
12. A Time to Kill (1996)
R | 149 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey
Votes: 181,658 | Gross: $108.77M
13. Operation Petticoat (1959)
Approved | 124 min | Comedy, Romance, War
During World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill
Votes: 15,872 | Gross: $23.30M
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft
Votes: 283,527 | Gross: $25.00M
15. An Innocent Man (1989)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man is framed by two corrupt cops for drugs. After he gets out of prison, he comes after them.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Tom Selleck, F. Murray Abraham, Laila Robins, David Rasche
Votes: 7,648 | Gross: $20.05M
16. No Way Out (1987)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton
Votes: 45,970 | Gross: $35.51M
17. As Good as It Gets (1997)
PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Votes: 318,428 | Gross: $148.48M
18. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Alcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 31,101 | Gross: $95.46M
19. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Passed | 122 min | Drama, Western
Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr.
Votes: 19,189 | Gross: $13.33M
20. Cop Land (1997)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Votes: 106,386 | Gross: $44.89M
21. Sabrina (1954)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur, but it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden
Votes: 70,339
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