Last year a friend of mine from work asked me what my favorite movie was — a question that is impossible to answer with just one title — so I gave her a list of inflected suggestions to pursue on Netflix. Upon review, I see I was on a kind of Preston Sturges kick, but by and large, I support my recommendations.

And I present this year-old list to you, herewith, arranged by mood.

Stage Door (1937)
If you don't come away with a better appreciation of Ginger Rogers after this picture, I will never speak to you again. [Netflix]





** The Philadelphia Story (1940)
There is nothing wrong with this movie. Best supporting performances by Virginia Weidler and Ruth Hussey. [Netflix]

** Holiday (1938)
Cary Grant acts with his face. [Netflix]

** The Women (1939)
L'amour L'amour. If you've never seen Mary Boland, see her in this. I even like Joan Crawford in this movie. [Netflix]

** The Little Foxes (1941)
Oh Dan Duryea, you're such a pig. This is probably my favorite Bette Davis movie. [Netflix]

** A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Just good, clean, weird fun with a dash of Thelma Ritter. [Netflix]

Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)
I really REALLY need to be in the mood for this one. Betty Hutton sets my teeth on edge generally, but she's kind of sweet in this. Maybe because she doesn't sing this time. [Netflix]



**The Lady Eve (1941)
Barbara Stanwyck and an heir to a beer empire. It writes itself. [Netflix]

** Ball of Fire (1941)
Not-So-Snow White and the Seven Aspergery Academics. [Netflix]

** I Love You Again (1940)
William Powell is my boyfriend. [Netflix]

**The Awful Truth (1937)
Funniest divorce ever. [Netflix]

** Gold Diggers of 1933 (uh...1933)
Again, I really need to be in the mood, but Joan Blondell is lovely. [Netflix]

** Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
"What's wrong with the way I talk?!" [Netflix]

**Swing Time (1936)
Lovely. Never ever change. [Netflix]

** Gay Divorcee (1934)
Stupid Hays Office. [Netflix]

Titanic (1953)
Spoiler: the ship runs into some trouble.

Barbara Stanwyck is fabulous and Robert Wagner is a hot, grinning fool with a wild shock of bangs. [Netflix]


**Penny Serenade (1941)
Manipulative and heart-wrenching, even though you kind of want to throttle the little girl. [Netflix]

** The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Myrna Loy is truly the best at portraying a real wife. A real stylish, classy, and gorgeous wife, but real. [Netflix]

** A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven (1946)
Technically a romantic comedy, but it makes me cry like a little girl. [Netflix]

** Dawn Patrol (1938)
Pilots lived on average 20 minutes during the Great War. That's all I have to say. [Netflix]

** Dark Victory (1939)
You'll cry just listening to Humphrey Bogart's Irish accent. [Netflix]

** Kings Row (1942)
Ronald Reagan's Hamlet. [Netflix]

** Wuthering Heights (1939)
Bleak, but less so than the book. [Netflix]

** World of Apu (1959)
Beautiful grief. [Netflix]

Black Narcissus (1947)
You will wonder why you've never heard of Kathleen Byron. [Netflix]






** Night of the Hunter (1955)
Spoiler (not): Shelly Winters winds up under water again. [Netflix]

**Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
This is the first movie that truly frightened me when I was a little girl. [Netflix]

** Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Gloria Swanson was approximately my age when she made this picture. Just saying. [Netflix]

** Sudden Fear (1952)
The star of this movie is the dictaphone. But seriously, how could Joan Crawford think a hunk of man like Jack Palance was in it for love? [Netflix]

** In a Lonely Place (1950)
Gloria Grahame is great in this picture, but she was trouble (TROUBLE)  in real life. She's also in Sudden Fear, above. [Netflix]

** Diabolique (1955)
Ohhhhh, scary. Scary scary.  You just have to accept that the "ingenue" is past quarante. [Netflix]

** M (1931)
A terrifying story beautifully told and brilliantly acted. If you really want to mess yourself up, watch this and Freaks as a double feature. [Netflix]

Oh heavens there are so many others. I've neglected the Japanese and Germans (apart from M), but I'll save them for another list. Let me know if you want more. I could do genre as well.