The 'Net's Best Classic Movie Sites

Though I have an extensive list of classic movie links in my Classic Movie Homepages section, included on this page are shortcuts to some of the best and most important Classic Movie sites on the Internet today.  Take my word for it --they shouldn't be missed.

Personal Pages | Commercial Sites | References | Film Preservation Sites

My Favorite Personal Pages Dedicated to the Classics:

Greatest Films --Tim Dirks has written up some excellent summaries and reviews of classic movies that will distract you for hours if you're not careful.  His site has  information on tons of great movies and lots of other interesting features, including his personal list of the 100 Greatest Films of all time.

The Palace: Classic Film Site --another must-see classic movie site, and a very classy one at that.  But Michael Mills' site is not all show.  There are some great original articles here on topics ranging from the Blacklist and the Hollywood Ten to Screwball Comedy and Film Noir.

Judy Garland Database --I don't know of another site on the Internet that is as thorough at covering its subject matter as this site by Jim Johnson, and it's good looking too!  I can't imagine all the research that went into this, but anything and everything you ever wanted to know about the films of Judy Garland is here.  Wow!

Class Act: Those Golden Movie Musicals --another site maintained by Jim Johnson.  It has all kinds of information about the stars, songs and scores of many fabulous classic movie musicals, and though it's not the Database yet, he's getting there.

Lynn's Classic Movie Favorites --one of the up-and-coming classic movie sites on the web, Lynn's site isn't all inclusive yet, but she does a very thorough job on the stars she covers and the site looks great too.

The Ravin' Maven of Classic Film --another up-and-coming classic movie site, Julie also does a thorough job on a few classic stars and accentuates it all with some great graphic design.

Silver Screen Sirens --Doug Stickney's site is the best on the 'Net for high quality glamour shots and publicity portraits of some of Hollywood's most beautiful classic leading ladies, and he's even given me permission to use a few of them here at Reel Classics.  There's no textual elaboration on this site.  For Doug, seeing the pictures tells more about these Silver Screen Sirens than all the commentary in the world.

Commercial Classic Movie Sites:

Turner Classic Movies is my favorite source for classic movies on television and there's lots to see and do at their website too. In addition to their programming guide, you'll find features on the Star of the Month and other features of the month, not to mention trivia games, multimedia and chat rooms.  See also the TCM Europe site for information about its French, Spanish and Polish language networks.

Classic Movie Reference Sites:

The Internet Movie Database --by far and away the most invaluable free movie resource available online.  I consult it daily.  The IMDb lists cast, crew, credit and all kinds of other detailed information about (almost) every film ever made -- and it keeps track of biographical, filmographical and related information about all the people involved too.  Don't treat it as the Bible, because it is wrong on occasion, but if I could only have one free reference with me on a deserted island, this would be it.

American Film Institute Catalog --Produced in collaboration with the American Film Institute, when you are ready to pay for access to a great movie database, this is the one.  It is not cheap, but when it comes to online resources about classic American movies, the AFI Catalog is definitely the most accurate and comprehensive available, documenting all films produced in the United States from 1893 to 1970, and including source citations for its production and behind-the-scenes stories.

Library of Congress Motion Picture and Television Reading Room --The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. has a special department dedicated to movies and television which can be a fun place to visit and a great place to do research.  See this website to find out how to take advantage of what they have to offer (including how to watch films from their extensive archives).

Find A Grave --there's nothing on the web quite like this site, and it definitely seems to have found its niche.  It's a searchable index of celebrity gravesites that can tell you where your favorite classic star is buried and even show you a picture of their tombstone in some cases.  A little morbid for my taste actually, but well researched and a valuable reference for people who are into this stuff.

Important Sites about Film Preservation:

The National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress was established in 1996 to help preserve and restore America's film heritage. Did you know that more than half of the films created before 1950 NO LONGER EXIST!  The Film Preservation Board maintains an annual selection of films to be restored and protected called the National Film Registry. Many of my favorites are already on it, but many are not. It takes resources to save movies and we can't rely on the government to finance all the efforts. To help this most worthy cause, contact the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Another important preservation institution is The Film Foundation. 

The American Film Institute has information about it's film preservation efforts here: AFI Online: Film Preservation. 

Read the details on nitrate film stock in Leonard Maltin's visit to the Library of Congress film archive.

The UCLA Film Archive Preservation Page tells about film restoration and preservation efforts at the University of California at Los Angeles's Film Archive.  For information about film archives all over the world, visit the International Federation of Film Archives.

The George Eastman House maintains a vast archival film collection and also sponsors the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation.

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