Classic Movies You Can Stream This Weekend

By Melissa Locker
March 13, 2020
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The coronavirus is turning us all into homebodies—and for good reason. The experts say that one of the best ways to combat the spread of this virus is to stay away from others. Whether you’re “social distancing” or “self-quarantining” the results are the same—you’re home trying to stay safe and healthy. When you’re not washing your hands, trying to stay busy, sanitizing your doorknobs, or distracting yourself from touching your face (hands off!), you may find yourself turning to the TV and all those streaming movie services you pay for, but don’t normally have time to watch.
To help you wile away the hours waiting for things to get back to normal, here are some classic movies to stream this weekend:
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The African Queen, Amazon

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The combination of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is downright irresistible. John Huston directs the dynamic duo in this adventure romance as they bicker their way down the river in the hopes of striking back against the Germans.

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Some Like It Hot, Amazon

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Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis star this Billy Wilder classic. The ridiculously talented ensemble created one of the best comedies ever made.

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True Grit, Hulu

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Both the 1969 John Wayne classic and the 2010 Jeff Bridges’ remake of this classic Western are streaming on Hulu. If you are a big fan of the genre, watch both and compare the films. Want even more John Wayne? Rooster Cogburn is streaming on Amazon, pitting Wayne against Katharine Hepburn.

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Funny Face, Amazon

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When fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) sees Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), a shy bookstore employee he is instantly smitten. He also knows that she could have a career as a very successful model. He lures her to Paris, which once again proves it is the city of love.

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The Shawshank Redemption, Netflix

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When Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) enters prison, he expects austerity, brutality, and penance, but not a lifelong friendship. He finds that with Red (Morgan Freeman), making a small ray of light in a very dark place. The Oscar-nominated 1994 movie is based on a Stephen King story and is beloved by film fans around the world.

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When Harry Met Sally…, Hulu

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“I’ll have what she’s having…” Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal helped reinvent the rom-com with this charming, heart-warming, and engaging film. While Ryan and Crystal both delivered incredibly endearing performances as the uptight Sally and way-too-relaxed Harry, it was Nora Ephron’s witty, relatable script that made this an instant classic.

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First Wives Clubs, Netflix

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Hilarity ensues when Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton team up to seek revenge on their ex-husbands who tossed them over for younger women. This comedy is filled with laugh-out-loud lines and quotable moments perfect for anyone with even the most passing thought about exacting revenge on a man who has done you wrong.

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The 39 Steps, Amazon

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There is nothing like an Alfred Hitchcock movie to help wile away the hours. This 1935 classic stars Robert Donat as a regular Joe who gets caught up in a web of mystery and suspense and is considered one of the best British films of all time.

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The Stranger, Netflix

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This 1946 post-war thriller follows a U.N. war crimes investigator who hunts down a former Nazi living a quiet life in small town Connecticut. Orson Welles directs and stars in the film.

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Big Fish, Hulu

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Southerners love to tell stories and this Tim Burton directed adaptation of the beloved Daniel Wallace novel is full of some whoppers. In the film, a dying man (Albert Finney) regales his son (Billy Crudup) with some tall tales that may be more genuine than he knows.

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Charade, Amazon

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This 1963 mystery stars the charismatic Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn as a seemingly star-crossed couple who meet during a glamorous skiing holiday in the French Alps. When she returns to Paris and she discovers her husband has been murdered, she finds out her troubles are just getting started.

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Driving Miss Daisy, Netflix

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Before there was Green Book, there was this classic starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. When the elderly widow Daisy Werthan (Tandy) finds herself in need of a driver, her son (played by Dan Aykroyd) finds Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman). An unlikely friendship sprouts up as they drive through the Atlanta streets.

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In the Heat of the Night, Amazon

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Law & Order fans will definitely want to watch this classic police thriller. Sidney Poitier stars as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia police detective who gets caught up in a murder case while in Sparta, Mississippi. Rod Steiger plays the town’s police chief who quickly realizes that he has been very wrong about a few things.

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39 Steps, Amazon

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There is no reason that you can only watch this Frank Capra classic once a year. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed star in this heart-warming movie filled with important lessons about what makes life worth living. It makes excellent viewing all year long.

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My Girl, Netflix

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The precocious hypochondriac Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) and her best friend Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin) spend an idyllic summer in their small American town. As Vada grapples with some big life changes including entering young adulthood a potential new step-mother, and a crush on her writing teacher, something happens that turns her world even more upside down.

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Moonstruck, Amazon

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Cher is perfectly cast as an Italian-American woman who accidentally falls for a younger man, who just happens to be the brother of her fiancé (Nicolas Cage). The result is a funny, refreshing twist on a romantic comedy.

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The Natural, Netflix

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Robert Redford and baseball. What else do you need to know?

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Murder on the Orient Express, Amazon

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Sidney Lumet turned Agatha Christie’s mystery into a riveting classic. The combination of the clever whodunit and a stellar cast that includes Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, and Anthony Perkins, is irresistible.

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The Man in the Moon, Amazon

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Reese Witherspoon made her film debut starring in this coming-of-age classic set on a small-town farm in the 1950s. Witherspoon stars as teenage Dani whose life changes when a new family moves in next door.

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Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Netflix

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Hepburn and Tracy reunite in this intense Oscar-winning drama about love, race, and prejudice. When their daughter (Katharine Houghton) brings her new fiancé (Sidney Poitier) home to the meet the parents, they must face the reality about why they disapprove of the relationship.

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His Girl Friday, Amazon

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This 1940 Howard Hawks hit stars Cary Grant as Walter Burns, an editor who is watching his best reporter and ex-wife walk out the door. He suggests they cover one last story, and Hollywood magic ensues. American movies don’t get much more classic than this.

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Terms of Endearment, Amazon

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There’s no doubt that this film is a heartbreaker, but there’s a lot more in store for viewers than just a good cry. Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson deliver memorable performances in this family drama, helping the film win five Oscars, including Best Picture and Director.

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To Catch A Thief, Amazon

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Is there a more elegant duo than Grace Kelly and Cary Grant? Ponder that mystery as they try to solve a series of burglaries rocking the French Riviera and notorious cat burglar John Robie (Grant) sets out to clear his name—and get the girl, of course.

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By Melissa Locker