<p>Oh, if Hitchcock is the subject, don’t overlook The 39 Steps just because it’s really old. It is a tautly directed thriller made while he was still in Britain. (Heck, even his silent movie Blackmail, which is also available with sound - but is worse that way - is terrific.) Of his late films, Frenzy is the best. And if you don’t like Rebecca, there’s something wrong with you. </p>
<p>BTW, if you like funny movies, here’s a short list of the best:</p>
<ol>
<li>Bringing up Baby. Maybe the funniest movie ever. (See also the terrific homage to it by Peter Bogdanovich called What’s Up Doc?) Add to this Holiday and The Philadelphia Story for 3 great comedies starring Cary Grant and Kate Hepburn.</li>
<li>Sullivan’s Travels, The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story, all written and directed by Preston Sturgess. (I’d include The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek but I think it shows that he was literally writing the movie as they shot it.)</li>
<li>It Happened One Night and You Can’t Take It With You, meaning Frank Capra comedies. </li>
<li>Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner and To Be Or Not To Be, meaning Ernst Lubitsch comedies. I’d add Trouble in Paradise and Cluny Brown but it’s hard to find a decent print of the former and the latter is unavailable in the US. Watch Ninotchka and you know why Greta Garbo was Greta Garbo. </li>
</ol>
<p>After these, you can include a ton, from Ball of Fire and The Front Page, both directed by Howard Hawks, to about anything directed by Leo McCarey, like The Awful Truth.</p>