The 20 best classic movies to watch on Amazon Prime right now

12 Angry Men (1957)

In this compelling courtroom drama, a jury deliberates on whether to convict or acquit a teenager charged with murdering his father. At first, juror No. 8 (Henry Fonda) is the only one who even entertains the possibility that the boy isn’t guilty, but his earnest attempt to consider reasonable doubt inspires other jury members to question the evidence. Trapped in a confined space until they reach a unanimous consensus, skillful dialogue and staging slowly reveal the unnamed characters’ personalities and perspectives. —Danny Horn

Where to watch 12 Angry Men: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

What may seem like your standard heightened melodrama is actually an incisive social commentary in the hands of Douglas Sirk. Jane Wyman stars as Cary, a well-off widow who enters a passionate relationship with her working-class gardener, Ron (Rock Hudson), a younger man. Despite being in love, her children and others within her suburban community disapprove of the relationship because of their surface-level differences in class and age. Shot in gorgeous Technicolor, All That Heaven Allows is a feast for the eyes, and, as EW's critic calls it, a "sharply observed indictment of country-club conformity." —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch All That Heaven Allows: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Douglas Sirk

Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson

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The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Released in the aftermath of World War II, The Best Years of Our Lives is one of the very best films about American veterans' postwar experience. The film tracks the lives of three vets who return to their hometown bonded over the traumas of war. One suffers from debilitating PTSD, another turns to alcohol to cope, while the third has to readjust to everyday life after losing both of his hands. The sensitively crafted epic won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. —K.J.

Where to watch The Best Years of Our Lives: Amazon Prime Video

Director: William Wyler

Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell

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The Bishop's Wife (1947)

When bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) prays for heavenly guidance, his prayers are answered by the prompt arrival of Dudley (Cary Grant), a smooth-tongued angel who installs himself as the bishop's assistant. However, Dudley's plan to help the spiritually needy takes a turn when he develops feelings for Julia (Loretta Young), Henry's wife. A bishop/bishop's wife/angel love triangle is an unusual premise, but the film, held together by Grant's effortless charm, manages to be both a romantic comedy and a careful fable about charity. —D.H.

Where to watch The Bishop’s Wife: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Henry Koster

Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven

The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Norah (Anne Baxter) doesn't remember everything that happened last night, but she's got a splitting hangover, and her date is found dead in his apartment after getting clubbed with a fireplace poker. Convinced that she's killed a man, Norah turns to a handsome newspaper columnist (Richard Conte) for help, who falls for her without realizing she's the one the police are looking for. It's a noir film with a straightforward mystery, but Baxter is convincing as the woman in distress. As a bonus, the movie includes a nightclub performance by Nat King Cole, cooing the title song. —D.H.

Where to watch The Blue Gardenia: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Fritz Lang

Cast: Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr

Charade (1963)

A thrilling comedy romp through Paris, Charade sizzles with wit and hectic suspense. After Regina (Audrey Hepburn) learns that her estranged husband died mysteriously, she's threatened by several menacing men who demand an explanation for a cache of stolen money that she knows nothing about. The only person Regina can trust is a handsome stranger she meets by chance (a deliciously arch Cary Grant), although his name and motivations keep changing as she learns more about him. Hepburn and Grant play to their respective strengths, while the film transitions from silly to serious and back again. —D.H.

Where to watch Charade: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Stanley Donen

Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau

Funny Girl (1968)

This stage-to-screen adaptation is a showcase for Barbra Streisand, who sings, acts, and roller-skates through the film with unstoppable energy. Funny Girl is based on the life of vaudeville artist Fanny Brice, tracking the rise of her career and her rocky relationship with professional gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif). EW's critic praised Streisand's transition from the Broadway role, writing, "It’s amazing how cinematic her screen performance is, as she acts through standards like ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ rather than just belting them out." —D.H.

Where to watch Funny Girl: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: William Wyler

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford

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The General (1926)

This influential silent comedy features Buster Keaton at his screwball finest. Keaton (who also codirected, co-wrote, and produced) plays Johnnie, an engineer whose beloved train, The General, is stolen by Union spies during the Civil War. With the woman he loves onboard the train, Johnnie goes through hell and high water to reclaim The General. "Even in our anything-is-possible digital age," EW's critic writes, "it’s still a wonder to see the quicksilver Keaton executing mathematically precise, guffaw-inducing gags and pratfalls." —K.J.

Where to watch The General: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A (read the review)

Directors: Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman

Cast: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack

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Guys and Dolls (1955)

A high-class musical comedy about low-rent gamblers and seedy gangsters, Guys and Dolls transports the viewer to a colorful fantasy version of the New York underworld, where guys in flashy suits follow a single rule: no welshing on a bet. Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) is trying to earn some dough, so he bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando, in his only musical) that he can't make a date with the pious sister from the Save-a-Soul Mission (Jean Simmons). The showstopper is Brando's "Luck Be a Lady," delivered during a craps game in New York's cleanest sewer. —D.H.

Where to watch Guys and Dolls: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra

His Girl Friday (1940)

Fast-talking editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is trying to win back his best reporter/ex-wife Hildy (Rosalind Russell) while chasing the latest big story in His Girl Friday, a sharp satire of the cutthroat newspaper game. Hildy plans to ditch the business and settle down with an insurance man, but Walter knows she's got newsprint ink in her veins — he just needs to get her on a juicy beat. It's obvious from the start that Walter and Hildy are a perfect match; they're the only two people who can keep up with each other. —D.H.

Where to watch His Girl Friday: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Howard Hawks

Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Usually considered a Christmas viewing tradition, the endearing and enduring It's a Wonderful Life is a joy to watch during any season. Jimmy Stewart stars as George Bailey, a man on the brink of suicide after giving up his dreams to support his family and his community. Upon wishing that he was never born, he attracts the attention of guardian angel Clarence Odbody, who listens to George's story and shows him what the world would be like without him. Director Frank Capra injects optimism and warmth into the dark premise, expressing the always-timely message that everyone is connected and everybody matters. —D.H.

Where to watch It's a Wonderful Life: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Frank Capra

Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers

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The Little Foxes (1941)

Three scheming siblings jockey for money and power in The Little Foxes, a stirring melodrama starring Bette Davis as the villainous Regina. Their fight for control of a cotton mill consumes the family in a complex game of betrayal, blackmail, and loveless marriages, with the predatory Regina reigning above all. Davis' commanding performance garnered one of her five consecutive Oscar nominations for Best Actress, as she steals the show with an icy glare and a razor-sharp tongue. The callous climax in which Regina tells her husband how she really feels about him is devastating — and fascinating. —D.H.

Where to watch The Little Foxes: Amazon Prime Video

Director: William Wyler

Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright

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My Man Godfrey (1936)

My Man Godfrey is a gem of the screwball era, a social satire with rapid-fire witty dialogue. Carole Lombard plays Irene, the younger daughter in a family that's wealthy, though they’d rather you call them "eccentric." During a scavenger hunt, Irene discovers a "forgotten man" named Godfrey (William Powell), hires him as the new butler, and declares that he's her protégé. Godfrey takes to buttling and manages to tame the batty family — except for Irene, who keeps insisting that they love each other. —D.H.

Where to watch My Man Godfrey: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Gregory La Cava

Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick

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Penny Serenade (1941)

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play the doting parents of an adopted child in this sentimental favorite about the power of familial love. Roger and Julie fall for each other and get married, but their dream of raising a child is dashed when Julie loses their unborn child during an earthquake. Hoping to adopt a 2-year-old boy, they bring home a 5-week-old girl instead — and fall head over heels in love with her. Their efforts to prove to the orphanage and the court that they're fit parents are both comical and deeply affecting. —D.H.

Where to watch Penny Serenade: Amazon Prime Video

Director: George Stevens

Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan

Royal Wedding (1951)

Royal Wedding is a big, splashy MGM musical featuring two famous solo routines by Fred Astaire: one in which he dances with a hatrack, and a spectacular bit of trick choreography that sends him dancing across the walls and ceiling of his hotel room. The story sees a brother and sister team (Astaire and Jane Powell) take their Broadway show to London just in time for Princess Elizabeth's nuptials, where they each find a partner for singing, dancing, and romance. It's a cheerful little picture with just enough plot to get from one number to the next. —D.H.

Where to watch Royal Wedding: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Stanley Donen

Cast: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill

Stagecoach (1939)

Stagecoach was John Wayne's breakthrough film, boosting him from B-movies and straight onto the A-list. The story concerns a group of strangers brought together by circumstance, traveling on a stage bound for New Mexico through dangerous Apache territory. The mixed bag of passengers includes a sex worker, a pregnant wife, an alcoholic doctor, a stuffy banker, a shifty gambler, and Wayne as Ringo the Kid — an escaped convict who's gunning for the men who killed his brother. Wayne shines in both quiet moments and the fast-paced chase sequence when the stagecoach is attacked. It was the first of many hard-fighting everyman roles for the Duke. —D.H.

Where to watch Stagecoach: Amazon Prime Video

Director: John Ford

Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine

A Star Is Born (1937)

It's the quintessential Hollywood story: A naive girl leaves the farm to make it big as a movie star, works as a waitress at a swanky party, and catches the eye of a passing bigwig. Esther (played by a sparkling Janet Gaynor) gets her big break when she meets Norman (Fredric March), a well-known actor on the verge of a steep downturn in his own career. You may be familiar with one of this movie's three remakes, which recast the main character as a singer. Watch this version for a nostalgic tour through the mythology of vintage Tinseltown. —D.H.

Where to watch A Star Is Born: Amazon Prime Video

Director: William A. Wellman

Cast: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March

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Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

The only silent film on this list, Steamboat Bill Jr. is a true classic starring the king of deadpan physical comedy. Ernest Torrence plays a gruff steamboat captain who is astonished when his son (Buster Keaton) returns from college as a slim, mild-mannered sensitive type with a beret, a mustache, and a ukulele. Bill's attempts to toughen Bill Jr. up are continually undermined (even choosing the proper hat becomes a hilarious four-minute set piece). The cyclone sequence at the end notably includes one of Keaton's best-known stunts, in which he avoids being flattened by the falling front side of a house by standing right where an open window lands. —D.H.

Where to watch Steamboat Bill Jr: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Charles Reisner

Cast: Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron

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Stella Dallas (1937)

Stella (Barbara Stanwyck), a working-class woman aspiring to a higher station, marries a rich man (John Boles) and has a daughter, Laurel. As Stella and Stephen drift apart, she puts all her energy into raising Laurel, ultimately making great sacrifices to give her daughter a better life. Stella Dallas is a great character piece for Stanwyck, who earned her first Academy Award nomination by nailing Stella's brassy, comedic side and her grand, tear-jerking devotion to her daughter's happiness. —D.H.

Where to watch Stella Dallas: Amazon Prime Video

Director: King Vidor

Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley

Wuthering Heights (1939)

If you're going to watch an adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, we insist on the original: Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon's 1939 masterpiece of doomed romance on the wild moors. Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since childhood, but their class difference separates them until Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights with a fortune, determined to win her away from her husband. Catherine and Heathcliff are passionate, frustrating, willful creatures, so entangled with love, hate, and revenge that it consumes them — and everyone around them. —D.H.

Where to watch Wuthering Heights: Amazon Prime Video

Director: William Wyler

Cast: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, David Niven

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