They sure don’t write ‘em like that anymore. How many times have you heard someone say this? Flipping the channel to any classic movie network allows you to go back to a bygone era where men were men and women knew how to keep them in line with just one look. Gable, Crawford, Hepburn, Bogart, they all knew how to take a movie scene and turn it in to an instant classic. 1930′s actors, actresses and directors gave us many classic movies.

Who can forget 1939′s Gone With the Wind’s, Clark Gable, as Rhett Butler, frankly telling Vivien Leigh, as the spoiled Scarlet O’Hara, that he doesn’t give a damn? The first ever dance scene that included a white actress and African American actor was captured in Shirley Temple’s 1935 classic, The Little Colonel. Bill Bojangles Robinson’s stair-step routine is legendary. Controversial Mae West’s bawdy double entendres had viewers shocked, yet secretly captivated. Even Toto was a scene-stealer in 1939′s The Wizard of Oz.

Classic movie directors didn’t have access to the special effects today’s directors so often rely on, so every scene, line and look had to count and convey just the right meaning. Sir Alfred Hitchcock was a pioneer when he was the first to use the camera to mimic the viewer’s gaze. Hitchcock was an expert at framing scenes to enhance anxiety, fear and empathy. Telling a story of murder, deceit and betrayal that often ended in climactic, thrilling twists was Hitchcock’s specialty.

Anyone wishing to go back in time with a classic 1930′s movie need look no further than their favorite movie rental store, auction site or major book retailer. Streaming video is available online, but purchasing these timeless classics allows us to view them time and again without the risk of them losing their appeal.