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I think "The Graduate" is still a classic film. The issues surrounding how we make decisions about life and the coming of age theme are all still relevant today,

I saw a preview recently for a new remake of "The Women." The old version, starring Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, is one of my favorite movies. I'm sure the new one will add a lot of potty language and bedroom scenes.

The Lion in Winter (with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn)
Gone With the Wind
It's a Wonderful Life
The Wizard of Oz
White Christmas
The Bells of St. Mary's
Miracle on 34th Street (with Natalie Wood & Maureen O'Hara)

You can see that when I think classic movies I think Christmas a lot of the time! :)

Oh...The Glenn Miller Story with Jimmy Stewart...I cry everytime I watch it!!!

Other classic films include Casa Blanca, A Man for All Seasons, It Happened One Night, Citizen Cane, Stagecoach, Bringing Up Baby, and Bridge Over River Kwai.  I used all of these films for a classic American film club and my high school students really enjoyed them.  You might try looking at the American Film Institutes "100 greatest film list"  You can find it easily by searching on google.

While teaching the era of the Great Depression to my middle school students, we read the novel, Esperanza Rising in Language Arts.  In their social studies class,  I showed the video, The Grapes of Wrath, hoping they would grasp a visual image of this time period.   Much to my astonishment, my students valued the lessons taught in the movie and were able to make connections between Esperanza's struggles and the characters in The Grapes of Wrath.  I was worried that the students would be "turned off" to the black and white presentation.  But they agreed that the lack of color added to the desperation of the times.  It was a great teaching experience! 

I also think the Adventures of Robin Hood is wonderful; I taught it for a class on color in cinema.

Some of my favorite classics include Rebel without a Cause, Singing in the Rain, Bringing Up Baby, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, His Girl Friday, Oklahoma!, and some of the Rock Hudson and Doris Day romantic comedies like Send Me No Flowers and Pillow Talk.