In addition to the constant release of new movies and shows, streaming platforms offer viewers access to massive libraries of older films. And with Americans across the country still staying mostly at home, there’s no better time to explore some little-known gems that relatively few have seen before.
Some of these movies are obscure because they were previously inaccessible on home video. Some are more well known, but simply under-seen. Thanks to the spread of streaming technology, they can all now be viewed from the comfort of one’s home.
To help movie fans discover these cinematic treasures, 24/7 Tempo has identified the 35 classic movies you haven’t seen to stream at home this week. These are the top-rated films on user-based websites Rotten Tomatoes and Internet Movie Database that have comparatively fewer total user ratings and can be currently watched on numerous streaming platforms.
These classic films were all released prior to 1990. Many date back to the 1940s and ’50s, covering genres as diverse as romance, Westerns, and musicals
1. A Patch of Blue (1965)
“A Patch of Blue” is about a black man and a blind white teenage girl who fall in love. Shelley Winters won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as the bitter mother of the blind teen. The film has an 89% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes — with only nine critic ratings — and a 91% rating among audiences.
2. A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
“A Raisin in the Sun,” based on a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959, looks at the life of an African American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s and its struggles with poverty and racism. Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, and Ruby Dee provided the star power for the character-driven movie that has a 94% Freshness score among Rotten Tomatoes critics. Audiences gave the film a rating of 87% on the site.
3. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd” tells the story of a country music singer’s rise to fame and its corrupting influence. Andy Griffith, who was a genial sheriff on a successful 1960s sitcom, plays the boozy country music performer. The film was not a financial success when it first came out, but it was added to the National Film Registry in 2008.
