Family Classics Movie Title List
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
The 39 Steps (1959, Dir. Ralph Thomas, Starring Kenneth More)
A
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
B
The Black Shield of Falworth (Tony Curtis) (based on the book "Men of Iron" available for free)
Boys Town*
C
The Canterville Ghost*
Captain Blood
Captains Courageous (1937)
Charge of the Light Brigade
A Christmas Carol (Reginald Owen)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* (1949) (Bing Crosby)
D
The Day the Earth Stood Still
G
Gulliver's Travels
H
Hans Christian Anderson*
Heidi (Shirley Temple)
Houdini* (1953)
J
John Paul Jones (1959) (Robert Stack)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Jungle Book (1942)
K
Kidnapped (1938)
L
Lassie Come Home (1943)
The Little Princess (Shirley Temple)
The Lost World
M
The Mark of Zorro (1940) (Tyrone Power)
Miracle on 34th Street*
Moby Dick
My Friend Flicka
Mysterious Island
N
National Velvet*
A Night to Remember
Northwest Passage
P
The Prince and the Pauper
R
Robin Hood (1938)
S
The Seahawks
Sink the Bismarck
Snowfire*
The Song of Bernadette*
T
The Time Machine (1960) (Directed George Pal)
Tobor the Great
Treasure Island (1934) (Wallace Berry and Jackie Cooper)
U
Union Pacific* (1939)
W
When Worlds Collide* (1951)
Y
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Young Tom Edison* (1940) (Mickey Rooney)
From 1962 till his sudden death in 1985 Frazier Thomas hosted "Family Classics" on Sunday afternoons on WGN-TV, Channel 9, Chicago. It became a Chicagoland tradition to watch these films on those cold, gray, dark winter Sunday afternoons until we kids knew these movies by heart. These films became old friends to any kid that grew up in the 1960?s or 1970?s in Chicagoland.
Frazier Thomas personally picked and edited the movies to be shown on Family Classics to insure they were safe for childred to watch. But this did not mean the films were dumbed down, and adults enjoyed them too. Even if you did not grow up watching Family Classics, this is an excellent list for any parent today who is looking for DVD's to rent or buy for their whole family to enjoy.
It is amazing how our memories fade over time. This list took the efforts of myself, and friends C. Bernard Doyle and the members of The Hoosier Brain Trust to put together. Titles marked with an asterisk * were suggested by readers of my old weblog. Many thanks to all who suggested titles and shared your memories.
The list may still not be complete and if you have any questions, comments, additions or deletions please post a comment.
I have searched for whatever titles I could find that are available on DVD and I listed them in my Amazon store. Note some new ones to DVD like Charge of the Light Brigade and Treasure Island.