DISCOVER--thirty classic 1960s feelgood movies
The 1960s was probably the last decade when feelgood movies were being made in any great quantity, or indeed actually made the audience feel good. This list is in alphabetical order.
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30 titles
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsFred MacMurrayNancy OlsonKeenan WynnA college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself.
- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsFrankie AvalonAnnette FunicelloDeborah WalleyFrankie, DeeDee, and the gang meet singing sensation Sugar Kane in a publicity stunt; they all get introduced to skydiving and get caught up in love.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyJoan BlackmanAngela LansburyAfter arriving back in Hawaii from the Army, Chad Gates (Elvis Presley) defies his parents' wishes for him to work at the family business and instead goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsDick Van DykeAnn-MargretJanet LeighA rock singer travels to a small Ohio town to make his "farewell" television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted.
- DirectorArthur H. NadelStarsElvis PresleyShelley FabaresWill HutchinsThe heir to an oil fortune trades places with a water-ski instructor at a Florida hotel to see if girls will like him for himself rather than for his father's money.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsElvis PresleyArthur O'ConnellAnne HelmA family of ragtag vagabonds sets up a makeshift home on a Florida beach after becoming marooned there, prompting an uptight local bureaucrat to attempt to evict them.
- DirectorSidney MillerStarsMary Ann MobleyJoan O'BrienNancy SinatraA college co-ed tries to balance her time writing songs and dealing with her publisher who tries to pursue her.Better known as Get Yourself a College Girl.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsTommy KirkDeborah WalleyAron KincaidA corpse has 24 hours to mastermind a good deed without leaving his crypt, to go "up there" and have his youth restored.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsSandra DeeJames DarrenCliff RobertsonA young girl discovers surfing and love (in that order) during one transitive summer.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsJames DarrenMichael CallanDeborah WalleyGidget, on vacation in Hawaii, finds a gang of lads vying for her attention, starting a chain of romantic complications when her boyfriend arrives.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsJames DarrenCindy CarolJessie Royce LandisGidget, in Rome for a holiday, misinterprets attention she receives from a famous journalist. Discovering he is "chaperoning" her at Dad's request she resumes interest in her boyfriend. Based upon characters created by Frederick Kohner.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsElvis PresleyShelley FabaresHarold J. StoneA Chicago mobster hires a rock'n'roll singer and his band to keep an eye on his daughter during Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyStella StevensJeremy SlateWhen he finds out his boss is retiring to Arizona, a sailor has to find a way to buy the Westwind, a boat that he and his father built. He is also caught between two women: insensitive club singer Robin and sweet Laurel.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsDoris DayRod TaylorArthur GodfreyAfter a series of misunderstandings, the head of an aerospace research laboratory begins to suspect that his new girlfriend is a Russian spy.
- DirectorJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsDaws ButlerDon MessickJulie BennettAs the movie opens, Spring has arrived in Jellystone Park. Just as fast as tourists arrive, Yogi is up to his usual act of stealing their picnic baskets and any other food he encounters. Ranger Smith is quite used to this by now so he is already there to stop Yogi at every almost every instance. Meanwhile, Yogi's friend Cindy has decided to confess her love to Yogi in hopes that he loves her the same way. One day Ranger Smith receives a call from the San Diego Zoo asking if they may have one of the bears from the park. At that exact moment, Yogi barges in his office demanding that the Ranger had better take down all the "Do Not Feed The Bears" signs or he would like to leave the park. The Ranger takes this opportunity to choose Yogi to be sent to the zoo. Yogi doesn't want to go and convinces another bear to take his place. So that the Ranger doesn't find out, Yogi goes into hiding without even informing Boo-Boo of his whereabouts. Cindy tries to find Yogi but stumbles upon a depressed Boo-Boo who fills her in about Yogi and the San Diego Zoo. However, Yogi is very much still at Jellystone and his food scams are working better than ever now that Ranger Smith thinks he is gone. Ranger Smith learns about a bear who calls himself "The Brown Phantom"(Yogi), and announces to the other bears in the park that whoever it is will be sent to the San Diego Zoo. Cindy hears this and in an effort to see Yogi again(whom she still thinks is at the San Diego Zoo), confesses that it was all her doing. Boo-Boo sees her off and within only moments, Yogi appears to him. Boo-Boo tells him that Cindy had herself sent to the zoo, so Yogi goes and explains to the Ranger the whole situation. The Ranger reveals that he actually sent her to the St.Louis Zoo, and at about this time Cindy, who is on a train, is told by other bears of her actually destination. They help her escape the train but she gets captured by an evil circus owner. It's up to Yogi and Boo-Boo to find and save Cindy, and safely return to Jellystone Park.
- DirectorGene NelsonStarsElvis PresleyMary Ann MobleyFran JeffriesAmerican singer Johnny Tyronne is enlisted by sinister forces to assassinate an Arab king--and falls in love with that very king's daughter.
- DirectorGene NelsonStarsElvis PresleyArthur O'ConnellGlenda FarrellAn Army officer returns to the Smoky Mountains to try to convince his kinfolk to allow the Army to build a missile site on their land. Once he gets there, he discovers that he has a look-alike cousin.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsAnn-MargretLouis JourdanRichard CrennaAn ex model, sales girl and assistant buyer for an NYC dress store lets her hair down when sent to Paris as fashion buyer.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsTommy KirkAnnette FunicelloElsa LanchesterSent to Earth to prepare for an invasion, a Martian scout lands amidst a swim party and tries to convince everyone that he really is who he says.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsTroy DonahueConnie StevensTy HardinCollege students on spring break in Palm Springs pursue romantic entanglements. Jim falls for Bunny, Biff for Amanda. Gayle poses as a student while Eric courts her. Their coach flirts with a motel owner amid her son's antics.
- DirectorMichael D. MooreStarsElvis PresleySuzanna LeighJames ShigetaRick Richards is a helicopter pilot who wants to set up a charter flying service in Hawaii -- along the way he makes some friends, including a young Hawaiian girl and her father, romances Judy Hudson, and sings a few songs.
- DirectorDon TaylorPhil KarlsonStarsFabianShelley FabaresPeter BrownFabian and Shelley Fabares are among the '60s stars surfing their way to paradise along the famous beaches on Hawaii's North Shore.
- DirectorAlan RafkinStarsFrankie AvalonDwayne HickmanDeborah WalleyIn this musical, college classmates Todd Armstrong (Frankie Avalon) and Craig Gamble (Dwayne Hickman) head out on a group ski vacation, and agree that if they're going to get girlfriends, they need to understand how women think.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsFred MacMurrayNancy OlsonKeenan WynnWhen Professor Brainard experiments further on Flubber derivatives, he gets in trouble and only his students can help.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyNancy SinatraBill BixbyPoor bookkeeping saddles stock-car driver Steve Grayson with a huge bill for back taxes which hampers his ability to continue racing competitively.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyShelley FabaresDiane McBainBand singer/race driver Mike McCoy must choose between marrying a beautiful rich girl and driving her father's car in a prestigious race.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsDoris DayJames GarnerArlene FrancisA homemaker's sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyJulie AdamsJocelyn LaneA singing rodeo rider gets hired at an expensive all-female dude ranch/beauty spa and falls for a pretty fitness trainer who's under constant threat from a gang who wants her late grandfather's cache of gold that's hidden in a ghost town.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsElvis PresleyAnn-MargretCesare DanovaA race-car driver preparing for the Grand Prix wiles his time in Las Vegas working as a waiter to pay for his new engine and soon strikes up a romance with a beautiful young woman.
- DirectorRichard BenedictStarsJames StacyWilliam Wellman Jr.Beverly AdamsTeenagers work, play and dance to rock 'n' roll at a Lake Tahoe ski lodge.Jon is not on Facebook, but can reply to comments here, at the base of this list.
Obsessed with the popular culture of the 1960s and surrounding decades, Jon Abbott has been writing about film and TV for over thirty years in around two dozen different publications, trade, populist, and specialist. He is the author of several books, including
Irwin Allen Television Productions 1964-1970,
Stephen J. Cannell Television Productions: A History of All Series and Pilots,
The Elvis Films,
Cool TV of the 1960s: Three Shows That Changed the World,
and Strange New World: Sex Films of the 1970s.
See his Amazon author's page, and his other lists on the IMDB, all under the pre-fix DISCOVER.
Thanks, Eliza! ;)