Staying Fit
(Left to right) Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in "Thelma & Louise," and Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in "National Lampoon's Vacation."
MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection; Courtesy Everett Collection
Don't feel quite safe just yet to take a big road trip this summer? Take a virtual voyage with the greatest stars on earth in the best road movies ever made, from the flick that cheered America in the Great Depression (It Happened One Night) to 2019's Oscar (and AARP Movies for Grownups) best picture winner Green Book. See America from the comfort of your couch all summer long — no turn signals required!
It Happened One Night (1934)
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Originally titled Night Bus, Frank Capra's snappy comedy about an unemployed reporter (Clark Gable) and a spoiled runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert) on the road to New York swept the five top Oscars and influenced every romantic comedy ever since. Nobody could top Clark's hitchhiking lesson — except Colbert, who summons an instant ride by flashing her gams.
Watch it now: Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
In this Preston Sturges satire, a Hollywood director (Joel McCrea, who shares top billing with Veronica Lake) sick of making silly comedies like Hey-Hey in the Hayloft, decides to make a Grapes of Wrath-like serious picture called O Brother, Where Art Thou? (which inspired the Coen brothers film title). To experience the downtrodden life, he travels the U.S. disguised as an indigent soul.
Watch it now: Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu
Easy Rider (1969)
In the role that made him a star, Jack Nicholson hops on a chopped-out motorbike with hippies Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on their epic, doomed trip from L.A. to New Orleans for Mardi Gras (filmed during the real Mardi Gras). A total mess of a film, but its open-road counterculture spirit hit it big. When it made a zillion dollars, Fonda said the movie execs who doubted it “went from shaking their heads in incomprehension to nodding their heads in incomprehension.” But viewers understood, and remember.
Watch it now: Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu
RELATED: Want to keep the Sixties vibe rolling? Check out our Best Movies of the 1960s.
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
The movie that launched the career of John Hughes (Home Alone) started as a classic National Lampoon story that began, “If Dad hadn't shot Walt Disney in the leg, it would have been our best vacation ever.” In his greatest deadpan performance, Chevy Chase is Chicago's Mr. Griswold, who takes his clan to California's Walley World in an unlucky car trip every survivor of the 1950s or ‘60s can relate to.
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