Every month the best streaming services each add various movies to their content catalogs, and while the majority of platforms focus on brand-new flicks, Prime Video is quickly growing a reputation for being the streaming home of classic movies.
And just to be clear, when I say classic movies here I’m not talking about flicks that are merely a few years old, or even ones that hit the silver screen in my lifetime. Instead, I’m referring to movies that were released in and around the Golden Era of Hollywood, these are the features that your parents (or even grandparents) may have seen at the local picture house in their youth.
So, if you can't stand movies released in black and white, then this list won’t be for you. However, if you have an appreciation for classic cinema (like I do), here are the latest classic movies added to Prime Video in September 2024.
'The Invisible Man' (1933)
Prime Video has gone especially hard on classic Universal Monster movies this month (there’s plenty more to come on this list), but one of the most revered flicks in this collection of legendary horror movies is 1933’s “The Invisible Man”. Directed by James Whale, and based on the H. G. Wells novel of the same name, it was a critical and commercial success and was eventually remade in 2020 with Elisabeth Moss.
“The Invisible Man” focuses on the eponymous character, a doctor named Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) whose research leads to him discovering the secrets of invisibility. But this scientific breakthrough comes with a pretty big side effect, it drives him mad. As the authorities struggle to track down a man they can’t see, Griffin’s fiancée (Gloria Stuart) and his former colleagues (Henry Travers and William Harrigan) devise a plan to capture him.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Dracula' (1931)
Arguably the most iconic horror story of all time, Dracula has been adapted into everything from a movie to a musical. It’s a story that has been told and retold for over a century, but Universal’s “Dracula” was the first silver-screen version of the legendary vampire story to feature full sound. It’s also renowned for further boosting the count's profile, and this adaptation turned him into the cultural icon he remains to this very day.
Bela Lugosi plays the fearsome Count Dracula here, and his portrayal of the character has become the standard by which even modern-day vampire fiction is modeled. The movie sees a solicitor named Renfield (Dwight Frye) arrive in Transylvania to attend to an urgent business matter. Warned against visiting Dracula’s castle, he persists and soon finds himself in the control of the villainous blood-sucking vampire as they make their way to London.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Stream it on Prime Video
'The Wolf Man' (1941)
Universal’s “The Wolf Man” is set to be rebooted once again (following a 2010 remake) with the latest feature about the very furry man directed by Alex Kurtzman and scheduled to hit theaters in January 2025. But before that, why not brush up on the original over on Prime Video? Much like 1931’s “Dracula” set the standard for future deceptions of vampires, much of our modern werewolf media owes its inspiration to this classic horror movie.
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to his ancestral home following the death of his father. While there he falls in love with a local antique shop owner named Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), looking for an excuse to talk to her, he purchases an ornate silver cane in her shop. That same night, he encounters a wolf attacking one of Gwen’s friends, and when Larry steps in to help comes away with a large bit on his chest. What follows is a very hairy situation for Larry as he morphs into a wolf himself.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Gambit' (1966)
Prime Video subscribers less keen on being spooked will be pleased to know it’s not just classic horror movies that have arrived on the streaming service this month. “Gambit” is an awards-nominated heist comedy that comes from director Ronald Neame, and stars Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine in the leading roles.
Harry Dean (Caine) is a career thief determined to steal a priceless piece of art from the world’s richest man, Mr. Shahbandar (Herbert Lom). To complete this one-in-a-lifetime job, he enlists the help of a showgirl, Nicole Chang (MacLaine), and constructs the perfect plan. Of course, once his scheme is put into action, things don’t quite go as planned and the crew is forced to adopt a new strategy on the fly.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Cape Fear' (1962)
Martin Scorsese’s “Cape Fear” starring Robert De Niro is a classic of 90s cinema, but did you know it was a remake? The original hit theaters some three decades early, and while it doesn’t have a leading man with quite the same gravitas as De Niro, it’s a psychological thriller that remains hugely enjoyable, and sets a standard for the genre.
The movie centers on Max Cady (Robert Mitchum), a man just released from prison after serving eight years behind bars. Rather than revel in his newfound freedom, Max has one thing on his mind, revenge. Tracking down Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck), one of the lawyers who sent him away, Max begins to torment the family man and wages a campaign of terror in the hopes of ruining his life. When the legal system fails to protect his family, Sam is forced to take matters into his own hands if he wants to be rid of Max’s presence for good.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein' (1948)
For those who like a healthy dose of comedy mixed in with their horror flicks, there's "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." The iconic slapstick duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play a pair of bumbling freight handlers on a delivery job to take the remains of Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) to a wax museum.
But something more sinister is afoot, and soon everything goes sideways as the duo unites with a slew of classic Universal monsters. "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" is a monster mash bonanza that doesn't take itself too seriously and helped establish a blueprint that countless comedy horrors would emulate in the decades since.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Coogan's Bluff' (1968)
"Coogan's Bluff" stars Clint Eastwood as Arizona deputy sheriff Walt Coogan. Coogan is sent to New York to find the escaped killer James Ringerman (Don Stroud) so he can be brought back to Arizona to face justice.
There's just one problem — Ringerman is currently incapacitated from an LSD overdose. Making matters worse, Detective Lieutenant McElroy (Lee J. Cobb) informs Coogan that he needs to get extradition papers from the New York State Supreme Court before taking Ringerman out of the state. Will Coogan manage to make it back to Arizona with his man in handcuffs? Or will his playing fast and loose with the rules get him into trouble? You'll have to watch to find out.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream it on Prime Video
