in every old movie ever

Grown ups drinking big glasses of milk
otm. Especially when said glasses have a luminous glow, as if there were a lightbulb within.

carrying poisoned (?) milk up staircases

Close up of a gun in a bag/drawer, accompanied by ominous string swell.

An extremely low bodycount by today's standards.

studio system-related notices in the credits, e.g. "miss gardner appears with kind permission from metro-goldwyn-mayer studios"

"costumes by edith head"

''But that would mean that you ---''
''Uh huh!''
''And him ---''
''That's right, Johnny.''
''...I must be dreamin'!'' (faints, others catch him, laughter)

"Gorblimey, ain't you a sight for sore eyes and no mistake!"

Ah new thread, bear with me...

Bad guy with accent quoting "your marvelous poet Shakespeare."

Hahaha, that one never gets old.

"That's a load of bunk and you know it"

"You can't chisel me out a dollar, sister"

The proper stance for shooting a pistol is to stand sideways and move your other arm completely behind your back in a very exaggerated way.

"Say, Jimmy, I think your imagination's getting away from you! Sure, the Professor's a little eccentric - but who wouldn't be, stranded out here by himself for so long?"

thought of this thread the other day when i saw an old episode of mister ed where somebody says "oh, a wise guy, eh?"

*whistles* "She sure is a beaut!"

Watching Scarlet Street. Has a lot of these.

"Remember back when we were kids in the old neighborhood, Smitty?" There's always an old neighborhood.

While being arrested/dragged away/shunned: "Don't listen to him -- he's crazy, I tell ya!"

One of the cars in the car chase has random body parts fall off after hitting a pothole, speedbump, or because they took a turn too fast.

...and then if said car is wrecked, we later see the passengers fixed up with neckbraces, arms in slings, and bandage wraps on heads.

Car crash itself is pokey and unspectacular as Model A gently veers onto dirt shoulder; sound effects and quick cuts to those in car throwing arms in front of faces stand in for excitement.

Either:

1. "THE END" appears and that is the actual end of the film
2. 100s of film crew ignored in closing credits

^ excellent, though 100s of film crew, including many of the cast, are routinely ignored in the opening credits too.

oh and after the stars, one title card stuffed with all the other actors making it unreadable

Lots of actors in credits with only an initial for their first name.
Substitute that for just a last name in old French films.

"Miss (big name actress) appears courtesy of (big name movie studio)"

(Performer)'s Wardrobe by (famous designer)

Something momentous happens - the dam bursts, the President shoots the Pope, the moon explodes. Montage of politicians, generals, and people in the street establishes that this has the whole city/nation/world spellbound. Cut to a shot of a newspaper, with blaring headline and 1-2 other stories directly responding to this nightmarish development - but, oddly, the remaining columns are still filled with "Tax Board OKs County Plan" and "Aluminum Dealers Conference Kicks Off."

Lol

https://hugelolcdn.com/i/362930.png

inappropriate cigarette smoking/drinking

''Fine'' used in the way of ''swell'' or ''wonderful'': ''We have the Presidential Suite at your disposal, if it would fit your needs.'' ''Say, that'd be fine.''

(Possibly just a strange tic specific to Cary Grant.)

Leg brace on child because polio

Alcoholics

The ubiquity of maids, butlers, and other servants.

I've thought about the "fine" thing before and I reckon the equivalent of the 1930s/40s fine would be the way we now say "great" or "cool" in a casual sense.

"Oh you walked the dog already? Fine! Then let's leave…"

Yeah, that's how I read it too, it's just always so odd - a bit of the idiom that seems to have died a sudden, total death at some point.

We still have that sense in reference to art, dining, she's so, which makes it even odder that colloquially it only ever really means "just ok"

I guess you could say the word has aged like an acceptable wine

I still use it a lot. Back to the thread in question:

Trumpeter in jazz band in nightclub from below at an angle.

^well done

Women described as 'handsome'.

Women wearing hats.

And gloves, anywhere and at all times.

Anyone, arriving at anyone's home or place of business at any time of day, will be offered a drink or the opportunity to fix themselves one. The wetbar may be more or less fully stocked depending whether this is a millionaire's study or the office of the Chief of Police, but an ice bucket with tongs is invariably present.

Hot-cha! Hot-cha! Twenty-three skidoooooo!

a fistfight where everyone just slaps each other

Foreign professor in a bow tie

My friend needs information or they'll die! I must physically move myself to them to pass it on in the nick of time.