Ask just about any other girl my age to name her favorite actors and you'll probably be bombarded by any number of Brad Pitts, George Clooneys, Johnny Depps and Orlando Blooms.

My favorite actors? While I must admit to being a hardcore fan of Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey and Jack Nicholson, many of my favorite actors are those who starred in what have recently become my favorite movies.

No, I'm not referring to Jason Statham in "Crank," and I definitely don't mean Justin Timberlake in "Alpha Dog."

I'm talking about films like "The Maltese Falcon," "The Big Sleep," "To Have and Have Not," "Gilda," "Double Indemnity" and "Touch of Evil," to name, well, more than a few.

Humphrey Bogart. Fred MacMurray.

Glenn Ford.

And despite the grotesque figure he presents in "Touch of Evil" (or maybe because of it) even Orson Welles has earned a place in my historically misplaced heart.

Oh, and did I mention Humphrey Bogart?

I was first introduced to Bogart via his role as a fast-talking, smart-mouthed private eye in John Huston's 1941 film noir classic "The Maltese Falcon."

Formerly a fanatic of contemporary psychological thrillers and action films (honestly, who doesn't love "Die Hard" or "Silence of the Lambs"?), Bogart's acting style didn't immediately win me over.

By the time I saw Bogie paired for the first time in a feature film with Lauren Bacall in the cinematic adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel "The Big Sleep" (which I have since read and highly recommend, by the way), my feelings for the actor were nothing short of love.

My fascination with films of the 1940s and '50s, and even those of the '60s and '70s ("Chinatown" and "Dr. Strangelove," for example), is probably more academic than most people enjoy being when watching films for entertainment purposes.

When we watch contemporary movies, we take for granted the context in which they are written, filmed and released. We tend to do this because the types of events that are influential to film production are, at the time, common knowledge.

We all know about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, global warming and even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's post-"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" baby fiasco. What viewers my age don't know is the context in which films like "The Big Sleep" were produced - the "scandal" around the 40-something Bogie making the 20-year-old Bacall his fourth, yes fourth, wife shortly after the film's release.

It's finding out the inside scoop on these films - how Orson Welles was only allowed to direct "Touch of Evil" at the behest of Charlton Heston, much to the producer's chagrin - and then applying that knowledge to a second or third viewing that makes these (ahem) "old" movies so interesting.

But what's my point?

I guess my point is that you should never judge a book by - no, wait you should never judge a movie by its initial release date? Or an actor by the fact that he's deceased? (Or soon will be...sorry, Mr. Heston.)

Or even a film fanatic based on the fact that she's only 21.

Paige MacGregor is a film studies and English major at Wheaton College who interned at The Sun Chronicle during the winter break. She can be contacted at macgregor.paige@gmail.com.