Why Netflix has such a terrible selection of classic movies

For its many pleasures, Netflix comes up short — way short — when it comes to classic films. If you're hunting for anything made before about 1980, prepare for disappointment. A recent search in their "classic movies" genre only turned up a scant handful real classics: several Orson Welles vehicles ("The Third Man," "The Stranger" and "Touch of Evil"), "East of Eden," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Graduate."