Here are 13 American presidents' favorite movies of all time

With Truman, a trend begins. Many US presidents have had an affinity for Westerns. For Truman, it was "My Darling Clementine," starring Henry Fonda. Focus Features wrote that Truman had a connection to the film because he and Fonda were both “plain-speakers.”

Eisenhower loved movies, having watched about 200 in the White House's private theater during his eight years in office. While he watched a lot of movies, Westerns were his favorite and one topped Eisenhower's list: "High Noon," starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. You’ll see this flick pop up later in the list, too.

Source: The White House Museum

JFK is famously associated with Marilyn Monroe, but when it comes to actually watching movies, he preferred John Wayne and Randolph Scott, among others. Some of his favorite movies were "The Longest Day," "Roman Holiday," "Spartacus," "Bad Day at Black Rock," and "Iwo Jima."

JFK also had a huge passion for Bond. While he was suffering from back problems in 1955, he was given a copy of “Casino Royale,” Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel. While in office, he had a private screening of "Dr. No" and in a documentary called “Everything or Nothing,” JFK is quoted saying, "I wish I had had James Bond on my staff."

Source: JFK Library and Museum and Yahoo

LBJ wasn’t an avid movie fan. Oddly, the only film he seemed to watch — and watch a lot — was a 10-minute short made about him (narrated by Gregory Peck) to introduce him to the country after JFK’s assassination.

However, Entertainment Weekly also cites that LBJ enjoyed "The Searchers."

Source: The White House Museum

One of the most controversial presidents loved a biographical film about a controversial World War II hero. According to Mental Floss’ aggregation of archives, Nixon would rave about “Patton” to anyone who would listen and urge everyone to watch it.

On a very different — and musical — note, Nixon also enjoyed James Cagney’s fun turn in “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

Source: Mental Floss and The White House Museum

Like Truman, Ford was not an avid movie fan. But both Entertainment Weekly and The Guardian cite his favorite film as “Home Alone” — a selection you probably never would have guessed, especially since it didn't come out until years after he left the presidency. But you can’t really argue with a choice like that.

Source: Entertainment Weekly and The Guardian

Unlike Ford, Carter was a huge film buff. According to the White House Museum, he “held 480 screenings at the White House over four years, one every three nights on average, and more films than Reagan watched in his two terms.” Hilariously, one of the first films he screened was "All the President's Men," which is the film that centers on the plot that helped him get into office.

Interestingly, he also became the first president to watch an X-rated film, “Midnight Cowboy,” in the family theater.

Source: The White House Museum and Mental Floss

Reagan was a well-known actor before he became president, but he wasn’t always watching his own films in the White House theater — that was only on special occasions like his birthday. (His favorites of his own roles were “Knute Rockne, All American” and “King’s Row.”)

Reagan also enjoyed the hits “High Noon,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “The Sound of Music” — the latter is credited as being the reason he once didn’t study his briefing book.

He also mistakenly took part in a promotional campaign for “Octopussy,” praising Bond and saying "007 is really a '10.'" But the president just thought he was taking part in a British anniversary tribute to the character.

Source: Reagan Library archives, Mental Floss, The Week, and TIME

Bush Sr. wasn’t very vocal about his favorite films, but he liked “Viva Zapata!” enough to name his oil company Zapata Corporation after it. Entertainment Weekly also reports he enjoyed “The Longest Day.”

Source: The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly

In 2008, Bill Clinton did an interview with Roger Ebert to talk all things cinematic. In the interview, he followed Eisenhower’s and Reagan’s footsteps in citing “High Noon” as his favorite movie — “I don't get tired of seeing it” — and said “Casablanca” is his second favorite. (In law school, he and Hillary created a fictitious case around the characters of “Casablanca.”) He also gave high regards to Meryl Streep, Mel Brooks, and “American Beauty.”

But nothing really compares to his love of “High Noon,” which he reportedly screened a record 17 times at the White House.

Source: RogerEbert.com and Mental Floss

George W. Bush followed “How I Met Your Mother’s” "Bro Code" to a T and cried during “Field of Dreams.” But he also enjoyed the mindless humor of Mike Myers’ Austin Powers character.

After 9/11, he began watching films that reflected the times, such as “We Were Soldiers” and “Black Hawk Down.”

Source: The Atlantic, Bloomberg, and The Week

Obama has a lot of pop-culture favorites, but as far as films go, “The Godfather” tops his list. He told Katie Couric, “One and Two. Three not so much. That saga — I love that movie.”

Later, he told Couric that "Lawrence of Arabia” and “Casablanca” also rank highly. “Who doesn't like 'Casablanca?'" he said.

Source: INSIDER and CBS News

Donald Trump was involved in pop culture long before he joined politics. He’s made tons of cameos and, of course, spearheaded the “Apprentice” franchise. Beyond his own work, he also favors “Citizen Kane,” “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” “The Godfather,” “Goodfellas,” and “Gone with the Wind.”

Read all about Donald Trump’s pop-culture picks on Business Insider.

Hillary Clinton also has an affinity for cinematic classics. She and her husband share the love for “Casablanca,” but she also enjoys the adventures Dorothy has in “The Wizard of Oz” and the acting partnership between Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in “Out of Africa.”

Source: SlashFilm