# Your All-Time Favorite Black & White Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284 "2016-01-26T19:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/81 "2016-01-30T16:09:55Z")
To Be Or Not To Be Metropolis The Awful Truth ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/82 "2016-01-30T16:18:11Z")
All of my favorites have been mentioned! I may have overlooked it above, but ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ - it took a couple of viewings before I warmed up to it, and now I think it’s utterly classic and fascinating. Love the glimpses of a New York that is no more…‘Some Like It Hot’ and ‘The Defiant Ones’ also with Tony Curtis. I like Tony Curtis! Going waaaaay back, I highly recommend two silent movies that will, I promise, hold your attention: ‘The Wind’ and ‘Greed’. Absolutely entrancing, especially ‘Greed’, which was cut from a length of 8 hours! all that film disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/83 "2016-01-30T16:55:59Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > All of my favorites have been mentioned! I may have overlooked it above, but ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ - it took a couple of viewings before I warmed up to it, and now I think it’s utterly classic and fascinating. Love the glimpses of a New York that is no more…‘Some Like It Hot’ and ‘The Defiant Ones’ also with Tony Curtis. I like Tony Curtis! > > Going waaaaay back, I highly recommend two silent movies that will, I promise, hold your attention: ‘The Wind’ and ‘Greed’. Absolutely entrancing, especially ‘Greed’, which was cut from a length of 8 hours! all that film disappeared. If you like Tony Curtis, I have something you may find interesting. Last week I watched Winchester 73 (1950) - a Western starring Jimmy Stewart. I had been meaning to watch it for quite some time. During one scene I thought a young officer looked very familiar and I tried to figure out who it was. When the movie ended, it dawned on me. That was Tony Curtis. But he wasn’t listed in the closing credits. So I went back and looked again. He was listed as “Anthony Curtis”. I never had any idea he started out using that name. Anyway you might want to see that movie sometime. But just so you should know, he only spoke one line (I think it was only one) during the entire movie. But it was a good movie. Someone in this thread said something about Winchester 73 and they had some very high praise for it. Oops. Wrong thread. See this thread: Post #24 > **[What's the BEST Western Movie?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=782321)** > > The B&W topic is bringing in many titles that deserve to be there, with no attempt to go for The Best of the batch. I know it’s a ridiculous quest but what (in your estimation) is the Best Ever Western Movie? I’ll name my choice later so as not... It was Oredigger77 and they said, “there is no part of this movie that isn’t perfect.” Pretty high praise. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/84 "2016-01-30T21:19:58Z")
I was going to mention _12 Angry Men_. I re-saw it with a college roommate many years ago who didn’t watch B&W movies. He was like “Wow! That was good for an old movie.” I’m still partial to _Casablanca_. ---
**Author:** ![psikeyhackr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@psikeyhackr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psikeyhackr)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/85 "2016-01-30T21:26:30Z")
Klaatu barada nikto Fail Safe Dr. Strangelove psik ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/86 "2016-01-30T21:34:35Z")
Clifton Webb, starred in several good B/W movies. Laura, Titanic, Cheaper By The Dozen - and some amusing post-war comedies, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, Sitting Pretty, and Dreamboat. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/87 "2016-01-30T23:01:56Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > I was going to mention _12 Angry Men_. I re-saw it with a college roommate many years ago who didn’t watch B&W movies. He was like “Wow! That was good for an old movie.” > > I’m still partial to _Casablanca_. I tried to get someone to watch " 12 Angry Men " once and she wouldn’t because it was in black and white. Some people are just too close minded I guess. It actually was the first indication I had that perhaps this isn’t going to work out between us. Oh well. Many I thought of are already on this list but since I just watched this recently I’ll add " You Can’t Take It With You." Lionel Barrymore telling the man from the IRS " Well I’ll give you $25 but I don’t think it’s worth more then that." Classic. And you get to hear Jean Arthur talking. What could be better than that? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/88 "2016-01-31T00:34:47Z")
[quote=“dalej42, post:25, topic:744284”] I could list hundreds but I’ll just pick 3. 1. All Quiet on the Western Front If you’re interested in film, but not an out and out film nerd, you’ve got to see “All Quite” and “Psycho”. (Because any out and out film nerd would know them already.) I was from that generation where “Psycho” was not on general release, so it was only when I saw it that I understood all the relevant references in other films. “All Quiet” is without doubt an old film, not in the same category as modern films, but some of the images are somehow recognizable, because, (1) as you realize when watching it, all the old film makers had seen and been influenced by it, and (2) the reason the striking scenes and shots get replayed in modern films isn’t homage to “All Quiet”, it’s because they work. That film, which hardly anyone has seen, is part of the common vocabulary of film. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/89 "2016-01-31T04:01:33Z")
The Haunting ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/90 "2016-01-31T04:10:48Z")
Annie Hall Psycho Roman Holiday Freaks ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/91 "2016-01-31T04:25:52Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Absolutely entrancing, especially ‘Greed’, which was cut from a length of 8 hours! all that film disappeared. Actually, they found most of it in the 1990s. You can see a restored version close to 8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/92 "2016-01-31T05:21:38Z")
I forgot: (Sorry if it’s repeat) Mudhoney Faster Pussycat Kill Kill ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/93 "2016-01-31T05:27:57Z")
“36 Hours” - w/ James Garner ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/94 "2016-01-31T07:38:38Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > “36 Hours” - w/ James Garner Very intriguing film. The concept was so interesting. For anyone who has never seen this film and if you enjoy intrigues, it’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/95 "2016-01-31T15:19:02Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Annie Hall Annie Hall is not in black & white. But another Woody Allen film, Manhattan, is. ---
**Author:** ![LotSeven\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@LotSeven\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LotSeven_K)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/96 "2016-01-31T19:58:44Z")
Strangers On a Train Crossfire 1,2,3 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/97 "2016-02-02T22:23:40Z")
> [@Not\_Carlson](#): > > Just now got done watching To Kill A Mockingbird with my daughter. > Good movie, although I did find the final few scenes somewhat irksome. > > Thanks for the chance to look back and recall so many wonderful black and white movies that have stayed good through the ages. > > I suppose my favorite B&W movies, in approximate order, would be: > > Schindler’s List > Psycho > Casablanca > Young Frankenstein > The Great Dictator > Roman Holiday > Citizen Kane > Modern Times > Twelve Angry Men > The Seven Samurai > The Day the Earth Stood Still > Night of the Living Dead > To Kill a Mockingbird > The Cabinet of Dr Caligari > Woman in the Dunes > Wings of Desire > Vampyr > Nosferatu > > I’ve got a nagging feeling I’m forgetting a few others. I applaud. That is a very fine list. Well done! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/98 "2016-02-02T22:30:18Z")
Not Carlson? Please, can you tell me what you meant by “irksome”? What was there about those scenes that you found to be “irksome”? I’d really like to know just what it was about them that you found to be that way. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/99 "2016-02-02T22:45:17Z")
The Ghost and Mrs.Muir The Haunting of Hill House Dr. Strangelove ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284/100 "2016-02-03T21:02:15Z")
If you’ve never seen _ **"The Third Man"** _, TCM is airing it tonight (2/3/16) at 10:00 PM EST. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-all-time-favorite-black-white-movies/744284.md?page=6)