Bloggranddaughter Carmen of I'll Do What I Wanna Do... Gosh! said this while answering her meme:

Well, I haven't really seen any black and whites - the few I have seen are all those corny old monster movies; which I don't enjoy.

Making me wonder... what ARE the "good" black & white movies?

Of the ones I've seen, a few stick out in my memory:

The General - Not only black & white, but silent, too. Buster Keaton does his own stunts - some of which are VERY impressive - and the story moves right along. If all silent movies were this good, talkies never would've taken off.

It Happened One Night - Yeah, it's terribly dated, but I like it for the snappy dialogue. They don't let actors talk that fast any more.

The Fountainhead - YAY! Capitalist propaganda! Favorite line? Probably:

Ellsworth Toohey: We're alone. Why don't you tell me what you think of me.
Howard Roark: But I don't think of you.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950, w/Jose Ferrar) - Like an early version of The Princess Bride without the abject silliness. Sparkling dialogue, humor, romance, and swordplay.

Casablanca - Not because it's particularly good - it's cheesy, contrived, and drags a bit in places - but because it's one of those pop-culture references that's frequently alluded to. Just watch it once so that you REALLY get it when someone says "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

I've also heard that the Hope/Crosby "Road" movies are good, but I can't seem to find them at the local video store.

Anyway, add your favorites in the comments, or just post them at your own place & send a trackback. Links to the relevant IMDB page would be helpful, too.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:55 AM | Comments (26) | Add Comment
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1 How about the following: "On The Waterfront" with Marlon Brando. He coulda been a contender, you know... "The Public Enemy" with James Cagney. There are a whole host of this ilk of movie with some great lines ("Top of the world, ma!" Rumble Fish with Mickey Rourke. Not strictly speaking in the same era but still a superbly shot Francis Ford Coppella movie in black and white (with a litle colour to illustrate sentient points - watch it and see). "The Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart. John Huston's first film I believe. Watch it and tell me he hadn't done it before! Great story, fantastic acting. "Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder. Mel Brookes collaborated on the screenplay with Gene Wilder and it is a wildly funny inventive spoof showing people at the top of their game. These are movies that are plot rather than effects driven. And some that stand the test of time are over 60 years old. Wonder how many modern films will stand up that long?

Posted by: Alex at March 01, 2006 09:23 AM (p5HG8)

2 Hmmmm....I may have to check some of these out (just to broaden my horizons - you know)

Posted by: Carmen at March 01, 2006 09:26 AM (YgY2c)

3 The Philadelphia Story - Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant! The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Citizen Kane All About Eve Brigadoon (altered with a little bit of color) Some Like It Hot Dr. Strangelove Seven Samurai Psycho

Posted by: oddybobo at March 01, 2006 09:31 AM (6Gm0j)

4 Bringing Up Baby (I think it was originally b & W)-one of my favorites! Father Goose As for the ROAD movies of Hope & Crosby- I have those....wanna borrow them?

Posted by: Rave at March 01, 2006 09:43 AM (Fir0Z)

5 All great B&W's... with Fountainhead probably my fave of the bunch.

Posted by: Jeff (PC) at March 01, 2006 12:37 PM (lN7zP)

6 Eraserhead!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at March 01, 2006 01:38 PM (D2pBz)

7 Mr. Smith goes to Washington. An absolute must.

Posted by: Ogre at March 01, 2006 01:39 PM (/k+l4)

8 Check out Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" I don't remember if it's all in black and white, but it is cut in with scenes from old black and white movies. Plus it has the extremely hot Rachel Ward... (After checking, it is black and white.)

Posted by: Madfish Willie at March 01, 2006 01:42 PM (D2pBz)

9 Shoot wrote an entire entry and then hit Cancel instead of Post!!! ARG! So here we go again. --The Thin Man - William Powel and Myrna Loy are outstanding together... and all the rest of the series, but the first is outstanding. --Bringing Up Baby - one of my all time favs you can never go wrong with Cary Grant. --Top Hat - cause I love Fred and Ginger in this one - silly plot - but so much fun. --The Big Sleep - Bogey is always a must. --Sabrina - the original with Bogey and Hepburn --The Manchurian Candidate - I have never seen anyone as evil as Angela Lansbury in this movie! It's a real thriller to the very end. --Bachelor Mother - excellent fun with Ginger Rogers but only on VHS --The Night Has Eyes - I love James Mason in this - sadly it's not even out on VHS in the States - maybe one day. How about some more Cary Grant... --Gunga Din --Topper --Holiday --His Girl Friday --Arsenic and Old Lace --Notorious --To Catch A Thief (just go to the imdb.com and type in Cary Grant and start looking through the list!) Last one... Young Frankenstein! Don't miss it - it's hysterical.

Posted by: Teresa at March 01, 2006 02:56 PM (FZwDL)

10 The original "Twelve Angry Men." Can't be beat!

Posted by: Jake Jacobsen at March 01, 2006 03:11 PM (8rEm3)

11 Acting!

Posted by: Jon Lovitz at March 01, 2006 03:15 PM (D2pBz)

12 These are movies that are plot rather than effects driven. And some that stand the test of time are over 60 years old. Wonder how many modern films will stand up that long? That would be a good post for discussion... So many of today's moview are just plain old crap with a bunch of special effect explosions and cgi.. no fucking acting or plot development. Or they are lame remakes or take-offs on old TV series. No fucking originality any more. I would assume today's movies with originality and actual character acting and plot development will be the one's that stand the test of time. Leave out all that Anti-American crapola that Hollywood seems to like push on us too!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at March 01, 2006 03:21 PM (D2pBz)

13 Anything by Akira Kurosawa, especially Seven Samurai and Kagemusha. His movies were more vibrant and colorful in black and white than most movies in TechnoColor are.

Posted by: the Humble Devildog at March 01, 2006 03:55 PM (TIYju)

14 The Third Man. Greatest film noir ever.

Posted by: Phelps at March 01, 2006 05:20 PM (aVaRz)

15 "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart is a classic for me, one we always watch around Christmas time. I think Audrey Hepburn was great in "Roman Holiday". My favourite line is when she walks into Gregory Peck's apartment and asks "Is this the elevator?" "Charade" - another good one from Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant And finally another Cary Grant film, "An affair to remember"

Posted by: Amanda at March 01, 2006 06:12 PM (L4Sch)

16 Oh yeah - The Third Man - I had forgotten about that one! Along those same lines is The Stranger (Orson Wells). And Shadow of A Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock) . All wonderful thrillers. Amanda - Charade (fabulous movie - I own it) is in color. *grin*

Posted by: Teresa at March 01, 2006 07:22 PM (FZwDL)

17 I miss Vincent Price this guy could have you scaried one minute and then laughing the next. The Last Man on Earth. The Pit and the Pendulum. House of Wax Not b/w but stil good The Raven. And Larry,CURLY,Moe Stooge shorts.

Posted by: blogless brother at March 01, 2006 10:02 PM (f+NdU)

18 Dang it, now I'm embarrassed. I thought when I wrote it that Charade was in colour, then I thought nah, b&w. Shoulda gone with my first instinct! Still a fantastic movie though

Posted by: Amanda at March 02, 2006 03:01 AM (L4Sch)

19 Father Goose, while a great Cary Grant movie, is in color.... (Dare I admit I first saw it in a theater when it came out? Before I was born, yeah, that's the ticket...) I can't believe no one has said Citizen Kane. Of course, I'm drifting in and out here, and may have been unconscious when reading some of the prior comments...

Posted by: Susie at March 02, 2006 08:20 AM (a0oF7)

20 I must say, there are a few of these I rather disagree with, but that's not the point of this, so here are my recomendations, old and new: (also, some of my favorites have already been listed, so I won't mention them again) Creature from the Black Lagoon D.O.A. The Lady From Shanghai Clerks Harvey King Kong (though heavy on the special effects, it used them as a vehicle rather than a crutch, for the most part) The Man Who Wasn't There The Elephant Man My Man Godfrey Pi Spellbound Metropolis M Ed Wood Carnival of Souls Steamboat Bill Jr. A Streetcar Named Desire All Quiet on the Western Front Stagecoach The Last Picture Show Manhatten The Incredible Shrinking Man And, just cos I'm an iGeneration pop culture junkie, does Sin City count?

Posted by: Joey at March 02, 2006 10:24 AM (JXgKx)

21 Sin City counts, but it's not really wife-friendly :-)

Posted by: Harvey at March 02, 2006 10:28 AM (ubhj8)

22 I really like Joey's list, so I only have a few to add. Werewolf of London (Not An American Werewolf in London, as most people seem to think when I mention this) Schindler's List To Kill a Mockingbird Raging Bull High Noon The Seventh Seal Sullivan's Travels That's all I got for you right now.

Posted by: Chuck at March 02, 2006 12:56 PM (JXgKx)

23 oh and one thing regarding Hope and Crosby, I'm suprised you can't find Road to Morocco at the video store, that one's pretty common. But here's what I'm thinking: you can find Road to Bali at just about any Best Buy or that type of place on the cheap DVD shelf for not much more (if more at all) than it would cost to rent it.

Posted by: Jose at March 03, 2006 12:45 AM (JXgKx)

24 Actually, our local public library seems to have most of the Road movies. I'm hoping they'll have some of the others on this list, too.

Posted by: Harvey at March 03, 2006 09:04 AM (ubhj8)

25 A Hard Day's Night. Although some of the jokes are very British, it's still fun ... and very clean.

Posted by: basil at March 04, 2006 07:41 AM (HwRye)

26 http://quidnuncrave.blogspot.com/2006/03/road-series-rated.html

Posted by: Harvey at March 07, 2006 06:00 PM (ubhj8)

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