The Importance of Classic Black and White Films in Cinematic History

Film provides an exceptional window on the past which shows how people lived and loved, what they believed and thought important in their lives. One of the most regrettable things I noticed since I first began teaching high school was how many young persons will not watch movies older than themselves. I believe this irrational aversion or prejudice needs to be alleviated and overcome by discovering cinematic treasures which have impacted the lives of countless millions.

With this goal in mind, I urge you to begin to explore the wonderful world of classic films. https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/

In particular, do not be afraid or disdainful of movies filmed in black and white for they constitute many of the truly classic film repertoire which everyone should be familiar.

Here is a small, variegated list of black and white movies I have enjoyed and relished over the years. Let me know some of your favorite b/w classics–

Schindler’s List
How Green Was My Valley
Citizen Kane
Sergeant York
The Kid
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Red River
The Pride of the Yankees
The Passion of Joan of Arc (French: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc)
Intruder in the Dust
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Maltese Falcon
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
The Thin Man
Modern Times
The Trial
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Some Like It Hot
Viva Zapata!
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Glass Menagerie
You Can’t Take It with You
Dead Reckoning
Miracle on 34th Street
Raging Bull
Disraeli
42nd Street
Angel and the Bad Man
Casablanca
A Farewell to Arms
Key Largo
Nightmare Alley
Island of Lost Souls
Freaks
Scarlet Street
Strangers on a Train
Ace in a Hole
Harvey
The Asphalt Jungle
Kiss of Death
Mata Hari
The Private Life of Henry VIII
She Done Him Wrong
Kiss Me, Deadly
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Clash by Night
Sorry, Wrong Number
Camile
Grand Hotel
The Palm Beach Story
The Lady Eve
The Great McGinty
My Man Godfrey
Remember the Night
The Great Ziegfeld
Hail the Conquering Hero
Sweet Smell of Success
The Front Page
High Noon
The Champ
The Rules of the Game (original French title: La règle du jeu)
Seven Samurai (original Japanese title: Shichinin no samurai)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Wuthering Heights
Rebecca
The Gold Rush
Metropolis
Repulsion
Breathless
The Good Earth
Notorious
Things to Come
Paper Moon
On Dangerous Ground
Queen Christina
Stagecoach
Judge Priest
Les Misérables
A Tale of Two Cities
Dead End
Lost Horizon
Dark Victory
Dark Passage
Ruggles of Red Gap
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Grand Illusion
Of Mice and Men
Paths of Glory
City Lights
Psycho
Top Hat
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Sunset Boulevard
Lost Horizon
Z
M
The Song of Bernadette
The Longest Day
Mrs. Miniver
Gentleman’s Agreement
All Quiet on the Western Front
Judgment at Nuremberg
La Strada
The Last Picture Show
The Great Dictator
Going My Way
The Housemaid
Gunga Din
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
The Night of the Hunter
On the Waterfront
All About Eve
Rashomon
Marty
The Apartment
Julius Caesar
Manhattan
The Racket
The Big Heat
Thieves’ Highway
The Miracle Worker
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Seventh Seal
The Razor’s Edge
I Remember Mama
Inherit the Wind
Monsieur Verdoux
Random Harvest
The Manchurian Candidate
Sullivan’s Travels
All The King’s Men
The Sea Hawk
Sahara
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Captain Blood
Mr. Arkadin
Dead Reckoning
Safety Last
The General
High Sierra
Sherlock Jr.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Limelight
Passage to Marseille
Dead End
Across the Pacific
Angels With Dirty Faces
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Grapes of Wrath
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Murder, My Sweet
Laura
The Third Man
In a Lonely Place
Macbeth
Limelight
The Magnificent Ambersons
The Wrong Man
Boys Town
The Letter
The Glass Key
This Gun for Hire
The Blue Dahlia
The Life of Emile Zola
The Petrified Forest
Frankenstein
The Bride of Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein
Dracula
The Wolfman
Out of the Past
The Long Night
The Lady from Shanghai
Jezebel
The Breaking Point
To Have and Have Not
Force Of Evil
Nobody Lives Forever
Suspicion
Conflict
The Two Mrs. Carrolls
Chimes at Midnight
The Elephant Man
Shadow of a Doubt
It Happened One Night
Gilda
Othello
Jane Eyre
Touch of Evil
The Big Heat
Stella Dallas
Carnival of Souls
Ed Wood
The Stranger
Bringing Up Baby
Detour
The Ox-Bow Incident
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Big Sleep
The Bishop’s Wife
Arsenic and Old Lace
Thieves’ Highway
The Philadelphia Story
Force of Evil
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Rumble Fish
Too Late for Tears
Strangers on a Train
The Killing
Kiss of Death
Double Indemnity
The Killers
The Snake Pit
Eraserhead
The Big Sleep
Journey into Fear
Odd Man Out
Crossfire
Brute Force
Touch of Evil
Our Town
The Human Comedy
Mildred Pierce
12 Angry Men
King Kong
White Heat
Scarface
Little Caesar
The Public Enemy
Duck Soup
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Fountainhead
Compulsion
Born Yesterday
Ninotchka
Kitty Foyle
The Lost Weekend
Tender Comrade
Babyface
Kings Row
Hail the Conquering Hero
Keeper of the Flame
The Devil and Daniel Webster
Meet John Doe
Young Mr. Lincoln
Witness for the Prosecution
Room at the Top
The Hustler
Zorba the Greek