My Favorite Black and White Movies

I've sat through my share of really bad black and white movies.  I've also seen some really great black and whites that I can recommend.  Here are a few of my favorites (not in any particular order.)  I've had good luck checking these out at my library.

The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer is a funny movie about a teenager who has a crush on a man who has a crush on her older sister.  Cary Grant plays a rich bachelor and does plenty of slap-stick stunts to keep us entertained.  Shirley Temple plays the teenage sister.  Myrna Loy plays the older sister, who's also a lawyer.

My Favorite Wife is another of my favorite Cary Grant movies.  In this one, he's been left a widower with two children after his first wife disappeared at sea.  After many years of looking for his first wife, he decides to remarry.  Right after the ceremony, his first wife (Irene Dunne) shows up. 

Not all of Cary Grant's movies are great, but I've enjoyed most of the ones I've seen.  Bringing Up Baby is one of his earliest and one of his best.  In this movie, Grant plays a nerdy archeologist while Katherine Hepburn plays a spoiled rich girl with a pet leopard. 

The Shop Around the Corner stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan.  It's a lot like the movie You've Got Mail, but I liked this one better. 

Hobson's Choice is an old British film.  It reminds me of My Fair Lady, only in this film, the woman is in charge--yay.  Just to warn you, the British accents can be pretty hard to understand for Americans.  (After watching late night British comedy for a few years, I didn't have much trouble.) If you can find a version with English subtitles or closed captioning, it might help.

It Happened One Night stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.  Colbert plays a spoiled rich heiress, who runs away when her father wants her to annul her marriage.  Gable plays a cocky reporter who wants to get the story.

Roman Holiday has a similar storyline, only this one stars Audrey Hepburne as a runaway princess and Gregory Peck as the reporter.  (Boy, reporters used to be hunks!  I guess I shouldn't say that since I married a reporter.)

I Remember Mama is a memoir about a Swedish mother and her family in San Fransisco during the early 1900s.  Irene Dunne does a great job in this role.  She's funny but also a great example for all mothers, especially those going through difficult economic times.

Casablanca has to be my favorite Humphrey Bogart movie and probably my favorite Ingrid Bergman film.  If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Leave a comment and tell us about your favorite black and white movies.  I'm always looking for recommendations!