Can You Name the Most Famous Black and White Movies Ever?

By: Jonnathan Chadwick
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can You Name the Most Famous Black and White Movies Ever?
Image: Warner Bros.

About This Quiz

We aren't living at the apex of black and white cinema, but just in the past several years, black and white movies have made more of a comeback than anyone could've imagined. The 2010s were supposed to be a decade of 3D films and out-of-this-world CGI, but instead, we saw a silent movie win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and two black and white films win Best Director Oscars.

With all the technology at our disposal today, it's no surprise that movies are bigger, stronger and faster than movies of a century ago, but it doesn't mean they're better. There's no substitution for superb dialogue or timeless storytelling, and among the chocolate syrup blood and cheap scene transitions you'll find magnificent dialogue and timeless narration. Some of the most iconic movie quotes, characters, screenplays and scenes come from black and white movies, and some of Hollywood's biggest stars come from the era.

Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn all rose to fame in the black and white era, and legendary directors like John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston all excelled during the period. You can't truly appreciate the art of film if you don't understand the work of the industry's pioneers, and if you consider yourself a movie buff, you need to know all of these movies. Put your cinema skills to the test and see if you can name all these black and white classics.

Colin Clive -> Dr. Frankenstein (Frankenstein)
Universal (1935)
"It's alive! It's alive!” Can you name the movie famous for this quote?
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
"Casablanca"
"Frankenstein"
"Psycho"
Citizen Kane
Mercury Productions / RKO Radio Pictures
A newspaper tycoon utters "Rosebud" right before he dies and everybody wants to know why. What is this cinema masterpiece by Orson Welles?
"Citizen Kane"
"Paths of Glory"
"Schindler's List"
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
Casablanca
Warner Bros./First National Pictures
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman will always remember Paris after the two played secret lovers in what Hollywood classic?
"Lost Horizon"
"Casablanca"
"Psycho"
"La Grande Illusion"

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ROMA movie
Espectáculos Fílmicos El Coyúl/Pimienta Films/Participant Media/Esperanto Filmoj
Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director at the 2019 Academy Awards for what film that documents the life of a maid in 1970s Mexico?
"Roma"
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
"The Artist"
"Citizen Kane"
Raging Bull (1980)
Chartoff-Winkler Productions
Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese teamed up to portray the life of legendary boxer Jake LaMotta in what sports classic?
"The Razor's Edge"
"Inherit the Wind"
"Raging Bull"
"Random Harvest"
To Kill a Mockingbird
Brentwood Productions / Pakula-Mulligan / Universal Pictures
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning story about Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout was adapted for the screen just two years after it was published. What is its name?
"A Streetcar Named Desire"
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
"The Apartment"

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It's a Wonderful LIfe
Liberty Films
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings." Which of these movies is the quote from?
"It's a Wonderful Life"
"Foreign Correspondent"
"A Christmas Carol"
"Some Like It Hot"
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Playfilm Productions
Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Best Actress and Supporting Actress for their portrayals of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller in what inspiring true story?
"Judgment at Nuremberg"
"Now, Voyager"
"Blonde Venus"
"The Miracle Worker"
12 Angry Men
Orion-Nova Productions
This entire film - except for three minutes - was shot inside of a bare jury room.
"How Green Was My Valley"
"Great Expectations"
"12 Angry Men"
"The Third Man"

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Pride of the Yankees 1942
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Gary Cooper stars as Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth stars as Babe Ruth in what legendary baseball film?
"Pride of the Yankees"
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
"Great Expectations"
"The Picture of Dorian Gray"
Norman Bates - Psycho
YouTube
Alfred Hitchcock's mystery thriller about Norman Bates and his mother is most remembered for the shower scene.
"The Last Picture Show"
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
"Psycho"
Sunset Boulevard 1
Paramount Pictures
Washed-up film star Norma Desmond spends time with her pet monkey as she gets ready for her closeup in what cinema classic?
"Sunset Boulevard"
"On the Waterfront"
"All the King's Men"
"Bringing Up Baby"

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All About Eve
20th Century Fox
"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.” What movie is this quote from?
"Raging Bull"
"Bicycle Thieves"
"Strangers on a Train"
"All About Eve"
Dr. Strangelove or- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Hawk Films
Stanley Kubrick wrote and directed this black comedy about a mad general who is determined to blow up the world.
"Touch of Evil"
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
"Oliver Twist"
"Stagecoach"
What Do You Remember About the Film, a Streetcar Named Desire 1
n/a
Marlon Brandon got his big break in what 1951 hit that takes place in the French Quarter of New Orleans?
"Oliver Twist"
"The Innocents"
"A Streetcar Named Desire"
"The Night of the Hunter"

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The Apartment
The Mirisch Company
Billy Wilder wrote and directed this comedy classic about a group of promiscuous executives and their secret hideout.
"The Apartment"
"The Picture of Dorian Gray"
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips"
"Destry Rides Again"
A Christmas Carol (1951)
George Minter Productions/Renown Pictures Corporation
Ebenezer Scrooge meets the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future in what holiday classic?
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
"A Christmas Carol"
"Double Indemnity"
"Out of the Past"
Tony Curtis, Some Like It Hot
MGM
Marilyn Monroe plays the lead singer of a girl band that includes two guys in disguise in what movie?
"The Artist"
"Some Like It Hot"
"All About Eve"
"The Killers"

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The Maltese Falcon
Warner Bros.
Humphrey Bogart plays detective Sam Spade and maneuvers his way through love, lies and crime in what 1940s mystery drama?
"Born Yesterday"
"Strangers on a Train"
"The Maltese Falcon"
"Bringing Up Baby"
The Third Man 1949
London Films
Orson Welles plays the mysterious Harry Lime in what film-noir thriller?
"The Third Man"
"Bicycle Thieves"
"Raging Bull"
"The Night of the Hunter"
Great Expectations (1946)
Cineguild
What Charles Dickens classic follows a young boy as he goes from orphan to aristocrat?
"Touch of Evil"
"Advise & Consent"
"Oliver Twist"
"Great Expectations"

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Quiz
tmdb
In what film does Jimmy Stewart star as a naive and idealistic man suddenly appointed to the United States Senate?
"Blonde Venus"
"Mrs. Miniver"
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
"The Innocents"
On the Waterfront 2
Horizon Pictures
"I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody ... " Which of these movies is the quote from?
"On the Waterfront"
"The Lady From Shanghai"
"How Green Was My Valley"
"Judgment at Nuremberg"
Quiz. How much do you know about Strangers on a Train 1
Transatlantic Pictures
Two guys hatch the perfect idea to swap murders in what crime thriller?
"How Green Was My Valley"
"Strangers on a Train"
"Seven Samurai"
"The Third Man"

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Touch of Evil
Universal International Pictures (UI)
The three-minute opening sequence of this Orson Welles classic is considered one of the greatest long takes in cinema history.
"The Third Man"
"Seven Samurai"
"Great Expectations"
"Touch of Evil"
The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
20th Century Fox
John Ford won the Best Director Academy Award for this film that follows a Midwest family as they travel to California during the Great Depression.
"The Grapes of Wrath"
"Great Expectations"
"The Picture of Dorian Gray"
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips"
The Big Sleep
Warner Bros.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are caught in a web of lies, love, blackmail, gambling and crime in what film noir classic?
"The Big Sleep"
"The Killers"
"The Artist"
"On the Waterfront"

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Oliver Twist 1948
Cineguild
In what film does a sinister headmaster teach a house of boys how to pickpocket on the streets of London?
"Oliver Twist"
"The 400 Blows"
"Strangers on a Train"
"Born Yesterday"
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Warner Bros.-First National
Two out-of-work Americans decide to search for gold and end up battling for their lives in what classic Western?
"Mrs. Miniver"
"The Third Man"
"Oliver Twist"
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
M.C. Productions
Frank Sinatra stars in this political thriller about a brainwashed prisoner of war who finds himself in the middle of an international conspiracy.
"The Manchurian Candidate"
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
"12 Angry Men"
"It's a Wonderful Life"

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It Happened One Night
Columbia Pictures
This story about a runaway and a reporter who fall in love swept the 1935 Academy Awards.
"Sullivan's Travels"
"It Happened One Night"
"Sabotage"
"Foreign Correspondent"
Roman Holiday
Paramount Pictures
Audrey Hepburn plays a runaway princess who falls in love with an American reporter in what 1953 romantic comedy?
"The Lady from Shanghai"
"Now, Voyager"
"Roman Holiday"
"The Maltese Falcon"
The Picture of Dorian Gray
tmdb
What classic movie follows the story of a young man and the magical painting that reveals his inner ugliness?
"Witness for the Prosecution"
"The Picture of Dorian Gray"
"Mrs. Miniver"
"The Third Man"

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Double Indemnity
Paramount Pictures
An insurance salesman strikes up an affair with his client's wife and winds up in the middle of a murder plot he can't handle.
"Destry Rides Again"
"The Killers"
"Double Indemnity"
"Out of the Past"
Charlie Chaplin  The Great Dictator (1940)
Charles Chaplin Productions/One Production Company
Charlie Chaplin's final speech in this movie, which he wrote, directed, produced, starred in and scored, is considered one of the greatest speeches in cinema history.
"The Artist"
"The Last Picture Show"
"The Great Dictator"
"On the Waterfront"
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
What star-studded comedy features Katherine Hepburn as a bride who gets a surprise visit from her ex-husband the day before her wedding?
"Bicycle Thieves"
"Bringing Up Baby"
"On the Waterfront"
"The Philadelphia Story"

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King Kong (1933)
Radio Pictures
The story of film producers who decide to put a gigantic ape on public display in New York City.
"Touch of Evil"
"King Kong"
"La Grande Illusion"
"Lost Horizon"
Little Caesar (1931)
First National Pictures
In what movie does Edward G. Robinson play a small-time hoodlum who rises to power in Chicago's underworld?
"Little Caesar"
"All About Eve"
"Manhattan"
"Sullivan's Travels"
The Artist
La Petite Reine/ARP Sélection/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/France 3 Cinema/U Film/Jouror Productions/JD Prod
What was the most recent black and white movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture?
"All the King's Men"
"The Manchurian Candidate"
"The Artist"
"Bringing Up Baby"

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Schindler's List
Amblin Entertainment
What WWII drama features the girl in a redcoat?
"Hobson's Choice"
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
"Sunset Boulevard"
"Schindler's List"