Get Classic With This Quiz on Black-and-White Films

Though Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most celebrated directors in history, only one of his movies, 1941’s “Rebecca,” ever won the Oscar for Best Picture. “Rebecca” was Hitchcock’s first film made for a Hollywood studio, and it helped establish him as a hitmaker in the U.S. The movie is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, and is considered a classic of the suspense genre.

The rom-com “Roman Holiday” (1953) was the first feature film starring Audrey Hepburn, and she burst into the Hollywood spotlight in spectacular fashion. Hepburn’s portrayal of a princess who sneaks off during a visit to Rome in search of adventure earned her an Oscar for Best Actress, and the love story her character shares with a reporter played by Gregory Peck made the movie a box-office hit.

The iconic depiction of Frankenstein’s creature as a hulking, flat-headed monster with bolts sticking out of his neck originated with Boris Karloff’s iconic 1931 portrayal of the character in “Frankenstein,” directed by James Whale. Karloff reprised the role of the monster in the movie’s sequels “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) and “Son of Frankenstein” (1939).

“Raging Bull,” the gritty biopic of boxer and nightclub owner Jake LaMotta, was directed by Martin Scorsese. He teamed up with frequent collaborator Robert De Niro, who starred as LaMotta in the film. “Raging Bull” received critical acclaim, and was nominated for eight Oscars, including a Best Director nomination for Scorsese. De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

“The Maltese Falcon” (1941) follows private detective Sam Spade as he attempts to discover who murdered his partner. Along the way, Spade is pulled into a treasure hunt for the Maltese Falcon — a legendary bird statue said to be encrusted with priceless jewels. When the falcon is discovered to be a fake, Spade wistfully calls the false treasure “the stuff dreams are made of.”

“Inherit the Wind” (1960) is a fictionalized retelling of the 1925 Scopes monkey trial, in which a Tennessee high school biology teacher faced criminal charges for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in a state-funded school (which at the time violated state law). The movie earned an Academy Award nomination for its lead actor Spencer Tracy, who played the teacher’s defense attorney.

“Metropolis” is a silent sci-fi epic by German director Fritz Lang. The movie is a tale of forbidden love set in a dystopian society where wealthy industrialists rule over the disenfranchised masses. The film, with its stylized set design, rebellious robots, and political commentary, had a huge influence on future sci-fi films, and remains a classic of the genre.

The 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street” is a Christmas story that follows a department store Santa Claus called Kris Kringle who insists that he’s the real St. Nick. The movie earned an Academy Award for its lead actor, Edmund Gwenn, and has proved to be an enduring fan favorite. To this day, it’s broadcast each year after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

In 1954’s “On the Waterfront,” a washed-up former boxer named Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) looks back on the moment he ruined his career by throwing a fight for the mob. Filled with regret for the success he might have become, he cries out, “I could have been a contender!” The emotional impact of this line helped establish Brando as one of the most virtuosic actors in cinema history.

“A Night at the Opera” is one of the most successful films starring the Marx Brothers, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. (“A Night at the Opera” also included an uncommon appearance from Zeppo Marx as the non-comedic romantic lead.) The zany story centers around Groucho Marx’s character Otis B. Driftwood as he attempts, quite ineptly, to stage an opera starring a famous tenor.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) is based on a play of the same name by playwright Tennessee Williams. The play helped launch the career of Marlon Brando, who portrayed the brutish character Stanley Kowalski in both the original stage production and its film adaptation directed by Elia Kazan. Brando’s tormented cry of “Stella!” — Stanley’s desperate call to his wife — has become one of the most iconic lines in film history.

“The Big Sleep” (1946) follows the adventures of private detective Philip Marlowe, played by Humphrey Bogart. The protagonist descends into a criminal underworld while trying to unravel the tangled threads of a convoluted blackmail plot involving a wealthy general and his daughter. The movie is based on a novel by Raymond Chandler, one of the pioneers of the hardboiled detective genre.

Rick’s Café Américain is the central setting of 1942’s “Casablanca,” which tells the story of American expats living in Morocco during World War II. The establishment’s owner, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) begins the movie as a cynical, jaded man unconcerned with the events of the war, but when a former girlfriend walks into his “gin joint,” he must rediscover his moral center and stand up to Nazi oppression.

In the 1957 movie “12 Angry Men,” the titular 12 jurors hold a defendant’s life in their hands as they debate whether or not to convict him of murder. While 11 of the 12 jurors believe the man is guilty, there is one holdout who suspects he might be innocent. This lone juror must convince the 11 other “angry men” to reexamine their assumptions so that justice might prevail.

At the beginning of 1941’s “Citizen Kane,” the film’s main character, Charles Foster Kane, mysteriously utters the word “Rosebud” before passing away. The rest of the film, told in flashbacks, tells the story of Kane’s life, including his friendships, romances, and spectacular rise as a wealthy newspaper mogul.