Five Black & White Films For the End of the Year

I don’t know about you, but there are always two things that draw me to watching black & white films: the end of the year and being stuck at home with a very bad cold. If my Instagram stories and friendly text exchanges are anything to go by, these two events go hand in hand, with a large chunk of the population succumbing to various sorts of illnesses in the post-holiday adrenaline crash. They say the five days that stretch out into eternity between December 26th and December 31st are the only time of year you can do nothing at all, without any guilt, and so, somehow, our minds have somehow learned that this is the time of year to let yourself finally be ill. Colds blow in, bronchitis runs rampant, and rare is the throat that isn’t sore. Shops are closed, people are away. What better thing to do, then, than to nurse a warm drink, dress to be en prélasse, and watch films that have stood the test of time? 

Here are five of my favorite black and white films, set at the end of the year. They haven’t quite forgotten the passing of the holidays, but they all look forward to the future, even set in the past. 

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The Shop Around the Corner, 1940 

A classic favorite that brought us You’ve Got Mail. Based on the 1937 Hungarian Play Parfumerie by Miklós László, The Shop Around the Corner takes place in Budapest in the lead-up to the war and follows the goings-on of a cast of leathergoods shop employees. Unbeknownst to each other, two of the employees trade anonymous letters, falling in love just as they compete and seemingly despise each other in their day to day lives in the shop. Whether you know the plot from the more recent Nora Ephron classic or not, the film is a delight and brings you just enough romantic intrigue and friendship to warm your heart at this chilly time of year. 

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It Happened On Fifth Avenue, 1947

Before sitting down to watch It Happened On Fifth Avenue, I asked myself why it was that I hadn’t heard about the film before. After watching it, I could see that while it’s a wholesome film, it came out in 1947 and may have been a little too much on the side of anti-capitalism to make it through the 1950s and into the modern day as a classic. Following a cast of squatters who’ve taken up in a Fifth Avenue mansion that’s been boarded up for the winter, It Happened On Fifth Avenue questions the values we’re used to seeing glorified in American film and instead focuses on the importance of goodness and generosity before all else. Sweet at its core (perhaps, too sweet) the film is also comedic –  a gold mine for hidden identity shenanigans and just the type of film you want to watch on a lazy winter afternoon, tea and family at hand. 

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Christmas in Connecticut, 1945

The only film on this list that is truly Christmas specific, Christmas in Connecticut makes up for it by broaching 2019’s favorite topic: the glamorous scammer. As the film begins, it feels a bit too post-war wholesome, but quickly, as the main character of the film – Elizabeth Lane (played by Barbara Stanwyck) – is revealed, you can breathe a deep sigh of relief. Following the country’s most popular food writer (a 1940s Martha Steward mit bébé) as she must stop her true identity from being revealed (a Manhattan bachelorette who doesn’t even know how to cook but does know how to pick out a mink), Christmas in Connecticut is what you need to watch this season if you’ve been following the Caroline Calloways of the world.

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The Thin Man, 1934

The Thin Man series is a favorite for the ages. Starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, The Thin Man is a late pre-Code film that follows Nick and Nora Charles, a wealthy couple consisting of a retired but wildly successful private detective and his heiress wife. Full of priceless banter, incredible style, and a healthy dose of mystery, you’ll want to have The Thin Man (and its numerous sequels) playing in the background of your entire holiday season. One day I’ll write an entire piece devoted to my love for these films, but for now, I say pour yourself a martini and sit back get ready to laugh. 

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Holiday, 1938

Another favorite I’ve seen so many times I’ve lost count, Holiday is the New Year’s Eve film in my book. Starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the film tells the story of Johnny Case and Julia Seton who fall in love and become engaged while on holiday in Lake Placid. What Johnny doesn’t know is that Julia comes from one of New York’s wealthiest families, and what Julia doesn’t know is that Johnny is planning to retire and go on a permanent holiday. Julia and her father resist, as an able bodied young man not working goes against their WASPish values. Johnny resists their resistance and befriends the other resistant in the family – Julia’s sister, Linda (played by Hepburn). An engagement party is put together for New Year’s Eve all the same. Shenanigans ensue. 

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Olivia Gündüz-Willemin is Editor-in-Chief of The Attic on Eighth. She is dedicated to reading her way through the world and trying to stay as calm as possible.