The best black and white Christmas movies are It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and The Shop Around the Corner (1940). All three are in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Six more follow below, from a Bing Crosby musical to a Billy Wilder Best Picture winner set over the holidays.
Published October 14, 2026.
I have made the old black-and-white ones part of December for a long time, and after enough rewatches a pattern shows. Christmas is usually the deadline, not the plot. The story is about a job, a marriage or a bad year, and the holiday forces the ending. That is why these play better on a fourth viewing than most new holiday movies do on a second.
Black and white Christmas movies at a glance
| Film | Year | Director | Stars | Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It’s a Wonderful Life | 1946 | Frank Capra | James Stewart | 94% (97 reviews) |
| Miracle on 34th Street | 1947 | George Seaton | Edmund Gwenn | 96% (52 reviews) |
| The Shop Around the Corner | 1940 | Ernst Lubitsch | James Stewart | 99% (96 reviews) |
| Holiday Inn | 1942 | Mark Sandrich | Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire | 100% (25 reviews) |
| The Apartment | 1960 | Billy Wilder | Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine | 94% (108 reviews) |
| Christmas in Connecticut | 1945 | Peter Godfrey | Barbara Stanwyck | 89% (18 reviews) |
| The Bishop’s Wife | 1947 | Henry Koster | Cary Grant, Loretta Young | 85% (26 reviews) |
| Remember the Night | 1940 | Mitchell Leisen | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray | 100% (13 reviews) |
| The Thin Man | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke II | William Powell, Myrna Loy | 98% (46 reviews) |
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra directed it for Liberty Films and RKO, and Rotten Tomatoes scores it 94% from 97 critics. Its consensus calls it “the holiday classic to define all holiday classics.” The Academy’s 1947 ceremony page shows five nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for James Stewart, and no wins. The Library of Congress added it to the registry in 1990.
It earns the top spot because it is the darkest film here and the most joyful one, often in the same scene. Rotten Tomatoes also lists a theatrical re-release on December 18, 2026, so check local listings before streaming it at home.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The Academy’s 1948 ceremony page lists four nominations for this 20th Century-Fox film and three wins. Edmund Gwenn took Best Supporting Actor as Kris Kringle, Valentine Davies won for the original story, and George Seaton won for the screenplay. Rotten Tomatoes shows 96% from 52 critics, and the Library of Congress added it to the registry in 2005.
Gwenn plays a department store Santa who insists he is the real one, with Maureen O’Hara and a young Natalie Wood in the cast. The case ends up in court. Skip the remakes. The courtroom finale has never been staged better.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Ernst Lubitsch directed it for MGM, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it 99% from 96 critics. The Library of Congress added it to the registry in 1999. Book and Film Globe notes that it was later remade as You’ve Got Mail.
James Stewart plays a shop clerk who cannot stand a coworker and is falling for a pen pal by letter, without knowing they are the same person. The whole thing builds to Christmas Eve in the store, and it is the warmest ending of the nine.
Holiday Inn (1942)
Mark Sandrich directed Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire for Paramount. Rotten Tomatoes shows 100% from 25 reviews. At the 1943 Academy Awards, Irving Berlin won Best Song for “White Christmas” from this film, one of its three nominations.
The AFI Catalog describes the setting as a country inn that is open only on holidays. The story runs through a full year of them, so Christmas comes around twice. Watch it for Crosby singing the song that became the season’s anthem. Skip the Lincoln’s Birthday number. AFI notes it is staged in blackface and is often cut from TV prints.
The Apartment (1960)
Billy Wilder’s film won five Oscars out of ten nominations, according to the Academy’s 1961 ceremony page, including Best Picture and Best Art Direction (Black-and-White). Rotten Tomatoes rates it 94% from 108 critics, and the registry added it in 1994. Sky HISTORY notes it was the last entirely black-and-white film to win Best Picture until 2012.
Jack Lemmon plays an insurance clerk who lends his apartment to his bosses, and Shirley MacLaine plays the elevator operator he falls for. It is the most adult film here, and the best written.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Peter Godfrey directed it for Warner Bros., with Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet. Rotten Tomatoes shows 89% from 18 critics.
Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a magazine writer famous for her farm and her cooking, neither of which exists. When her boss invites himself and a war hero for Christmas, she has to fake both. It is the funniest film on this list.
The Bishop’s Wife
Henry Koster directed Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The Academy counts it among the films of 1947, with five nominations at the 1948 ceremony and one win for sound recording. Rotten Tomatoes, which lists its February 1948 release, shows 85% from 26 reviews.
Grant plays Dudley, an angel sent to help a bishop who has lost track of his family. Grant is the reason to watch. He makes being kind look effortless.
Remember the Night (1940)
Mitchell Leisen directed it from a Preston Sturges script, and Rotten Tomatoes shows 100% from 13 reviews. Sky HISTORY sums up the setup: Barbara Stanwyck plays a shoplifter arrested before Christmas, and Fred MacMurray is the prosecutor who postpones her trial.
He ends up taking her home to Indiana for the holiday. It is the least known film here and the one most worth finding.
The Thin Man Christmas
W. S. Van Dyke II directed William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles for MGM. Rotten Tomatoes rates it 98% from 46 critics. Book and Film Globe calls it a hard-boiled Christmas whodunit.
The mystery barely matters. The fun is the married couple trading lines over cocktails while a murder case lands on them during the holidays.
Old Christmas movies for a second night
If one night is not enough, two more are worth finding. Sky HISTORY includes The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), a screwball comedy with Bette Davis and Monty Woolley. Book and Film Globe includes The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), the Bob Hope film it credits with popularizing “Silver Bells.” For color favorites and famous scenes, see our iconic Christmas movie moments and the wider list of classic Christmas films.
Classic Christmas movies
What is the best black and white Christmas movie?
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is the usual pick. Rotten Tomatoes scores it 94% from 97 critics, and it earned five Oscar nominations. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1990. The Shop Around the Corner has the higher critic score, at 99% from 96 reviews.
Is It’s a Wonderful Life in black and white?
Yes. Frank Capra’s 1946 film was made in black and white, like most Hollywood features of its time. It stars James Stewart and was produced by Liberty Films with RKO. Rotten Tomatoes lists a theatrical re-release on December 18, 2026.
Which black and white Christmas movie won the most Oscars?
The Apartment (1960) won five of its ten nominations, including Best Picture, according to the Academy. Miracle on 34th Street won three, including Best Supporting Actor for Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle. It’s a Wonderful Life was nominated five times and won none.
Which old Christmas movie introduced White Christmas?
Holiday Inn (1942), starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” from the film won the Oscar for Best Song at the 1943 Academy Awards. Rotten Tomatoes rates the film 100% from 25 reviews.