The
1940’s. Old Hollywood’s boom years. An
era teeming with so many titles I love that it’ll take a couple of installments
to detail them.
First up, the early period, 1940 to 1944. These were, of course, years
dominated and defined by World War 2. Even though battles were never fought on
North American soil, people were deeply affected on every level. There was a sense of unity, a willingness
(virtually inconceivable nowadays) to make personal sacrifices. Democracy’s undoubtedly the most enlightened
system of government. And carries a genuine potential for efficiency. An argument
could be made that - in early 40’s America - the balance between enlightenment
and efficiency was at its most effective. Most people (for better or worse)
actually believed in their leaders, believed that people at all levels should
be (and were) striving for the common good. With growing awareness of the magnitude
of Nazi evil (the camps, the atrocities), people found themselves roused to a
very positive sense of righteous outrage.
There
was no internet, no twitter. The public’s visual exposure to news came via
cinema newsreels – censored, slanted and presented well after events had transpired.
People worked long hours, bought war bonds, accepted rationing and - most
seriously of all – many served overseas because they honestly felt it was their
patriotic duty. One tends to look back at North America in the war years as one of those best of times, worst of times periods. People were, for the most part, unified - secure in the belief they were on the side of the angels. Yet daily casualty lists burned holes in generations. And there's little doubt the specter of an Axis victory created a huge psychic cloud.
The war was won – thank God. But it still took
a long time to expose and address the hidden iniquities within the democracy
people had fought for. America had - to some extent - been built on the systematic persecution of native people, then the
use of slavery. To this day, racial inequities remain a ticking timebomb. Every nation has been guilty of unfair prejudices and exclusionary practices. But not every nation has the words "all men are created equal" ingrained in its constitution. Unity
often disguises complacency/complicity in ignoring and/or burying social
problems. Not just racial issues, but also robber baron-style business
practices and deeply embedded political corruption. The intertwining relationship
between democracy and capitalism is complicated – fraught with internal
contradictions and problems. Today disillusionment, cynicism, entitlement and
reflexive finger-pointing undermine unity. We must be ready to recognize both our rights and our responsibilities. The existence and encouragement of diversity
of opinion is a reflection of enlightenment. Something to be desired. Does it foster efficiency? Possibly - probably - not. But
then efficiency is what the Nazis prized
most. Can we survive without enlightenment? Can we survive without efficiency? Achieving a just balance between the two is proving more and more difficult.
We must be ready to recognize when efficiency turns into ruthlessness. And the moment it does, to put on the brakes. Because democracy remains
– compared to all others – the system most worth perfecting,
preserving and protecting.
Anyway,
back to the cinema scene of the early 40’s. Movies were, by that time, an
integral part of almost everyone’s lives. And it was no surprise that Hollywood
jumped into the war effort full throttle, cooperating with the government to
produce films that raised morale and encouraged patriotism. Making sure, of
course, that the propaganda was also
entertaining. So there were plenty of war movies, spy movies, movies that
glorified every branch of the military. All told with the proper amount of
uplift. Mixed, of course, with pure
escapist films (including lots of musicals and comedies). Betty Grable and
Abbott & Costello became cultural figureheads. And Hollywood energetically
supported the Brits in their war effort. Greer (Mrs. Miniver) Garson ) became
the most admired woman in movies, Oscar-nominated every time she lifted a
teacup. It wasn’t enough that Sherlock Holmes was British. The Holmes film
series (with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) had started off in its proper
Victorian milieu with a couple of 1939 releases. But when it commenced again in
’42, the sleuth was catapulted right into the present day to do his patriotic
duty outwitting Nazis and fifth columnists.
It's elementary. |
The war years brought movie attendance in North America to
record levels. Factories involved in war-related production operated night and
day. And to accommodate the various shifts, many cinemas were also open round
the clock. Hollywood’s war effort went way beyond just making movies. They sent
stars on cross country War Bond Drives and international USO tours. They also
initiated and operated the Hollywood Canteen, a servicemen-only center where the
enlisted could mix and mingle with movie stars, who staffed the place every
night. A soldier could watch Eddie Cantor cavort on stage, have Dietrich serve him donuts,
then dance with Hedy Lamarr. All for free. New York had its own Broadway-based
version, the Stage Door Canteen.
For
all their outward patriotism, studio heads, with their eyes always on the
bottom line, were not above back room finagling to keep prize male stars out of
the military as long as possible. Still,
many actors, inspired by genuine patriotic fervor, enlisted before their
studios could get those questionable
balls rolling. Among those who racked up outstanding service records were
Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, James Stewart and Clark Gable, superstars all.
Many
of the great 30’s icons continued as box office magnets throughout the war
years – Cagney, Cooper, Flynn, Tracy. And
some surprising new stars emerged. Humphrey Bogart, a second stringer for
years, burst into supernova status in
’41 with the one two punch of “High Sierra” and “The Maltese Falcon”. Alan Ladd, little more than a bit player since
the mid-thirties, created a sensation in 1942’s “This Gun For Hire” and never
looked back.
Women,
aside from now being de facto heads of so many households, remained a powerful
part of the regular movie-going public. They retained their attachment to the
female role models of the thirties - Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert, Loretta
Young, Barbara Stanwyck. Bette Davis, in
particular, went from strength to strength. Of course, new comets soared as
well – like the wildly popular pinup queens
Betty Grable, Lana Turner and Rita Hayworth. And - among the foreign
imports - Ingrid Bergman was embraced by the movie-going public as a new and
cherished favorite.
Bing Crosby slipped comfortably into the role of America’s best loved regular guy (a regular guy who just happened to have a smoothly naturalistic acting style, terrific comedy chops and a million dollar singing voice). Crosby consolidated his standing even more in the series of “Road” comedies he made with Bob Hope. The two were dominant presences in both film and radio – both during and long after the war. Comedies definitely weren’t limited to Abbott & Costello and Crosby & Hope. Director Ernst Lubitsch had the intelligentsia in stitches with “To Be Not to Be” and “Heaven Can Wait”. Both of which leave me cold. I don’t like the contrived Damon Runyon at the pearly gates whimsy of “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” either. But all three of these were box office hits and remain critical favorites. Early 40’s comedies I do love? “My Favorite Wife”, “The Devil and Miss Jones” “I Married a Witch” the under-rated Irene Dunne/Charles Boyer outing “Together Again” and some of the Preston Sturges films, especially “Christmas in July” and the superbly realized “Sullivan’s Travels”. These were all major studio A’s. In addition to turning out gleaming super-productions, Warner Brothers operated a great B picture unit, often producing little movies more entertaining than the A’s they supported. Two of their 1940 comedies, “Calling All Husbands” and” Father is a Prince” were especially engaging. And gave character actors like Grant Mitchell and Nana Bryant the chance to play leads (which they both do beautifully in “Father is a Prince”). Young Warner Brothers contract player George Reeves is on hand – and exceptionally winning – in both films. Now, there’s someone who surely should have been a top leading man in the 40’s. That big movie break just never came.
Bing Crosby slipped comfortably into the role of America’s best loved regular guy (a regular guy who just happened to have a smoothly naturalistic acting style, terrific comedy chops and a million dollar singing voice). Crosby consolidated his standing even more in the series of “Road” comedies he made with Bob Hope. The two were dominant presences in both film and radio – both during and long after the war. Comedies definitely weren’t limited to Abbott & Costello and Crosby & Hope. Director Ernst Lubitsch had the intelligentsia in stitches with “To Be Not to Be” and “Heaven Can Wait”. Both of which leave me cold. I don’t like the contrived Damon Runyon at the pearly gates whimsy of “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” either. But all three of these were box office hits and remain critical favorites. Early 40’s comedies I do love? “My Favorite Wife”, “The Devil and Miss Jones” “I Married a Witch” the under-rated Irene Dunne/Charles Boyer outing “Together Again” and some of the Preston Sturges films, especially “Christmas in July” and the superbly realized “Sullivan’s Travels”. These were all major studio A’s. In addition to turning out gleaming super-productions, Warner Brothers operated a great B picture unit, often producing little movies more entertaining than the A’s they supported. Two of their 1940 comedies, “Calling All Husbands” and” Father is a Prince” were especially engaging. And gave character actors like Grant Mitchell and Nana Bryant the chance to play leads (which they both do beautifully in “Father is a Prince”). Young Warner Brothers contract player George Reeves is on hand – and exceptionally winning – in both films. Now, there’s someone who surely should have been a top leading man in the 40’s. That big movie break just never came.
George Reeves, the movie star that should have been |
Westerns
continued to boom. Roy Rogers eclipsed Gene Autry as King of the B’s. Best of the A's were possibly MGM's "Billy the Kid"(with a subdued Robert Taylor very effective in the title role), Fritz Lang's rousing "Western Union" and William Wellman's stark, shocking "The Ox-Bow Incident".
Film
noir, which came into its own right after the war, was definitely in a state of
rapid development during the early 40’s – from RKO’s “Stranger on the Third Floor”
to Paramount’s “This Gun for Hire” and Fox’s “Laura”. Certainly, the faces and
personalities of noir character actors like Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr. have made much more
indelible impressions on later generations than some of the stars they
supported.
Possibly
the artistic event of the era was
Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane”. It arrived as a creative thunderbolt and its
effects are still being felt. The picture proved to be the first salvo in
Welles’ remarkable film career. Box office success tended to elude him. But an
inordinately large percentage of the movies he directed are now accepted as
classics of the canon.
Welles
already enjoyed a considerable cultural reputation when he arrived at RKO. A more
surprising source of eloquently inspired cinema was gifted Val Lewton, who produced a group of low budget
horror films for that same studio (“Cat People” “The Seventh Victim,” “Curse
of the Cat People”, among others).
Directors changed from picture to picture – but Lewton’s over-riding
influence kept the best of these movies enveloped in an atmosphere of hushed existential menace. There’s seldom been a better case for
the theory of producer as auteur.
War-related
complications more or less kept foreign films off the menu. It wasn’t till
after the conflict that North American audiences – at least the more
adventurous of them - finally saw
intriguing European treasures like “La Corona di Ferro”, “Le Baron Fantome”, “I
bambini ci guardano” and “Ossessione” (
a stunning Visconti adaptation of “The Postman Always Rings Twice” – far
superior to the later {albeit quite good} Hollywood version).
For
whatever reason, the kind of sci fi
involving interplanetary adventure played virtually no part in 40’s
cinema. Mad doctors daring Mother Nature with their in-lab puttering pretty much defined the 40’s sci-fi scene. And like the outer
space sagas, Biblical spectacles would have to wait till the 50’s to flex their
box-office muscles. Closest 40’s
equivalents were the Maria Montez
Arabian Nights epics that packed cinemas throughout the war years.
Having
lost the European market for the duration, Hollywood courted Latin America
assiduously. With the full encouragement
of the U.S. government, eager to ward
off Axis influence in that area. Latin American performers scooped up by American studios included Carmen Miranda(Brazilian bombshell
actually born in Portugal), Arturo de Cordova(Mexican) and Maria Montez(from
the Dominican Republic). All made bids for Hollywood stardom – with varying
degrees of success.
Musicals
were entering the peak years of their popularity. Although, without Astaire and
Rogers, RKO just couldn’t summon up much in the way of movie musical artistry.
And post Busby Berkeley, Warner Brothers lost its edge in the field as well. Paramount
had Bing and virtually anything he sang in made money. Technical advances made movies more polished
than ever. And Technicolor films, though still something of an event, became
more prevalent – especially when it came to musicals. No studio used color more
aggressively or more lucratively than 20th Century Fox. The vibrant lollipop hues of their popular Betty Grable and Alice Faye musicals were never less than eye-popping; Fox's palette seemed specifically calibrated to celebrate
the colors of Carmen Miranda’s towering fruit salad hats. The early 40’s witnessed
the heyday of the big band phenomenon, greatest
single force in the era’s popular music. Fox skating star Sonja Henie prolonged her
popularity by buttressing her film musicals with name bands. And they weren’t
just added attractions in the lady’s extravaganzas; their presence practically
drove the storylines in wartime Henie hits like “Sun Valley Serenade”(Glenn
Miller), “Iceland”(Sammy Kaye) and
“Wintertime”(Woody Herman).
Sonja Henie, Winter's #1 Ambassadress |
Song-filled Judy
Garland/Mickey Rooney films made millions for MGM during the war years. But it
wasn’t till Vincente Minnelli directed Judy in the wonderfully crafted “Meet Me
in St. Louis” that the Metro musical really moved into its rapturous golden
age.
Among the acknowledged
classics of the period you won’t find on my list: “Casablanca”(it took me
several attempts to finish it without falling asleep). Appeal of its script, performances and skin-deep
character entanglements all elude me. Maybe
I was inoculated against its charms as a baby. Also put me down as a stubborn
non-fan of “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” “The Man Who Came to
Dinner” and Bette Davis’ phony baloney “Now Voyager”. And phooey
on Ginger Rogers’ whole 40’s career. Watching
Astaire’s delightful 30’s partner – a
bewitching combination of the down to earth and the divine – change course in
the 40’s was a decade long downer. I hated seeing her parade around
self-importantly under a series of elaborately unbecoming hairdos. I’m tempted
to blame the change on that 1940 Oscar she snatched away from any number of
more deserving candidates. From then on,
at least through the ensuing decade, she always gave me the impression of
someone who smugly expected another to be handed to her at any
moment.
But
enough with the gripes. Here’s the list of early 40’s films for which I feel
nothing but love:
PART 3: 1940-1944
288. the Ape(’40) William Nigh
Boris
Karloff,Maris Wrixon
289. Bandwaggon(’40) Marcel Varnel
Arthur
Askey,Richard Murdoch,Moore Marriott
290. Bitter Sweet(’40) Victor Saville
Jeanette
MacDonald,Nelson Eddy,George Sanders
291. Black Friday(’40) Arthur Lubin
Stanley
Ridges,Boris Karloff,Bela Lugosi,Anne Nagel
292. Brigham Young(’40) Henry Hathaway
Tyrone
Power,Linda Darnell,Dean Jagger,Vincent price
293. Broadway Melody of 1940(’40) Norman Taurog
Fred
Astaire,Eleanor Powell,George Murphy
294. Calling All Husbands(’40) Noel Smith
George
Tobias,Florence Bates,George Reeves
295. the Carson City Kid(’40) Joseph Kane
Roy
Rogers,Pauline Moore,Bob Steele
296. Charlie Chan in Panama(’40) Norman Foster
Sidney
Toler,Victor Sen Yung,Jean Rogers,Mary Nash
297. Christmas in July(’40) Preston Sturges
Dick
Powell,Ellen Drew,Raymond Walburn
298. the Devil Bat(’40) Jean Yarbrough
Bela
Lugosi.Dave O’Brien,Suzanne Kaaren
299. Escape(’40) Mervyn LeRoy
Norma
Shearer,Robert Taylor,Conrad Veidt,Nazimova
300. Father is a Prince(’40) Noel Smith
Grant
Mitchell,Nana Bryant,George Reeves
301. Foreign Correspondent(’40) Alfred Hitchcock
Joel
McCrea,Laraine Day,Herbert Marshall
302. I Love You Again(’40) W.S. Van Dyke
William
Powell,Myrna Loy,Frank McHugh
304. I Take This Woman(’40) W.S. Van Dyke
Spencer
Tracy,Hedy Lamarr,Verree Teasdale
305. Kit Carson(’40) George B. Seitz
Jon Hall,Lynn Bari,Dana Andrews
305. Kora Terry(’40) Georg Jacoby
Marika Rokk,Will Quadflieg
306. Law and Order(’40) Ray Taylor
Johnny
Mack Brown,Nell O’Day,Fuzzy Knight
307. the Letter(’40) William Wyler
Bette
Davis,Herbert Marshall,James Stephenson
308. Lucky Cisco Kid(’40) Bruce Humberstone
Cesar
Romero,Mary Beth Hughes,Dana Andrews
309. the Man with Nine Lives(’40) Nick Grinde
Boris
Karloff,Roger Pryor,Jo Ann Sayers
310. the Mark of Zorro(’40) Rouben Mamoulian
Tyrone
Power,Linda Darnell,Basil Rathbone
311. My Favorite Wife(’40) Garson Kanin
Irene
Dunne,Cary Grant,Randolph Scott
312. Pride and Prejudice(’40) Robert Z. Leonard
Laurence
Olivier,Greer Garson,Maureen O’Sullivan
313. Ragtime Cowboy Joe(’40) Ray Taylor
Johnny Mack Brown,Nell O’Day,Fuzzy Knight
314. Remember the Night(’40) Mitchell Leisen
Barbara
Stanwyck,Fred MacMurray,Elizabeth Patterson
315. Return to Yesterday(’40) Robert Stevenson
Clive
Brook,Anna Lee,Dame May Whitty,Garry Marsh
316. Santa Fe Trail(’40) Michael Curtiz
Errol
Flynn,Olivia de Havilland,Raymond Massey
317. the Sea Hawk(’40) Michael Curtiz
Errol
Flynn,Brenda Marshall,Flora Robson,Henry Daniell
318. Star Dust(’40) Walter Lang
Linda
Darnell,John Payne,Mary Beth Hughes
319. Stranger on the Third Floor(’40) Boris Ingster
John
McGuire,Peter Lorre.Margaret Tallichet
320. Strike Up the Band(’40) Busby Berkeley
Mickey
Rooney,Judy Garland,Paul Whiteman,Larry Nunn
321. Tear Gas Squad(’40) Terry Morse
Dennis
Morgan,John Payne,George Reeves,Gloria Dickson
322. the Thief of Bagdad(’40) Michael Powell,Tim Whelan,Ludwig Berger
Sabu,Conrad
Veidt,John Justin,June Duprezs
323. ‘Til We Meet Again(’40) Edmund Goulding
Merle Oberon,George Brent,Pat O’brien
324. Tin Pan Alley(’40) Walter Lang
Alice
Faye,John Payne,Betty Grable,Jack Oakie
325. Triple Justice(’40) David Howard
George
O’Brien,Virginia Vale
326. Viva Cisco Kid(’40) Norman Foster
Cesar
Romero,Jean Rogers,Chris-Pin Martin
327. When the Daltons Rode(’40) George Marshall
Randolph Scott,Kay Francis,Brian Donlevy,Mary
Gordon
328. a Window in London(’40) Herbert Mason
Michael
Redgrave,Sally Gray,Patricia Roc,Paul Lukas
329. You’ll Find Out(’40) David Butler
Kay
Kyser.Boris Karloff,Bela Lugosi,Helen Parrish
330. Among the Living(’41) Stuart Heisler
Albert Dekker,Susan
Hayward,Frances Farmer
331. Bahama Passage(’41) Edward H. Griffith
Madeleine
Carroll,Sterling Hayden,Cecil Kellaway
Yes, Sterling started out as Stirling |
332. Belle Starr(’41) Irving Cummings
Gene Tierney,Randolph Scott,Dana Andrews
333. Billy the Kid(’41) David Miller
Robert
Taylor.Brian Donlevy,Mary Howard,Ian Hunter
334. Blood and Sand(’41) Rouben Mamoulian
Tyrone
Power,Linda Darnell,Rita Hayworth,Laird Cregar
335. Citizen Kane(’41) Orson Welles
Orson
Welles,Joseph Cotten,Dorothy Commingore,Ray Collins
336. the Cowboy and the Blonde(’41) Ray McCarey
George
Montgomery,Mary Beth Hughes
337. Crook’s Tour(’41) John Baxter
Basil
Radford,Naunton Wayne,Greta Gynt
338. the Devil and Miss Jones(’41) Sam Wood
Jean
Arthur,Charles Coburn,Spring Byington,S.Z. Sakall
339. Footsteps in the Dark(’41) Lloyd Bacon
Errol
Flynn,Brenda Marshall,Ralph Bellamy,Lee Patrick
340. Freedom Radio(’41) Anthony Asquith
Clive
Brooks,Diana Wynyard,Raymond Huntley
341. Hellzapoppin(’41) H.C. Potter
Ole
Olsen,Chic Johnson,Martha Raye
342. High Sierra(’41) Raoul Walsh
Humphrey
Bogart,Ida Lupino,Joan Leslie,Henry Travers
343. Invisible Ghost(’41) Joseph H. Lewis
Bela
Lugosi,Polly Ann Young,John McGuire,Clarence Muse
344. LA Corona di Ferro(’41) Alessandro Blasetti
Massimo
Girotti, Elisa Cegani,Gino Cervi
345. Ladies in Retirement(’41) Charles Vidor
Ida
Lupino,Louis Hayward,Isobel Elsom,Evelyn Keyes
346. Love Crazy(’41) Jack Conway
William
Powell,Myrna Loy,Gail Patrick,Jack Carson
347. Man-Made Monster(’41) George Waggner
Lon
Chaney Jr.,Lionel Atwill,Anne Nagel
348. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break(’41) Edward F. Cline
W.C.
Fields,Gloria Jean
349. Silver Stallion(’41) Edward Finney
David
Sharpe,Chief Thundercloud,LeRoy Mason
350. Singapore Woman(’41) Jean Negulesco
Brenda
Joyce,David Bruce,Jerome Cowan
351. Sis Hopkins(’41) Joseph Santley
Judy
Canova,Bob Crosby,Susan Hayward
352. Sullivan’s Travels(’41) Preston Sturges
Joel McCrea,Veronica Lake
353. Sun Valley Serenade(’41) Bruce Humberstone
Sonja
Henie,John Payne,Glenn Miller,Lynn Bari
354. Sunny(’41) Herbert Wilcox
Anna
Neagle,John Carroll,Ray Bolger
355. Swamp Water(’41) Jean
Renoir
Walter Brennan,Walter Huston,Dana Andrews
356. That Night in Rio(’41) Irving Cummings
Alice
Faye,Don Ameche,Carmen Miranda
357. They Died with ther Boots On(’41) Raoul Walsh
Errol
Flynn,Olivia de Havilland
358. Two-Faced Woman(’41) George Cukor
Greta
Garbo,Melvyn Douglas,Constance Bennett
359. Week-end in Havana(’41) Walter Lang
Alice
Faye,John Payne,Carmen Miranda,Cesar Romero
360. Western Union(’41) Fritz Lang
Robert
Young,Randolph Scott,Virginia Gilmore
361. You’ll Never Get Rich(’41) Sidney Lanfield
Fred
Astaire,Rita Hayworth,Robert Benchley
362. Ziegfeld Girl(’41) Robert Z. Leonard
Lana
Turner,Judy Garland,Hedy Lamarr,James Stewart
363. A-Haunting We Will Go(’42) Alfred L. Werker
Stan Laurel,Oliver Hardy,Sheila Ryan
364. Arabian Nights(’42) John Rawlins
Maria
Montez,Jon Hall,Sabu,Turhan Bey
365. Captains of the Clouds(’42) Michael Curtiz
James Cagney,Brenda Marshall
366. Cat People(’42) Jacques Tourneur
Simone
Simon,Kent Smith,Jane Randolph,Tom Conway
367. Desperate Journey(’42) Raoul Walsh
Errol Flynn,Raymond Massey,Ronald Reagan,Nancy
Coleman
368. Die Grosse Liebe(’42) Rolf Hansen
Zarah
Leander,Viktor Staal
369. Hab Mich Lieb(’42) Harald Braun
Marika
Rokk,Viktor Staal
370. Halalos Csok(’42) Laszlo Kalmar
Katalin
Karady,Istvan Nagy
371. Holiday Inn(’42) Mark Sandrich
Bing
Crosby,Fred Astaire,Marjorie Reynolds,Virginia Dale
372. I Married a Witch(’42) Rene Clair
Fredric
March,Veronica Lake,Susan Hayward,Cecil Kellaway
373. I Married an Angel(’42) W.S. Van Dyke
Jeanette
MacDonald,Nelson Eddy
374. Iceland(’42) Bruce Humberstone
Sonja
Henie,John Payne,Osa Massen
375. In Old California(’42) William McGann
John
Wayne,Binnie Barnes,Helen Parrish,Edgar Kennedy
376. In This Our Life('42) John Huston
Bette Davis,Olivia de Havilland,Dennis Morgan
376. In This Our Life('42) John Huston
Bette Davis,Olivia de Havilland,Dennis Morgan
377. Journey into Fear(’42) Norman Foster
Joseph
Cotten,Dolores del Rio,Orson Welles
378. Let the People Sing(’42) John Baxter
Edward
Rigby,Patricia Roc,Alastair Sim
379. the Magnificent Ambersons(’42) Orson Welles
Tim
Holt,Joseph Cotten,Anne Baxter,Ray Collins
380. the Man Who Wouldn’t Die(’42) Herbert I. Leeds
Lloyd
Nolan,Marjorie Weaver,Helene Reynolds
381. Man With Two Lives(’42) Phil Rosen
Edward
Norris,Margo Dwyer
82. Moontide(’42) Archie Mayo
Jean
Gabin,Ida Lupino,Thomas Mitchell,Helene Reynolds
383. Night Monster(’42) Ford Beebe
Bela
Lugosi,Lionel Atwill,Irene Hervey,Janet Shaw
384. Noi Vivi(’42) Goffredo Alessandrini
Alida
Valli,Rossano Brazzi
385. Orchestra Wives(’42) Archie Mayo
George
Montgomery,Ann Rutherford,Lynn Bari
386. the Palm Beach Story(’42) Preston Sturges
Claudette
Colbert,Joel McCrea,Rudy Vallee
387. Ride ‘Em Cowboy(’42) Arthur Lubin
Bud
Abbott,Lou Costello,Dick Foran,Anne Gwynne
388. Secret Enemies(’42) Ben Stoloff
Craig Stevens,Faye
Emerson,Robert Warwick
389. Spy Ship(’42) B. Reeves Eason
Irene
Manning,Craig Stevens,Maris Wrixon
390. Syncopation(’42) William Dieterle
Jackie Cooper,Bonita Granville,Adolphe Menjou
391. This Gun for Hire(’42) Frank Tuttle
Veronica
Lake,Alan Ladd,Robert Preston,Laird Cregar
392. Went the Day Well?(’42) Cavalcanti
Leslie
Banks,David Farrar,Muriel George
393. Who Done It(’42) Erle C. Kenton
Bud
Abbott,Lou Costello,William Bendix,Louise Allbritton
394. Wir machen Musik(’42) Harold Kautner
Ilse
Werner,Viktor de Kowa
395. Behind the Rising Sun(’43) Edward Dmytryk
Tom
Neal,Margo,Gloria Holden,J. Carrol Naish,Don Douglas
396. Crime Doctor(’43) Michael Gordon
Warner
Baxter,Margaret Lindsay,John Litel
397. Der Weisse Traum(’43) Geza von Cziffra
Olly
Holzmann,Wolf Albach-Retty
398. Ghost Ship(’43) Mark Robson
Richard
Dix,Russell Wade,Edith Barrett,Skelton Knaggs
399. the Hard Way(’43) Vincent Sherman
Ida Lupino,Dennis Morgan,Joan Leslie,Jack
Carson
400. Headin’ for God’s Country(’43) William Morgan
William
Lundigan,Virginia Dale,Harry Davenport
401. Hitler’s Children(’43) Edward
Dmytryk
Bonita Granville,Tim Holt,Kent
Smith
402. Jitterbugs(’43) Malcolm St. Clair
Stan
Laurel,Oliver Hardy,Vivian Blaine,Lee Patrick
403. L’Eternel Retour(’43) Jean Delannoy
Jean
Marais,Madeleine Sologne,Pieral
404. Le Baron Fantome(’43) Serge de Poligny
Alain
Cuny,Gabrielle Dorziat,Jany Holt
405. the Leopard Man(’43) Jacques Tourneur
Dennis
O’Keefe,Jean Brooks,Margo,James Bell
406. the Mad Ghoul(’43) James Hogan
David
Bruce,Evelyn Ankers,George Zucco
407. the Man in Grey(’43) Leslie Arliss
James
Mason,Phyllis Calvert,Margaret Lockwood
408. Millions Like Us(’43) Sidney Gilliat,Frank Launder
Patricia
Roc,Gordon Jackson,Moore Marriott
409. North Star(’43) Lewis Milestone
Anne
Baxter,Dana Andrews,Farley Granger,Walter Huston
410. Ossessione(’43) Luchino Visconti
Massimo
Girotti,Clara Calamai,Elio Marcuzzo
411. the Ox-Bow Incident(’43) William
Wellman
henry Fonda,Dana Andrews,Jane Darwell
412. the Peterville Diamond’43) Walter Forde
Anne
Crawford,Donald Stewart,Renee Houston
413. the Phantom of the Opera(’43) Arthur
Lubin
Nelson
Eddy,Claude Rains,Susanna Foster,Edgar Barrier
414. Return of the Vampire(’43) Lew Landers
Bela Lugosi,Frieda Inescort,Nina Foch
415. the Seventh Victim(’43) Mark Robson
Kim Hunter,Jean Brooks,Hugh Beaumont,Tom
Conway
416. Shadow of a Doubt(’43) Alfred Hitchcock
Joseph
Cotten,Teresa Wright
417. Son of Dracula(’43) Robert Siodmak
Lon
Chaney Jr.,Louise Allbritton,Robert Paige,Evelyn Ankers
418. the Song of Bernadette(’43) Henry King
Jennifer
Jones,Charles Bickford,Vincent Price,Gladys Cooper
419. Stormy Weather(’43) Andrew L. Stone
Bill Robinson,Lena Horne,Dooley
Wilson,Emmett Wallace
420. the Sultan’s Daughter(’43) Arthur
Dreifuss
Ann Corio,Tim Ryan,Edward Norris,Irene
Ryan
421. Swing Fever(’43) Tim Whelan
Marilyn
Maxwell,Kay Kyser,William Gargan,Lena Horne
422. Thank Your Lucky Stars(’43) David Butler
Eddie
Cantor,Dennis Morgan,Joan Leslie,Bette Davis,Errol Flynn
423. Thursday’s Child(’43) Rodney Ackland
Sally
Ann Howes,Wilfred Lucas,Stewart Granger
424. Wintertime(’43) John Brahm
Sonja
Henie,Cornel Wilde,Cesar Romero,Helene Reynolds
425. Yellow Canary(’43) Herbert Wilcox
Anna
Neagle,Richard Greene
426. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves(’44) Arthur Lubin
Maria
Montez,Jon Hall,Turhan Bey
427. Bluebeard(’44) Edgar G. Ulmer
John
Carradine,Jean Parker,Nils Ssther,Henry Kolker
428. Can’t Help Singing(’44) Frank Ryan
Deanna
Durbin,Robert Paige,Akim Tamiroff
429. a Canterbury Tale(’44) Michael
Powell,Emeric Pressburger
Eric
Portman,Sheila Sim,Dennis Price
430. Die Frau meiner Traume(’44) Georg
Jacoby
Marika Rokk,Wolfgang Lukschy
431. Don’t Take It to Heart(’44) Jeffrey Dell
Richard
Greene,Patricia Medina,Moore Marriott
432. Dragon Seed(’44) Harold S. Bucquet,Jack Conway
Katharine
Hepburn,Turhan Bey,Walter Huston
433. Frenchman’s Creek(’44) Mitchell Leisen
Joan
Fontaine,Arturo de Cordova,Basil Rathbone
434. Gaslight(’44) George Cukor
Ingrid
Bergman,Charles Boyer,Joseph Cotten
435. Henry V(’44) Laurence Olivier
Laurence
Olivier,Leslie Banks,Renee Asherson
436. House of Frankenstein(’44) Erle C. Kenton
Boris
Karloff,Lon Chaney Jr.,John Carradine,J. Carrol Naish
437. I Bambini ci Guardano(’44) Vittorio de Sica
Luciano
De Ambrosis,Isa Pola,Emilio Cigoli
438. In Society(’44) Jean Yarbrough
Bud
Abbott,Lou Costello,Marion Hutton,Kirby Grant
439. the Invisible Man’s Revenge(’44) Ford Beebe
Jon
Hall,Evelyn Ankers,Gale Sondergaard
440. Jane Eyre(’44) Robert Stevenson
Joan Fontaine,Orson Welles,Peggy Ann Garner
441. Laura(’44) Otto Preminger
Gene Tierney,Dana
Andrews,Clifton Webb
442. Lifeboat(’44) Alfred Hitchcock
Tallulah
Bankhead,John Hodiak,Walter Slezak
443. Lights of Old Santa Fe(’44) Frank McDonald
Roy Rogers,Dale Evans.George “Gabby” Hayes
444. the Mask of Dimitrios(’44) Jean Negulesco
Sydney
Greenstreet,Peter Lorre,Zachary Scott
445. Meet Me in St. Louis(’44) Vincente Minnelli
Judy
Garland,Margaret O’Brien,Tom Drake,Mary Astor
446. the Pearl of Death(’44) Roy William Neill
Basil Rathbone,Nigel Bruce,Evelyn Ankers
447. the Scarlet Claw(’44) Roy William Neill
Basil
Rathbone,Nigel Bruce,Paul Cavanagh
448. Since You Went Away(’44) John Cromwell
Claudette
Colbert,Jennifer Jones,Joseph Cotten
449. Song of Nevada(’44) Joseph Kane
Roy
Rogers,Dale Evans,Thurston Hall
450. Song of Russia(’44) Gregory Ratoff
Robert
Taylor,Susan Peters,Robert Benchley
451. the Spider Woman(’44) Roy William Neill
Basil
Rathbone,Nigel Bruce,Gale Sondergaard
452. This Happy Breed(’44) David Lean
Robert
Newton,Celia Johnson,Kay Walsh,John Mills
453. To Have and Have Not(’44) Howard Hawks
Humphrey
Bogart,Lauren Bacall.Hoagy Carmichael
454. Together Again(’44) Charles Vidor
Irene
Dunne,Charles Boyer,Charles Coburn.Mona Freeman
455. the Whistler(’44) William Castle
Richard
Dix,Gloria Stuart,J. Carrol Naish
No comments:
Post a Comment