1940s

  • Robert Z. Leonard – In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Robert Z. Leonard1941-1950ComedyRomanceUSA
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Plot:
    In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.Read More »

  • Noel Coward & David Lean – In Which We Serve (1942)

    David Lean1941-1950DramaNoël CowardUnited KingdomWar
    In Which We Serve (1942)
    In Which We Serve (1942)

    Plot / Synopsis
    In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noël Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean. Coward and Lean ended up codirecting the large-scale project—an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward’s only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men’s lives before they left home, In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda.Read More »

  • Jack Bernhard – Decoy (1946)

    1941-1950CrimeFilm NoirJack BernhardUSA
    Decoy (1946)
    Decoy (1946)

    A fatally shot female gangleader recounts her sordid life of crime to a police officer just before she dies.Read More »

  • H.C. Potter – The Time of Your Life (1948)

    H.C. Potter1941-1950ComedyDramaUSA
    The Time of Your Life (1948)
    The Time of Your Life (1948)

    The film follows the adventures of a group of regulars at Nick’s ‘Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace’ in San Francisco. A sign outside tells people to come in as they are. At the center is the wealthy Joe (James Cagney), who has given up working to hold court at Nick’s (William Bendix) bar. He desires to live “a civilized life” without hurting anyone and believes the real truth in people is found in their dreams of themselves, not the hard facts of their actual existence.[4] Joe has a stooge named Tom (Wayne Morris), who runs his eccentric errands until a woman with a past named Kitty (Jeanne Cagney) comes in and steals Tom’s heart. Also appearing are Broderick Crawford as Krupp, Ward Bond as McCarthy, Tom Powers as Blick, and James Barton as Kit Carson.Read More »

  • Nancy Meckler – Sister My Sister (1994)

    Nancy Meckler1941-1950DramaQueer Cinema(s)United Kingdom
    Sister My Sister (1994)
    Sister My Sister (1994)

    This all-woman production is set in provincial France in the early 1930’s. Two young, country sisters enter domestic service in the bourgeois household of a penurious widow and her homely daughter. Neither pair speaks to the other: two sets of women separated and confined by social convention, personality, and the house itself. The relationship of the sisters slowly evolves into obsession, brought about by isolation and by emotions left from childhood. Trapped in a garret room, the sisters’ violent downstairs-upstairs collision with Madame Danzard and the lumpy Isabelle seems certainRead More »

  • Claude Autant-Lara – Le diable au corps AKA Devil in the Flesh (1947)

    Claude Autant-Lara1941-1950DramaFranceRomance
    Le diable au corps (1947)
    Le diable au corps (1947)

    During World War I, underage student Francois Jaubert meets and falls in love with Marthe Grangier, who is engaged to Jacques, a soldier at the Front. Though Francois pursues her ardently, they become separated and she marries Jacques. But when Marthe and Francois meet again, their mutual feelings prove stronger than ever, and they begin an extramarital affair…regardless of potentially tragic consequences. Written by Rod CrawfordRead More »

  • Mario Bonnard – Campo de’ fiori AKA Peddler and the Lady (1943)

    Mario Bonnard1941-1950ComedyDramaItalian Cinema under FascismItaly
    Campo de' fiori (1943)
    Campo de’ fiori (1943)

    Synopsis:
    Peppino, a fishmonger on Campo de’ Fiori, a famous Roman marketplace, works alongside Elide, a greengrocer, who has a soft spot for him, despite the fact they argue all day long… But neither Peppino, nor his friend Aurelio, the barber, are interested in getting married. Until he meets the beautiful Elsa…Read More »

  • David Lean – Brief Encounter (1945)

    David Lean1941-1950ClassicsDramaUnited Kingdom
    Brief Encounter (1945)
    Brief Encounter (1945)

    Based on Noël Coward’s play “Still Life,” Brief Encounter is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet by chance in a London railway station and carry on an intense love affair. Sentimental yet down-to-earth and set in pre-World War II England, the film follows British housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), who is on her way home, but catches a cinder in her eye. By chance, she meets Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), who removes it for her. The two talk for a few minutes and strike immediate sparks, but they end up catching different trains. However, both return to the station once a week to meet and, as the film progresses, they grow closer, sharing stories, hopes, and fears about their lives, marriages, and children. Read More »

  • Jacques Tourneur – Cat People (1942)

    Jacques Tourneur1941-1950HorrorMysteryUSA
    Cat People (1942)
    Cat People (1942)

    Quote:
    Serbian national Irena Dubrovna, a fashion sketch artist, has recently arrived in New York for work. The first person who she makes a personal connection with there is marine engineer Oliver Reed. The two fall in love and get married despite Irena’s reservations, not about Oliver but about herself. She has always felt different than other people, but has never been sure why. She lives close to the zoo, and unlike many of her neighbors is comforted by the sounds of the big cats emanating from the zoo. And although many see it purely as an old wives’ tale, she believes the story from her village of ancient residents being driven into witchcraft and evil doing, those who managed to survive by escaping into the mountains. After seeing her emotional pain, Oliver arranges for her to see a psychiatrist to understand why she believes what she does. In therapy, Dr. Judd, the psychiatrist, learns that she also believes, out of that villagers’ tale, that she has descended from this evil.Read More »

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