40s Film
The Great Dictator (1940) IMDb
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
(Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Maurice Moscovitch, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, Jack Oakie, Grace Hayle, Emma Dunn, Bernard Gorcey, Paul Weigel, Chester Conklin, Hank Mann)
The comic masterpiece. The open satire of Hitler made at the beginning of World War II. Bad taste!, would be the natural response. But, you have to see it to believe it.
There is no bad taste. It is a brave, powerful and, yes, hilarious wake-up-call to the 1940 world of what was happening right at that moment.
Not to be missed.
His Girl Friday (1940) IMDb
Directed by: Howard Hawks
(Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Ernest Truex, Cliff Edwards, Clarence Kolb, Roscoe Karns, Frank Jenks, Abner Biberman, Frank Orth, John Qualen, Helen Mack, Billy Gilbert, Alma Kruger)
Only to be watched when very alert as the dialogue is non-stop and delivered extremely quickly, but it pays to concentrate as Grant and Russell's sharp wit is why this film stands out. This and The Philadelphia Story are two fine examples of Cary Grant's talent in comedy.
Rebecca (1940) IMDb
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
(Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, C Aubrey Smith, Nigel Bruce, Gladys Cooper, Florence Bates, Reginald Denny)
The Philadelphia Story (1940) IMDb
Directed by: George Cukor
(Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Roland Young, Ruth Hussey, Mary Nash, John Halliday, Virginia Weidler, John Howard, Henry Daniell)
A wonderful film, all the actors are magnificent in their very different parts. Roland Young is particularly good, but the script has dealt him an excellent part. James Stewart plays the drunk scene with Grant magnificently, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than Hepburn in her role. Forget the popular musical remake, High Society; this is it.
Citizen Kane (1941) IMDb
Directed by: Orson Welles
(Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead, Harry Shannon, Everett Sloane, Erskine Sanford, William Alland, Paul Stewart, George Coulouris, Fortunio Bonanova)
An obvious one, yes, but certainly well worthy of all the praise that has been lavished upon it. It is a fantastic work of any era, and especially 1941.
The cinematography is astounding, and Gregg Toland, the cinematographer responsible for achieving Welles's vision is rightly and humbly credited in the same frame as Welles for direction and production at the end of the feature.
Casablanca (1942) IMDb
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
(Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, Marcel Dalio, S Z Sakall, Madeleine LeBeau, Joy Page, John Qualen, Ludwig Stossel, Leonid Kinskey, Helmut Dantine, Ilka Gruning)
A classic, dear to some, yet a bore to others. The film isn't just wartime romance of course. Casablanca would not be the classic it is without its superb script which is packed full of lovely little witty remarks, the vast majority of which fall to Claude Rains' shrewd Captain Renault. Is it really possible to dislike Casablanca?
I Married a Witch (1942) IMDb
Directed by: René Clair
(Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Cecil Kellaway, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward, Elizabeth Patterson, Robert Warwick)
Charming romantic comedy fantasy, with Lake and March both perfect in their roles. Lake is so beautiful, sweet and playful, it's a shame she did not do more light-hearted comedies as she excels in the genre, bringing to mind Carole Lombard performances in 30s comedies. Fredric March again demonstrates what a fine, gifted actor he is.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) IMDb
Directed by: Albert Lewin
(George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, Lowell Gilmore, Richard Fraser, Robert Greig)
Gilda (1946) IMDb
Directed by: Charles Vidor
(Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray, Saul Martell, Gerald Mohr, Joe Sawyer)
"There NEVER was a woman like Gilda!"
So goes the tagline of this movie, a line I recognised before watching it, having seen reproductions of the 1946 poster many a time, and somehow managing to have caught trailers for the film on the front of re-released classics on DVD.
Yet as familiar as it has become (ah yes, and there is that clip of it shown too in the much, much overhyped blockbuster tripe The Shawshank Redemption), I have never felt the urge to watch it.
Quite frankly, I just don't like film noirs. Yes, I like to consider myself as fairly open-minded when it comes to films and film genres. But, I have tried noir, I really have, and they have all seemed, despite often being visually impressive, pretty dull or corny otherwise. The most popular noir films I've had a go with too: The Maltese Falcon, The Night of the Hunter, Out of the Past, Laura, The Letter, This Gun For Hire... Sin City too, if you're inclined to include it (though I won't start on that particular picture).
The others have their femme fatales, and often very good ones too: Veronica Lake, Gene Tierney. They have their underworld crime, but they don't seem to have a thing on Gilda.
Is it Rita Hayworth? The direction, the cinematography? I watched the brief documentary on Rita Hayworth on the DVD which emphasised the great chemistry between Hayworth and Glenn Ford during filming. Maybe this is the reason. This documentary also mentioned something along the lines of a melodramatic and very hard to follow plot. I am afraid that when it comes to the last point I've never heard such nonsense. The plot was tight and very engrossing - you constantly change who you're rooting for. There are some very solid supporting actors too: Joseph Calleia, certainly George Macready (who I don't recall from Paths of Glory, but now would be intrigued to rewatch that film observing his role), the small part of Saul Martell (his only credited acting role), and the charming Steven Geray (a sort of Peter Lorre meets Thomas Mitchell).
If you consider all the above, it's no wonder Gilda stands out.... and that's from a film noir cynic too.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) IMDb
Directed by: Frank Capra
(James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Gloria Grahame, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, Henry Travers, Sheldon Leonard, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, H B Warner, Frank Albertson, Samuel S Hinds, Mary Treen)
Notorious (1946) IMDb
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
(Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin, Reinhold Schünzel)
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) IMDb
Directed by: Irving Reis
(Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins, Harry Davenport, Johnny Sands, Don Beddoe, Lillian Randolph)
Shirley Temple, younger sister of Myrna Loy, falls for older man Cary Grant hook, line and sinker. Loy, a respected judge, of course disapproves, though it's not the first time she's heard of Grant. Yes, wasn't he the fella she just had before her in court? An ingenious sentence is thought up: You will go out with my little sister until she's over this silly little crush.
This is a truly delightful comedy, with fantastic elements of Cary Grant's comic ability brought out by his having to contend with his sudden adolescent company.
Ah, and if you've ever seen Bowie in the Labyrinth and wondered what on earth that song was about...well, you just might find out here.
Mr Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) IMDb
Directed by: Irving Pichel
(William Powell, Ann Blyth, Irene Hervey, Andrea King, Clinton Sundberg, Hugh French, Art Smith, Lumsden Hare)
Warming, rather daft film about a middle aged married man who falls in love with a mermaid while on holiday with his wife.
The film begins wonderfully and is held up by the lovely little comic mutterings of William Powell. A nice film to relax and chuckle to... and it's good to see Powell drinking almost as much as he does in The Thin Man films too!
