1941-1950

  • Georg Wilhelm Pabst – Der Prozeß (1948)

    1941-1950DramaGeorg Wilhelm PabstGermany

    Quote:In the tradition of Eötvös, to whom the film is dedicated as a “pioneer for truth and justice”, Pabst portrays the reality of Jewish life in hauntingly designed scenes and explains both religious superstitions and racist, nationalistic and economic-political arguments against anti-Semitism , which is based on anti-Semitic pamphlets such as the alleged ‘Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion’: this forgery had not yet been published in 1882, but predecessor writings were already widespread and Pabst drew a parallel with this consciously used anachronism to Hitler, who in “Mein Kampf “Expressly mentions the ‘protocols’. Read More »

  • Heinosuke Gosho – Ima hitotabi no AKA Once More (1947)

    Drama1941-1950AsianHeinosuke GoshoJapan

    Synopsis
    Before the war, Nogami, a doctor who devotes himself to the caring of the poor, meets Akiko during a theatrical representation. She’s a sheltered girl from a wealthy bourgeois family who finds herself drawn to him and his humanitarian ideals.Read More »

  • André Malraux – Espoir aka Days of hope (1945)

    1941-1950André MalrauxPoliticsSpainSpanish cinema under FrancoWar

    1937, the Spanish civil war. Republicans fight against Franco’s army and need to bomb a bridge… in Teruel.
    Turned on location… and almost in situation.Read More »

  • Mitchell Leisen – Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

    Drama1941-1950Mitchell LeisenRomanceUSA

    Quote:
    This superior melodrama with a darkly comic tinge came out at a time when Mitchell Leisen’s career was running hot after a series of successes including films like Easy Living, Midnight, and Remember the Night. It was also the last film Billy Wilder (in partnership with Charles Brackett) was content with just writing the screenplay for. He was supposedly so annoyed by the way Leisen took liberties with his script that he resolved never to cede directorial control again.Read More »

  • Clarence Brown – The Human Comedy (1943)

    1941-1950Clarence BrownComedyDramaUSA

    Plot: Homer Macauley remains in a small town looking after his widowed mother and younger brother. Homer’s older brother is fighting the war in Europe. Written by AnonymousRead More »

  • Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger – Gone to Earth (1950)

    1941-1950DramaEmeric PressburgerMichael PowellRomance

    Screen legend Jennifer Jones (Portrait of Jennie) stars as the young, beguiling Hazel Woodus in 1897 Shropshire, England. More than the people around her, she loves and understands the wild animals of the countryside, especially her pet fox. Whenever she has problems, she turns to the book of spells and charms left to her by her gypsy mother. When dashing local squire Jack Reddin (David Farrar, Hour of Glory) begins to pursue Hazel—despite her marriage to Baptist minister Edward Marston (Cyril Cusack, Fahrenheit 451)—a struggle for her body and soul ensues.Read More »

  • Ákos Ráthonyi – La fortuna viene dal cielo (1942)

    Drama1941-1950Ákos RáthonyiClassicsItalian Cinema under FascismItaly

    Engaged by an old lawyer, the young woman Anna receives in present of which it is quite soon relieved a jewel.
    Feeling itself braccato, the pickpocket is forced to leave the precious one found by a hungry singer and recognised like gift of the provision.
    The unfortunate event will take Anna away from the Prince of the Court, finding consolation between Andrew’s arms, which in the meantime it has entered into possession of the necklace…Read More »

  • Louis King – Chetniks! AKA The Fighting Guerrillas (1943)

    1941-1950ActionLouis KingUSAWar

    American Wartime Film: Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943)
    by Carl Savich

    The 1943 American movie Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas is a time capsule that shows how Draza Mihailovich and the Chetnik guerrillas were integral parts of the American and Allied war effort. At the height of World War II in 1943, the movie demonstrated their influence and impact on the “greatest generation”. The movie had a widespread impact not only on the American home front, but globally as well. The American public needed a symbol of resistance and defiance, a sparkplug to get Americans going after years of slumber, to galvanize public opinion and morale in the United States. Draza Mihailovich represented determination, defiance, and indefatigable will.Read More »

  • Alain Resnais – Van Gogh (1948)

    1941-1950Alain ResnaisDocumentaryFranceShort Film

    SYNOPSIS from amg
    Running a mere two reels, Van Gogh was fledgling filmmaker Alain Resnais’ first effort in his documentary series about famous artists. Produced by Pierre Braunberger, who would underwrite most of Resnais’ classics of the 1950s and 1960s, the film won several international awards. Concentrating on Van Gogh’s paintings, Resnais charts the artist’s self-destructive streak and descent into madness — and at the same time celebrates his brilliance and “lust for life.” The narration was written by G. Diehl and R. Hessens. The music, which many reviewers felt was the film’s strongest asset, was by Jacques Besse.Read More »

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