1940s

  • Hans Fischerkoesen – Das dumme Gänslein AKA Silly Goose (1945)

    1941-1950AnimationGermanyHans FischerkoesenShort FilmThird Reich Cinema

    A silly goose falls under the spell of a bad wolf, but all the other animals unite in helping her.Read More »

  • James Algar & Clyde Geronimi & Jack Kinney – The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

    1941-1950AnimationClyde GeronimiJack KinneyJames AlgarUSA

    Quote:
    Two stories. The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame’s story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving’s story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs “convincing” that Katrina is not for him.Read More »

  • Branko Marjanovic – Zastava AKA The Flag (1949)

    1941-1950Branko MarjanovicDramaWarYugoslaviaYugoslavian Cinema under Tito

    Early Yugoslavian cinema and very rare WW II partisan movie, produced by Jadran film, Zagreb.
    Interesting and good movie describing the destiny of many artists, writers and intellectuals in Croatia who joined partisans in WW II.

    Plot:
    Story about famous ballet dancer Maria who was horrified by the terror of ustasha regime, and joined the partisans…Read More »

  • Preston Sturges – The Lady Eve [+Extras] (1941)

    1941-1950ComedyPreston SturgesRomanceScrewball ComedyUSA

    Criterion wrote:
    Barbara Stanwyck sizzles, Henry Fonda bumbles, and Preston Sturges runs riot in one of the all-time great screwballs, a pitch-perfect blend of comic zing and swoonworthy romance. Aboard a cruise liner sailing up the coast of South America, Stanwyck’s conniving card sharp sets her sights on Fonda’s nerdy snake researcher, who happens to be the heir to a brewery fortune. But when the con artist falls for her mark, her grift becomes a game of hearts—and she is determined to win it all. One in a string of matchless comedic marvels that Sturges wrote, directed, and produced as part of a dazzling 1940s run, this gender-flipped battle-of-wits farce is perhaps his most emotionally satisfying work, tempering its sparkling wit with a streak of tender poignancy supplied by the sensational Stanwyck at her peak.Read More »

  • Leo McCarey – Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)

    USA1941-1950ComedyLeo McCareyScrewball Comedy

    At the start of WWII, Katie O’Hara, an American burlesque girl intent on social climbing, marries Austrian Baron Von Luber. Pat O’Toole, an American radio reporter, sees this as a chance to investigate Von Luber, who is suspected of having Nazi ties. As country after country falls to the Nazis, O’Tool follows O’Hara across Europe. At first he is after a story, but he gradually falls in love with her. When she learns that her husband is indeed a Nazi, O’Hara fakes her death and runs off with O’Toole. In Paris, she is recruited to spy for the allies; he uses a radio broadcast to make Von Luber and the Nazis look like fools.Read More »

  • Joe May – Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Any More (1944)

    1941-1950ComedyJoe MayRomanceUSA

    Plot:
    The sparkling screwball comedy And So They Were Married was originally released as Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Any More. French-Canadian girl Simone Simon leases a Washington DC apartment from Marine William Terry. Since the Nation’s Capital is overcrowded (wartime, don’t you know), Simon must put up with a steady parade of Terry’s old cronies and girlfriends, all of whom have keys to the apartment. She also becomes the romantic bone of contention between Terry and his sailor pal James Ellison. The last half of the film is dominated by Robert Mitchum as a Chief Petty Officer, who wants to rent the apartment for himself and his wife.Read More »

  • Cecil B. DeMille – Samson and Delilah (1949)

    1941-1950Cecil B. DeMilleEpicRomanceUSA

    Synopsis:
    Though his people, the Israelites, are enslaved by the Philistines, Samson (Victor Mature), strongest man of the tribe of Dan, falls in love with the Philistine Semadar (Dame Angela Lansbury), whom he wins by virtue of a contest of strength. But Semadar betrays him, and Samson engages in a fight with her real love, Ahtur (Henry Wilcoxon), and his soldiers. Semadar is killed, and her sister Delilah (Hedy Lamarr), who had loved Samson in silence, now vows vengeance against him. She plans to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength and then to betray him to the Philistine leader, The Saran of Gaza (George Sanders).Read More »

  • Sifrid Miladinov – Galicnik (1940)

    1931-1940DocumentarySifrid MiladinovSilentYugoslavia

    Quote:
    This ethnographic and historical silent 16mm cinematic jewel was filmed in 1940 by Sifrid Miladinov – a professional photographer and amateur filmmaker from Kumanovo, a man with eclectic range of interests.
    In 16 short but precious minutes you will see what the village of Galichnik, the famous Galichnik wedding and our ancestors looked like 80 years ago – in color! – very unusual at that time. Maybe some of you will recognize your great-grandfather, great-great-grandmother, old family house, alley, tree, entrance door. Sifrid Miladinov’s film is a rare opportunity to look back in the past through authentic, original archive footage. We thank the descendants of this film enthusiast, the Miladinovi family from Zagreb, for depositing the film in our national film archive – the Cinematheque – several years ago.Read More »

  • Thorold Dickinson – Gaslight (1940)

    1931-1940DramaMysteryThorold DickinsonUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    ‘Twenty years ago, old Mrs. Barlow was killed in her home at 12, Pimlico Square for her priceless rubies. The murderer searched the whole house without finding them, then disappeared. The house has been empty since then, but now Paul and Bella Mallen move into the apartment. Bella Mallen suffers from forgetfulness and nervousness – at least that is what her husband tells her. An elderly horse wrangler, B.G. Rough worked as a policeman twenty years ago and still remembers the unsolved case. He notices that Mr. Mallen looks just like Louis Barre, Mrs. Barlow’s nephew. And why does Mr. Mallen mysteriously leave every night just to go into the apartment next door, no. 14?’
    – Mattias ThuressonRead More »

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