1940s

  • 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 »

  • Harold Young – Spy Train (1943)

    1941-1950Harold YoungThrillerUSA

    Plot Synopsis:
    A reporter recognizes some Nazi spies on a train and soon realizes that they’re after a particular piece of luggage. Little does any of them suspect that the contents of that bag may be the death of everyone on board!Read More »

  • Christian-Jaque – Sortilèges AKA The Bellman (1945)

    1941-1950Christian-JaqueDramaFranceMystery

    Synopsis:
    ‘A bellman – that is, a man whose job it is to help lost travelers in the Alps find their way from the ringing of a bell – kills a traveler for his money and splits the proceeds with companion. However, complications follow…’
    – Dave SindelarRead More »

  • Anthony Pelissier – The History of Mr. Polly (1949)

    1941-1950Anthony PelissierComedyDramaUnited Kingdom

    Plot (possible spoilers):
    Opening in late Victorian times, following his dismissal from a draper’s shop, where his father had placed him as an apprentice, protagonist Alfred Polly (John Mills) finds it hard to find another position. When a telegram arrives informing him of his father’s death, he returns to the family home. With a bequest of £500, Polly starts to consider his future; and a friend of his father’s, Mr Johnson (Edward Chapman), urges him to invest it in a shop – an idea that Polly hates. Whilst dawdling in the countryside on a newly-bought bicycle, Polly meets a schoolgirl, Christabel (Sally Ann Howes) with whom he feels he has fallen in love, but he later marries a cousin, Miriam Larkins (Betty Ann Davies). Read More »

  • Boris Barnet & Aleksandr Macheret – Stranitsy zhizni aka Pages of Life (1948)

    1941-1950Aleksandr MacheretBoris BarnetDramaUSSRWar

    Nina arrives as a young lost girl in a factory, but soon shows great qualities as a human being, curious of knowing more and learning. History comes across her way.Read More »

  • Akira Kurosawa – Sugata Sanshirô AKA Judo Saga (1943)

    1941-1950ActionAdventureAkira KurosawaJapan

    Synopsis:
    Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita) wants to learn jujitsu. But after he witnesses the power of judo firsthand, he abandons his jujitsu training to study with judo master Shogoro Yano (Denjirô Ôkôchi). Under Yano, Sanshiro learns the combative elements of the art, and he also masters satori — the quiet, meditative aspects of judo style. With both in hand, he fights for the respect of his former teacher and for the love of his teacher’s daughter, Sayo (Yukiko Todoriki).Read More »

  • Francisco Ribeiro – O Pátio das Cantigas AKA The Courtyard of the Ballads (1942)

    Comedy1941-1950Francisco RibeiroMusicalPortugal

    This classic of Portuguese cinema depicts the friendships and rivalries of the inhabitants of a square in downtown Lisbon, where exists a spirit of familiarity between neighbors. (from IMDB)Read More »

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