Category: 1940s

Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment

Casablanca(1942) is undoubtedly the most beloved American motion picture ever made. With a dream cast top lined by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and a crew led by eminent director Michael Curtiz and producer Hal B. Wallis and an endlessly quotable script designed by more than five writers, the movie’s genius lay in its ability … Continue reading Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment →

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Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero

Out of the Past(1947), directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming, may well be the greatest Film Noir ever made, with Mitchum giving one of the greatest Noir-hero performances of all time. "Baby, I don't care" was the title of actor, Robert Mitchum's biography written by Lee … Continue reading Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero →

Sands of Iwo Jima: John Wayne towers over this seminal WWII epic with one of his greatest and most iconic performances

Sands of Iwo Jima(1949), directed by Allan Dwan and starring John Wayne, John Agar and Forrest Tucker in lead roles, is one of the most popular American war films. It features a fictional story of the events leading up to the factual raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi by the U.S. Marines. Inspired … Continue reading Sands of Iwo Jima: John Wayne towers over this seminal WWII epic with one of his greatest and most iconic performances →

Crossfire: Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan represents the two sides of the returning WWII soldier in this chilling Noir that’s ultimately a strong polemic against racism

Crossfire (1947), directed by Edward Dmytryk from a novel by Richard Brooks and starring Robert Mitchum, Robert Young and Robert Ryan, is a 'social issue' Noir which makes a strong statement against anti-Semitism. Hate is like a gun. If you carry it around with you it can go off and kill somebody. It killed Samuels … Continue reading Crossfire: Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan represents the two sides of the returning WWII soldier in this chilling Noir that’s ultimately a strong polemic against racism →

The Stranger: Orson Welles’ lone box office hit may be his least personal film but it’s still a terrific Noir thriller with Welles in top form as actor & director

The Stranger(1946) was Orson Welles' third (finished) feature film as a director, and his first Film Noir. Though this is the least artistically impressive, and most conventionally mainstream, of all of Welles' films, it's a superbly crafted genre piece, and was a box office success. Being the only bonafide box office hit that Orson Welles … Continue reading The Stranger: Orson Welles’ lone box office hit may be his least personal film but it’s still a terrific Noir thriller with Welles in top form as actor & director →

Fort Apache: John Wayne and Henry Fonda represents the two sides of the American soldier in this magnificent first film in John Ford’s ‘Cavalry’ trilogy

Fort Apache starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda is the first film in what became John Ford's 'Cavalry' trilogy. It's one of John Ford's most balanced, racially sensitive westerns that tries to understand the Native American issue even as it pays homage to the Army Who better than an Irishman can understand the Indians, while … Continue reading Fort Apache: John Wayne and Henry Fonda represents the two sides of the American soldier in this magnificent first film in John Ford’s ‘Cavalry’ trilogy →

Murder My Sweet: Dick Powell makes the definitive Philip Marlowe in this influential Noir classic

Murder, My Sweet(1944), was an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Farewell my Lovely, with Dick Powell starring as Philip Marlowe in what became the first of the film Noirs. "Okay Marlowe,' I said to myself. 'You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy … Continue reading Murder My Sweet: Dick Powell makes the definitive Philip Marlowe in this influential Noir classic →

My Darling Clementine: John Ford romanticizes Wyatt Earp’s heroism to the point of myth in one of the greatest Westerns ever made

My Darling Clementine(1946), directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp and Victor Mature as Doc Holliday, is one of the greatest Westerns ever made. It's a highly romanticized take on Wyatt Earp's heroism at Tombstone. “The conquest and settlement of the West has been a stupendous feat of our race for … Continue reading My Darling Clementine: John Ford romanticizes Wyatt Earp’s heroism to the point of myth in one of the greatest Westerns ever made →

Red River: John Wayne and Montgomery Clift battle it out in Howard Hawks’ classic western

Red River(1948), starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, was the first western directed by Howard Hawks. This film was Clift's debut movie and was a major turning point in John Wayne's career. I didn’t know the big son of a bitch could act John Ford after watching John Wayne in Red River Director Howard Hawks … Continue reading Red River: John Wayne and Montgomery Clift battle it out in Howard Hawks’ classic western →

The Big Sleep: Howard Hawks’ steamy Noir classic is an eternal cinematic monument to the love between Bogart and Bacall

Humphrey Bogart co-starred with his beloved wife Lauren Bacall as the iconic detective, Philip Marlowe, in Howard Hawks' 1946 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. “Bogart can be tough without a gun,Also he has a sense of humor that contains the grating undertone of contempt. [Alan] Ladd is hard, bitter and occasionally charming, but … Continue reading The Big Sleep: Howard Hawks’ steamy Noir classic is an eternal cinematic monument to the love between Bogart and Bacall →

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: A magnificent John Wayne performance anchors this visually stunning John Ford Western

John Ford's classic Western, She wore a Yellow Ribbon(1949), is the second film in Ford's famed 'Cavalry trilogy'. It's also one of the most visually beautiful films ever made, with John Wayne giving an extraordinary performance in the lead role. "There are no nuances because Nathan Brittles, like Tom Dunson, is folklore and legend, They're … Continue reading She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: A magnificent John Wayne performance anchors this visually stunning John Ford Western →

White Heat : James Cagney made it to the Top of the World in one of the greatest screen performances ever

James Cagney gave a performance of a lifetime as gangster Cody Jarrett in Raoul Walsh's classic film White Heat (1949) that completes 70 years.   Made It Ma, Top of the world One of the most famous exit lines in movies, spoken by the great James Cagney in the 1949 film White Heat. James Cagney … Continue reading White Heat : James Cagney made it to the Top of the World in one of the greatest screen performances ever →

Nightmare Alley: Matinee Idol Tyrone Power proved that he can be really good in a dark Film Noir

The recent release of Guillermo Del Toro's remake of Nightmare Alley has renewed interest in this 1947 original. This dark, disturbing yet fascinating film Noir provided handsome Matinee idol Tyrone Power with the darkest role of his career. Nightmare Alley is back in the news. Guillermo Del Toro is making a new adaptation of the story and … Continue reading Nightmare Alley: Matinee Idol Tyrone Power proved that he can be really good in a dark Film Noir →

Leave Her To Heaven: Gene Tierney is breathtakingly gorgeous as the unrivaled femme fatale in this Technicolor Noir

Leave her to Heaven(1945) , A Film Noir shot in glorious Technicolor makes for a unique cinematic experience. ‘It’s like a film noir, in colour …. It’s the technicolor, how it’s matched to the strange perfection in Tierney’s face, her presence. The drama of the obsession of the color, reinforce each other and create something … Continue reading Leave Her To Heaven: Gene Tierney is breathtakingly gorgeous as the unrivaled femme fatale in this Technicolor Noir →

The Treasure of Sierra Madre: Humphrey Bogart at his greatest in John Huston’s gritty masterpiece

The Treasure of Sierra Madre(1948), starring Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston, is Director John Huston's greatest film; a Noir-Western or a Neo-Western that explored themes of avarice, temperance and self-destruction, it is an extremely gritty and violent film for its time and won Oscars for the (father & son) Huston duo. Fred C. Dobbs, a name … Continue reading The Treasure of Sierra Madre: Humphrey Bogart at his greatest in John Huston’s gritty masterpiece →

Notorious: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman scorches the screen in Hitchcock’s dark romantic thriller

Alfred Hitchcock's Masterpiece Notorious(1946) is many things; Its a Spy thriller, its a Love story, Its a Melodrama, Its also a Menaced-Women Noir. But above all, its an exercise in pure cinema in the great Hitchcock tradition that showcases the hitherto unseen side of  Star\actor Cary Grant. Alicia Huberman (beautiful, young, spoiled, playgirl, daughter of a … Continue reading Notorious: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman scorches the screen in Hitchcock’s dark romantic thriller →

The Maltese Falcon: John Huston’s seminal detective film noir turned Humphrey Bogart into an icon of cool

John Huston's directorial debut, The Maltese Falcon(1941), is a trendsetting private eye\Noir classic that turned Humphrey Bogart, who played the role of  P.I. Sam Spade, into an Icon. It's a cold December night(or rather early morning) in San Francisco. The windows in Private detective Sam Spade's bedroom is open and we see cool breeze rustling … Continue reading The Maltese Falcon: John Huston’s seminal detective film noir turned Humphrey Bogart into an icon of cool →

Laura: Gene Tierney’s breathtaking beauty and David Raksin’s spellbinding music sets the mood for this dreamy, romantic Noir classic

Otto Preminger's 1944  film Laura, starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney and Clifton Webb, is  one of the most stylish, moody, and witty film Noirs ever made. Consider this scene from the film Laura, which comes about half way through the picture: Detective McPherson ,played by Dana Andrews, walks into the apartment of his beloved Laura. He … Continue reading Laura: Gene Tierney’s breathtaking beauty and David Raksin’s spellbinding music sets the mood for this dreamy, romantic Noir classic →