The Hard Way, 1943, Warner Bros. Starring Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson. Directed by Vincent Sherman. B&W, 109 minutes. In the industrial city of Green Hills, Katie Blaine (Joan Leslie) dreams of wearing an eight-dollar white dress …
Tag: 1940s
Old Acquaintance
Old Acquaintance, 1943, Warner Bros. Starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins. Directed by Vincent Sherman. B&W, 110 minutes. Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis), a critically successful author, has returned to her hometown to see her closest childhood friend, Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins). …
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce, 1945, Warner Bros. Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth. Directed by Michael Curtiz. B&W, 111 minutes. A sharp psychological drama that has had feminists debating the nature of its leading lady’s motivations and decisions from …
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year, 1942, MGM Pictures. Starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Fay Bainter. Directed by George Stevens. B&W, 114 minutes. An incomparable combination of cast, director and screenwriters created a timeless film about a powerful woman with a notable …
Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944, Warner Bros. Pictures. Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair. Directed by Frank Capra. B&W, 118 minutes. Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has just eloped with the girl next door, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). …
Love Crazy
Love Crazy, 1941, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy. Directed by Jack Conway. B&W, 99 minutes. It’s their fourth anniversary, and Steve and Susan Ireland (William Powell, Myrna Loy) have plans to celebrate a loving union. Their evening is interrupted …
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
In foggy San Francisco, world-weary private detective Sam Spade has taken on a new case from beauty Ruth Wonderly. But nothing about this case is at it seems, and Spade must rely on his instincts and cynicism to solve it.
Random Harvest
It is 1918, the end of World War I. Injuries suffered during battle have taken all memory from John Smith, and, for his protection, he is housed in the county asylum. He escapes one night and finds shelter with Paula …
The Lost Weekend
Writer Don Birnam is fighting failure with a bottle of cheap whiskey, and losing.
Key Largo
Key Largo, 1948, Warner Bros. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall. Co-starring Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor. Directed by John Huston. B&W, 101 minutes. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart), a Major in World War II, drops in on the widow …
Classic for a Reason 