1942 - 1945 (#150 - 179)

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#179 - Brief Encounter (1945)

Brief Encounter is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean about British suburban life on the eve of World War 2, centring on Laura, a married woman with children, whose conventional life becomes increasingly complicated because of a chance meeting at a railway station with a married stranger, Alec. They fall in love, bringing about unexpected consequences. Brief Encounter was met with wide praise from critics upon its release, and is today considered to be among Lean's finest works. It has been credited as an important early work of realist cinema for its small scale and the lack of big-name stars in its cast.

#178 - Battle of San Pietro (1945)

The Battle of San Pietro is a documentary film directed by John Huston about the Battle of San Pietro Infine sixty miles from Naples during World War II. It was shot by Jules Buck. It was released in the U.S. in 1945 but shown to U.S. troops earlier. Huston and his crew were attached to the U.S. Army’s 143rd Regiment of the 36th Division. Unlike many other military documentaries, it was claimed Huston’s cameramen filmed alongside the infantrymen as they fought their way up the hills to reach San Pietro. Huston's claim that the film was made during the battle was proven false by the research of Peter Maslowski in his 1993 book, Armed With Cameras. The film is unflinching in its realism. One scene includes close-up views of the faces of dead soldiers as they are being loaded into body bags, a level of realism unheard of in both fictional portrayals as well as newsreel footage of the time.
#177 - Children of Paradise (1945)

Les Enfants du Paradis, released as Children of Paradise in North America, is a 1945 French epic romantic drama film directed by Marcel Carné. It was made during the German occupation of France during World War II. Set against the Parisian theatre scene of the 1820s and 1830s, it tells the story of a beautiful courtesan, Garance, and the four men who love her in their own ways: a mime artist, an actor, a criminal and an aristocrat. A three-hour film in two parts, it was described in the original American trailer as the French answer to Gone With the Wind (1939), an opinion shared by the critic David Shipman. The leading nouvelle vague director François Truffaut once said: "I would give up all my films to have directed Children of Paradise".
#176 - The Lost Weekend (1945)

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American film noir directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. The film was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). It also shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival, making it one of only two films to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at Cannes.
#175 - I know Where I’m Going (1945)

I Know Where I'm Going is a 1945 romance film by the British-based filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie and Petula Clark in her fourth film appearance.
#174 - Detour (1945)

Detour is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edgar G. Ulmer starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage. It was adapted by Martin Goldsmith and Martin Mooney (uncredited) from Goldsmith's eponymous 1939 novel and released by the Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), one of the so-called Poverty Row film studios in mid-twentieth century Hollywood.

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#173 - Mildred Pierce (1945)

Mildred Pierce is a 1945 American film noir crime-drama directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson and Zachary Scott, also featuring Eve Arden, Ann Blyth and Bruce Bennett. Based on a novel by James M. Cain, this was Crawford's first starring film for Warner Bros.after leaving Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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#172 - Ivan the Terrible (1944)

Ivan the Terrible is a two-part historical epic film about Ivan IV of Russia commissioned by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, who admired and identified himself with Ivan, to be written and directed by the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Part I was released in 1944; however, Part II was not released until 1958, as it was banned on the order of Stalin, who became incensed over the depiction of Ivan therein. Eisenstein had developed the scenario to require a third part to finish the story but, with the banning of Part II, filming of Part III was stopped; after Eisenstein's death in 1948, what had been completed was destroyed.
#171 - Murder, My sweet (1944)

Murder, My Sweet (released as Farewell, My Lovely in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley. The film is based on Raymond Chandler's 1940 novel Farewell, My Lovely. Murder, My Sweet turned out to be Anne Shirley's final film. She retired from acting in 1944 at age 26.
#170 - Double Indemnity (1944)

Double Indemnity is a 1944 film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The film stars Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck as a provocative housewife who wishes her husband were dead, and Edward G. Robinson as a claims adjuster whose job is to find phony claims. The term "double indemnity" refers to a clause in certain life insurance policies that doubles the payout in rare cases when death is caused accidentally, such as while riding a railway. Praised by many critics when first released, Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards but did not win any. Widely regarded as a classic, it is often cited as a paradigmatic film noir and as having set the standard for the films that followed in that genre.
#169 - Henry V (1944)

Henry V is a 1944 British Technicolor film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The film begins as a recreation of a stage production of the play in the Globe Theatre, then gradually turns into a stylized cinematic rendition of the play, with sets reminiscent of a medieval Book of Hours. It follows the overall pattern of Shakespeare's play, depicting Henry's campaign in France, through the siege of Harfleur. The film then shows the Battle of Agincourt in a real setting, after which the film quickly begins to revert to backdrops that are once again more and more like medieval illuminated manuscripts. We then see the negotiations for Treaty of Troyes and Henry's courtship of Princess Katherine followed by their marriage. At the end of the scene, the setting reverts to the Globe Playhouse and the audience applauding. The film was made near the end of World War II and was intended as a morale booster for Britain. Consequently, the film was partly funded by the British government. The film was originally "dedicated to the ‘Commandos and Airborne Troops of Great Britain the spirit of whose ancestors it has been humbly attempted to recapture.’" The film won Olivier an Academy Honorary Award for "his Outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen." Olivier's Henry V is widely considered the first Shakespeare film to be both critically and commercially successful.
#168 - Gaslight (1944)

Gaslight is an American 1944 mystery-thriller film, adapted from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gas Light, about a woman whose husband slowly manipulates her into believing that she is going insane. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Screenplay; it also won the Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Production Design. Directed by George Cukor and starred Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, and 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in an Oscar-nominated screen debut (Supporting Actress). Gaslight had a larger scale and budget than the earlier film, and lends a different feel to the material.
#167 - To Have and Have Not (1944)

To Have and Have Not is a 1944 American romance-war-adventure film directed by Howard Hawks, and produced by Hawks and Jack L. Warner. Written by Jules Furthman and William Faulkner, the screenplay is based on Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel of the same name. However, the story was altered for the film. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan and Lauren Bacall in her film debut. The plot centers on the romance between a freelancing fisherman in Martinique and a beautiful American drifter which is complicated by the growing French resistance in Vichy France. Audience reception of the film was generally good, with most film critics stating that the film was a remake of Casablanca (1942), either stating that it was acceptable or poor. After the film's production, Bogart married Bacall in 1945.

#166 - Meet me in St. Louis (1944)

Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 American musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis, leading up to the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in the spring of 1904. The picture stars Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main, June Lockhart, and Joan Carroll. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who met Garland on the set and later married her. It was the second-highest grossing picture of the year, only behind Going My Way. Garland debuted the standards "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", all of which became hits after the film was released.

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#165 - Laura (1944)

Laura is a 1944 American film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb along with Vincent Price and Judith Anderson. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel Laura by Vera Caspary.
#164 - Ossessione (1943)

Ossessione (English: Obsession) is an Italian 1943 film based on the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain. Luchino Visconti’s first feature film, it is considered by many to be the first Italian neorealist film, though there is some debate about whether such a categorization is accurate.
#163 - The Man in Grey (1943)

The Man in Grey is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures, and is considered as the first of its "Gainsborough melodramas". It was directed by Leslie Arliss and produced by Edward Black from a screenplay by Leslie Arliss and Margaret Kennedy, adapted by Doreen Montgomery from the novel The Man in Grey by Eleanor Smith. The picture stars Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger and Martita Hunt, and melded together elements of the successful "women's pictures" of the time with distinct new elements.
#162 - The Seventh Victim

The Seventh Victim is a 1943 American horror film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. The film focuses on a young woman who stumbles on an underground cult of devil worshippers in Greenwich Village, New York City, while searching for her missing sister. It marks Robson's directorial debut and was Hunter's first onscreen role. Released on August 21, 1943, the film failed to garner significant income at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics, who found its narrative incoherence a primary fault. In spite of its mixed reception, the film became a cult film in England, noted by critics for its homoerotic undertones.
#161 - Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell.

#160 - Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a short experimental film directed by wife-and-husband team Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. The film's narrative is circular and repeats several motifs, including a flower on a long driveway, a key falling, a door unlocked, a knife in a loaf of bread, a mysterious Grim Reaper–like cloaked figure with a mirror for a face, a phone off the hook and an ocean. Through creative editing, distinct camera angles, and slow motion, the surrealist film depicts a world in which it is more and more difficult to catch reality.
#159 - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 romantic drama war film written, produced and directed by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David Low but the story itself is original. The film is renowned for its Technicolor cinematography.
#158 - The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two drifters are passing through a Western town, when news arrives that a local rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen. The townspeople, joined by the drifters, form a posse to catch the perpetrators. They find three men in possession of the cattle, and are determined to see justice done on the spot.
#157 - Fires Were Started (1943)

Fires Were Started is a 1943 British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings, filmed in documentary style, showing the lives of firefighters through the Blitz during the Second World War. The film uses actual firemen (including Cyril Demarne) rather than professional actors.
#156 - Cat People (1942)

Cat People is a 1942 horror film produced by Val Lewton and directed by Jacques Tourneur. DeWitt Bodeen wrote the original screenplay, which was based on Val Lewton's short story The Bagheeta, published in 1930. The film stars Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph and Tom Conway. Cat People tells the story of a young Serbian woman, Irena, who believes herself to be a descendant of a race of people who turn into cats when sexually aroused or deeply angered.

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#155 - Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther, the film shows how the life of an unassuming British housewife in rural England is touched by World War II
#154 - Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced stage play Everybody Comes to Rick's. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid; it also features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson. Set during contemporary World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her husband, a Czech Resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis. Exceeding expectations, Casablanca went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Curtiz was selected as Best Director and the Epsteins and Koch were honored for writing the Best Adapted Screenplay – and gradually its reputation grew. Its lead characters, memorable lines, and pervasive theme song have all become iconic, and the film consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films in history.

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#153 - Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney, and Vera Lewis. The film was written by Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph, and directed by Michael Curtiz. According to the special edition DVD, significant and uncredited improvements were made to the script by the famous "script doctors", twin brothers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein.
#152 - The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American period drama, the second feature film produced and directed by Orson Welles. Welles adapted Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1918 novel, about the declining fortunes of a wealthy Midwestern family and the social changes brought by the automobile age. Welles lost control of the editing of The Magnificent Ambersons to RKO, and the final version released to audiences differed significantly from his rough cut of the film. More than an hour of footage was cut by the studio, which also shot and substituted a happier ending. Although Welles's extensive notes for how he wished the film to be cut have survived, the excised footage was destroyed. Composer Bernard Herrmann insisted his credit be removed when, like the film itself, his score was heavily edited by the studio.
#151 - To be or Not to Be (1942)

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel. The film stars Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. The film was released one month after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash. The title is a reference to the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

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#150 - Now Voyager (1942)

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. Film critic Steven Jay Schneider suggests the film continues to be popular due not only to its star power but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline. The film had a cameo appearance during the theatre scene in the movie Summer of '42.