french films 1940s

As a result, it took home the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940. dramas, and a few fantasy films. The Wizard of Oz gets more populist attention, but Meet Me in St. Louis is the best Judy Garland musical by an easy margin. What sets Laura apart is the music. See also:Johnny Apollo (Henry Hathaway), The Letter (William Wyler), They Drive by Night (RaoulWalsh). Web1940s-1 The Greatest War Movies Title Screen Film Title/Year/Director, War-time Setting and Brief Description Screenshots Foreign Correspondent (1940) d. Alfred Hitchcock New York (the US), Britain (London) and Holland (Amsterdam) just before the outbreak of To this day, it doesnt seem entirely fair that so much credit for Cat People is almost universally given to producer Val Lewton, rather than director Jacques Tourneur or writer DeWitt Bodeen, but its true of the entire run of low-budget horror films that Lewton produced at RKO. There were a lot of great noirs in the 40s. Note the Western clothing. At the same time, screwball comedies proliferated. We love what we love, and for some of us its romantic comedies and for others its monster movies, while for others its about this cinematic innovation or that groundbreaking foray into previously unexplored subject matter. The 220 feature-length films that constitute the Vichy cinema are not The Grapes of Wrath endures for good reason: Its the truth, an authentic dramatization of how American industry chews up working families and spits them out, leaving them to die in the soil they once tilled, which means that as long as agents of commerce go about the grim business of screwing people out of their livelihood, offering no apology but rather a shrug and an excuse, the film will stay relevant. Wilson continues to prove Kindlers identity, and Kindler goes to greater and greater lengths to conceal it. See also:M (Joseph Losey), On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray), Strangers on a Train (AlfredHitchcock). 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La fille du puisatier In particular, it had an important function in terms of The rewrite was strongly influenced by the War (for example, the setting was moved from Cuba to Martinique to avoid provoking ire from the Roosevelt administration) and beyond the beginning of the book, the film veers off in its own directionspecifically in directions that made it resemble Casablanca since it had been so popular. (Hawks, though a fan of Hemingways, felt that To Have and Have Not was his worst novel, and reportedly told him so.) Everyone, it seems, has something devastating to hide, not the least of whom is Dr. Germain (Pierre Fresnay), a man known for his lusty dalliances, which feels ironic given that he also conducts illegal abortions in the area. Reviews of the time call them tough melodramas, murder mysteries or simply crimedramas. Following the surrender of France to Germany, a new government was Referred to by many as the first major noir (after the more obscure 1940 film Stranger on the Third Floor), this John Huston classic set the bar for the archetypal detective, the subgenre as a whole, and the rest of star Humphrey Bogarts career. This is a strikingly pertinent film for our particular moment in history, and well worth dusting off and queueing up not only for its incredible craft but for its resonance as a study in projection. The Argentinean intrigue is marked by crackling dialogue and cast in lush shadows by cinematographer Rudolph Mat, but Vidor wisely recognizes the film belongs to Hayworth, a femme fatale of epic proportions. The Return of Frank James (1940) - Director: Fritz Lang - IMDb user rating: 6.6 - Runtime: 92 minutes D.S. Something changed after Odds against Tomorrow, which is often thought of as the last true noir. French migr directorJacques Tourneurwas a master of shadowy gothic horror, but his firsttrue noirmight be the ultimate example of the cycle, ticking off all its hallmarks from flashbacks to femme fatales into a concoction thats nothing short of intoxicating. This film noir follows a UN War Crimes Commission agent, Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) whos hunting down fugitive Nazi Franz Kindler (Orson Welles). And thats just the setup. In 1940, By the time you read this letter, I might be dead. This haunting romance by Max Ophls is one of those star-crossed love stories that, if it doesnt tug at your heart, you might want to check to make sure you have one. If youre of the impression that Quentin Tarantino invented the concept of a nonlinear crime story involving boxers and hitmen, Robert Siodmaks adaptation of Ernest Hemingways celebrated short story is a must-watch. The 1940s saw the rise of Technicolor but also of film noir with its dark, cynical, moody and fatalistic stories of hard-boiled detectives and treacherous women. Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. A list of French films of the 1940s that I've seen in 2020. handicapped; nonetheless, the Vichy period proved to be a prosperous time In fact, try to blink as little as possible. Driven by star and producerHarry Belafonte,Odds against Tomorrowis a rare film noir with a black star at its centre, also tackling the theme of racism as a side order to its story of a heist gone wrong. A model of noir economy, it zips by in a sleek 71 minutes, making atmospheric use of train sound effects in place of a score and delivering a satisfying twist. To celebrate #Noirvember, we select one essential film from each of the peak years of classic American noir. This adaptation of a Broadway hit was a vehicle to get her career back on track after a series of flops. This was the decade of Hepburn and Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, of nostalgia and neo-realism, star-crossed lovers and double-crossing villains. And, of course, some of the most beautiful and evocative scenes of endless skies and endless prairies to be found. Arent mob heavies supposed to be intimidating? Its a trajectory that will seem pretty traditional when it comes to stories like thisa clear progenitor is Citizen Kane, replete with Rossens dedicated eye to following the films god-like politician, Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), as he both attains and, especially, freefalls from gracebut with a contemporary sense of cynicism when it comes to the American political landscape, it helps to get a reminder, if melodramatic, that corruption and power have always been blasphemous bedfellows. Yup, its a Christmas story. A.G. An amazing collection of experts and performers were assembled to consult on science, animal movement and different types of dance. He painstakingly storyboarded the drama to include complex camerawork and lighting schemes, evocative POVs, and an uninterrupted seven-minute take whose logistics boggle the mind. MCDXXIX-MCMXLII (De Jeanne d'Arc Philippe Ptain), "Review of the film l'Ange de la nuit (1944)", "Bonsoir mesdames, bonsoir messieurs (1943)", "Premier de corde de Louis Daquin - (1944) - Film - Drame", "Florence est folle! Only one, a mime named Deburau (Jean-Louis Barrault), has pure intentions: Naturally, hes the one who gets hurt. Doomed love, self-sacrifice, Bogie one-liners galore, and one of the most quintessential cinematic moments of its age (both of my kids were born after 9/11 and even they cheered when that chorus of La Marseillaise drowned out the Nazis). Director. Before there were Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury voicing animated, animate household items, there was Jean Cocteau. Which may be screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanins funniest joke: Adams Rib is about how men and women are equal only in how equally terrible they can be to each other.

(19012000), Jacques Becker (19061960), Henri-Georges the Comit d'Organisation des Industries du Cinma A.G. But who are the spirits truly interested in, and are they truly malevolent? Genre. Orson Welles third feature film was the first to feature documentary footage of the Holocaust. That makes Miracle on 34th Street sound both drier and jaded than it actually is, of course, and more than 70 years on, its still one of the most effectively hokey pieces of holiday entertainment the industry has ever produced. established at the small spa town of Vichy, in the unoccupied zone of Depending on your mood, Drunken Angels climactic brawl between Toshiro Mifunes Matsunaga and Reizabur Yamamotos Okada may either read as hilarious, pathetic or tragic. 1940 june over france hitler german gains frenchman archives national soldiers paris victory historic administration wept marched records source into Vichy government. See also:Caught (Max Ophuls), Criss Cross (Robert Siodmak), White Heat (RaoulWalsh). uniforms and flags were rarely present within the frameand the Robert Mitchum dominates, whether in his tte--ttes with Kirk Douglas or his simmering flirtations with Jane Greer.

The scene with a young woman walking home on a dark night, stalked by an unseen presence, builds to an unexpected conclusion that must have made audiences in 1942 come jumping out of their seats. A.C. See also:The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler), Moontide (Archie Mayo), Street of Chance (JackHively), Although it forsakes a gritty urban setting in favour of the sunlit California town of Santa Rosa,Shadow of a Doubtis one of Hitchcocks most noirish thrillers, presenting a shady protagonist who seems infected with the world-weary pessimism and misanthropy that came to define noir. Long before the Boomers came to know Fred MacMurray as the kindly father on My Three Sons, the actor essayed his best performance in Double Indemnity as the deplorable, hard-boiled Walter Neff, who falls for a married temptress (Barbara Stanwyck) who talks him into killing her husband. Widely regarded as one of the finest ghost stories of the 40s, The Uninvited carries itself with a dignity not seen in most Universal monster movies or Poverty Row cheapies. Cinemas were a popular haven from the cold and Orson Welles just couldnt catch a break sometimes. Les Enfants du paradis Sullivans Travels doesnt exactly answer these questions as much as it wields them like blunt instruments for punishing its protagonist, John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), a hot ticket in Hollywood known for churning out money-making flicks with no substantive value. Bicycle Thieves marries sober observations about its time and place with an abiding sense of optimism thats fully realized in the films climax. well as suchle Morgan (b. to create a European Hollywood. Wanted by the authorities, ), but the first of these is an acorn from which the great oak of film noir would grow. As the letters pile up and one cancer patient (Roger Blin) commits suicide (due to a letter from the Raven informing him that his cancer is terminal), the town grows increasingly desperate to find the culprit, sparking a witch hunt that catches Dr. Germain in the midst of his many lies. Also, we just think these are some damned fine films. More polished examples of noir exist than this poverty row production from the B-movie pumphouse Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), but here in 68 minutes and shot in six days is a perfect distillation of the genres essence. Frank Capras adaptation of this darkly comedic Broadway play (some of the Broadway cast reprised their roles in the film) stars Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster, one of a family of Mayflower bluestocking WASP types who have, over the generations, becomeI think the phrase is criminally insane? The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) (1945). Latin America. 1940: Stranger on the Third Floor Director: Boris Ingster Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) Latvian-born Boris Ingster only ever directed three films (he later became a TV producer on shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Its one of those films that really send you to another dimension. Not that its completely cynical, mind, but it is a surprisingly frank and thoroughly practical demonstration of the stress Christmas customsparticularly shoppingvisit upon us year in and year out. Just watch the visual motif of that boudoir introduction recur in the Put the Blame on Mame musical number-turned-striptease. Akira Kurosawa shoots every scene in the pursuit of making his audience swelter, yanking us into the frame and effectively immersing us in his neorealist depiction of Tokyo. A.C. 1909), Claude Autant-Lara Greed is not good.
WebSeven best French films by year (1930-1939) Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc 70 titles 1. The last film Fritz Lang made in America at the end of a string of about a dozen peerless noirs was this deliciously well-constructedthrillerin which a newspaper publisher talks his daughters fianc (Dana Andrews) into planting circumstantial evidence that will incriminate him in the murder of a nightclub dancer. Whether in film or on television, MacMurray normally played the nice guy, but for Double Indemnity he turned his everyman decency into a maskperfect for a character who can barely conceal what a lustful, conniving bastard he is. Kindler has has moved to a small New England town and married the daughter of a Supreme Court Justice, teaches at a prep schoolessentially has erased every possible trace of his former identity, save one: a longtime obsession with clocks. On some level its more of a mystery/romance, with the veracity of the ghosts in real doubtnot unlike Guillermo Del Toros modern Crimson Peak, without all the visual bluster. (Institute for Film Studies) in 1944, under the direction of Even though its tame, and a bit hammy by contemporary standards, the endurance of this film is a testament to both the wonderful script and the magic of Frank Capra with a stable of really talented comedic actors at his disposal (and not in the bodies in the basement sense). The film understands wartime trauma in ways most war films simply dont; it captures Italys emotional, and sociopolitical fragility in the aftermath of World War II on celluloid like an insect trapped in amber, indulging in slight degrees of wish fulfillment while staging a credible representation of Italian resistance to German occupation in 1944. Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et Le Bte) (1946). Lumire d't from the political and social pressures of the period. came another disillusioned,noir taleof Hollywood, with a career-best turn from Humphrey Bogart as the dark-tempered screenwriter whose new wife (Gloria Grahame) comes to suspect his violent tendencies. With colour productions such asThe Killers(1964) a remake of the1946 classic andPoint Blank(1967), noir began its evolution into a more knowing style that was steeped in its own myth and legacy. Hilariously acted and expertly filmed, His Girl Friday derives much of its comedic impact from the incredibly clever and lightning-fast banter of the characters. At The effect of Kurosawas technique is dizzying, all the better to reinforce Stray Dogs central theme, in which the line between lawmen and criminals is irrevocably blurred.