1940's Recommendations

Awesome, thought it would be you. Yeah, it won't be anything that's ever been nominated; i'll pick an underseen one that i can find online in case people can't find it by other means.

I know it isn't obscure, and that is why I couldn't understand why I couldn't find it. But you know what? Now that I have been looking, I am finding it everywhere (even on DVD). I have no idea what I could've done wrong while searching for it. The fact that I couldn't find it was going to be the reason that I was going to nominate The Little Foxes instead. Then the computer thing happened and cricket nominated the other one, anyway. So none of my worrying about what to nominate was worth it that time around.

I may not nominate it next time. There is something else that I think would be a better choice because I think it is less likely to be nominated by someone else.

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Part 1 was really good because i hadn't even heard of most of them and i had only already seen two of them. Hope Part 2 ends up similar.

And if you ever need help finding any films online PM me, no guarantee i'll be able to find whatever it is but i might.

Thanks for setting this up, Camo!
When at my puter I might come up with a couple more but off the top of my head I'd mention:
The Sea Wolf with Edward G Robinson hasn't been mentioned

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The people like Ed who check to see if something has been mentioned are good human beings for the record.

I don't have too many to recommend, but a few that I believe haven't been mentioned yet:

Travelling actors (1940) - A very solid work that comes from a very simple setting. It is a light comedy but it develops some really interesting themes about the frustrations of a group of actors who believe that their work is not being taken seriously enough. The comedy is quite good and there's some little background drama that works surprisingly well.

Brothers and sisters of the Toda family (1941) - I like this one a bit less than the other Ozus I've seen, but it's still a solid character drama about the interrelationships of a family. The dialogues are amazing in this one.

Cat people (1942) - A very solid low-budget horror that manages to be both disturbing and elegant. Its "male" counterpart The leopard man (1943) is equally great.

I walked with a zombie (1943) - What can I say. This movie is just beautiful. A very stylized horror focused on the voodoo culture with some of the most disturbing, yet incredibly mesmerizing imagery I can remember.

Sahara (1943) - A war film set on the suffocating environment of the Sahara desert, that makes a wonderful use of that setting to tell a story of survival and despair. A bit heavy-handed with the propaganda themes, but they are not difficult to ignore in favor of the genuine tension and immersive storytelling it manages to bring.

The Ox-Bow incident (1943) - One of the most powerful allegations for presumption of innocence I've ever seen, and one of my favorite westerns overall. Just everything about this fairly short moralistic tale is amazing.

Dark waters (1944) - A solid claustrophobic thriller that makes some nice use of its environment and sets a good mystery; however I think that the film gets even better once this mystery is solved and particularly its last part is amazing.

Lifeboat (1944) - A classic Hitchcock film set on a single location that grows into a very compelling psychological thriller.

Cinderella - Zolushka (1947) - Okay, this one may be a risky recommendation, but I was completely blown away by the visual storytelling of this Russian version of Cinderella, how well it captures the fairytale setting, how bright and colorful it is, and its fascinating imagery.

Children of the beehive (1948) - Not that I remember it very well, but it is a very solid slice-of-life drama about childhood that stands on its own in front of the Ozus, Naruses or Mizoguchis.

La terra trema (1948) - A staple of Italian neo-realism, with non-professional actors to represent the fight against explotaition from the point of view of a fisherman who decides to stand against the system and try to work on his own.

Living in shadows - Vida en sombras (1948) - The movie is incomplete, sadly, but it is truly a very hidden gem, one of the most unique films to ever come from Spain. A great main performance in a very quirky experimental and metacinematographic narrative.

Portrait of Jennie (1948) - One of the most unique classic melodramas I've seen. I won't spoil anything about the story and its quite creative take on romance, but the visuals alone... Damn, just look at this:



Raw deal (1948) - A sleeper gem of the noir/crime genre, though more of a love triangle. It may be one of my favorite noir films, though what I'd like to emphasize the most is the strength of its romantic drama, with three amazing performances, complex characters and clever dialogue.

They live by night (1948) - A classic story of love, crime and running away from justice. Very solid, what I loved the most was how perfectly accurate a lot of the dialogues seem and how well they capture the inexperience and awkwardness of a first love; sadly there's a bit of a drawback there because some of them look, in contrast, theatrical and unrealistic.

Diva Bára (1949 - A beautifully shot pastoral drama directed by Vladímir Cech, with some astounding images, a really compelling main performance, and overall a very strong storytelling.

@jal90 i'm just going to link your post rather than each individual film.

Anyone else who puts some effort in will get the same treatment. Unless i don't like you then i might punish you for putting effort in.

Jal90's post is in the post's worth reading section which means every post other than mines not in that section is not worth reading. The rest of you should step up your game.

Hahahahaha! Okay!

Glad to know I won't be punished, I'll try to remain likeable

I just noticed that Cat people was already mentioned, and I'd be surprised if nobody else had brought The Ox-Bow incident* yet. They are both in the "1001 movies" list.

*Edit.- Indeed . Jiraffejustin and Harry Lime on the first page alone. Nice!

Jal got in ahead of me with a great list. Highly recommend I Walked with a Zombie by Tournear. It'll feature well on my list.
A few others I'd recommend that I don't think have been are The Reckless Moment and The Spiral Staircase.

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Harry Lime mentioned The Reckless Moment that was in the first post. Siddon mentioned The Spiral Staircase but i had forgot to add his recs to the first post so thanks for bringing attention to them.

I haven't seen anyone suggest Double Indemnity 1944 yet but that movie is beautifully shot. If you like Noir this is as Noir as it gets.

Add Love On The Dole (1941) to the list for those that don't mind a bit of humdrum socio-political drama ...... just finished it - freely available on the IA site.

Harry Lime suggested it, thanks though. One of my favourite films.

Here's a good noir picture that rarely gets mentioned:

Green for Danger, The Adventuress (I See a Dark Stranger), The Big Clock, Tom, Dick & Harry, Blithe Spirit, Sorry. Wrong Number, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Ministry of Fear, The Palm Beach Story, Bedlam, Ball of Fire, Adam's Rib, The Talk of the Town, Lifeboat, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Christmas in July, The Body Snatcher, The Bishop's Wife, A Foreign Affair, Night Train to Munich, The Great McGinty, Unfaithfully Yours, Stranger on the Third Floor.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I used a site to alphabetize the films in the first post and i took out any duplicates i could see since that made it easier to notice them.

It's true, we are

and folks who take the time to make these threads and the time to organize them and highlight specific posts like Jal's as Camo is doing here, not only rock, but they also roll!!

looked over the recent additions, some excellent ones and along with Dark Corner with Lucille Ball; Lured is pretty d@mn good too.

and I saw Nestro remarking about Laughton and a few great ones of his is:

Captain Kidd
The Canterville Ghost
The Suspect
and, I have this one in my DVR and trying to make the time to watch, but I have heard good things about is:
This Land Is Mine

My favorite war movie ever:




It's also the most realistic war film made during Hollywood's Golden Age. Plus it's directed by Raoul Walsh who is perhaps the most underappreciated director of that period

have not seen or even heard of that one. Will hafta check it out