Best Of...
American cinema: 1940s
A Chump at Oxford (1940)
Alfred J. Goulding
Down to their last six dollars, Stan and Ollie are reduced to posing as a husband and wife to secure the post of butler and housemaid to the wealthy Vandeveers...
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Alfred J. Goulding
A Double Life (1947)
George Cukor
Anthony John is a renowned stage actor who, against his better judgement, allows himself to be coaxed into playing the lead role in Shakespeare's Othello...
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George Cukor
A Foreign Affair (1948)
Billy Wilder
After WWII, an American government committee arrives in Berlin to carry out an investigation into the morale of US troops...
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Billy Wilder
A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
One bright Saturday morning, three friends, Deborah, Rita and Lora, are about to take a party of school children on a riverside picnic when a messenger hands them a letter...
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Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Charles Barton
Chick Young and Wilbur Grey are baggage clerks who, one day, are asked to deliver two crates to a waxworks museum. According to the crates' owner, these contain the last remains of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster...
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Charles Barton
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
John Cromwell
In the 1830s, a modest woodsman named Abe Lincoln leaves his home and his mother in Kentucky to settle in New Salem, where he finds popularity as a store owner... [More...]
John Cromwell
In the 1830s, a modest woodsman named Abe Lincoln leaves his home and his mother in Kentucky to settle in New Salem, where he finds popularity as a store owner... [More...]
Adam's Rib (1949)
George Cukor
District Attorney Adam Bonner is far from pleased when he is called upon to prosecute Doris Attinger, a young woman who shot and wounded her husband when she found him in the arms of his mistress... [More...]
George Cukor
District Attorney Adam Bonner is far from pleased when he is called upon to prosecute Doris Attinger, a young woman who shot and wounded her husband when she found him in the arms of his mistress... [More...]
All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
Anatole Litvak
In the 1840s, French teacher Henriette Deluzy arrives in America and finds work in a girls' school. When her pupils pick up on rumours of her recent past, she decides to tell them her story... [More...]
Anatole Litvak
In the 1840s, French teacher Henriette Deluzy arrives in America and finds work in a girls' school. When her pupils pick up on rumours of her recent past, she decides to tell them her story... [More...]
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
George Sidney
Returning home to a hero's welcome after WWII, navy personnel Clarence Doolittle and Joe Brady can hardly wait to get ashore and extract every last morsel of pleasure from their leave... [More...]
George Sidney
Returning home to a hero's welcome after WWII, navy personnel Clarence Doolittle and Joe Brady can hardly wait to get ashore and extract every last morsel of pleasure from their leave... [More...]
And Then There Were None (1945)
René Clair
Eight men and women, all unknown to each other, accept a mysterious invitation to an island estate. They are welcomed by two domestic servants, Mr and Mrs Rogers, who appear to be as ignorant of the reason for the meeting as the guests are... [More...]
René Clair
Eight men and women, all unknown to each other, accept a mysterious invitation to an island estate. They are welcomed by two domestic servants, Mr and Mrs Rogers, who appear to be as ignorant of the reason for the meeting as the guests are... [More...]
Arch of Triumph (1948)
Lewis Milestone
Paris, 1938. As Europe rushes towards war, the French capital is flooded with illegal immigrants hoping to escape persecution and imprisonment in their own countries... [More...]
Lewis Milestone
Paris, 1938. As Europe rushes towards war, the French capital is flooded with illegal immigrants hoping to escape persecution and imprisonment in their own countries... [More...]
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Frank Capra
Mortimer Brewster returns to Brooklyn to visit his elderly aunts Abby and Martha with the news that he has just got married... [More...]
Frank Capra
Mortimer Brewster returns to Brooklyn to visit his elderly aunts Abby and Martha with the news that he has just got married... [More...]
Bedlam (1946)
Mark Robson
London, 1761. George Sims is the apothecary general of at St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, commonly known as Bedlam, an institution which serves as a dumping ground for society's mentally ill... [More...]
Mark Robson
London, 1761. George Sims is the apothecary general of at St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, commonly known as Bedlam, an institution which serves as a dumping ground for society's mentally ill... [More...]
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
Leo McCarey
Catholic priest Father O'Malley is assigned to St Mary's, a run-down New York school which is kept going only by the enthusiasm of the nuns who run it... [More...]
Leo McCarey
Catholic priest Father O'Malley is assigned to St Mary's, a run-down New York school which is kept going only by the enthusiasm of the nuns who run it... [More...]
The Big Clock (1948)
John Farrow
George Stroud is the editor-in-chief on Crimeways, a magazine that has a reputation for hunting down criminals more successfully than the police... [More...]
John Farrow
George Stroud is the editor-in-chief on Crimeways, a magazine that has a reputation for hunting down criminals more successfully than the police... [More...]
The Big Sleep (1946)
Howard Hawks
General Sternwood hires private detective Philip Marlowe to investigate a bookseller named Geiger who appears to be blackmailing his daughter, Carmen... [More...]
Howard Hawks
General Sternwood hires private detective Philip Marlowe to investigate a bookseller named Geiger who appears to be blackmailing his daughter, Carmen... [More...]
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
Henry Koster
Bishop Henry Brougham has become so preoccupied with raising funds to build his dream cathedral that he has neglected his wife and his more important clerical duties... [More...]
Henry Koster
Bishop Henry Brougham has become so preoccupied with raising funds to build his dream cathedral that he has neglected his wife and his more important clerical duties... [More...]
Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
Mervyn LeRoy
Devastated by the tragic death of her infant son, the wealthy socialite Edna Gladney copes with her grief by opening a day nursery for the children of working mothers at her large Texas home... [More...]
Mervyn LeRoy
Devastated by the tragic death of her infant son, the wealthy socialite Edna Gladney copes with her grief by opening a day nursery for the children of working mothers at her large Texas home... [More...]
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
George Marshall
Naval officer Johnny Morrison returns home after serving in the war with two of his colleagues, George Copeland and Buzz Wanchek... [More...]
George Marshall
Naval officer Johnny Morrison returns home after serving in the war with two of his colleagues, George Copeland and Buzz Wanchek... [More...]
Bluebeard (1944)
Edgar G. Ulmer
Paris is caught in a grip of terror. Several young women have been murdered, their bodies dumped in the River Seine, and the police search in vain to find the killer who has been dubbed Bluebeard... [More...]
Edgar G. Ulmer
Paris is caught in a grip of terror. Several young women have been murdered, their bodies dumped in the River Seine, and the police search in vain to find the killer who has been dubbed Bluebeard... [More...]
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Robert Wise
Edinburgh, 1831. When medical student Donald Fettes tells his tutor Dr MacFarlane that he no longer has the money to continue his studies, the latter generously appoints him his assistant... [More...]
Robert Wise
Edinburgh, 1831. When medical student Donald Fettes tells his tutor Dr MacFarlane that he no longer has the money to continue his studies, the latter generously appoints him his assistant... [More...]
Boomerang! (1947)
Elia Kazan
The ordered calm of a small Connecticut town is shattered when a highly respected priest is shot dead one evening by an unknown assassin... [More...]
Elia Kazan
The ordered calm of a small Connecticut town is shattered when a highly respected priest is shot dead one evening by an unknown assassin... [More...]
Born to Kill (1947)
Robert Wise
After getting her divorce in Reno, Helen Brent is in a hurry to leave town and take the train to San Francisco, where she intends to marry her rich fiancé Fred... [More...]
Robert Wise
After getting her divorce in Reno, Helen Brent is in a hurry to leave town and take the train to San Francisco, where she intends to marry her rich fiancé Fred... [More...]
Brute Force (1947)
Jules Dassin
The inmates of Westgate Prison, a United States penitentiary, are growing increasingly fractious as the prison authorities gradually erode their privileges and make life more unbearable... [More...]
Jules Dassin
The inmates of Westgate Prison, a United States penitentiary, are growing increasingly fractious as the prison authorities gradually erode their privileges and make life more unbearable... [More...]
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Henry Hathaway
In 1932, in the era of prohibition, the police of Chicago are fighting a losing battle against the mobsters and the bootleggers... [More...]
Henry Hathaway
In 1932, in the era of prohibition, the police of Chicago are fighting a losing battle against the mobsters and the bootleggers... [More...]
Casablanca (1942)
Michael Curtiz
In December 1941, the Moroccan town of Casablanca is under French control and serves as a vital transit point for fugitives of Nazi aggression desperate to get to America... [More...]
Michael Curtiz
In December 1941, the Moroccan town of Casablanca is under French control and serves as a vital transit point for fugitives of Nazi aggression desperate to get to America... [More...]
Cat People (1942)
Jacques Tourneur
During a visit to the zoo, Oliver Reed meets Irena Dubrovna, an East European immigrant who works as a fashion designer in New York... [More...]
Jacques Tourneur
During a visit to the zoo, Oliver Reed meets Irena Dubrovna, an East European immigrant who works as a fashion designer in New York... [More...]
Caught (1949)
Max Ophüls
Working class girl Leonora Eames decides to improve her marital prospects by attending a charm school. She pays for her fees by working as a model, which earns her an invitation from a rich client to attend a yachting party... [More...]
Max Ophüls
Working class girl Leonora Eames decides to improve her marital prospects by attending a charm school. She pays for her fees by working as a model, which earns her an invitation from a rich client to attend a yachting party... [More...]
Christmas in July (1940)
Preston Sturges
Jimmy MacDonald is a low-paid clerk in the Baxter Coffee House Company. Desperately short of cash, he enters a rival company's slogan competition, and expects to win the $25,000 prize... [More...]
Preston Sturges
Jimmy MacDonald is a low-paid clerk in the Baxter Coffee House Company. Desperately short of cash, he enters a rival company's slogan competition, and expects to win the $25,000 prize... [More...]
Citizen Kane (1941)
Orson Welles
One of the world's wealthiest men, Charles Foster Kane lives alone in his vast private estate, Xanadu, built atop a man-made mountain... [More...]
Orson Welles
One of the world's wealthiest men, Charles Foster Kane lives alone in his vast private estate, Xanadu, built atop a man-made mountain... [More...]