Films of the Fourties
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- DirectorLéonide MoguyStarsGeorge SandersVirginia BruceLenore AubertReporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for control of Arab sympathies.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsRichard ArlenWendy BarrieNils AstherGerman spies use a stolen shortwave transmitter prototype to broadcast top secret shipping info to an offshore Japanese sub. To nab the spy ring, the U.S. government has the West Coast's top radio engineers fired and shadowed.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsCedric HardwickeHenry TraversLee J. CobbDuring the Nazi occupation of Norway, a small Norwegian village struggles to cope with the invaders and some locals choose collaboration while others prefer armed resistance.
- DirectorGeorge KingStarsMarius GoringPenelope Dudley-WardHelen Haye"Mark's Priory," the Lebanons' family seat, is a house of terror to Ilsa Crane, Lady Lebanon's niece and secretary. The strange behavior of two sinister footmen, Gilder and Brooks, adds greatly to her fear, and her sole consolation lies in the sympathy extended her by young Lord William "Willie" Lebanon. A young architect, Richard Ferraby, arrives from London to inspect the ancient home in regards to renovations, and he and Isla are immediately attracted to each other. Lady Lebanon tells her son that he must marry Isla to carry on the family name but Lord Willie tells her he has no intentions of marrying. Later, the family physician, Dr. Amersham, arrives and it is evident he has some hold over Lady Lebanon. The chauffeur, Studd, hints that he knew Amersham in India and that Amersham was discharged from the Indian Army under unsavory circumstances. Isla and Richard find Studd murdered and suspicion falls on the gamekeeper, Tilling, whose wife had been more than a little friendly with Studd. But Chief Inspector Tanner and Deputy Sergeant Totty arrive from Scotland Yard and uncover evidence that points to Dr. Aversham as the killer, and Lord Willie substantiates the clue by telling them that Aversham had strangled a young Eurasian girl in India by using a red scarf--and Studd was found strangled with a red scarf. Just when the police are about to fold up their tidy little case, a telegram arrives from "Mark's Priory" informing them that Aversham has just been found murdered--strangled with a red scarf. Back to the drawing board.
- DirectorLawrence HuntingtonStarsJames MasonRosamund JohnPamela MasonA British brain surgeon punishes the murderess of his lover.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsAlastair SimSally GrayTrevor HowardAfter the nurse who declares that a recent surgical death was a murder also dies, an enigmatic Scotland Yard inspector arrives to investigate.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsJohn MillsJoan GreenwoodEdward ChapmanWhen the murder of a young woman happens, her next-door neighbor is under suspicion due to his previous stay in a mental hospital.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGene TierneyWalter HustonVictor MatureIn Shanghai, dragon lady 'Mother' Gin Sling operates a gambling house for wealthy patrons but she clashes with influential land developer Sir Guy Charteris who wants to put her out of business.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsJoan CrawfordFred MacMurrayConrad VeidtOxford Professor Richard Myles and his new bride Frances are off on a European honeymoon. It isn't the typical honeymoon: they are on a spying mission for British Intelligence on the eve of World War II.
- DirectorCharles DavidStarsDeanna DurbinRalph BellamyDavid BruceIn New York, a woman who partially witnesses a killing from a train window seeks the aid of a crime novelist to solve the murder.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyLucile WatsonNick and Nora head to Nick's hometown of Sycamore Springs to spend some time with his parents. His father, a prominent local physician, was always a bit disappointed with Nick's choice of profession in particular and his lifestyle in general. With Nick's arrival however the towns folk, including several of the local criminal element, are convinced that he must be there on a case despite his protestations that he's just there for rest and relaxation. When someone is shot dead on his doorstep however, Nick finds himself working on a case whether he wants to or not.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyKeenan WynnNick and Nora Charles are on a gambling boat when someone is murdered. The two main suspects are at large and come to Nick for help. Nick turns them in to the police but then sets out to figure out the mystery.
- DirectorJohn FordRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryJohn WayneDonna ReedA Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartClaude RainsMichèle MorganFive patriotic convicts are helped to escape imprisonment in Devil's Island so they can fight for occupied Free French forces against the Nazis.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBasil RadfordJoan GreenwoodCatherine LaceyScottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsVan JohnsonArlene DahlGloria DeHavenWhile his wife is urging him to quit the force, a Los Angeles homicide detective hunts for the killer responsible for the murder of his ex-partner, who might have been on the take with local bookies.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCary GrantKatharine HepburnJames StewartWhen a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHugh MarloweGary MerrillA tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsSabuJoseph CalleiaJohn QualenA boy raised by wild animals tries to adapt to human village life.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallBruce BennettA man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try to prove his innocence.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallWalter BrennanDuring World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.
- DirectorArthur B. WoodsRichard ThorpeStarsRobert MontgomeryConstance CummingsLeslie BanksA dead body is discovered in the newly-purchased home of a gentleman sleuth and his mystery-novelist bride.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerKirk DouglasA private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses, and duplicitous dames.
- DirectorTerry O. MorseStarsBoris KarloffMargaret LindsayBruce LesterAlthough the home of cabinet minister Arthur Bennett is a hotbed of spies, moles, and double agents, no one knows the true identity of notorious German spymaster Strendler.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsDanny KayeVirginia MayoBoris KarloffA clumsy daydreamer gets caught up in a sinister conspiracy.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGary CooperIngrid BergmanAkim TamiroffDuring the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsRita HayworthOrson WellesEverett SloaneFascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnayGinette LeclercMicheline FranceyA French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsLeslie HowardLaurence OlivierRichard GeorgeA World War II U-boat crew are stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral U.S.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellClaire TrevorAnne ShirleyAfter being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.
- DirectorNorman FosterOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDolores Del RíoAn American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsDana AndrewsRichard ConteGeorge TyneDuring WWII, a platoon of American soldiers trudge through the Italian countryside in search of a bridge they have been ordered to blow up, encountering danger and destruction along the way.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsIda LupinoHumphrey BogartAlan CurtisAfter being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsSpencer TracySigne HassoHume CronynIn 1936, seven prisoners escape from a concentration camp. The Nazis put up seven crosses for demonstrative executions. This story about one of the fugitives, who relies on own courage and compassion of people to avoid the seventh cross.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsBob HopeDorothy LamourLynne OvermanA movie star who can't stand loud noises accidentally joins the Army.
- DirectorThornton FreelandStarsCecil ParkerGlynis JohnsHermione BaddeleyArthur Prohack (Cecil Parker) is an official in the Treasury Department with a reputation for fiscal efficiency and running a tight ship. One day he finds out that a struggling businessman to whom he once loaned money used it to amass a fortune, and after his death he left much of it to Prohack. Despite his reputation for adeptly handling money at his job, he seems to be much less capable of handling his newfound riches.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsClive BrookAnna LeeMay WhittyRobert Maine is torn between returning to the glamour of Hollywood or working with a small theatre company in England. When she falls in love with Maine, Carol has the same dilemma.
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsPaul RobesonEdward ChapmanSimon LackIn a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsGeorge FormbyPhyllis CalvertGarry MarshShortly after the start of World War II, a ukulele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken for a fellow British intelligence agent by a woman (Mary), and becomes involved in trying to defeat German agents.
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsClive BrookJohn ClementsEdward ChapmanA tale of the highs and lows of life protecting the vital convoys between America & England during WWII.
- DirectorWalter FordeStarsTommy TrinderClaude HulbertCarla LehmannThree British sailors find they've accidentally strayed on board a German warship during World War II. They then proceed to take it over and requisition it for the Royal Navy.
- DirectorJohn Paddy CarstairsStarsGeorge FormbyDorothy HysonGeorge MerrittA brave wartime copper (policeman) becomes a hero when he thwarts a plot to destroy a battleship. But then the rest of the police get the idea that he is one of the enemy agents.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsWill HayClaude HulbertFelix AylmerA hapless teacher named Will Lamb is hired by a grim school in Scotland. The school soon starts to be haunted by a legendary ghost, whose spectral bagpipes signal the death of one of the staff. Lamb has to unravel the mystery before he becomes the next victim.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsGeorge FormbyPeggy BryanElliott MasonGeorge Pearson, who works for a underwear firm that is 20 years out of date, invests his own money in a new type of thread. The company are not interested in changes, and he quits. Later the firm discover that the thread has revolutionized the garment industry, they move quickly, to hire him back, before the opposition hear the news, and make him a better offer.
- DirectorSergei NolbandovStarsJohn ClementsLeslie BanksJane BaxterLt. Dick Stacey is dismissed from the Fleet Air Arm for poor discipline. He joins the Aircraft Carrier "HMS Ark Royal" (The Ship with Wings). When they go into battle in the Mediterranean he acts heroically and redeems himself.
- DirectorBasil DeardenWill HayStarsWill HayJohn MillsBasil SydneyProfessor Davis, who teaches at a correspondence school, discovers that a Nazi Agent is trying to prevent a trade treaty being signed between England and South America. The agent is posing as an economics expert seconded to the trade delegation. The professor must find the real economist and expose the agent.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsWill HayBernard MilesJohn StuartWartime propaganda piece reporting on the success of the economic blockade of Germany in the early years of the war.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsTommy TrinderConstance CummingsClifford EvansIn 1940, a British engineer goes to France to retrieve specialized armaments machinery, loaned to the French, before the invading Nazi armies can capture it.
- DirectorThorold DickinsonStarsMervyn JohnsJohn ChandosNova PilbeamWartime propaganda piece giving the warning "Be like Dad, Keep Mum". A gossipy housewife is overheard talking about what her son is doing by a Nazi spy.
- DirectorBasil DeardenWill HayStarsWill HayCharles HawtreyPeter CroftA bumbling teacher turns out to be the double of a German general. He is flown into Germany to impersonate the general and cause chaos and hilarity in a Hitler Youth college.
- DirectorCharles FrendRobert HamerStarsGoogie WithersJean KentJohn McCallumOn Romney Marsh at the turn of the century, a woman farmer has three suitors.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDavid FarrarGlynis JohnsMai ZetterlingA Royal Air Force pilot who was shot down during World War II returns home to his English village with his new bride. The trouble is that she is the German lady who helped him escape. Then her brother arrives.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsRobert BeattySimone SignoretJack WarnerA secret London school trains a motley group of men and women for sabotage work in German occupied Belgium during World War II. When one of them is captured by the Germans, five others are parachuted in to rescue him.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsStewart GrangerJoan GreenwoodFlora RobsonYoung Sophie Dorothea marries Prince George Louis but it's far from a love match. Then she falls for Swedish Count Philip Christoph von Königsmark.First technicolour film from Ealing studios
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsRobert BeattyMoira ListerStanley HollowayA young Irishman comes up with an unusual plan to get the money to emigrate to Tahiti.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsJack LambertGrant SutherlandGordon JacksonThe Nine men of the title are a British WWII Army patrol stuck in a desert fort during the African campaign. The Men must defend the fort against the Italian and German troops until they cam be relieved.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsTommy TrinderJames MasonPhilip FriendComedian Tommy Trinder plays it straight in this tribute to the wartime AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service), the dedicated band who kept the fires of London under control during the blitz and fire bombings of WWII.
- DirectorSergei NolbandovStarsJohn ClementsTom WallsRachel ThomasA World War II film made by Ealing Studios on the Yugoslav guerrilla resistance movement in German-occupied Yugoslavia.
- DirectorBasil DeardenWill HayStarsWill HayClaude HulbertMervyn JohnsAn insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Fitch is on the list, and co-opts Claude Babbington to try and stop him from meeting a grisly end.
- DirectorCharles FrendRobert HamerStarsArthur YoungWalter FitzgeraldRalph MichaelRescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned.
- DirectorBasil DeardenAlberto CavalcantiStarsMervyn JohnsGlynis JohnsTom WallsA group of travellers, all with something to hide in their past, take shelter from a storm in an old inn. The inn-keeper seems a little mysterious...
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsDavid FarrarRalph MichaelRobert WyndhamAn RAF officer wishes to fly, but isn't allowed and is posted to the RAF Air Sea Rescue operating in the English Channel.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsJohn ClementsGoogie WithersRaymond HuntleyAdapted from a J.B. Priestley play with many of the original actors. The tale of various people who have come to live in an "ideal" city and their hopes and reasons for doing so.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsTommy TrinderStanley HollowayBetty WarrenThe story of a 19th century English music hall (vaudeville) performer and life behind the scenes.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsTommy TrinderFrances DaySonnie HaleA pair of Jolly Jack Tars on shore leave take a Wren (lady sailor) to Stonehenge and get caught in a time warp finishing up in ancient Rome.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsFrançoise RosayTom WallsPatricia RocThere exists an age-old rivalry between the Cornish and Breton fisherfolk, but harbormaster Nat Pomeroy holds a particular grudge - not just for the Bretons' incessant poaching, but for the harbor dues he loses in the process.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsJenny LairdBill BlewittMay HallattDrama following the lives of two families living on the colourfully painted canal boats of Britain.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsMervyn JohnsMary MerrallGordon JacksonA drunken, abusive tavern-keeper's adulterous wife uses the backward son of a rigid, puritanical pharmacist who makes his entire family miserable.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsMichael RedgraveRachel KempsonFrederick LeisterIn 1940, a concentration camp escapee assumes the identity of a dead British officer, only to become a prisoner of war.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsChips RaffertyJohn Nugent HaywardDaphne CampbellIt's the start of WWII in Northern Australia. The Japanese are getting close. People are evacuating and burning everything in a "scorched earth" policy. Rather than kill all their cattle, a disparate group decides to drive them overland half way across the continent.Filmed in Australia but produced by Ealing studios
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsAlastair SimFrederick PiperHarry FowlerA gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.The first "Ealing comedy"
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsDerek BondCedric HardwickeMary MerrallA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsJohn MillsDerek BondDiana ChurchillThe story of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott's 1912 expedition and his quest to be the first to reach the South Pole.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsChips RaffertyJane BarrettJack LambertIn 1854, Australian gold rush miners struggle for their rights against an oppressive government.
- DirectorHenry CorneliusStarsStanley HollowayBetty WarrenBarbara MurrayResidents of a part of London declare independence after they discover an old treaty, which leads to the need for a "Passport to Pimlico".
- DirectorSidney ColeCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsJack WarnerGladys HensonSusan ShawA train disaster is told as four short stories to give character studies of the people involved, how it will affect them, and how they deal with it.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsDonald HoustonMeredith EdwardsMoira ListerBrothers from a Welsh village take their first trip to London to collect a prize, and meet a con artist and various other urban distractions.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDavid NivenKim HunterRobert CooteA British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsGoogie WithersJack WarnerJohn McCallumAn escaped convict tries to hide out at his former lover's house, but she has since married and is reluctant to help him.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsLeslie BanksC.V. FranceValerie TaylorAn English village is occupied by disguised German paratroopers as an advance post for a planned invasion.
- DirectorHumphrey JenningsStewart McAllisterStarsLeonard BrockingtonJoseph MacleodBud FlanaganA depiction of life in wartime England during the Second World War. Director Humphrey Jennings visits many aspects of civilian life and of the turmoil and privation caused by the war, all without narration.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsRalph RichardsonMichèle MorganSonia DresdelA butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.