Ten Movies From The Year: 1944

America was still at war, so you'd expect 1944 to be a banner year for war and action films. But the great Hollywood studios kept releasing a variety of films; many of 1944's films have withstood the test of time and become true classics:

1. Double Indemnity--Billy Wilder's class film noir. Insurance salesman Fred MacMurray falls for femme fatale Barbara Stanwyck. They kill her husband for the money; his boss Edward G. Robinson smells a rat.

2. Laura--Another memorable film noir; Otto Preminger's first film. A hard boiled detective (Dana Andrews) falls for Laura, a classy dame who took a faceful of buckshot. Imagine his surprise when Laura turns up very much alive halfway through the movie. Cliftron Webb sealed his stardom in a flashy supporting role as acerbic critic Waldo Lydecker.

3. Meet Me In St. Louis--Not hyper and kinetic like the 1950s MGM musicals. This one showed the sentimentality and emotion of a family whose roots are about to get pulled up. Judy Garland sang "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."

4. To Have and Have Not--Bogie meets Bacall. "You know how to whistle, don't you Steve? You just put your lips together and blow."

5. Gaslight--Evil Charles Boyer marries Ingrid Bergman, then attempts to drive her mad searching for a fortune. Atmospheric and creepy; Bergman won her first Oscar.

6. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek--Like many geniuses, director Preston Sturges ran hot for ten years and burnt out. But in those ten years, he changed film comedy for the better. An amazing comedy for what it got away with. Betty Hutton is wonderful as Trudy Kockenlocker (yes, it does sound dirty)--who has a soft spot for the GI's. So after a big party, she winds up married and pregnant...and can't remember who, when, how, or even why.

7. Between Two Worlds--The best movie on this list that you've never heard of. A group of people are killed in a London air raid. They wake up on a strange ship that will deliver them to either Heaven or Hell. One trip where you could leave your passport at home. A terrific cast, including John Garfield and Sydney Greenstreet.

8. Arsenic and Old Lace--How popular was this play? Frank Capra filmed this tale of dotty aunts killing their gentleman callers in 1941. The movie wasn't to be released until the Broadway play closed. It took three years. Cary Grant's most manic, physically demanding comedy performance--a tour de farce.

9. Lifeboat--You didn't think we'd leave Hitchcock out of this, did you? The Master of Mayhem loved a challenge, and this film certainly posed it: it takes place entirely on a lifeboat, as the survivors of a ship bombing try to figure out which one of them was on the U-boat that did it. Tallulah Bankhead's best film role; she won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress.

10. None But The Lonely Heart--Cary Grant shows up twice on our list, this time in a completely different performance. Grant showed amazing depth as a Cockney man trying to right his life by returning home to care for his mother. Unforgettably emotional; Ethel Barrymore (yes, those Barrymores) won a Supporting Oscar as his mum.

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In Appreciation: The Big Heat (1953)

Recently released on DVD, and chosen by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2011, The Big Heat is a classic, tough-minded little film with a lot on its mind.  Written by a former crime reporter, and directed by Fritz Lang, The Big Heat sticks in your mind long after you've watched it.

Glenn Ford gave one of his best performances as honest cop Dave Bannion, who tries to take on his city's crime syndicate.  His higher-ups, however, are in the crooks' back pocket.  They attempt to dissuade Dave to drop his investigation.  When he doesn't, his car gets blown up, his wife gets killed in the explosion....and the case is closed.

Bannion goes crazy, and will stop at nothing to take down mob boss Mike Lagana, and if thats means using Lagana's girl (Gloria Grahame) to get closer, so be it.  The psychosis really begins to fly when Lagana gets a little too jealous.

Gloria Grahame won a well-deserved Oscar as Stone's girlfriend, Debby Marsh.  Stone's right-hand man (Lee Marvin, terrific in another villainous turn) punishes Debby for getting too close to the cops by throwing hot coffee in her face.  Scarred for life, Debby clings closer than ever to the hoenst cop.  In a wonderful twist, Bannion is shown to be no angel--he's simply using her to acheive his end.

Tough characters in a taut, relentless film.  The Big Heat is truly memorable.

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In Appreciation: Sudden Fear (1952)

There was one kind of "film noir": stark black & white images; a man on the run; the girl that got him in trouble; smoke-filled rooms and backroom deals. Sometimes the hero came out of it alright. Sometimes he wound up dead in the last reel.

But there was another element in film noir. Let's call it: The Damsel In Distress. A beautiful woman, in over her head. Frequently, these films were in color, adding to the rich psychological palate of the genre. Sometimes these films veered close to camp, but they all emerged with their thrills and dignity intact. Mildred Pierce is a great example. The film opens up with a murder, and a confession from the leading lady. As the story progresses, we see firsthand how baking a couple of pies could get a dame into trouble.

1952's Sudden Fear is a forgotten example of this kind of film. It uses classic film noir elements to tighten the story's twists. And it has one of the nastiest villains of all time--played to menacing perfection by Jack Palance. Palance made a career out of bad guys (topped by Shane). In Sudden Fear, the way he leers into the camera makes you squirm.

The film was Joan Crawford's next-to-last great film role (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane being the last). In Fear Crawford portrays playwright Myra Hudson, who, at the opening, has just rejected Lester Blaine (Palance) for her latest stage opus. They later meet on a train to San Francisco, and fall in love.

Only after Myra marries Lester does she realize what a rat he is. He's got Irene, a dame on the side, played to icy, greedy perfection by Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat). And Lester and Irene have plans--big plans--for Myra. Unfortunately, all of them involve her death.

But all killers make mistakes. Lester and Irene plot to kill Myra, while Myra's dictation machine records every gruesome word. And the game is on...

One of the great noirish films of the '50s. Nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best B&W Cinematography, Best Costume Design. Crawford knew how to play the successful woman-in-danger role to neurotic perfection.

Click on this link to purchase Sudden Fear on DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000IPHP/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=reelclas02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00000IPHP">Sudden