Movies Came Out In (1943)
Winner:
Casablanca – Watch recently and I think the story stands the test of time and holds up well.
For Whom the Bell Tolls – Watched recently, and thought the movie was pretty good. Set during the Spanish civil war, an American (Gary Cooper) helps the Republicans blew up a strategic bridge and finds a love interest (Ingrid Bergman) along the way. The acting is decent and the war scenes/scenery are pretty decent for 1943. My only complaint was the length, at almost 3 hours, it’s unnecessarily long and drags at times.
Heaven Can Wait – Watched recently and this original film is so different than the Warren Beatty remake (1978), which was more of a remake of “Here Comes Mr. Jordan”. I was surprised this film was in color, given the year. Don Ameche (old guy from Trading Places) was the leading man, and was fun to see him so young. The premise is an old man finds himself at the gates of Hell, wondering if he belonged, and then the movie goes through the stages of his life examining each portion along the way. It actually wasn’t too bad of a movie and it held my interest.
The Human Comedy – Rented on Amazon Video because I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Mickey Rooney stars as a teenage telegram messenger in a small town while the film examines the trials and tribulations of townspeople during WWII. The film is pretty interesting and doesn’t lull too much. I can see how it would be very thought provoking to watch during the war as an audience member. Rooney’s acting tends to be the same in all the films I’ve seen him in, which is to say, I’m not the biggest fan.
In Which We Serve – I enjoyed this movie, it’s told in flashback format as sailors at sea cling to life and recall memories. The acting is decent, the plot is pretty good, and given the time period everything seems very purposeful. I would recommend watching if you get the chance.
Madame Curie – Basically a biography of the life of Madame Curie and her husband, Pierre. I was dreading watching this movie (thought it was going to be super boring), but I was wrong. It was actually very informative and interesting. I didn’t find it boring at all and would recommend watching if you ever get the chance, a very fascinating lady!
The More the Merrier – Saw on TCM. A cute rom-com, starring a couple of the actors I had recently watched in the Foreign Correspondent, which was interesting. A somewhat funny premise of renting out a room to a stranger that rents out half the room to another stranger, and the 2nd stranger falls in love with the renter. Some of the comedy reminded me of the sitcom Three’s Company and other modern shows/films. It was a pretty good film, and I’d recommend watching if you get the chance.
The Ox-Bow Incident – I liked this film. Saw on TCM. It’s been fun to watch Henry Fonda’s career backwards since I first saw him in “On Golden Pond”. He character in this film had a very similar feel to his character in “12 Angry Men”, trying to persuade others. It was also fun to see Harry Morgan, since I really only knew him as Colonel Potter in TV’s M*A*S*H. This was a good film not terribly long (1 hour 15 minutes), and I think has held up well as a western.
The Song of Bernadette – Watched recently and this movie was a bit too long and drawn out for my taste. It’s set in France in the 1850’s and a young simple girl in a village has visions of the Virgin Mary in a field. The townspeople think she’s lying, but start to turn when miracles happen. The girl is pretty much persecuted by the government and church for her actions and leads a somewhat miserable existence because of the apparition that she saw. It was cool to see Vincent Price in a leading role since I really only know him from Thriller video and Tales from the Crypt series.
Watch on the Rhine – Watched recently and really enjoyed this film. Given that World War II was still going on, it’s always surprising to me when films insert themselves into history (during the history itself). The plot is a German family (who is anti-Nazi) comes to the US via Mexico, and plans to go back to Germany to aid in disrupting the Nazi’s, their plans are complicated by a Nazi sympathizer in the US that tries to blackmail them. I would definitely recommend watching this film.
Brian’s Winner:
Casablanca, but a very good year for films as a whole.
#BrianWatchesOscarMovies
#1943
Ceremony Year (1944) – Movies Came Out In (1943)