Jane Eyre (1944), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), The Unsuspected (1947), I Wake Up Screaming (1941), Ladies in Retirement (1941), The Velvet Touch (1948), Take a Letter, Darling (1942), The Great Gatsby (1949) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best 1940s Cinema movies.
Storyline: Small, plain and poor, Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) comes to Thornfield Hall as governess to the young ward of Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). Denied love all of her life, Jane can't help but be attracted to the intelligent, vibrant, energetic Mr. Rochester, a man twice her age. But just when Mr. Rochester seems to be returning the attention, he invites the beautiful and wealthy Blanche Ingraham (Hillary Brooke) and her party to stay at his estate. Meanwhile, the secret of Thornfield Hall could ruin all of their chances for happiness.—A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>
Plot Keywords: victorian era, female coming-of-age, moral dilemma, social class, independent woman, dark secret, british literature ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.—yusufpiskin
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, drama, mystery, romance, psychological thriller, murder ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A girl has been murdered. A woman cannot remember a man who claims to be her husband. Her uncle hosts a radio murder mystery show called "The Unsuspected". Who killed the girl? Why? And who is this mystery husband?—erasmus
Plot Keywords: suspense, film noir, crime, murder, detective, thriller, psychological ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Promoter Frankie Christopher, being grilled by police in the murder of model Vicky Lynn, recalls in flashback: First meeting her as a waitress, Frankie decides to parlay her beauty into social acceptance and a lucrative career. He succeeds only too well: she's on the eve of deserting him for Hollywood...when someone kills her. Now Frankie gets the feeling that Inspector Ed Cornell is determined to pin the killing on him and only him. He's right. And the only one he can turn to for help is Jill, the victim's sister, who's been cool toward him...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, mystery, thriller, murder, detective, romance ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In the late nineteenth century, Ellen Creed works as the live-in companion to Miss Leonora Fiske, a retired actress who lives in the English countryside and who still retains her theatrical mannerisms. Ellen receives notice that the landlady of her two sisters, Emily Creed and Louisa Creed, who currently live in London, is threatening to call the police to haul them away to an asylum because of their disruptive behavior due to their mentally deranged state. Ellen will not allow her sisters to be institutionalized, and convinces Miss Fiske to allow them to stay with them for a couple of days. Miss Fiske was unaware of their deranged mental state when she agreed and is also unaware that Ellen hopes to make their stay permanent. Both issues eventually become apparent to Miss Fiske, who cannot tolerate how Emily and Louisa disrupt her home life. However, Ellen "convinces" Miss Fiske to take an extended leave from the house, while Ellen tells her sisters that she bought the house from Miss Fiske, which the sisters are not to tell anyone else. The secrets that Ellen is keeping about the situation threaten to bring her and her sisters' lives down when they receive a visit from their distant nephew Albert Feather, a cad who has his own financial well being as his main priority.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: suspense, thriller, crime, drama, film noir, psychological thriller, murder ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Broadway star Valerie Stanton, breaking up with her producer-lover Gordon Dunning, unintentionally kills him. In flashback, she recalls meeting new flame Michael Morrell, and Dunning's machinations leading to the fatal argument. The next day, it appears that Valerie's former rival Marian Webster is the prime suspect. Or is suave police Captain Danbury just playing cat and mouse with her? Nicely catty dialogue.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: film noir, drama, thriller, mystery, crime, murder, betrayal ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.—Ken Carson <kcarson@efn.org>
Plot Keywords: romantic comedy, classic film, strong female lead, independent woman, golden age of hollywood, office politics, feminist themes ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifetyle of his landlord, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.—Cleo <frede005@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Plot Keywords: classic film, romance, drama, american dream, black and white film, high society, tragedy ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: The free grazing land that the local ranchers have used for years is about to be sold to John R. Ramsey (George Meeker), a greedy, grasping cattle broker. Gene Autry (Gene Autry), as foreman of the Circle R Ranch and head of the Cattleman's Association, tries to make Jo Adams (Virginia Dale), the youthful owner of the ranch, understand that the future of all the ranchers hinges on the sale of her property. But Jo, a frivolous, extravagant heiress to whom sentiment means little, stubbornly refuses to stop the sale. Gene goes to court and has Jo declared incompetent and has himself appointed her guardian. Ramsey has already made a $25,000 down payment to clinch his option to buy within sixty days, and Jo has already spent the money on the debts she owed. Gene's problem is to figure out how to raise the $25,000 to return to Ramsey in order to cancel the sale. He and the other cattleman agree to poll their herds for sale to raise the cash, but Ramsey hires some gunmen to stampede the cattle and also flood the valley, killing kindly old Pop Sloan (Wade Borteler) in the process..—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Plot Keywords: musical, western, romance, comedy, country music, romantic comedy, lighthearted ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Scott, a troubled Coast Guardsman assigned to a fog-bound station on a remote stretch of beach, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress when he survives a mine explosion that sinks his ship. Although he is engaged to a beautiful young woman who loves him, he becomes involved with an enigmatic femme fatale whom he meets near the beached wreckage of a torpedoed ship. She is married to a renowned painter who was blinded in a traumatic, but mysterious incident, details of which are very hazy. Although they only live in a small cottage, the couple have an ambivalent relationship especially in regards to his priceless cache of unsold paintings, a relationship that evolves into a romantic triangle as Scott falls under her seductive spell.—dule1029@aol.com
Plot Keywords: film noir, psychological thriller, love triangle, mystery, moral dilemma, american film, repressed emotions ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Lydia MacMillan, a wealthy old woman who has never married, is invited by an old beau, Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick, for a reunion with the men who have been in her life to reminisce about the times when they were young and courted her. In memory, each romance seemed splendid and destined for happiness, but in each case, Lydia realizes, the truth was less romantic, and ill-starred.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
Plot Keywords: drama, romance, family, tragedy, female protagonist, mother-daughter relationship, psychological drama ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: New York newspaperman Bat Masterson thinks back on his time as a lawman in Dodge City, Kansas, when he cleaned up the lawless town and loved a saloon girl named Dora Hand. Masterson's rival for Dora's love was a scofflaw named King Kennedy, who laughs at Masterson's attempts to establish law but grudgingly admires the way he goes about it. Kennedy's jealousy of Dora leads him into deeper conflict with Masterson, even as Dora tries to maneuver Masterson into leaving town and leaving the dangerous job of marshal behind.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
Plot Keywords: western, biography, drama, historical, crime, romance, gunfight ...
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