
“King’s Row: (1941). This is like “Peyton Place” only set at the beginning of the 20th century. On the surface, the title town is an idyllic hamlet in New England, but underneath lays an underbelly of prejudice, murder, insanity, sadism, torrid love affairs, etc. The underappreciated Ann Sheridan is excellent here as a girl from the “other side of the tracks” who shows more common sense and decency than anyone in the “respectable part of town.” Ronald Reagan is quite good too, in what he always thought was his best performance. Another splendid Korngold score. Many people feel the main title here sounds a lot like “Star Wars.” I don’t hear the similarities, though they’re both brassy.

“The Maltese Falcon” (1941). Another perfectly cast movie, and the movie that made Bogart a star. Sidney Greenstreet makes his film debut here and what a happy day that was. Was there ever a more faithful book-to-film adaptation than this? Director and writer John Huston translates pages and pages of the book right to the screen. I understand Erich Von Stroheim literally filmed every page of the Frank Norris novel “McTeague” for his movie “Greed” (1924), but since so much of that footage is lost, I think “Maltese Falcon” wins.


“The Wolf Man” (1941). The last of the great Universal horror flicks and one of the greatest movie monsters ever. I also love movies set on the English moors and this is one of the best. Lon Chaney Jr. earned screen immortality as the tortured Larry Talbot, visiting his father in England and cursed by a werewolf’s bite. What a cast: Evelyn Ankers, Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya and Warren William. Being a Warren William fan, I wish there was more of him in it, but that’s a small complaint. And no, I don't care that there's no way Claude Rains could sire Lon Chaney, Jr. Don't care at all.






“Thank Your Lucky Stars” (1943). I love all-star wartime musicals. Most of the major studios produced one, but this is my favorite. Warner Bros. is my favorite studio and pretty much everyone on the lot participates. There’s good comedy from Eddie Cantor, very likeable lead performances courtesy Dennis Morgan and Joan Leslie, stars like Errol Flynn and Bette Davis sing and dance, and there’s two of the most underrated film songs from the era, both nicely sung by Dinah Shore: “The Dreamer” and “How Sweet You Are.” But mainly it’s just the air of good cheer the movie exudes.
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