Best Of...
American cinema: 1940s
The Great Dictator (1940)
Charles Chaplin
During World War I, a humble Jewish barber saves the life of an officer, but injures himself in an aeroplane crash. Having spent 20 years in hospital recovering from memory loss, the barber returns to his home in the Jewish ghetto to find his people tormented by vicious soldiers...
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Charles Chaplin
The Great Lie (1941)
Edmund Goulding
Peter Van Allen has been married to Sandra Kovak, a renowned concert pianist, for only a few days when he learns that the union is not legal...
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Edmund Goulding
The Great McGinty (1940)
Preston Sturges
Weary of his exile in a seedy banana republic, a crooked banker is about to kill himself when a friendly barman intervenes and begins to recount his own sad story...
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Preston Sturges
The Great Sinner (1949)
Robert Siodmak
In 1860, during a long train journey to Paris, a Russian writer named Fedja gets to know an attractive young woman, Pauline...
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Robert Siodmak
Hangover Square (1945)
John Brahm
In the early 1900s, the well-known English composer George Harvey Bone is working hard to complete his magnum opus, a piano concerto dedicated to his fiancée...
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John Brahm
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Ernst Lubitsch
After a life of dissolute pleasure-seeking, Henry Van Cleve considers he has earned his place in Hell. But when he arrives in the entrance hall to Satan's fiery domain, he encounters an imposing figure who is less certain of his credentials... [More...]
Ernst Lubitsch
After a life of dissolute pleasure-seeking, Henry Van Cleve considers he has earned his place in Hell. But when he arrives in the entrance hall to Satan's fiery domain, he encounters an imposing figure who is less certain of his credentials... [More...]
The Heiress (1949)
William Wyler
In the 1840s, Dr Austin Sloper, a successful medical practitioner, lives with his daughter Catherine in New York's affluent Washington Square... [More...]
William Wyler
In the 1840s, Dr Austin Sloper, a successful medical practitioner, lives with his daughter Catherine in New York's affluent Washington Square... [More...]
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Alexander Hall
Prize fighter Joe Pendleton is fooling about in his private aeroplane when he loses control and crashes into the ground. Just before impact, his soul is snatched from his body by an overly enthusiastic angel, Messenger 7013, and taken to the transit point to the next world... [More...]
Alexander Hall
Prize fighter Joe Pendleton is fooling about in his private aeroplane when he loses control and crashes into the ground. Just before impact, his soul is snatched from his body by an overly enthusiastic angel, Messenger 7013, and taken to the transit point to the next world... [More...]
His Girl Friday (1940)
Howard Hawks
Newspaper editor Walter Burns is known for his ruthlessness and cunning but when he learns that he is about to lose his ex-wife and star reporter Hildy Johnson he surpasses himself... [More...]
Howard Hawks
Newspaper editor Walter Burns is known for his ruthlessness and cunning but when he learns that he is about to lose his ex-wife and star reporter Hildy Johnson he surpasses himself... [More...]
Holiday Inn (1942)
Mark Sandrich
Jim Hardy and Ted Hanover are a star New York song and dance act, but their partnership is about to end when Jim makes up his mind to drop out of the entertainment business so that he can run a farm in Connecticut... [More...]
Mark Sandrich
Jim Hardy and Ted Hanover are a star New York song and dance act, but their partnership is about to end when Jim makes up his mind to drop out of the entertainment business so that he can run a farm in Connecticut... [More...]
The House of Fear (1945)
Roy William Neill
Drearcliffe House, a remote Scottish castle, is home to seven retired bachelors who refer to themselves as the Good Comrades... [More...]
Roy William Neill
Drearcliffe House, a remote Scottish castle, is home to seven retired bachelors who refer to themselves as the Good Comrades... [More...]
The House on 92nd Street (1945)
Henry Hathaway
During WWII, brilliant university graduate Bill Dietrich is recruited by the FBI to help uncover Nazi agents working in the United States... [More...]
Henry Hathaway
During WWII, brilliant university graduate Bill Dietrich is recruited by the FBI to help uncover Nazi agents working in the United States... [More...]
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
John Ford
As he prepares to leave the house he has lived in for fifty years, Huw Morgan looks back on the eventful years of his childhood... [More...]
John Ford
As he prepares to leave the house he has lived in for fifty years, Huw Morgan looks back on the eventful years of his childhood... [More...]
Humoresque (1946)
Jean Negulesco
A moment of personal tragedy prompts concert violinist Paul Boray to re-evaluate his life. He recalls happier times when, as a small boy, his mother gave him a violin for his birthday... [More...]
Jean Negulesco
A moment of personal tragedy prompts concert violinist Paul Boray to re-evaluate his life. He recalls happier times when, as a small boy, his mother gave him a violin for his birthday... [More...]
I Married a Witch (1942)
René Clair
During the Salem witch trials of the early 1690s, Massachusetts landowner Jonathan Wooley has an alleged witch, Jennifer, and her father Daniel burned at the stake for witchcraft... [More...]
René Clair
During the Salem witch trials of the early 1690s, Massachusetts landowner Jonathan Wooley has an alleged witch, Jennifer, and her father Daniel burned at the stake for witchcraft... [More...]
I Remember Mama (1948)
George Stevens
Katrin Hanson is an aspiring writer has just completed her first novel, a nostalgic account of her family life in San Francisco, in around 1910... [More...]
George Stevens
Katrin Hanson is an aspiring writer has just completed her first novel, a nostalgic account of her family life in San Francisco, in around 1910... [More...]
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Jacques Tourneur
Betsy Connell, a young Canadian nurse, is hired to go to the Caribbean island of Saint Sebastian and care for Jessica Holland, wife of the owner of a local sugar plantation... [More...]
Jacques Tourneur
Betsy Connell, a young Canadian nurse, is hired to go to the Caribbean island of Saint Sebastian and care for Jessica Holland, wife of the owner of a local sugar plantation... [More...]
I Was a Male War Bride (1949)
Howard Hawks
In the immediate aftermath of WWII, Henri Rochard, an officer in the French secret service, is sent to the German town of Bad Nauheim to track down a lens polisher named Schindler and persuade him to work for the Allies... [More...]
Howard Hawks
In the immediate aftermath of WWII, Henri Rochard, an officer in the French secret service, is sent to the German town of Bad Nauheim to track down a lens polisher named Schindler and persuade him to work for the Allies... [More...]
Impact (1949)
Arthur Lubin
One of America's top industrialists, Walter Williams is blissfully unaware that his wife Irene has been carrying on an affair with a younger man, Jim Torrence... [More...]
Arthur Lubin
One of America's top industrialists, Walter Williams is blissfully unaware that his wife Irene has been carrying on an affair with a younger man, Jim Torrence... [More...]
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
Robert Z. Leonard
Andrew Larkin is a diligent employee at Oberkugen's music shop in circa 1900 Chicago. He hopes that soon he will be able to earn enough so that he can marry the female pen-friend he writes to almost every day... [More...]
Robert Z. Leonard
Andrew Larkin is a diligent employee at Oberkugen's music shop in circa 1900 Chicago. He hopes that soon he will be able to earn enough so that he can marry the female pen-friend he writes to almost every day... [More...]
In This Our Life (1942)
John Huston
Stanley and Roy are two sisters, the grown-up daughters of unsuccessful entrepreneur Asa Timberlake. In temperament and behaviour the two women could not be more dissimilar... [More...]
John Huston
Stanley and Roy are two sisters, the grown-up daughters of unsuccessful entrepreneur Asa Timberlake. In temperament and behaviour the two women could not be more dissimilar... [More...]
It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
René Clair
In America in the 1940s, Larry and Sylvia Stevens are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary when Larry insists on letting the world know of the bizarre turn of events that led to their happy union... [More...]
René Clair
In America in the 1940s, Larry and Sylvia Stevens are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary when Larry insists on letting the world know of the bizarre turn of events that led to their happy union... [More...]
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra
On the death of his father, George Bailey has no choice but to take over the management of the family's loan and savings business... [More...]
Frank Capra
On the death of his father, George Bailey has no choice but to take over the management of the family's loan and savings business... [More...]
Jane Eyre (1944)
Robert Stevenson
Weary of the ill-treatment she has received at the hands of her bullying Aunt Sarah, 10-year-old Jane Eyre is grateful when she learns she is to be sent to Lowood Institution, a charity school for poor orphaned girls such as she... [More...]
Robert Stevenson
Weary of the ill-treatment she has received at the hands of her bullying Aunt Sarah, 10-year-old Jane Eyre is grateful when she learns she is to be sent to Lowood Institution, a charity school for poor orphaned girls such as she... [More...]
Johnny Eager (1942)
Mervyn LeRoy
Recently released from prison, former gangster Johnny Eager convinces his parole officer he has gone straight by masquerading as a taxi cab driver... [More...]
Mervyn LeRoy
Recently released from prison, former gangster Johnny Eager convinces his parole officer he has gone straight by masquerading as a taxi cab driver... [More...]
The Jolson Story (1946)
Alfred E. Green
The son of an immigrant Jewish cantor, Asa Yoelson would rather spend his hours in burlesque theatres than at the synagogue learning to be a good Jew... [More...]
Alfred E. Green
The son of an immigrant Jewish cantor, Asa Yoelson would rather spend his hours in burlesque theatres than at the synagogue learning to be a good Jew... [More...]
Journey Into Fear (1943)
Norman Foster
During WWII, American armaments engineer Howard Graham travels to Istanbul with his wife to attend a conference. One evening, he meets up with a business associate who persuades him to visit a nightclub... [More...]
Norman Foster
During WWII, American armaments engineer Howard Graham travels to Istanbul with his wife to attend a conference. One evening, he meets up with a business associate who persuades him to visit a nightclub... [More...]
Jungle Book (1942)
Zoltan Korda
In India, a party of British tourists listen in rapture as an old local storyteller recounts a tale from his youth. Years ago, he lived in a village that was attacked by the tiger Shere Khan... [More...]
Zoltan Korda
In India, a party of British tourists listen in rapture as an old local storyteller recounts a tale from his youth. Years ago, he lived in a village that was attacked by the tiger Shere Khan... [More...]
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
George Cukor
After a traumatic stint in Europe, war correspondent Stephen O'Malley returns to the United States to write the biography of Robert Forrest, a renowned public figure who recently died in a tragic accident... [More...]
George Cukor
After a traumatic stint in Europe, war correspondent Stephen O'Malley returns to the United States to write the biography of Robert Forrest, a renowned public figure who recently died in a tragic accident... [More...]
Key Largo (1948)
John Huston
With time on his hands, World War II veteran Frank McCloud decides to pay a visit to James Temple, the wheelchair bound father of a friend of his who was killed in the war... [More...]
John Huston
With time on his hands, World War II veteran Frank McCloud decides to pay a visit to James Temple, the wheelchair bound father of a friend of his who was killed in the war... [More...]