Tag Archives: 1940s

Gypsy Wildcat (1944) Roy William Neill, Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Peter Coe, Adventure

Gypsy Wildcat (Roy William Neill, 1944)
In an unspecified Renaissance kingdom, no sooner has Anube’s gypsy tribe encamped near Baron Tovar’s village when Count Orso is found murdered. The wicked baron blames the gypsies and imprisons them all in his castle. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger on a white horse has hidden the murder arrow and won the heart of gypsy belle Carla, to the discomfiture of her erstwhile fiancée Tonio. Baron Tovar is also fascinated by Carla…especially when he notices her heraldic pendant.
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Relentless (1948) George Sherman, Robert Young, Marguerite Chapman, Willard Parker, Western

Relentless (1948)
At the local saloon, prospectors Len Briggs and Bob Pliny brag about finding gold at their mine. Bad guys Tex Brandaw and Jim Rupple decide to follow the two prospectors and steal their mine. Drifter Nick Buckley who’s passing through town seeking shelter for his pregnant mare is offered a drink by the two old prospectors, on the account of their recent good fortune. They also offer him the use of their shack for the night. However, bad guy Tex Brandaw suggests to Nick the use of an empty stall in the town stable instead. The two old prospectors return to their cabin where bad guys Tex and Jim await in ambush and kill the prospectors and steal the map revealing the gold mine’s location. They divide the map in two sections, to prevent cheating, and split up agreeing to meet later. Tex has no intention of sharing the gold with Jim and bushwhacks him on the trail taking Jim’s other half of the map. Jim pursues Tex on foot and runs into drifter Nick Buckley who left town after spending …
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The Captive Heart (1946) Basil Dearden, Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Frederick Leister, War, Drama

The Captive Heart (1946)
After the evacuation at Dunkirk, June 1940, some thousands of British prisoners are sent to German P.O.W. camps. One such group includes “Capt. Geoffrey Mitchell,” a concentration-camp escapee who assumed the identity of a dead British officer. To avoid exposure, “Mitchell” must correspond with the dead man’s estranged wife Celia. But eventual exposure seems certain, and the men must find a way to get him out. If he reaches England, though, what will his reception be?
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Le silence de la mer (1949) Jean-Pierre Melville, Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane, Jean-Marie Robain, Drama, Romance, War

Le silence de la mer (1949)
1941 in a small town in Nazi occupied France. Against the will of its elderly male and his adult niece residents, the Nazis commandeer a house for one of their officers, Lt. Werner von Ebrennac, to live in for as long as he is in the area on Nazi business. As a figurative and literal silent protest against the Nazis and the officer, the uncle and niece do whatever is required of them while the officer is in their house, however they do not acknowledge his presence, living largely in silence whenever he is around. The officer treats the housing situation with care, like he is a guest. Although not a nightly occurrence, the officer begins an evening routine with his reluctant hosts: in his civilian clothes, he knocks on the door of the room in which they have convened for the evening, walking in shortly thereafter knowing that no acknowledgment will be made for him to enter, he visits with them for no more than five minutes before he bids them a good evening as he exits.
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Inner Sanctum (1948) Lew Landers, Charles Russell, Mary Beth Hughes, Dale Belding, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller

Inner Sanctum (1948)
A man accidentally kills his fiancée as he exits a train. Just as the train pulls out, he drops her body on the rear platform. No one saw him do it, but someone does see him at the otherwise deserted station: a mischievous, freckle-faced boy. Later, he’s walking along a road when the town’s newspaper editor stops and gives him a lift. The editor tells his passenger that a flood has washed out the bridge. For now, there’s no way out of town, so he takes the stranger to a boarding house. Fate decrees that of all houses, this is the one where the boy lives. The boy thinks he recognizes the new boarder. The new boarder thinks it’s time to get rid of the boy. And a sexy blonde living at the house thinks it’s time to run off with a man she knows is a murderer.
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Rings on Her Fingers (1942) Rouben Mamoulian, Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Laird Cregar, Comedy, Romance

Rings on Her Fingers (1942)
Susan Miller works behind the girdle counter in a department store and dreams about the beautiful clothes and glamour she can never hope to have. Enter May Worthington and Warren, a pair of con artists who pose as the mother and uncle of a pretty girl in order to separate millionaires from their money. They convince Susan she has an opportunity to fulfill all her dreams, and the trio heads for Palm Beach. Susan meets John Wheeler who says he is shopping for a sailboat. Believing that he is a millionaire, Warren and May sell him a boat that doesn’t belong to them, and make off with his $15,000 life savings. Looking for greener pastures, they work themselves into the family of wealthy Tod Fenwick, who falls for Sue, posing as “Linda Worthington”. But John shows up as a guest of Fenwick and he tells “Linda”, not knowing she was part of the scam, that he has a detective after the fake captain that sold him the boat. John admits that he is not a millionaire but only a $65-a-week clerk.
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