The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Humphrey Bogart is Sam Spade, the prototypical hard-boiled detective -- unfazed by anyone including beautiful women in distress and slimy shake-down men. Everyone's after the titular statuette and they're all sure Spade can help.

Though there are better stories out there, as one of the first and most-referenced noirs, it is a must-see. Doesn't hurt that it's also entertaining with some fantastic performances.

B+

Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)

A Chicago mob boss, notorious for offing rival gang members, meets a woman at a department store. Before he knows what's happened, he's hired her as his nanny even though he hasn't got any kids. He enlists a performer at his nightclub to take the role of housekeeper and a tough-talking delinquent is hired to play his son.

This is just tons of fun. The one weak spot is that his love interest isn't on the same level as the rest of the cast -- but it doesn't hurt things much. I had a great time.

B

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

A couple married for three years is in the aftermath of a huge fight when Mr. tells Mrs. he'd have stayed single if he had to do it all over again. When they find out that, due to a jurisdiction technicality, they're not legally married, he doesn't rush to make an honest woman out of her. She is not amused and shenanigans ensue.

It's fun and fast, but the alternate love interest is just not enough of anything to bother with. He's gentlemanly and dull where I'd have preferred an extreme of any type (boorish, highly sexualized, dumb as a rock -- anything). Instead the competition is perfectly fine and that made for very little tension about what might happen.

B

Meet John Doe (1941)

Barbara Stanwyck is Ann, a reporter who -- in order to keep her job -- makes up a letter to the editor from a "John Doe" who's threatening to jump to his death on Christmas Eve because he's fed up with the state of the world. When the newspaper realizes the cash cow the John Doe story could be, they find a down-on-his-luck guy to claim to be the letter's author. Across the country, regular people identify with Doe and begin to act with more community-mindedness while cynical politicians scheme to exploit the phenomenon.

The first hour or so is sweet and fun. Cooper is perfectly cast as the humble Doe and Stanwyck is, as always, marvelous. But the story bogs down too much in the ugly side of things -- the latter half drags interminably.

B-

Man Hunt (1941)

Cool premise: a well-known British big-game hunter trains his rifle on Adolf Hitler, just to see if he can...or was he actually planning to pull the trigger and getting caught in the act caused him to quickly change the story?

After the "why" is set-up, we get the "what," which turns out to be that the Brit, after being left for dead, makes his way back to England and is chased about by Nazi spies. Its serial roots are evidenced by regular tiny cliffhangers, but it's pretty entertaining as a film -- up until the denouement.

Joan Bennett, as a wrong-side-of-the-tracks gal who helps our hero hide, is lovely but thoroughly unconvincing.

B

Tom, Dick and Harry (1941)

Flighty cutie finds herself engaged to three men and has to make up her mind which she'll pick. I'm not sure why any of these guys fell for her in the first place as she's one of those annoying baby-talking types who -- let's face it -- has a wandering eye.

There are several bizarre dream sequences in which she imagines married life with each of the guys (and, in one case, ALL of the men at once). Most of these dreams involve children who are simply scaled-down adults, a more disturbing image than you'd think.

Burgess Meredith as one of the suitors has charm to spare, but that's not enough to make up for the lack of charm in everyone else OR the dearth of humor.

C-

Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

Weird movie -- kind of seedy on one hand and kind of lovely and hopeful on the other. The stars are good (except Paulette Goddard -- who really never should've been handed a career in Hollywood. I'm still amazed that she was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara). In all, though, the movie just doesn't quite work. It can't be realistic and starry-eyed at the same time...people just aren't that easily redeemed.

C+

The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)

Absolute charmer about a rich man going undercover as a salesman in one of his own department stores to ferret out troublemakers.

B+

The Great Lie (1941)

Almost recommendable, but done in by a few twists too many. The plot involves an invalid marriage, a second marriage, a missing pilot, a surprise pregnancy, a clandestine delivery, a secret adoption, pilot back from the dead, threats of homewrecking...whew.

It's interesting that, even with all these "twists," it's still somewhat predictable. The women are good, but George Brent (as the object of both their affections) is rather wooden.

C