Act of Violence (1948)

A few years after the war, a veteran with a grudge comes looking for a successful suburban family man with the obvious intent of killing him. It becomes clear that the target knows what what's happening and may even feel it's justified, but that doesn't stop him from running while keeping his wife in the dark.

Though it builds a real sense of dread, the poetic justice feels equal parts too neat and unbelievable to be completely satisfying.

C+

The Big Clock (1948)

George Stroud is an overworked magazine editor for Earl Janoth, a tyrant of a publisher. When Janoth kills his mistress in a fit of rage, he works hard to pin it on the guy who'd spent the evening around town with her and who Janoth is sure witnessed him entering her apartment. Stroud -- well-known for being able to find people who don't want to be found -- is enlisted to locate the guy whom only Stroud knows is actually himself.

There's too much exposition in the first 20 minutes or so, but after that point it's fast-paced and smart. I especially enjoyed the comic relief provided by Elsa Lancaster's opportunistic artist.

B+

The Velvet Touch (1948)

When Valerie Stanton -- the biggest draw on Broadway -- accidentally kills her longtime producer, the police open an investigation. She's not a suspect, but is also consumed with guilt over what she did, especially when another actress is named as the main suspect.

Though a tad stagey, the story is fine and the stars (Rosalind Russell and Sydney Greenstreet) are terrific. I especially enjoyed the way the last act went differently than I expected.

B+

The Miracle of the Bells (1948)

Olga's body has been brought to her hometown of Coaltown for burial, per her wishes. Bill (a press agent who changed the course of Olga's career) pays all of the churches in town to ring their bells nonstop for 3 days in order to get attention for the film Olga just completed, but it turns into something more than just a publicity stunt.

We get to know her through Bill's own memories, and these are by far the best bits of the movie. Olga is radiant -- it's easy to see why Bill would do everything he could to honor her last wishes. There's a lovely Christmas eve that they share with the old proprietor of a Chinese restaurant and a magical scene in which she performs an impromptu bit of acting from Joan of Arc. But the "here and now" parts with church politics and a muted Sinatra as a parish priest are pretty blah.

B-

Raw Deal (1948)

Rick puts together an escape plan for Joe, who's in the state penitentiary after taking the fall for Rick. Rick is banking on Joe to either get shot going over the wall or recaptured once on the lam -- but the plan is definitely not intended to actually allow Joe to get free in order to collect the $50k he's been promised.

Helping Joe is a mob moll in love with him. Along for the ride is another woman they've kind of taken hostage so she won't squeal... she's also in love with Joe and he's starting to think he might be in love with her too. There's nothing really wrong with this movie, but it's also not really anything special. There are, however, some really striking camera angles and shots.

C+

Yellow Sky (1948)

A group of bank robbers flee across salt flats to escape their pursuers. When they finally reach a town, it turns out to be abandoned... except for a tough but pretty young woman and her grandfather. When the men realize that the two are hiding something, they decide to find and take it.

Except for the rapey/misogynistic sections (and there are quite a few), this is a pretty good little western. The "us vs. them" turns into an "us vs. us" naturally and satisfactorily.

B-

3 Godfathers (1948)

A trio of bank robbers escapes into the desert, hotly pursued by the sheriff. Along the way, they come across a mother-to-be whose husband left for help but has surely perished before finding any. Just prior to dying, the new mother extracts a promise from the three men -- whom she has named her child's godfathers -- that they will protect her son. Even though that means they will be unlikely to evade capture, they all take their promise seriously.

It's a charmer of a story: one of those where you wind up rooting for the "bad" guys while still respecting the side of right.

B

The Search (1948)

The last half is a heartwarming story about a Czech boy, separated from his mother during WWII, slowly being brought back to himself by a brash American soldier in Germany who takes the boy under his wing. Meanwhile, the mother is searching for him everywhere, but unable to find him as he neither seemed to recall his own name nor had even spoken when questioned by officials.

Unfortunately, the first portion of the movie (prior to Montgomery Clift’s appearance as the young soldier) has a kind of "film strip" narration by a woman whose voice is about as sincere as the lady who does the Desperate Housewives voice overs.

B-

Joan of Arc (1948)

An in-her-early-30s Ingrid Bergman plays the teenage Joan of Arc...and the rest of the movie was thought out just about as thoroughly. The weapons are clearly spray-painted cardboard, everyone is slathered in pancake make-up and I've seen more convincing battle scenes in elementary school plays.

This was just a long slog through crap. I'm not giving it an "F" because the subject can't help but be fascinating despite being butchered.

D

The Luck of the Irish (1948)

Plodding story about a journalist who sells out to a politician, but is saved by a grateful leprechaun. See, the journalist was in Ireland and could've taken the wee one's pot of gold but didn't so...whatever. For all the attempts at whimsy, it only succeeds in being dull as dirt.

Ann Baxter as the country lass the guy should (so, of course, DOES) wind up with is lovely despite an accent so thick I could scarcely understand her most of the time.

D+

Sitting Pretty (1948)

Young couple with an unruly trio of children lose their fed-up housekeeper/nanny and place an ad for someone to take her place. Impressively qualified Lynn Belvedere gains the post sight-unseen and surprises everyone when Lynn turns out to be a Mr. rather than a Miss.

Clifton Webb is great as the particular Belvedere, who's quite good at his job, despite his professed distaste for children. It's a joy to watch the children respond favorably to his high expectations and the couple twist themselves into knots with curiosity and responses to neighborhood gossip.

Kinda daffy, but a real charmer.

B+

A Foreign Affair (1948)

Jean Arthur is a sourpuss congresswoman who's part of a government mission to check up on the American boys occupying post World War II Germany. What she discovers is that the armed forces spend their off-duty hours basically trading candy and knick-knacks for sexual favors from the local girls. What was being played for laughs was actually really sordid, from my point of view. These people who'd had their lives torn apart were being preyed upon by opportunistic louts -- it was disgusting.

Anyway. Dietrich's a femme fatale with her hooks in an army captain who pretends to woo Arthur in order to throw her off of his scent. His pretense turns real and it's supposed to be comic gold. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the depressing setting.

C-

Blood on the Moon (1948)

A tight, no-nonsense Western. Mitchum's a stranger who comes at his old friend's summons for help. It doesn't take him long to size up the situation and make up his mind to switch sides -- a decision easier made than accomplished.

Compelling and to the point, though I've no idea what the title means.

B+

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Interesting story of greed and human nature. Takes too long…hammers home points long after they've sunk in…but still, a deserved classic.

Weirdly enough, it's Bogart who almost ruins things -- everyone else has a naturalness about them (well, maybe not the Mexican bandits -- this is the origination of the classic "steenkin' badges" line), but Bogart is almost sweating to convey his character's descent into madness. Shoulda taken it down a notch.

B

Louisiana Story (1948)

Many shots are held for far longer than necessary to get the point across. The obvious non-actors are a drawback…they're stiff. The boy, however, is adorable and winning. Not horrible, just not very interesting.

C-

Red River (1948)

It's got it all: wide vistas, angst, passion, guns, climactic fist fight…even manages to squeeze in some humor. Good stuff.

B+

Hamlet (1948)

For the first time, I feel that I truly understand what all those mouthfuls of dialogue mean! I don't LOVE this film, but I thought it was so well done -- instead of seeming pretentious (as Branagh's Shakespeare always feels to me), the story seemed truly distressing and tragic. And I could FOLLOW it! Call the papers!

B+

Johnny Belinda (1948)

The intended "what's gonna happen" suspense is non-existent as you can see everything coming a mile away (e.g.: as soon as the girlfriend says "stay away from the dummy" you know he won't). The courtroom finale is ridiculous, complete with out-of-turn speech-making and a teary breakdown.

I'm not sure that Jane Wyman deserved to win best actress...but we know that Oscar loves handicaps, and that might have been what clinched it for her.

C