Adam's Rib (1949)

Lawyer Adam Bonner is tapped to prosecute a woman who shot at her husband while he was in the arms of another woman. His wife, Amanda Bonner (also a lawyer), decides to defend the wife as she believes a man in the same situation -- fighting for his family -- would be lauded rather than maligned. Though they've got a solid marriage full of mutual respect, a contest of lawyerly skills in the courtroom is a strain.

Though the courtroom scenes are a lot of fun, the datedness of the material makes it so much of a time capsule that it's difficult to take it at face value. Case in point: the primary reason given for the husband's infidelity is that his wife got fat. Judy Holliday (left in this on-set picture) plays his wife. Also, talk about the wife getting regularly knocked-around by her cheating husband isn't even treated as a point against him. Yeesh.

B-

The Quiet One (1949)

What a weird movie. Somehow it was Oscar-nominated for a documentary and screenplay in different years. It's clearly scripted so how's it a documentary? That oddness aside, I see why it would've felt so important when it was presented. Finally we have an answer to what's wrong with these angry kids!

But, with time, it's clear that though this makes some salient points, it's seriously problematic. And extremely boring.

C-

Passport to Pimlico (1949)

The small British town of Pimlico discovers a cache of treasure from Burgundy, proving that their area is actually a French region. Chaos ensues due to taxes and laws and the ownership of the treasure. It's silly, short and ultimately just fine.

B-

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

The champion baseball team has a new, strict owner who has the audacity to be (gasp) female. Sinatra and Kelly as the star players are aw-shucks charm & icky smarm, respectively. It's fun enough, but the quartet of Kelly, Sinatra, Jules Munshin, and Betty Garrett did the musical romcom better later this same year with On the Town.

B-

Holiday Affair (1949)

A young widow working for a department store as a "comparison shopper" accidentally gets a man fired from a rival store when he decides not to turn her in. He's a good sport about it and they wind up spending the day running the rest of her work errands together. When they get separated, he tracks down her address to bring the rest of her packages to her and gets to meet her son -- and her boyfriend.

Though it's exactly my kind of story -- especially as the man is played by Robert Mitchum -- it falls a little flat for some reason. Is it the kid? The boyfriend? The scene in the police station that should've been a riot but somehow felt a little too quiet? I'm not sure. All of the elements of a classic Christmas movie are there, but it just never finds the magic.

B- (down a bit from my last watch)

Criss Cross (1949)

Steve returns home to L.A. after spending a couple of years trying unsuccessfully to forget his ex-wife. Though she's now unhappily entangled with the local mob boss, Steve's got a plan. From the first bit of rushed and desperate dialogue, it's clear that we're being dropped right in the middle of things and that's just fine. The script doesn't bother holding our hand to make sure we're up to speed, it just trusts that we'll catch up.

This runs fewer than 90 minutes, but it's stuffed to bursting with story and simply gorgeous shots. I was wowed at least a dozen times by the pure art on screen. 

B+

Paisan (1949)

A series of 20-minute vignettes depicting the tail end of WWII in Italy. There is some strong writing and what should be extremely affecting situations, but the acting is so universally terrible -- like, laughably bad -- that it’s hard to feel much of anything.

C-

Battleground (1949)

It’s a war movie with a bunch of characters who were almost cartoonishly drawn -- seemingly just so we could keep them straight by their quirks.

The strength of this movie comes through showing these soldiers as having more than one side. Not only are they brave when called upon to be so, they're also sometimes terrified to the point of desiring a flesh wound so that they'll be sent home. It’s a notch better than most of the ra-ra WWII movies because there's an honesty in showing just how battered the men were in both body and psyche.

B

The Reckless Moment (1949)

When a woman finds her daughter's much-older lover dead near their home, she fears her daughter was responsible and covers up the crime.  Her troubles are just beginning as, once the body is discovered, she's contacted by blackmailers in possession of love letters from her daughter to the deceased.

This is a quick-moving, desperate little movie that almost doesn't take a breath.  James Mason is particularly good as one of the bad guys who is obviously falling for the woman he's supposed to be strong-arming.

B+

The Hasty Heart (1949)

An abrasive Scottish soldier in a Burmese Army hospital is dying. Rather than tell HIM that, the doctor decides to tell his new bunkmates to be nice to the dying man, even though he’s an ass.

Well, the Scot's assy heart melts...then freezes over again hard when he finds out that everyone knew he was dying, but then it melts again because otherwise it'd be a bummer. Uh, that’s a spoiler...but only if you’ve never seen a movie before or have no idea how "buddy" stories usually turn out.

C+

Jolson Sings Again (1949)

...and again, and again, and again. I mean, the guy just won't shut up.

This follow-up to The Jolson story covers the break-up of his marriage, his self-imposed sabbatical from singing which resulted in a "who-cares" attitude by producers and public when he decided he wanted back in, and his slow comeback process aided by his work with the USO.

I know this is a weird complaint, but there was just way too much singing. It was only 96 minutes, but I'd wager a third of that time was spent listening to him croon. Perhaps the problem is that I don't like Jolson's voice (the actor lip-syncs to Jolson's dubbing) or the overstylized performance mannerisms -- but I do think it wound up feeling as though there wasn't enough story and they had to add a bunch of filler in the form of song to make it feature length.

C

We Were Strangers (1949)

Jennifer Jones is her usual bland self -- this time with an accent.

The story concerns Revolutionaries in Cuba digging a tunnel with China's (Jones) house as the start point -- well, they dig when they're not giving stilted speeches anyway. John Garfield is the leader of the little group and China can't help but fall for the principled American... but as his only competition for her affections is the smarmy official who personally gunned down China's brother, he shouldn't feel too flattered by this.

All in all, a truly boring affair.

C-

My Foolish Heart (1949)

So soapy you need a rinsedown by the end.

Susan Hayward's a bitter drunk in a loveless marriage. Lucky for us that we're immediately whisked to the happier days of flashback-land. Not much happier, mind you.

Susan Hayward is in so much, but she's pretty much the same in them all. She can put on a mad face or a sad frown or giggle girlishly, but what she doesn't seem to understand is that one character's "mad" should be different than another's. She's always hitting the same notes -- but she does look good on camera. I think that just about everyone involved here was hired based on their type, not their actual ability.

C+

The Window (1949)

It's a version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Tenement kid Tommy has a habit of making things sound more interesting than they are; everyone knows to take his tales with a grain of salt. His parents are weary of his stories but get especially exasperated when they almost lose their apartment due to one of his fabrications. When he witnesses a murder, the only ones who believe him are the killers themselves.

My younger son regularly declines invitations to watch movies with the family, so I was surprised when he said "that sounds kinda good" when I asked him if he was interested in joining me for this one. It was a perfect introduction to noir for a boy who regularly shuns films, especially older ones. It's tight and accessible and the moody feel is perfect. The look of the film -- especially the cramped apartment -- is wonderful and Bobby Driscoll won a juvenile Oscar in 1950 due in part to his portrayal here.

Catch this one if you get the chance.

B+

Pinky (1949)

A "light-skinned" negro returns to her southern town after passing for white while studying as a nurse up north.

It was a little difficult to get into the groove of this movie at first. Not only is the prejudice coming from the whites around town, but from the Pinky's own grandmother who tells her she ought to be ashamed for pretending she's something she's not. Which is what, exactly? Every bit as intelligent and worthy of respect as white women? I've never considered myself particularly "politically correct" -- but this movie made me cringe. I suppose it's possible it's accurate, but it also seemed rather ridiculous. One minute Pinky's being treated with respect and concern by shop owners/police/men driving by -- but the minute she identifies herself as colored, disdain and harrassment are in order for the "swamp bunny."

The acting is commendable, and all three of the main women were justifiably nominated for Oscars.

C+

White Heat (1949)

I'm not a fan of most gangster pics, but I thought this was pretty alright. Cagney overdoes the "crazy headache" episodes, though. The mother fixation and the undercover cop provide tension in a solid story, though the dogged detective is pretty square.

B-

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Good-hearted movie about an innocent girl and her "only friend" (a giant ape) being exploited as a Night Club act. No real surprises, but it's certainly entertaining.

B-

The Heiress (1949)

Emotional, believable, and terrible…up until the last couple of scenes. Doesn't really ruin the movie - but to have the heroine take petty pleasure in revenge felt untrue. She could have taken her revenge while sobbing over it inside…or been tempted but, at the last moment, realizing that she couldn't fool herself for the rest of her life...either of those would've felt more in keeping with what we've seen from her.

Still, I liked the movie and my heart broke along with hers as she realized he wasn't coming (I was still unsure of his intentions at that point).

B+

Champion (1949)

Kirk shoots from poverty to prizefighter - and becomes an ass on the way. Pretty good.

B-

Holiday Affair (1949)

Mitchum initially seems miscast as department store clerk - but quickly shows us that “clerk” is not synonymous with “dork.” The little boy is a weak link, but doesn't hurt things much. Nice fuzzy-feeling film. 

B