A 20th Century Fox Retrospective Scrapbook : 1948

[CinemaInternational]

1948 saw Fox hit over 40 films for the first time since the early years of the war. This was attained through many independent B pickups, and more films. On we go.

The Creeper sounded like a variant on Cat People with a man turning into a feline killer.

The Tender Years found Joe E. Brown crusading against animal abuse.

Call Northside 777 was a famed noir with James Stewart cracking an old case through a classified ad for the telephone number of the title. Filmed on location too in Chicago, a rarity for the time.

Musical romance was on the menu in You Were Meant for Me with Dan Dailey and Jeanne Crain.

Let's Live Again was a B comedy with a possible plot thread about alleged reincarnation.

Clifton Webb originated his famed multi-film role as Lynn Belvedere in Sitting Pretty, and his lemony one liners made his character one of the funniest movie creations of 1948. He was Oscar nominated.

Half Past Midnight was a murder mystery.

The Challenge returned the detective Bulldog Drummond to the screen, this time played by Tom Conway.

Arthur Takes Over was a comedy about a marriage that was still unknown to the in-laws.

Scudda Hoo Scudda Hay was a tale of horses and romance. Film might be most famous today for having its title appear on a marquee in a scene in the 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy.

Vivien Leigh took a crack at the famed title role in an adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, given a moody new version here straight from England.

Victure Mature headed out West for Fury at Furnace Creek

Tom returned as Bulldog in 13 Lead Soldiers.

Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney sought to defect from the soviets to Canada in The Iron Curtain.

Meet Me at Dawn was a comedy about a dueller.

The Counterfeiters was a return to the back alleys of Noir.

Green Grass of Wyoming was the third and final of the Flicka related trilogy, although Fox would bring the mare's name out again one last time theatrically in 2006.

Horses still flashed across the screen in a big way in the following B film, The Winner's Circle.

Give My Regards to Broadway found Dan Dailey as the head of a vaudeville family that seemed on the brink of going their separate ways.

The Street with No Name was prime Noir, with Richard Widmark essentially playing a variant on his Kiss of Death character and excelling again. The story itself was good  with a fine finale.

The Checkered Coat was noir with a psychological thriller backing.

Deep Waters took to the sea with Dana Andrews and Jean Peters, who would be much featured at Fox in this upcoming period of time.

Rex Harrison broke out of jail in Escape, although Peggy Cummins wished that he hadn't.

Fighting Back had crime mixed with the element of a soldier's difficulty returning home.

The Walls of Jericho was a romantic melodrama with a distinguished quartet of stars.

That Lady in ermine was intended for Ernst Lubitsch who passed away early in filming, Otto Premenger took over, and the film was charming and likable, and quite funny in its fantasy elements.

Night Wind was a B, and it obviously involved a dog, but I can't find any information else wise about it at the moment.

The Gay Intruders was a comedy involving a bickering couple who likely made up by the end.

Cecil Kellaway was Oscar-nominated playing a leprechaun in the romantic comedy fantasy The Luck of the Irish.

Road House was great for fans of Ida Lupino, who even got to sing here. The heavily spiced melodrama literally drip[ped with atmosphere and was a riveting viewing.

War was brought to the fore in Jungle Patrol.

Victor Mature and Richard Conte covered the noir beat in Cry of the City.

Apartment for Peggy had its moments in telling the tale of a couple whose friendship brightens the life of a lonely man. William Holden and Jeanne Crain were the couple, Edmund Gwenn was the lonely man.

Dan Dailey reteamed with Betty Grable in the musical When My Baby Smiles at Me, and in the process was nominated for an Oscar.

the Snake Pit was the one Fox film up for Best Picture that year, a searing film with Olivia De Havilland fighting against psychiatric ills.

Ruth Roman had one of her earliest leads in Belle Starr's Daughter.

Bungalow 13 was a PI mystery.

That Wonderful Urge had Tyrone Power in a remake in one of his own films (Love is News). Gene Tierney was his leading lady this time.

There Was a Woman was a Brit crime film concerning the deadly head of a seemingly normal family.

Unfaithfully Yours was a dark comedy, the first of two films at Fox for Preston Sturges. It has been much acclaimed over the years.

Trouble Preferred was a crime film with a difference. The sleuths were female this time around. It also closed the year.