dagoldenage Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I got a lot of responses to my 1940 Top 10 list a few months back, including some who voted for other years. So I thought I’d get something started on 1941. It seems there is not a lot of appreciation, outside of Citizen Kane. But there a number of movies from '41 that may not be classics but are favorites of mine that I could easily watch many times. And what a great year for Gary Cooper and Babara Stanwyck. My Top 10: 1. Suspicion 2. Penny Serenade 3. Meet John Doe 4. Ball of Fire 5. Sergeant York 6. Little Foxes, The 7. How Green Was My Valley 8. Maltese Falcon, The 9. Lady Eve, The 10. Love Crazy Best of the rest: I Wake Up Screaming; Shadow of the Thin Man; Sullivan’s Travels; Buck Privates; Sun Valley Serenade. Best Actor: Gary Cooper (Sergeant York) Best Actress: Joan Fontaine (Suspicion) Supporting Actor: Sydney Greenstreet (The Maltese Falcon) Supporting Actress: Mary Astor (The Great Lie) Titles watched: 108 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 1. Pepe Le Moko (Gabin) Glad I caught this on Gabin's SUTS day2. The Lady Eve (Sturges' best)3. I Wake Up Screaming (TCM needs to get this from FOX)4. Ladies in Retirement (Lupino & Louis Hayward)5. The Devil and Daniel Webster (that ending!)6. High Sierra (another great Lupino)7. The Maltese Falcon8. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde9. When Ladies Meet (Garson and Crawford)10. Meet Boston B l a c k i e (the best one in the series) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavenderblue19 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 1. BALL OF FIRE (never tire of this one, best character names, always makes me laugh) 2. HIGH SIERRA 3. BLOOD & SAND 4. THE LADY EVE 5. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY 6. THE SEA WOLF 7. THE DEVIL & DANIEL WEBSTER 8. THE MALTESE FALCON 9. SERGEANT YORK 10.THE DEVIL & MISS JONES THE LITTLE FOXES, THE WOLF MAN, A WOMAN'S FACE, 2 FACED WOMAN, THE GREAT LIE, DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN, SUSPICION, ZIEGFELD GIRL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I got a lot of responses to my 1940 Top 10 list a few months back, including some who voted for other years. That is an understatement.....some people eventually voted for every year from 1930 to the present lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 10. Love Crazy One of my favorite Myrna Loy/William Powell collaborations, and a film I watch with some frequency. I can't say it's the best film of 1941, but it's probably my favorite. And while I don't watch Shadow of the Thin Man as often as the first two films in the franchise, I'd put it on my list for the year, too. If for nothing other than Nora's "My, they're strict at this track" after Lt. Abrams says the jockey who was caught throwing a race was shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 1941 1. They Died With Their Boots On 2. Suspicion 3. Shadow of the Thin Man 4. Dumbo 5. High Sierra 6. The Maltese Falcon 7. You'll Never Get Rich 8. Dive Bomber 9. The Lady Eve 10. Love Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredbaetz Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 ME...I made my debut at 5:48 AM on Aug. 15,1941.The supporting players in the Delivery room all performed well as did Mom. The premier was a rousing success. Two sister sequels followed 3 and 4 years later. But Mom said I was her favorite in 1941... Sorry, but that was too good to pass up.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casablanca100views Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Besides Citizen Kane and How Green Was My Valley, I have many more favorites from 1941. 1. The Lady Eve 2. The Devil and Miss Jones 3. Meet John Doe 4. Sullivan's Travels 5. Ball of Fire 6. Sun Valley Serenade 7. The Black Cat 8. Suspicion 9. Hold Back The Dawn 10. Dumbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 1941 is probably "my favorite year", film wise that is. Favorite Robinson film, THE SEA WOLF. Favorite Cagney film, THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. Favorite Bogart film, HIGH SIERRA. Nice year for my favorite actor William Powell with LOVE CRAZY and SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN. THE LADY EVE, THE MALTESE FALCON, THE WOLF MAN (one of the best Universal horror films) etc, etc. Not a big fan of CITIZEN KANE, to me HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY was deservedly the best picture of the year. I would have voted Edward G Robinson for best actor (he didn't even get nominated, that's criminal!) 1941 was the last year of the classic era of Hollywood, no one knew it at the time but big changes were coming and things would never be the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 1941 is probably "my favorite year", film wise that is. Favorite Robinson film, THE SEA WOLF. Favorite Cagney film, THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. Favorite Bogart film, HIGH SIERRA. Nice year for my favorite actor William Powell with LOVE CRAZY and SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN. THE LADY EVE, THE MALTESE FALCON, THE WOLF MAN (one of the best Universal horror films) etc, etc. Not a big fan of CITIZEN KANE, to me HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY was deservedly the best picture of the year. I would have voted Edward G Robinson for best actor (he didn't even get nominated, that's criminal!) 1941 was the last year of the classic era of Hollywood, no one knew it at the time but big changes were coming and things would never be the same. This was the last year before WW II began to have a real effect on Hollywood. This was also true in other pursuits, such as baseball, in which 1941 was also a great year. It was the year of Di Maggio's 56-game hitting streak , and Ted Williams hitting over .400, among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 @Fredbaetz: Sorry, but my WIFE premiered a month later. That's MY favorite 1941 release! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnysc Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Top 10 01. Sergeant York 02. How Green Was My Valley 03. Here Comes Mr. Jordan 04. Ball of Fire 05. The Maltese Falcon 06. Citizen Kane 07. Sullivan's Travels 08. Meet John Doe 09. High Sierra 10. The Sea Wolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dabb Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Since this is such an incredible year for film, I just could not limit my list to a Top Ten. Please allow me to indulge myself. All of these can be # 1 on my list, so I will not number them. Sergeant York They Died with Their Boots On Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Shadow of the Thin Man Dive Bomber Meet John Doe Ball of Fire Charlie Chan in Rio The Devil and Daniel Webster The Devil and Miss Jones The Great Lie H.M. Pulham, Esq. Here Comes Mr. Jordan The Maltese Falcon Mr. & Mrs. Smith Never Give a Sucker an Even Break Penny Serenade The Strawberry Blonde Suspicion Tarzan's Secret Treasure Western Union The Wolf Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagoldenage Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Lavender Blue: I have to agree about never tiring of Ball of Fire. The dialogue is so fast and witty, I usually catch something new when watching it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagoldenage Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Bastet: You mentioned you watch Love Crazy with some frequency. I'm curious if you like it as much as the first time. I didn't care for it as much the second time as the first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primosprimos Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Lavender Blue: I have to agree about never tiring of Ball of Fire. The dialogue is so fast and witty, I usually catch something new when watching it again. Ask and you shall receive. On today at noon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhook1947 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The Maltese Falcon Citizen Kane Ball of Fire How Green was My Valley The Devil and Miss Jones The Lady Eve Here Comes Mr. Jordan I Wake Up Screaming Sullivan's Travels Hold that Ghost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Some of my favorites( that haven't already been mentioned( I think) are: DRESSED TO KILLLADY BE GOODTHE LITTLE FOXESONE FOOT IN HEAVENROAD TO ZANZIBAR Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Bastet: You mentioned you watch Love Crazy with some frequency. I'm curious if you like it as much as the first time. I didn't care for it as much the second time as the first. Nothing replaces the experience of seeing something for the first time, but it holds up well to repeated viewing for me. I'll never tire of Susan going to down to "Willougby, Ward Willougby"'s apartment or the scene between all five of them out in the hallway. Susan's mother is possibly the most annoying woman in the world, but she's the only thing that can start to wear on me after repeat viewings. Honestly, I would probably watch Myrna Loy and William Powell conduct a reading of the phone book. Even Double Wedding, my least favorite of their collaborations (other than the last two Thin Man films), is something I return to again and again. Since Love Crazy is second to Libeled Lady as my favorite non-Thin Man comedy the duo did, it gets watched fairly frequently. I have an emotionally-draining job (running the legal clinic of a domestic violence shelter) and I find their movies extremely comforting, so often pop one in upon crawling in bed at night as a way to wipe away the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagoldenage Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Bastet: Thanks for the interesting reply. It's ironic you mentioned Double Wedding because that had the opposite affect on me. I liked that better the second time I watched it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I believe it is safe to say that my taste in movies is very different than most here. My list of the greatest movies of 1941 is: Masquerade (1941) Tamara Makarova was a great beauty and wonderful actress. Nikolai Mordvinov had a presence which few actors can equal. It is a story of base emotions of people who should be above such things. It can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAPx4VZBSQ Anton Ivanovich Is Angry (1941) It is a wonderful musical comedy of manners. The songs are realistic in that it is not ordinary people breaking into song on the street. It can be seen at: The 47 Ronin (1941) Kenji Mizoguchi is the director also of: The Life of Oharu (1952) and Sansho the Bailiff (1954). It is the story of supreme loyalty and self-sacrifice. I have read that it is accurate of the incident. It can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlFAfEQhXK8 Volpone (1941) This is a wonderful comedy! "When you've been here for three months like me, you'll be used to jail! The food is not good but the rats are friendly." It can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoP_wK9YKHk The Lady Eve (1941) This is one of my favorite movies of all time! It is hilarious with subtle comedy, overt comedy and a bit of slapstick. The scene on the train is superb beyond measure! Major Barbara (1941) It is Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Sybil Thorndike and Robert Newton and it was written by George Bernard Shaw. What is not to love? It can be seen at: The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941) This is an hilarious comedy mystery! I feel it is one of Ealing's best. Will Hay is a treasure! Charley's Aunt (1941) I doubt I must describe this movie to any who love classic comedy! Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) Claude Rains is precious! Dumbo (1941) I doubt I must describe this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewhite2000 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I feel I may have posted a list before in the previous incarnation of the thread. Then, as now, I may have had some confusion about whether SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS was a 1941 or 1942 film; different Websites list it differently. But I'm going with IMDB, which says it premiered in December, 1941. In which case, here's my list: #1 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS #2 CITIZEN KANE #3 THE WOLF MAN #4 HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY #5 HIGH SIERRA #6 THE LADY EVE #7 THE MALTESE FALCON #8 SERGEANT YORK #9 DUMBO #10 MAJOR BARBARA (Note: I just edited myself literally one minute after posting, because I realized I hadn't included HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. Just in case you weren't reading during the 60 seconds my original post was up, the film that has now been demoted to #11 is ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Faiola Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 My favorite film of 1941: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagoldenage Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 SansFin: Thanks for the interesting list and the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicmoviefan09 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I'd like to add two of my favorites from 1941 that have not been mentioned: Man Hunt (directed by Fritz Lang) Buck Privates (Abbott & Costello's first top billed role and great music from The Andrews Sisters) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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