dagoldenage Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I thought I'd bring this topic over from general discussion. Several months ago, I started a post about 1940, and a few posters voted for their favorites of other years. So here are some thoughts of mine on 1942. Overall, I thought it was a good year with anywhere from 15-20 movies that were at least very good, if not better. There was a good variety as the war movies hadn't hit hard yet. NOTE: I did NOT include Casablanca and In Which We Serve because they were eligible for the Academy Awards the following year. Top 10 movies: 1. Yankee Doodle Dandy 2. Holiday Inn 3. Pride of the Yankees, The 4. Mrs. Miniver 5. Kings Row 6. Random Harvest 7. Now, Voyager 8. Man Who Came to Dinner, The 9. For Me and My Gal 10. Johnny Eager Best of the rest: In This Our Life; Saboteur; Desperate Journey; All Through the Night; To Be or Not to Be; Roxie Hart. Overrated: Magnificent Ambersons Underrated: All Through the Night Best Actor: James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy) Best Actress: Bette Davis (Now, Voyager) Best Supporting Actor: Ronald Reagan (Kings Row) Best Supporting Actress: Susan Peters (Random Harvest) Titles watched: 99 Link to post Share on other sites
manderstoke Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Two of my favorite movies from 1942 are ALIBI and THE NIGHT HAS EYES. Unfortunately, they are never shown on American TV and the DVDs are of poor quality. Link to post Share on other sites
DickLindsay Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 ] My favorite film of 1942 is, by far, FOR ME AND MY GAL. Judy Garland is at her peak in this film with just about every song being an absolute show-stopper. Starting with the 'Beautiful Doll' number when she starts to slow down, and George Murphy winds her up and she comes back to life TO the classic 'For Me and My Gal' duet with new comer Gene Kelly TO 'Ballin the Jack'. And of course we also have "How ya gonna keep 'em down on the Farm", "there are smiles", "After You've Gone", and the tear-jerker ending (still gets me). THe film is really great; it doesn't get boring when there are no musical numbers. I also believe this is the film that introduced me to Judy. WHen I was about five years old, my dad was watching the film on TV (with commercials..... YUK!). My mom was always working in the kitchen and rarely watched with us during the day. When Judy and Gene Kelly started the 'Ballin the Jack' number, mom walked out of the kitchen, didn't sit down but watched the TV set. about 3/4 of the way thru the number, she turned to my dad and said, "no one else like her". Fifty years later, I totally agree. Link to post Share on other sites
FrankGrimes Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I like these yearly reviews that you do, Da Golden Age. 1. Cat People 2. The Big Street 3. This Gun for Hire 4. Saboteur 5. The Man Who Came to Dinner 6. Now, Voyager 7. Across the Pacific 8. My Favorite Blonde 9. The Black Swan 10. I Married a Witch 11. Desperate Journey 12. A Date with the Falcon 13. The Talk of the Town 14. To Be or Not to Be 15. In This Our Life 16. Eyes in the Night 17. Moontide 18. Fingers at the Window 19. The Falcon Takes Over 20. Jungle Book 21. Les Visiteurs du Soir 22. The Glass Key 23. Road to Morocco 24. The Spoilers 25. In Old California 26. Reap the Wild Wind 27. The Boogie Man Will Get You 28. The Undying Monster 29. Keeper of the Flame 30. Tortilla Flat 31. Tales of Manhattan 32. Dr. Renault's Secret 33. Invisible Agent 34. The Ghost of Frankenstein 35. Random Harvest 36. The Falcon's Brother 37. The Moon and Sixpence 38. Flying Tigers 39. Woman of the Year 40. Son of Fury 41. The Palm Beach Story 42. Mrs. Miniver 43. Reunion in France 44. The Mummy's Tomb 45. Ride 'Em Cowboy 46. The Major and the Minor 47. Pittsburgh 48. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 49. The Pride of the Yankees 50. The Male Animal 51. Maisie Gets Her Man 52. Thunder Birds 53. Kings Row Best Actor: Alan Ladd (Ronald Colman, Spencer Tracy)Best Actress: Bette Davis (Greer Garson, Veronica Lake)Supporting Actor: Joseph Calleia (Frank Morgan, William Bendix)Supporting Actress: Mary Astor (Teresa Wright, Agnes Moorehead)Best Director: Jacques Tourneur (John Huston, Marcel Carne) Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I like these yearly reviews that you do, Da Golden Age. 1. Cat People 2. The Big Street 3. This Gun for Hire 4. Saboteur 5. The Man Who Came to Dinner 6. Now, Voyager 7. Across the Pacific 8. My Favorite Blonde 9. The Black Swan 10. I Married a Witch 11. Desperate Journey 12. A Date with the Falcon 13. The Talk of the Town 14. To Be or Not to Be 15. In This Our Life 16. Eyes in the Night 17. Moontide 18. Fingers at the Window 19. The Falcon Takes Over 20. Jungle Book 21. Les Visiteurs du Soir 22. The Glass Key 23. Road to Morocco 24. The Spoilers 25. In Old California 26. Reap the Wild Wind 27. The Boogie Man Will Get You 28. The Undying Monster 29. Keeper of the Flame 30. Tortilla Flat 31. Tales of Manhattan 32. Dr. Renault's Secret 33. Invisible Agent 34. The Ghost of Frankenstein 35. Random Harvest 36. The Falcon's Brother 37. The Moon and Sixpence 38. Flying Tigers 39. Woman of the Year 40. Son of Fury 41. The Palm Beach Story 42. Mrs. Miniver 43. Reunion in France 44. The Mummy's Tomb 45. Ride 'Em Cowboy 46. The Major and the Minor 47. Pittsburgh 48. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 49. The Pride of the Yankees 50. The Male Animal 51. Maisie Gets Her Man 52. Thunder Birds 53. Kings Row Best Actor: Alan Ladd (Ronald Colman, Spencer Tracy) Best Actress: Bette Davis (Greer Garson, Veronica Lake) Supporting Actor: Joseph Calleia (Frank Morgan, William Bendix) Supporting Actress: Mary Astor (Teresa Wright, Agnes Moorehead) Best Director: Jacques Tourneur (John Huston, Marcel Carne) I see you list Ladd and Calleia; is that for The Glass Key? This early noir is a favorite of mine. Link to post Share on other sites
FrankGrimes Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I see you list Ladd and Calleia; is that for The Glass Key? This early noir is a favorite of mine. I wouldn't normally select Alan Ladd for the "Best Actor", but I really didn't see too many other alternatives for me. The kind of films I liked didn't feature a strong male lead performance. Ladd is at his "Laddest" in This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key, so I liked him the most. Joseph Calleia gets the nod more for The Jungle Book than The Glass Key, but I did factor in the latter, without a doubt. Link to post Share on other sites
CoraSmith Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (1 Casablanca) 2 To Be or Not to Be 3 Mrs. Miniver 4 The Magnificent Ambersons 5 Tortilla Flat 6 The Glass Key 7 The Palm Beach Story 8 Saboteur 9 Woman of the Year 10 In This Our Life 11 I Married a Witch Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Another WWII era year and another favorite film-making year of mine. These are my favorites (in no particular order): 1. Gentleman Jim 2. The Big Street 3. Desperate Journey 4. For Me and My Gal 5. Casablanca* 6. The Glass Key (thank you so much to TCM for airing all the Ladd/Lake collaborations during Ladd's SUTS day in Aug!) 7. Holiday Inn 8. The Magnificent Ambersons 9. The Man Who Came to Dinner 10. The Palm Beach Story 11. Saboteur 12. Saludos Amigos 13. The Talk of the Town 14. This Gun for Hire 15. You Were Never Lovelier 16. Now Voyager 17. Der Fuehrer's Face (Disney short featuring Donald Duck) *Don't know if Casablanca counts for '42 or '43. Again, I discovered there is so much that I'm missing! If only I were independently wealthy and could devote myself fully to catching up on films from the Golden Age. Link to post Share on other sites
SansFin Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 My list of movies for 1942 is: Mashenka (1942) This is a simple story of love with its heartbreaks and joys. It is very moving. Mother Never Dies (1942) It is the beautiful story of a boy being guided by his mother's spirit into becoming a worthwhile man. I believe it is an important work in Mikio Naruse's filmography because it shows how deeply he understood women and how realistically he portrayed them. He is in this instance showing a woman's values and sense of self-worth continue to be important even after she is gone. There Was a Father (1942) I feel this is Ozu's saddest movie. It is odd also because Ozu snips moments in time but this movie covers years of the relationship between father and son. It is as all of his movies are very beautiful. The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942) This is a murder mystery-thriller from a master of suspense! Went the Day Well? (1942) I find this to be a taut and exciting depiction of an incident which many feared might happen. Jungle Book (1942) Tales of Manhattan (1942) This movie shows the intense personal dramas and lighthearted lives of the owners of a tail coat as it passes from one to the next. It introduced me also to the phrase: "not as sharp as a rowboat." Holiday Inn (1942) I feel this is one of the greatest holiday movies of all time! Cat People (1942) I feel this is one of the greatest psychological dramas of all time. Link to post Share on other sites
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