In Dustbowl Oklahoma, the Joad family is forced off their land by foreclosure and seeks a new start in California with thousands of other migratory laborers only to find misery in the form of scarce, bottom of the barrel labor, crowded and impoverished camp sights, police intimidation, union suppression, disease, and death. John Ford's film version of John Steinbeck's epic populist novel is marked by Greg Toland's exceptional, unsullied cinematography, an iconic Henry Fonda performance, fine supporting work from Jane Darwell and John Carradine, and a tendency to sermonize.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Two brothers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart) undertake the precarious duties of long haul California truck drivers, dealing with aggressive creditors, miserly vendors and bosses, and the constant threat of death due to lack of sleep and an underdeveloped highway system. Raoul Walsh's They Drive by Night switches gears so wildly and isn't exactly cohesive but is very effective and entertaining. Ann Sheridan is amiable as Raft's love interest, Alan Hale is hilarious as a drunken trucking boss, and Ida Lupino has a wild, demanding role as his vile, jealous wife.

*** 1/2 out of ****

When no account lush Egbert Souse (W.C. Fields) unwittingly stops a robber dead in his tracks, he becomes a local hero, and the would be victimized bank offers him a full time gig as security guard. Soon he is involved in a shady land deal involving ill-gotten bank funds, directing his own movie, and all sorts of other drunken shenanigans. The Bank Dick is an uproarious clamor of jokes, one-liners, outrageous situational comedy, and perfectly timed pratfalls, all with the inimitable Fields at the helm and backed-up by a wonderfully cast team of supporters.

*** 1/2 out of ****

In the stultifying heat, outside of her husband's Malayan rubber plantation home, a woman (Bette Davis) guns down her lover in a fit of blind rage. As the blood leaves her eyes and the wheels start turning in her ever conniving mind, she begins to calculate her tearful defense, taking in her considerate husband (Herbert Marshall) and just about everyone else in the community except for her lawyer (James Stephenson) who grows wary of her all too convenient story, the title epistle figuring most prominently into his suspicions. The Letter is a dark and moody, taut little picture,  amazingly crafted by William Wyler and featuring a superbly wicked performance from Davis who gets great support from Marshall and Stephenson.

During an unnamed World War I battle, a Jewish barber (Charlie Chaplin) from the fictional country of Tomania saves the life of a superior officer and is immediately knocked into a coma. Released from the hospital two decades later, he returns to his shop where, unbeknownst to him, his people are persecuted at the behest of a vile dictator (Chaplin, again). "The Great Dictator", Chaplin's first genuine talking picture, functions great as propaganda, but is somewhat slight as a Chaplin movie which is just as well considering the historical context. The best comedic scenes involve gags with Chaplin as the vain, insecure dictator Adenoid Hynkel and his bullying ally Benzino Napaloni humorously portrayed by Jack Oakie. The final speech, a direct plea to the audience for peace and sanity, is surprising and moving.

In 2002, Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft in collaboration with Turner Classic Movies, released a documentary entitled "The Tramp and the Dictator" which documented the paralleled lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how his awareness of these similarities, no matter how trivial, spurned Chaplin to create "The Great Dictator." Kenneth Branagh narrates this intriguing film which features some remarkable, colorized making of footage.

After suffering nervous exhaustion from working in a horn making factory, Ollie is urged by his doctor to take it easy and Stan has a brilliant idea: recuperate for a spell on a boat trip. With Ollie holding a fear of the open seas, the two decide to rent a boat and stay dockside with their pet goat they use for nourishment and, unbeknownst to them, a notorious convict stowed away in bows of the boat! When the goat chews through the lines and the boat is cast at sea, Stan and Ollie must devise a way to rid themselves of Nasty Nick before he does the same. In the days of the two and a half hour, gross out, yet cheaply sentimentalized comedies, I more than ever long for the one-reel comic entertainments of the 20s and 30s, especially those done by Hal Roach and Laurel and Hardy. Along with many of their other films, "Saps at Sea" is unassuming and features outrageous gags and great comic timing between the duo.

"Abe Lincoln in Illinois" tells of the Old Rail-Splitter's adult, pre-presidential life, from his days as a backwoods Kentucky bumpkin, to his law practice in Illinois and his run for Senate in 1858 against Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart) followed up by the presidential election. We also see glimpses of his relationship with Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard), his supposed true love, and the more contentious society girl Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon). Along with Henry Fonda just before him and Daniel Day-Lewis now, Raymond Massey deserves to stand among the great cinematic portrayers of our 16th President, although his is the hokiest take of the three. John Cromwell's (father of actor James) film adaptation of Robert E. Sherwood's play covers an impressive amount of ground, and as a highlight, features moving and what I believe are word-for-word recitations of Lincoln's "A House Divided" and "This Too Shall Pass" speeches.

A top salesman (James Stewart) can't stand the upstart new hire (Margaret Sullivan) at his quaint little gift store in Budapest and pines for the embrace of his penpal, just as she despises her arrogant new colleague, the complete opposite of the proper romantic she's in touch with. Of course they are corresponding with each other. "The Shop Around the Corner" is a delightful adaptation by the incomparable Ernst Lubitsch of Miklos Laszlo's play which has been tinkered many times (most recently as "You've Got Mail"), but is done to a masterful and sublimely funny degree here, despite the fact you know how the story is going to end. Stewart turns in an unexpectedly melancholic, slightly angry performance as the bitter clerk and Sullivan is in fine form as his feisty rival/love interest. Frank Morgan as the store owner and Felix Bressart as another clerk offer very funny supporting performances.

A New York news outlet sends a capable, hard-nosed reporter (Joel McCrea) to cover the burgeoning war crisis at an international peace conference in Holland. There, after acquainting himself with the daughter (Laraine Day) of the peace party leader, he witnesses the murder of a Dutch mediator (Albert Bassermann) and follows the assassins in hot pursuit, a quest which will expand and lead to the uncovering of a secret spy organization whose subversive plans threaten the safety of the entire continent.  "Foreign Correspondent" is an exciting early WWII yarn, the second American film made by Alfred Hitchcock, which is most notable for a solid McCrea performance and two astounding set pieces: the climactic plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean and a masterfully devised windmill sequence which immediately follows the assassination.

Ace reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) has quit her job at the paper in preparation for her impending nuptials, but her incorrigible editor and ex-husband (Cary Grant) entices her to stay with a juicy news story, pulling out every other trick in the book along the way in an effort to win her back. "His Girl Friday" is a frenetically paced classic from Hollywood legend Howard Hawks who reworked Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's already once filmed play "The Front Page" into this manic masterpiece. Grant and Russell are on the top of their respective games and a sheer delight to watch in a picture that is endless fun which never stops to take a breath.

As a fiercely independent socialite (Katharine Hepburn) welcomes guests for her second marriage at her family estate, a tabloid rag sends an undercover reporter (James Stewart) and her rascally first husband (Cary Grant), who still carries a flame for his ex, to cover the affair. "The Philadelphia Story" is a delightful comedy of manners, adapted from Philip Barry's stage play by Donald Ogden Stewart, directed by legendary master George Culkor, and featuring sharp performances from three of Hollywood's best, with Jimmy Stewart winning the sole Oscar of his career, which was something of a make-up award for being passed over for his prior, remarkable year ("Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Destry Rides Again"). The film is light, witty, and constantly entertaining, although it is not quite the monumental classic which its reputation has afforded it over the years. Still, it is great fun to see Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart, again three inimitable legends, interact on the screen.

In Elizabethan Britain, the unsanctioned Sea Hawks patrol the seas and plunder the ships of the ever expanding Spanish Empire. Among the bravest of these men is Geoffrey Thorpe whose dangerous actions not only jeopardize his own life and freedom, plus place him in a position to overhear of high treason and warn her majesty of an impending assault by the Spanish Armada. Michael Curtiz's high seas auctioneer the sea romp represented and rallying call for a Britain staring war in the eye, and features an expectedly dashing, but more serious Errol Flynn in the lead role. As a supporter, Flora Robson is quite excellent as Queen Elizabeth I, especially in a rousing closing speech. The film is well directed and shot, except in a sequence where Flynn and his men sail to Panama to raid the Spanish. These scenes are shot in an ugly brown tint, and are jarring and unpleasant. "The Sea Hawk" is excellent action propaganda from one of the most underappreciated studio directors and one of the top stars of all time.

"Pinocchio" is an early animated classic from Walt Disney which consists of two wildly different halves, the first comprising of scenes of delightful imagination and the second containing dark and terrifying passages. The well known story begins with the folksy Jiminy Cricket stumbling into the home of Geppetto, a kindly woodcarver who has just crafted a boy like marionette. That night, he makes a wish upon a star that the puppet Pinocchio will become a real boy. His wish is slightly granted by a blue fairy who says he must attain virtuous qualities to become human. So, with Jiminy in tow as his conscience, the naive Pinocchio sets out for a series of misadventures. "Pinocchio" is one of the true wonders, not only for animation, but for movie storytelling as well. The animation is incredibly intricate and beautiful, and the early scenes in Geppetto's hovel, where he dances in revelry with Pinocchio, Figaro the cat, and Cleo the fish as Jiminy dances with the cuckoo clock figurines, are an exercise in pure delight. The following scenes where Pinocchio is sold by the devious Honest John and Gideon to Stromboli and is forced to perform in his travelling show are comical and magical as well. Then as the coachman discusses his sinister Pleasure Island plan and laughs his sinister laugh, I was immediately taken back to scenes of childhood fright as thoughts of the donkey boys and Monstro the whale came rushing back to my brain. "Pinocchio" is a painstakingly beautiful film that is both dark and funny and far too daring for any studio to attempt to replicate for today's prudish audiences.