1940s

I Remember Mama (1948): Irene Dunne has one of the best roles of her career in George Stevens’ nostalgic immigrant family drama.

Going My Way (1944) movie review: Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald star as clashing priests in Leo McCarey’s sentimental Oscar-winning blockbuster.

Mildred Pierce (1945) movie review: Joan Crawford is terrific as psycho Ann Blyth’s devoted and entrepreneurial mother in Michael Curtiz’s noirish melodrama.

Brief Encounter (1945) movie review: David Lean’s beautifully shot masterwork stars Oscar nominee Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard as sympathetic adulterers.

Hatter’s Castle (1942) movie review: James Mason and Deborah Kerr star in this big-screen transfer of A.J. Cronin’s novel that dilutes much of its social message.

Remember the Night (1940) movie review: Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray discover love’s corruptive and redemptive power. Mitchell Leisen directed.

Hold Back the Dawn (1941) movie review: Olivia de Havilland star vehicle is also a solid romantic melodrama. Charles Boyer and Paulette Goddard costar.

To Each His Own (1946) movie review: Olivia de Havilland creates a shrewd, Oscar-winning portrayal in Mitchell Leisen’s heartfelt melodrama.

Sitting Pretty (1948) movie review: Clifton Webb is an idiosyncratically effete babysitter who teaches procreating heterosexuals a few parenting lessons.

Possessed (1947) movie review: Joan Crawford is the emotional core of Curtis Bernhardt’s great-looking psychological drama. Van Heflin costars.

Casablanca (1942) movie review: Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in Michael Curtiz’s WWII-set romance classic. But is it truly great cinema?

Humoresque (1946) movie review: Joan Crawford exudes charisma in Jean Negulesco’s stylish but ponderous melodrama. John Garfield costars.

Nabonga (1944) movie review: Julie London and Buster Crabbe star in this Poverty Row jungle flick that lacks thrills and logic. Also in the cast: Fifi D’Orsay.

The Gang’s All Here (1943) movie review: Carmen Miranda and Alice Faye star in one of Busby Berkeley’s most eye-popping musicals. James Ellison costars.

My Little Chickadee (1940) movie review: Mae West and W.C. Fields are seen (sort of) together for the first and last time in this amusing comedy Western.