Year: 2022

Finishing off a brief look at the 1940s, there are some rather obvious films that you should see.

“Casablanca” has some strange scenes and many mis-quoted quotes, but it is still a great story and Ingrid Bergman looks lovely.

I know people point to other Disney animated films, but for us, “Pinocchio” is the best.

The animation in this relatively short film is quite breathtaking in places. Actually, even better, read the original book.

Last on our list is “Brief Encounter”. Yes, another obvious film, showing possible adultery from a woman’s point of view.

From 1948, this film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt has long been a favourite.

The story concerns a trio of struggling men who go into the hills of Mexico to prospect for gold. On the way they encounter locals, bandits and greed.

Bogart in particular stands out as Dobbs. As the three begin to accumulate the gold, he becomes increasingly distrustful of the others and thinks he is being deprived of his fair share. Huston too is excellent.

The big stand out of the film is the music. Warners had some great composers on their books, icluding Max Steiner, who also wrote for “Now Voyager”, “King Kong” and “Casablanca”.