A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

[7] Writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) won his first two Academy Awards for writing and directing this drama about three wives who reflect on their marriages when they learn a fourth woman has…
All the King’s Men (1949)

All the King’s Men (1949)

[7] Broderick Crawford plays a small-town hick who attracts a populist following that takes him all the way to the governor's mansion, even though his ascent is riddled with corruption and crime. All the King's Men is really about Crawford's…
Pinky (1949)

Pinky (1949)

[7] Elia Kazan directs a trio of Oscar-nominated performances in this adaptation of the Cid Ricketts Sumner novel. Jeanne Crain (State Fair, A Letter to Three Wives) stars as Pinky, a light-skinned African American woman returning to her impoverished southern…
The Third Man (1949)

The Third Man (1949)

[8] Joseph Cotten uncovers a conspiracy surrounding a deceased friend in The Third Man, a masterfully crafted film noir thriller from author Graham Greene and director Carol Reed. Reed keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, surrounding Cotten's character…
Knock on Any Door (1949)

Knock on Any Door (1949)

[4] Humphrey Bogart defends a juvenile delinquent (John Derek) in this uneven and heavy-handed flick from director Nicholas Ray. Didn't care for Derek in this movie, but Bogey makes a nice courtroom stand at the end. The best thing about…
Tarzan’s Magic Fountain (1949)

Tarzan’s Magic Fountain (1949)

[5] Lex Barker takes over the loincloth from Johnny Weissmuller, who was simply getting too old and heavy to continue swinging on vines. Unfortunately, what Barker has in looks, he lacks in charisma. The story in this Lost Horizon-esque episode…
That Forsyte Woman (1949)

That Forsyte Woman (1949)

[6] Greer Garson stars in this Technicolor costume melodrama about a woman who marries for money instead of love, and later regrets it. I love Garson, and its especially great to see Errol Flynn playing against type as her repressive…
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)

[4] This short feature presentation from Disney Animation is really two short stories slammed together. Up first, we have "The Wind in the Willows," narrated by Basil Rathbone. It's a fast-paced story about three stuffy critters -- a badger, a…
Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

[7] Van Johnson and Ricardo Montalban are among the men holed up under snow and fog in William Wellman's (Wings) depiction of the Battle of the Bulge. Unlike most other war films of the time, Battleground is more of a…
The Heiress (1949)

The Heiress (1949)

[7]

Based on the novel Washington Square by Henry James, The Heiress centers around Catherine (Olivia de Havilland), a shy, socially inept young woman who gets swept off her feet by a dashing young destitute (Montgomery Clift). When her father (Ralph Richardson) accuses the man of preying on his daughter’s inheritance, he threatens to cut her off. Putting all her faith in her first love, Catherine ends up brutally betrayed by both men — and begins to trade her naivete and timidity for spite and cruelty.