Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

[7] Gregory Peck stars as a widowed magazine reporter who spends six months pretending to be Jewish while researching for an article about anti-semitism. He's startled to discover the ways bigotry manifests in his undercover life -- openly at 'restricted'…
Till the End of Time (1946)

Till the End of Time (1946)

[4] A young soldier (Guy Madison) struggles to find purpose to his life after returning home from service in WWII. The guy's problem isn't as clear as I'd like it to be. His friends (Robert Mitchum and Bill Williams) have…
A Summer Place (1959)

A Summer Place (1959)

[6] A bold film for its time, A Summer Place deals with sexual awakening and reawakening. Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue play the teenaged lovers; Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire play the adulterous middle-aged ones. The first forty-five minutes of…
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

[7] Elia Kazan (East of Eden) made the jump from Broadway plays to feature films with this adaptation of the book by Betty Smith. The story centers around a young girl named Francie growing up in Brooklyn in the early…
Friendly Persuasion (1956)

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

[9]

William Wyler directs this story about an Indiana Quaker family trying hard to keep their pacifist faith while the Civil War creeps up on their doorstep. The screenplay makes the period setting completely accessible, skillfully blending comedy and drama with character and substance. I quickly invested in the family, especially Gary Cooper as the father, a man who enjoys horse racing his neighbor to church on Sunday mornings. Dorothy McGuire is beautiful and endearing as his stalwart wife, and Anthony Perkins makes a memorable turn as their oldest son.