Literate, but not at the expense of the cinematic, THE BODY SNATCHER is one of Lewton's greatest works and contains what is arguably Karloff's finest performance.

Perhaps the only time Elizabeth Taylor's costar matched her visual scene stealing. He's a horse, albeit a gelding. One of MGM's most beloved films, NATIONAL VELVET was the picture that made a star out of Taylor.

The dialogue is sharp, the direction first-rate, and the acting superb, but To Have And Have Not is undoubtedly best remembered for the on- and offscreen romance between Bogart and Bacall.

Minnelli proves his eye for detail and captures the era and its values in richly colored, gentle images, displaying a startling balance of emotions from scene to scene, song to song.

The film was a big hit at the box office, but, although the series would produce one more episode, the fizz was definitely gone.

Remarkable in its accuracy, this movie even uses film footage from the actual raid.

Both a starkly realistic and a carefully stylized masterpiece of murder.

The climax is a workmanlike rise of psychological terror, but the whole exercise looks self-consciously careful.

A warm and moving sleeper hit.

Miraculously mad masterpiece.

The entire cast is superb, but the standouts are Bankhead, as the spoiled, wealthy dilettante writer whose expensive furs and jewelry are worth more to her than the lives of her fellow survivors, and Bendix, as the compassionate but not-too-bright stoker whose gangrenous leg poses a threat to his dreams of returning home to dance with his sweetheart.

This film is a fairly well-balanced effort, and if you're in the mood for an evening of obvious sentiment, this boy-and-his-dog film works quite well.

Irresistible entertainment.

Universal Studios' elaborate and expensive remake of their classic 1925 silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera boasts fabulous sets, gorgeous costumes, and stunning Technicolor photography--but fails in the horror department, because of an excess of music and low comedy.

One of the first American films to present the philosophy--rather than just the warmongering--of fascism as a danger, WATCH ON THE RHINE is rather dully helmed by stage director Shumlin, who too often fails to avoid the static pitfalls of so many play adaptations.

Cast mostly with Russians in all the Hispanic roles, this glamourfest is Hollywood politics at its most apolitical, lacking even the energy of a good B movie.

More an icon than a work of art, CASABLANCA is still thoroughly entertaining romantic melodrama, flawlessly directed, subtly played, lovingly evoking our collective daydreams about lost chances and lost loves and love versus honor; everything about CASABLANCA is just right--it seems to have been filmed under a lucky star.

The sly Hitchcock made this chiller all the more frightening by having his crafty homicidal maniac intrude into the tranquility of a warm, middle-class family living in a small town, deeply developing his characters and drawing from the soft-spoken Joseph Cotten one of the actor's most remarkable and fascinating performances.

A haunting and subtle film, filled with desires gone awry and everyday settings turned inexplicably nightmarish.

A deeply moving film, marked by superb direction of its intricate story from Mervyn LeRoy, and by the strong performances of Colman and Garson.

This is an offbeat gothic drama with elements of mystery, that would be nothing more than a muddle if not for the compelling presence of Tracy and Hepburn.

The third, and best, in the "Road" series, Road to Morocco has everything going for it. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were not yet tired of the formula, and their breezy acting wafts the picture along in a melange of gags, songs, thrills, and calculated absurdities.

It's Grade-A schlock, but not without depth: critics have detected feminist overtones in this movie, one in which men prove eminently dispensable in the quest for happiness.

The film's worth as a propaganda piece was considerable, but too many long-winded speeches about people uniting to fight the Germans date the film somewhat now.

The Lolita of the 1940s, and just as sexy. A sparkling farce that marked Wilder's American directorial debut after years of writing witty screenplays for other directors, The Major And The Minor sails along breezily from its very first scenes until its romantic ending.

Dowdy and thin.

This honest, non-sugar-coated approach to the hard truths of life, however, is what gives Bambi its lasting emotional power, and makes it stand apart, not only from Disney's cartoons, but from virtually all others as well.

Welles's second great masterpiece.

It's heartfelt entertainment and anyone who ever whistled a tune, tapped a toe or hummed a bar of music will love it.

An affectionate tale, told with sensitivity and a wonderfully offbeat sense of humor.

This film, Hitchcock's first contribution to wartime American propaganda, is as polished and suspenseful as any the great director would make.

A terrific debut film for both Van Heflin and for Fred Zinnemann in the director's chair.

Hope is wonderful, with something smart to say no matter what the situation. His smug behavior is very funny (far and away superior to anything he ever did in the television work that made him rich) and the pacing is as good as it usually is in these Hope comedies.

A masterpiece of satire and one of the more controversial films of its day, TO BE OR NOT TO BE is a brilliant example of how comedy can be as effective in raising social and political awareness as a serious propaganda film, while still providing hilarious entertainment.

This brilliant, often devastating look at Hollywood and the real world behind its tinsel is arguably Preston Sturges's greatest film.

Cynically witty lines, top-notch characterizations (Ann Sheridan is a delight), and welcome guest appearances by Jimmy Durante (as a Harpo Marx figure) and Reginald Gardner (doing a take on Noel Coward) make for classic comedy.

WOMAN OF THE YEAR is a marvelous comedy-drama, brimming with wit, style, and sophistication.

Terrific, crackling dialogue, especially in the slangy, machine-gun mouth of La Stanwyck.

If one can ignore the blatantly fictitious nature of this Hollywood "biography" of the still-controversial George Armstrong Custer, THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON is a wholly entertaining movie, fueled by Raoul Walsh's direction and Errol Flynn's energetic performance.

Screenwriter Curt Siodmak patched together the legend of the werewolf by combining elements from lycanthropic folklore, witchcraft, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, creating a new monster for the screen. All elements combined to make a thrilling, scary, and ultimately tragic horror classic.

Suspicion is so grimly powerful that its Hollywood-style happy ending has infuriated audiences for years.

The fourth THIN MAN film isn't nearly as good as the first ones, but it has its own rewards, thanks to the inimitable by-play of Powell and Loy.

A masterpiece of visual story-telling.

Everything about this film is touching; master director John Ford builds one simple scene upon another with very little plot, using incidents in the life of one family to tell the general tale, demonstrating changes and recording milestones.

A stunning directorial debut from screenwriter John Huston.

A touching and memorable film, this brilliant romance offers evocative performances by Boyer and de Havilland.

It is the epitome of filmmaking, a masterpiece for which Welles, one of the greatest practitioners of the cinematic art, will be forever remembered.

Valuable as a fine performance of an important and delightful play, MAJOR BARBARA makes for bracingly intelligent cinema.

Dark, oddball Capra, but a worthwhile watch with a tail ending wagging the dog.

Tarzan movies had been around for years when Road To Zanzibar, the second of the "Road" pictures, took the opportunity to satirize every jungle picture lensed up to that time. The script was funny, although much of the humor reportedly derived from on-set improvisations.

Chic, sly little masterpiece of comic seduction.

THE SEA WOLF contains little of the prolixity of Jack London's philosophically oriented novel, yet it is true to the spirit of the book. The megalomania of the ship's master is wonderfully expressed in Edward G. Robinson's fine portrayal of the contemptuous captain.

THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE is a delightful romantic comedy which combines a strong cast, great production values, and a good musical score with professional direction by Walsh in a skillfull entertainment.

The typical "invisible" special effects are employed, though this time with a little more humor.

Highly sentimental, KITTY FOYLE features typically variable direction by Wood and includes an unnecessary prologue showing how the treatment of women supposedly changed through the years. Despite these drawbacks, this film makes no apologies for being a romantic tearjerker.

With such a stellar cast, a fine director working in the type of picture he did best, and some genuinely witty dialogue, this film has all the ingredients for a great comedy. And it is great, though there have been many funnier comedies. The film has an unfortunate tendency to take itself too seriously for long stretches.

Though W. Somerset Maugham's story could easily have been filmed as a turgid melodrama, director William Wyler's magnificent handling of the material and Bette Davis's taut and calculated performance converted it into enduring cinematic art.

The most ambitious animated feature ever to come out of the Disney studios, Fantasia integrates famous works of classical music with wildly uneven but extraordinarily imaginative visuals that run the gamut from dancing hippos to the purely abstract. It's like a feature-length compilation of elaborate Silly Symphonies

Rooney and Garland deliver their usual energy-packed performances.

A superior western that mixes fine cinematography, terrific performances, and a script of higher caliber than most to produce a film still fondly remembered today.

One of Hitchcock's greatest entertainments, Foreign Correspondent is also a stirring propaganda piece which clearly indicts the Nazi regime.

A remarkable example of Hollywood's not choking on the prestige adorning the filming of a classic, Pride and Prejudice is an unusually successful adaptation of Jane Austen's most famous novel.

Leigh is stunning in this second cinematic version of author Sherwood's hit play.

Though there are a few chuckles, the presentation is predictable slapstick and takes much longer than need be to get to the main point.

Depending on your own feelings, you will find Fontaine either endearing or totally maddening. Whichever, she's right in the part; and Hitchcock's relentless camera seems to luxuriate in her emotional masochism.

Luckily the atmospheric photography and fine sets (Universal claimed it built an exact duplicate of the original Salem house) pull the sometimes melodramatic performances through.

A feeble attempt at comedy in the Damon Runyon mold (although based on a Louis Bromfield opus), this is a hit-and-miss affair with some offbeat casting.

This is the one that started it all and it is also one of the weakest of the "Road" pictures.

Ford's visualization of Steinbeck's novel is so emotionally gripping that viewers have little time to collect themselves from one powerful scene to the next.

This was Disney's second full-length animated feature and it may well the greatest of the studio's cartoon classics.

Though technically efficient, convincingly acted, and having a number of subtle messages, Swiss Family Robinson was still a hefty loss to RKO.

You'd have to be a grump not to like this funny, sentimental blend of pathos, drama and zaniness.

To quote Olivia de Havilland, "Everytime I see it, I find something fresh, some shade of meaning I hadn't noticed before."

This may be the best romantic comedy ever made. The great Ernst Lubitsch handles his "small" theme brilliantly, bringing the lives of everyday people to the screen as he had never done before.

Though grim and offbeat, Of Mice And Men is a noble morality tale that can be appreciated for its simplicity. The acting is faultless and Copland's score is magnificent.

Under the sure directorial hand of genre veteran Marshall, Destry Rides Again is a well-paced western that seamlessly combines humor, romance, suspense and action.

More mystery than comedy dominates this sometimes draggy production, whose script is less inspired than in previous THIN MAN efforts. The atmosphere and sets, along with stellar performances by the principals, can't offset a weak story.

A fitting finale to a decade of memorable gangster films. This slick, whirlwind-paced crime melodrama is another tour de force for James Cagney, making it a companion piece to ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES.

While MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is the most moral of films, it is so artfully filled with real emotion that it never becomes heavy-handed.

JAMAICA INN had many interesting incidents associated with it. Unfortunately, very little of that interest reached the screen.

There's no place like home, and there will never be another movie like this one, a dazzling fantasy musical so beautifully directed and acted that it deserves its classic status.

Gary Cooper enacts the title role with quiet magnificence in this superb adventure tale loaded with drama, action, and mystery.

A superb motion picture, and one in which Ford's obsession with Americana and the forces and emotions that made this country what it is are plainly in view.

Only Angels Have Wings is a powerful character study, and director Hawks and his fine, predominantly male cast carefully develop the personalities of an interesting collection of characters. Though much of the dialogue is predictable, the story is strong, the acting is outstanding, and Hawks's cameras move with fluid grace through the confining sets.

A superb romance, the film deftly mixes humor with pathos and passion, and takes us on an emotional voyage that never fails to please.

An extremely witty, well-paced comedy which plays beautifully today.

The classic western, Stagecoach is one of John Ford's greatest frontier epics.

Appealingly Continental in look and style, Intermezzo continually verges on soap, but is redeemed by carefully calibrated performances and Ratoff's loving direction.

A great and eternally heart-warming film that can stand an appreciative viewing every year through every decade.

This is one of Hitchcock's finest British films, a classic mystery that manages to combine humor with a genuine sense of menace--not to mention the kinds of characters that everyone dreams of meeting on a Central European train journey.

A delightful piece of utter absurdity and one of director Hawks' most inspired lampoons of the battle between the sexes. Hepburn and Grant are superb in this breathlessly funny screwball comedy with a plot that could have been hatched in a mental institution.

This is animation as it had never before been experienced. Disney wisely realized the film could only work if it was full of believable characters, and each personality is distinct, from the purity of Snow White to the absolute evil of the queen. This film classic also features some unforgettable songs, including "Whistle While You Work," "Heigh Ho" and "Some Day My Prince Will Come.

Carole Lombard's final film for Paramount was a charming screwball comedy that was entertaining, if lightweight.

A marvelous black comedy full of wit and journalistic wisdom in the grand and capricious style of Hecht (he and Charles MacArthur co-wrote The Front Page), this film is all the more stunning thanks to the outrageous and hilarious performance of super comedienne Lombard.

A superbly lighthearted production, and the epitome of 1930s screwball comedies.

For once, a script perfectly suited to its director and star and one of the most lyrical children's classics ever made.

A Star is Born captures wonderfully the hustle of Hollywood.

This hard-hitting crime film, based upon the notorious career of one-time New York City vice lord Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was a tour de force for Davis who had just battled Warner Bros. to a standstill in a contract dispute.