20 Great Years of Movies, Part 12: 1949

1. The Third Man (director: Carol Reed): This is my all-time favourite motion picture. The plunk of Anton Karas' zither music enhances the film's off-kilter look at post-war Vienna. Joseph Cotten as the American who stumbles around trying to find solutions as though life were as rote as a pulp novel is an amazing deconstruction. It's carefully made, tells a bold story and is immensely quotable.
2. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (director: Jack Kinney): Here's an oddball pairing - an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Both are rather charming, although the latter delves into some of Disney's best animated horror when the Headless Horseman appears. I'm very fond of them, odd couple and all.
3. Intruder in the Dust (director: Clarence Brown): An unusual film for its time and not very well-known, but considering the subject matter really ought to be. A black man has been arrested for murder; a white teenager is certain he's innocent and wants to help him, but the black man is much too proud to accept - or believe in - help from an outsider. An early sign that Hollywood was capable of getting into stories about racism against blacks.
4. Home of the Brave (director: Mark Robson): Like Intruder in the Dust. an early film about racism but not quite at the same level. This one is from the perspective of a black soldier who experiences racism in the service... or does he? It's much more concerned with the psychology than the other film but its conclusions don't hold up as well.
5. The Inspector General (director: Henry Koster): A silly and very fun Danny Kaye film in which he's mistaken for a high official. This was the first Danny Kaye film I saw as a child and it made a big impression. You need to have a heart for goofy humour to enjoy his films but if you do, they hold up at any age.
6. Kind Hearts and Coronets (director: Robert Hamer): A fun black comedy with an ambitious heir killing all of the relatives standing in his way - and all the relations portrayed by Alec Guinness (including the women). This is one of the movies that defined the style associated with Ealing Studios.
7. The Reckless Moment (director: Max Ophüls): Sort of an interesting companion to Mildred Pierce; a mother covers up a murder, thinking she's protecting her daughter. Then a blackmailer shows up but is so likeable he almost seems charitable.
8. The Window (director: Ted Tetzlaff): Compare to the previous year's Fallen Idol (and look ahead to Rear Window by the same author, Cornell Woolrich). A little boy witnesses a murder; the problem is, he's considered a notorious tatttletale and can't make adults believe his story, while meanwhile the killers are closing in!
9. The Accused (director: William Dieterle): An unusual noir; a college professor is almost raped by one of her students and, defending herself, kills him. The investigation leads the detectives directly to her, yet she is incredibly capable of bluffing through their methods.
10. The Set-Up (director: Robert Wise): Like many boxing films, this concerns a boxer who refuses to play along with the mob; unlike most boxing films, the bulk of the drama is concerned with what happens afterwards as the boxer tries to evade the coming retribution. A really solid film.