Must-sees of 1949
The titles hereby listed have been selected out of 85 1949-released works seen.
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45 titles
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûSetsuko HaraYumeji TsukiokaSeveral people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterYvonne De CarloDan DuryeaAn armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsHoward VernonNicole StéphaneJean-Marie RobainIn occupied France, an elderly man and his niece are forced to give shelter to a German army lieutenant who seemingly loves their country and culture.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDavid FarrarJack HawkinsMichael GoughAs the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on Britain in 1943, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyFrank SinatraBetty GarrettThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantAnn SheridanMarion MarshallAfter marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a French captain attempts to find a way to accompany her back to the States under the terms of the War Bride Act.
- DirectorKarel ZemanStarsKarel ZemanAn artist takes inspiration from the rain outside.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsVan HeflinRobert RyanJanet LeighAn embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnJudy HollidayDomestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsKoume AkasakaAkiko KazamiDenjirô ÔkôchiA nice gentleman living near beautiful Mount Fuji uses his wealth to help others.He is nicknamed after a popular folk hero known for a casual attitude toward money and possessions.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBasil RadfordJoan GreenwoodCatherine LaceyScottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSerge ReggianiMichel AuclairCécile AubryA classic tale about bitter relationships between a frivolous girl and a soldier is adapted for the post-World War II time.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandAudrey TotterThomas MitchellA district attorney rises to political success and the governorship but loses his sense of morality once he starts associating with the shadowy and perhaps diabolical Nick Beal.
- DirectorThorold DickinsonStarsAnton WalbrookEdith EvansYvonne MitchellAn army officer becomes obsessed with learning the secret to a card game for which an elderly countess sold her soul years earlier.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJoanne DruJohn AgarCaptain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordZachary ScottSydney GreenstreetA corrupt small town sheriff manipulates local candidates to the state legislature but he eventually comes into conflict with a visiting carnival dancer.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsKinuyo TanakaKen UeharaHisako YamaneIemon Tamiya is an impoverished master-less samurai who craves a better life, which he cannot have because of his marriage to Oiwa, who is completely devoted to her husband.
- DirectorPietro GermiStarsMassimo GirottiCharles VanelJone SalinasA young, by-the-book judge is appointed to a Sicilian village controlled by corrupt leaders and the Mafia.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsIsabel HarringtonRaymond S. HarringtonBeginning in the reality of American middle-class life, PICNIC portrays the idealistic dream-quest of the protagonist, from which he is finally cast off.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKirk DouglasArthur KennedyMarilyn MaxwellBoxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonJoan BennettGeraldine BrooksAfter discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsPreston FosterBarbara BrittonJohn IrelandBob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust.
- DirectorJirí TrnkaMilos MakovecStarsHelena PatockovaJaromir SobotoaDetsky pevecky sbor Jana KuhnaA Chinese emperor prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, a nightingale's song restores his health and teaches him to revolt against his glittering but shallow world.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard ConteValentina CorteseLee J. CobbA war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsGeorges HubertNicole LadmiralAlfred MacquartBucolic scenes from the outskirts of Paris are contrasted with stark footage from slaughterhouses.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsKinuyo TanakaKen UeharaHisako YamaneIn this second part to The Yotsuda Phantom, Iemon's apparent success is minimized by his own feelings of guilt, the quickly mounting evidence, and Naosuke's constant hounding.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsRichard BasehartAudrey TotterCyd CharisseA meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJoel McCreaVirginia MayoDorothy MaloneOutlaw Wes McQueen escapes jail to pull a railroad robbery but, upon meeting pretty settler Julie Ann, he wonders about going straight.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsEdward G. RobinsonSusan HaywardRichard ConteAfter years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsVictor MatureLizabeth ScottLucille BallPete Wilson is on top. He is the highest paid professional football player in the league. He has seen other players come and go, but he was MVP last year and the future looks rosy. His wife, Liza, is there for the fame, the money, the good times and does not like those who are washed up. His friend Tim, just retired and accepted a job as head coach at State. But Pete discovers that he has a condition that may end his career and all that he knows is football.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBrian DonlevyElla RainesCharles CoburnA unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaMitsuko MitoKuniko MiyakeA woman's struggle for equality in Japan in the 1880s. Eiko Hirayama leaves Okayama for Tokyo, where she helps the fledgling Liberal Party and falls in love with its leader Kentaro Omoi, just as the party is being disbanded by the government. Eiko and Omoi are jailed because of a fire at a factory instigated by Chiyo, a servant girl from Eiko's home in Okayama, who was sold to slavery. A few years later the 1889 constitution is proclaimed, Eiko, Omoi, and Chiyo are pardoned, and the Liberal Party is reinaugurated. However Omoi does not campaign for women's rights.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsWilliam LundiganDorothy PatrickJeff CoreyAn obsessed cop tracks an elusive serial killer who strangles his victims on rainy nights.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsMaureen O'HaraMelvyn DouglasGloria GrahameFailed singer Marian Washburn confesses she shot her friend, successful singer Susan Caldwell, but her manager Luke Jordan and Detective Fowler doubt her story and cannot establish a reasonable motive.
- DirectorJirí TrnkaA barrel organ grinder meets the devil on a mysterious moonlit night in this haunted house fable, which showcases Trnka's atmospheric use of sound to conjure a macabre mood.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerWilliam BendixAn army lieutenant accused of robbery pursues the real thief on a frantic chase through Mexico aided by the thief's fiancee.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsCornel WildePatricia KnightJohn BaragreyA parole officer falls in love with his client, a ravishing blonde who served time for murder, and he's determined to help her go straight despite her interfering criminal boyfriend.