88% (2) The Big Sleep 114 min, Not Rated, [Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller] [Howard Hawks] [31 Aug 1946]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 80%, Rotten Tomatoes: 97%, External Reviews
Awards: 2 wins.
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, John Ridgely, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
Writer: William Faulkner (screen play), Leigh Brackett (screen play), Jules Furthman (screen play), Raymond Chandler (short story "Killer in the Rain")
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: The Big Sleep is the story of a private investigator, named Philip Marlowe, hired by a wealthy general to find out and stop his youngest daughter, Carmen, from being blackmailed about her gambling debts; things almost immediately unravel and blow up from here, as Marlowe finds himself deep within a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organized crime. Marlowe, with the help of the General's eldest daughter, Vivian, skillfully plot to free the family from this web and trap the main main behind much of this mischief, Eddie, to meet his end at the hands of his own henchmen.
Rotten Tomatoes: The definitive Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall vehicle, The Big Sleep casts Bogart as Raymond Chandler's cynical private eye Philip Marlowe. Summoned to the home of the fabulously wealthy General Sternwood (Charles Waldron), Marlowe is hired to deal with a blackmailer shaking down the General's sensuous, thumb-sucking daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). This earns Marlowe the displeasure of Carmen's sloe-eyed, seemingly straight-laced older sister Vivian (Bacall), who is fiercely protective of her somewhat addled sibling. As he pursues the case at hand, Marlowe gets mixed up in the murder of Arthur Geiger (Theodore von Eltz), a dealer in pornography. He also runs afoul of gambling-house proprietor Eddie Mars (John Ridgely), who seems to have some sort of hold over the enigmatic Vivian. Any further attempts to outline the plot would be futile: the storyline becomes so complicated and convoluted that even screenwriters William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthmann were forced to consult Raymond Chandler for advice (he was as confused by the plot as the screenwriters). When originally prepared for release in 1945, The Big Sleep featured a long exposition scene featuring police detective Bernie Ohls (Regis Toomey) explaining the more obscure plot details. This expository scene was ultimately sacrificed, along with several others, in favor of building up Bacall's part; for instance, a climactic sequence was reshot to emphasize sexual electricity between Bogart and Bacall, obliging Warners to replace a supporting player who'd gone on to another project. The end result was one of the most famously baffling film noirs but also one of the most successful in sheer star power. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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74% (2) Air Force 124 min, APPROVED, [Action, Drama, History] [Howard Hawks] [20 Mar 1943]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 71%, Rotten Tomatoes: 78%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.
Actors: Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, Gig Young, John Garfield, John Ridgely
Writer: Dudley Nichols (original screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Japanese Country: USA
Plot: On December 6, 1941 nine B-17 bomber set off on a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii. One of the bombers, the Mary Ann, is commanded by 'Irish' Quincannon. The bombardier, Tommy McMartin, has a sister living in Hawaii and the co-pilot, Bill Williams, is sweet on her. The men are all highly professional with the exception of aerial gunner Joe Winocki, a bitter man who has every intention of leaving the army air corps. They arrive at Hickam Field on the morning of December 7, just as the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor and other military facilities. All of the men prepare to face the enemy, including Winocki whose attitude changes quickly. The bomber and its crew will participate in many missions but not all will survive.
Rotten Tomatoes: On December 6, 1941, a squadron of nine B-17 bombers takes off for Hickam Field, HI. The crew of the Mary Ann, including two new men, assistant radio man Private Chester (Ray Montgomery) and gunner Sergeant Joe Winocki (John Garfield), assembles for the flight, and in the first 20 minutes, the movie reveals certain things about the crew: the shadowy past of one, the mother of another, and the wife of a third; two of them are good friends with the sister of McMartin (Arthur Kennedy), the bombardier, who lives in Honolulu; the son of the senior member of the crew, Sgt. White (Harry Carey Sr.), is a pilot stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines. Then more characters make entrances: the aircraft commander Quincannon (John Ridgely); Weinberg (George Tobias), a Jewish mechanic from New York; and a man from a farm in the upper Midwest -- they all represent a broad cross-section of America as it saw itself, and the "regular guys" in the Army Air Force as it existed in 1941. The flight proceeds without incident. Winocki, an embittered, washed-out flight school candidate who accidentally killed another pilot, is about to leave the service when the weather report from Hickam Field is interrupted, and the radio man begins picking up transmissions in Japanese. The Mary Ann and the rest of the squadron fly right into the middle of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor unarmed and out of gas, and nearly crack up landing on an emergency field; no sooner do they make repairs than the crew comes under attack, and the plane takes off and makes for Hickam Field, which they find a flaming shambles. They fly on to the Philippines, stopping at Wake Island just long enough to meet a few members of the doomed Marine garrison, taking their company mascot, a dog, with them. At Clark Field, the Mary Ann and her crew finally go into action against the enemy, flying in alone against a Japanese invasion force; Quincannon is mortally wounded in the brief action, which leaves the plane damaged seemingly beyond repair. The remaining crew won't give up the plane, however, even when ordered to abandon and destroy her; they get the bomber off just ahead of the advancing Japanese, and survive to help bring retribution to the invading fleet and the Japanese empire. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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74% (1) Pride of the Marines 120 min, APPROVED, [Biography, Drama, Romance] [Delmer Daves] [24 Aug 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, External Reviews
Actors: Dane Clark, Eleanor Parker, John Garfield, John Ridgely
Writer: Albert Maltz (screen play), Marvin Borowsky (adaptation), Roger Butterfield (from a book by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Japanese Country: USA
Plot: Married couple Jim & Ella Merchant set up their single friend Al Schmid on a blind date with Ruth Hartley. The two hit it off and begin dating. A welder, one day at the workplace, Al learns of a friend's enlistment in the Marine Corps and decides to join himself. Al and Ruth have a last date, with Al insisting that she forget about him as he is about to go into combat. However, when Ruth goes to meet his departure train, he is overjoyed and gives her an engagement ring. Assigned to Guadalcanal, Al and his squad are tasked with preventing the Japanese from breaching their line. During a night attack, many of his fellow Marines are slain, but Al ends up single-handedly saving the day, killing scores of Japanese. However, he is wounded by a suicide bomber near the end of the the battle. At the hospital, Al learns that he is blind, a condition that persists even after surgery. Feeling sorry for himself, he dictates a letter to a nurse, informing Ruth that he is relieving her of any obligation to marry him. Neither his friend Lee, the nurse, or the doctors can persuade Al to try rehabilitation in order to attempt a return to a "normal" life. Finally, he has to be kicked out of the hospital. He returns home, but does not want to see Ruth. She sees him and pledges her love, but he is still discouraged, as he does not feel that he is a real man anymore and his pride will not allow her to take care of him. For his bravery, Lee is awarded the Navy Cross. Will he overcome his pride and give the audience a happy ending?
Rotten Tomatoes: John Garfield stars as Al Schmid, a true-life marine who served in World War II. Schmid becomes a hero at Guadalcanal, defending a machine gun post and killing 200 Japanese before he is permanently blinded by a grenade. Despite being awarded the Navy Cross, Schmid returns home embittered by his disability. After a long and grueling convalescence, he is shaken back to life by his girl friend Ruth (Eleanor Parker) and his best pal (Dane Clark), neither of whom allow Al to wallow in self-pity. The pride in Pride of the Marines comes from Al Schmid's ultimate realization that his sacrifice was worthwhile, and that his sightlessness need not prevent him from leading a full and rewarding life.
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72% (1) Destination Tokyo 135 min, Approved, [Adventure, History, War] [Delmer Daves] [31 Dec 1943]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, External Reviews
Actors: Alan Hale, Cary Grant, John Garfield, John Ridgely
Writer: Steve Fisher (original story), Delmer Daves (screen play), Albert Maltz (screen play)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Japanese Country: USA
Plot: Made during World War II, this chronicles a voyage of a U.S. submarine on a secret mission to the very shores of Japan. Much of the film is spent developing the cast of characters that populate the sub.
Rotten Tomatoes: Early in World War II, an American submarine commander (Cary Grant) receives orders that his ship is to sneak into the Tokyo harbor to gain meteorological information pertaining to an upcoming air raid of mainland Japan. The film, whose original story was nominated for an Oscar, proved to be a big box-office success.
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66% (1) Northern Pursuit 93 min, Approved, [Adventure, Drama, Romance, War] [Raoul Walsh] [13 Nov 1943]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Actors: Errol Flynn, Helmut Dantine, John Ridgely, Julie Bishop
Writer: Frank Gruber (screenplay), Alvah Bessie (screenplay), Leslie T. White (from a story by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, German Country: USA
Plot: Canadian Mountie Steve Wagner captures a German Luftwaffe officer on a spy mission, who later escapes from the prison camp. To catch the spy ring, the Mounties employ a ruse so that the spies, believing Steve to be sympathetic, enlist him in their plans.
Rotten Tomatoes: Set during WW II, this north-of-the-border adventure tells the tale of a loyal Canadian Mountie who mysteriously decides to reclaim his German heritage and help Nazi saboteurs make it through the wilderness to their secret operations base in Hudson Bay. Fortunately, everything is not as it seems.
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