80% (2) The Song of Bernadette 156 min, Approved, [Biography, Drama] [Henry King] [01 Apr 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 77%, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations.
Actors: Charles Bickford, Jennifer Jones, Lee J. Cobb, Vincent Price, William Eythe
Writer: George Seaton (screenplay), Franz Werfel (novel)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, French Country: USA
Plot: In 1858 France, Bernadette, an adolescent peasant girl, has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the city dump. She never claims it to be anything other than this, but the townspeople all assume it to be the virgin Mary. The pompous government officials think she is nuts, and do their best to suppress the girl and her followers, and the church wants nothing to do with the whole matter. But as Bernadette attracts wider and wider attention, the phenomenon overtakes everyone in the town, and transforms their lives.
Rotten Tomatoes: The Song of Bernadette is a reverent recounting of the life of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. As a teen-aged peasant girl growing up in the tiny French village of Lourdes in the 19th century, Bernadette (Jennifer Jones) experiences a vision of the Virgin Mary in a nearby grotto. At least, she believes that she did. The religious and political "experts" of the region cannot accept the word of a silly little girl, and do their best to get her to renounce her claims. Bernadette's vision becomes a political hot potato for many years, with the authorities alternately permitting and denying the true believers' access to the grotto. No matter what the higher-ups may think of Bernadette, there is little denying that the springs of Lourdes hold some sort of recuperative powers for the sick and lame. Eventually, Bernadette dies, never faltering in her conviction that she saw the Blessed Virgin; years later, she is canonized as a saint, and the Grotto of Lourdes remains standing as a permanent shrine. The 20th Century-Fox people knew that The Song of Bernadette would whip up controversy from both the religious and the agnostic. The company took some of the "curse" off the project with a now-famous opening title: "To those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible." Jennifer Jones's performance in The Song of Bernadette won her the Best Actress Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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74% (2) Wing and a Prayer 97 min, APPROVED, [Action, Drama, War] [Henry Hathaway] [11 Jan 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 69%, Rotten Tomatoes: 80%, External Reviews
Actors: Charles Bickford, Dana Andrews, Don Ameche, William Eythe
Writer: Jerome Cady (story), Jerome Cady (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: An aircraft carrier is sent on a decoy mission around the Pacific, with orders to avoid combat, thus lulling Japanese alertness before the battle of Midway. All the men have their individual worries and concerns, but become increasingly frustrated at their avoidance of combat, for reasons unknown to them. But in the end, all get their chance to fight.
Rotten Tomatoes: Former president Ronald Reagan may have genuinely believed that he was referring to a real-life act of selfless wartime bravery whenever repeating his "We'll bring this one down together" anecdote. In fact, he was merely quoting a scene from the above-average World War 2 drama A Wing and a Prayer. The setting is an American aircraft carrier, overseen by tough, unserving flight officer Don Ameche. When casualties begin piling up, the pilots blame Ameche, accusing him of being an indiscriminate butcher. Only when the tide of battle turns in favor of the Allies do the pilots realize that Ameche has been right all along. Director Henry Hathaway spent several weeks aboard an actual aircraft carrier, filming genuine combat scenes. Many of these authentic sequences appear as background footage in A Wing and a Prayer; sometimes the process work is convincing, sometimes it isn't, but please remember that this film was made long, long before the advent of computer technology. Dana Andrews, William Eythe, Richard Jaeckel, Harry Morgan (billed as 'Henry Morgan' here), Richard Crane, Glenn Langan, Reed Hadley and Bob Bailey are among the ready, willing and able Fox contractees appearing in A Wing and a Prayer.
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59% (2) The House on 92nd Street 88 min, Approved, [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller] [Henry Hathaway] [16 Oct 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 68%, Rotten Tomatoes: 50%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.
Actors: Gene Lockhart, Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso, William Eythe
Writer: Barré Lyndon (screenplay), Charles G. Booth (screenplay), John Monks Jr. (screenplay), Charles G. Booth (story)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, German Country: USA
Plot: Preface: a stentorian narrator tells us that the USA was flooded with Nazi spies in 1939-41. One such tries to recruit college grad Bill Dietrich, who becomes a double agent for the FBI. While Bill trains in Hamburg, a street-accident victim proves to have been spying on atom-bomb secrets; conveniently, Dietrich is assigned to the New York spy ring stealing these secrets. Can he track down the mysterious "Christopher" before his ruthless associates unmask and kill him?
Rotten Tomatoes: In this drama, the FBI learns of the presence of several suspicious persons in Washington DC. William Eythe is a German-American college student approached by the spies to become a secret Nazi operative. Eythe instead heads directly to FBI chief Lloyd Nolan and offers his services as a double agent.
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50% (2) A Royal Scandal 94 min, UNRATED, [Comedy, Drama, History, Romance] [Otto Preminger, Ernst Lubitsch] [01 Oct 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 68%, Rotten Tomatoes: 33%, External Reviews
Actors: Anne Baxter, Charles Coburn, Tallulah Bankhead, William Eythe
Writer: Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay), Bruno Frank (adaptation), Lajos Biró (play), Melchior Lengyel (play)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: In 18th century Russia,a naive and idealistic lieutenant,Alexei Chernoff, deserts his unit and rushes to the Imperial Palace to warn Empress Catherine the Great of great dangers.Lieutenant Chernoff's fiancée,Countess Anna,is one of the ladies-in-waiting of the Empress.Upon forcing his way into the palace, lieutenant Chernoff meets Chancellor Nicolai Iiyitch who promises to convey Chernoff's warning to the Empress but Chernoff wants to meet the Empress in person.His fiancée is also surprised to see Chernoff inside the palace.When Chernoff finally meets the Empress,he's mesmerized by her personality and swears to give his life to protect her.Catherine is impressed by his sense of sacrifice,innocence,sincerity,loyalty and also by his good looks.Infatuated with him,she makes him her boy-toy,to Anna's dismay.Overnight,Chernoff is appointed Chief of the Imperial Guard and his rank is raised to captain,to major,to colonel,according to Empress Catherine's romantic mood.
Rotten Tomatoes: Based on a play by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyal, this film dwells upon a fictional incident in the life of Russia's Catherine the Great. Catherine falls in love with a handsome young army officer, who turns out to be an insurrectionist planning her downfall.
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66% (1) Centennial Summer 102 min, [History, Musical] [Otto Preminger] [01 Aug 1946]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Actors: Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, William Eythe
Writer: Albert E. Idell (novel), Michael Kanin
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: In 1876 Philadelphia, two sisters vie for the affections of a Frenchman who's come to town to prepare the French pavilion for the Centennial exposition.
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