90%  Winner:   The Lost Weekend  101 min,  Not Rated,  [Drama, Film-Noir]  [Billy Wilder]  [01 Jan 1946]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 80%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 100%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Won 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 3 nominations.
Actors:  Howard Da Silva, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Ray Milland
Writer:  Charles R. Jackson (from the novel by), Charles Brackett (screen play), Billy Wilder (screen play)
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Don Birnam, long-time alcoholic, has been "on the wagon" for ten days and seems to be over the worst; but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother Wick and girlfriend Helen, he begins a four-day bender. In flashbacks we see past events, all gone wrong because of the bottle. But this bout looks like being his last...one way or the other.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This grim, realistic treatment of alcoholism stars Ray Milland as Don Birnam, a troubled novelist with a drinking problem. Escaping from the apartment his worried brother has confined him to for the weekend, Don makes his way to his favorite tavern, where he knocks back drink after drink.

67%  Nominee:   Anchors Aweigh  140 min,  Passed,  [Comedy, Fantasy, Music, Musical, Romance, War]  [George Sidney]  [01 Aug 1945]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 72%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 62%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.
Actors:  Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, José Iturbi, Kathryn Grayson
Writer:  Isobel Lennart (screen play), Natalie Marcin (suggested by a story by)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English, Spanish    Country:  USA
Plot:  Two sailors, one naive, the other experienced in the ways of the world, on liberty in Los Angeles, is the setting for this movie musical.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This mammoth musical is at base the story of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Brash Joseph Brady (Gene Kelly) has promised his shy pal Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) that he will introduce Clarence to all the glamorous movie starlets whom he allegedly knows so well. Actually, the only actress whom Joseph meets is bit player Susan Abbott (Kathryn Grayson). He arranges for the golden-throated Susan to be auditioned by musician José Iturbi, but when she seems to want to return the favor romantically, Brady tries to foist the girl off on Clarence. But Clarence only has eyes for a fellow Brooklynite (Pamela Britton). Also involved in the plot machinations is runaway orphan Donald Martin (Dean Stockwell). Featuring Kelly dancing with such partners as a cartoon mouse (courtesy of MGM's house animators Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera), Anchors Aweigh was a huge hit in 1945, assuring audiences future Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra teamings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

82%  Nominee:   Mildred Pierce  111 min,  Passed,  [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance]  [Michael Curtiz]  [20 Oct 1945]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 80%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 85%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.
Actors:  Eve Arden, Jack Carson, Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott
Writer:  Ranald MacDougall (screenplay), James M. Cain (novel)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  When Mildred Pierce's wealthy husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda, resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband, Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Joan Crawford gives an Academy Award winning performance in the title role of this melodramatic film noir. After Mildred's second husband is murdered, flashbacks reveal the events leading up to his death. A doting mother, Mildred rises from waitress to restaurant-chain owner, but her spoiled daughter's selfishness results in heartbreak.

79%  Nominee:   Spellbound  111 min,  Approved,  [Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance, Thriller]  [Alfred Hitchcock]  [28 Dec 1945]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 76%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 83%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.
Actors:  Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman, Leo G. Carroll, Michael Chekhov
Writer:  Ben Hecht (screen play), John Palmer (suggested by novel: "The House of Dr. Edwardes"), Hilary St George Saunders (suggested by novel: "The House of Dr. Edwardes"), Angus MacPhail (adaptation)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychiatrist at Green Manors mental asylum. The head of Green Manors has just been replaced, with his replacement being the renowned Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck). Romance blossoms between Dr. Petersen and Dr. Edwards but Dr. Edwards starts to show odd aversions and personality traits. It is discovered that he is an impostor, and amnesiac, and may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes. Dr. Petersen is determined to discover the truth through unlocking the secrets held in the impostor's mind, a process which potentially puts her and others' lives at risk.
Rotten Tomatoes:   A psychoanalyst falls in love with her new boss, and it is soon discovered that he has difficulty with remembering things as he is a troubled amnesiac--who may also be a killer.

84%  Nominee:   The Bells of St. Mary's  126 min,  Unrated,  [Drama]  [Leo McCarey]  [21 Feb 1946]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 74%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 94%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.
Actors:  Bing Crosby, Henry Travers, Ingrid Bergman, William Gargan
Writer:  Dudley Nichols (screenplay), Leo McCarey (story)
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Father O'Malley, the unconventional priest from 'Going My Way', continues his work for the Catholic Church. This time he is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.
Rotten Tomatoes:   In this follow-up to Going My Way (1944), Bing Crosby repeats his Oscar-winning characterization of happy-go-lucky priest Father O'Malley. The good father is sent to help out financially strapped St. Mary's Academy, a parochial school presided over by lovely nun Sister Benedict.