The Best Movies: 1944

The 10 Best Movies of 1944

1. Double Indemnity. Directed by Billy Wilder. Barbara Staynwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson. This is the masterpiece that introduced the world to film noir. It didn’t hurt that the greatest of all mystery novelists, Raymond Chandler, wrote the screenplay or that Stanwyck comes out as the most fatale of all femmes. This was the greatest performance of McMurray’s career and don’t overlook Robinson’s wonderful scene in which he talks about death statistics.

2. Laura. Directed by Otto Preminger. Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson. Another great noir that was way ahead of its time — Andrews’ detective is a necrophiliac, two of the title characters suitors appear to be gay and speaking of that title character, she’s a corpse with no face. A twisted gem.

3. Meet Me in St. Louis. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien. Garland at her best and a peerless look at America at the beginning of the 20th century. This is simply a great musical featuring such wonderful tunes as The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song (a great production number), Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and, of course, the title tune.

4. Jane Eyre. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O’Brien, Henry Daniell. Believe it or not, this was the fifth filmed version of Emily Bronte’s novel and although Rochester is more of a supporting character in the book, here his part is expanded because he was played by Orson Welles. Stevenson does a nice job of hiding the fact that entire film was shot on Hollywood sound stages.

5. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. Directed by Preston Sturges. Eddie Bracken, Bette Hutton, William Demarest. Confession: I have never been much of a Bette Hutton fan, but I love her in this film — an assault on everything America held sacred during this time, small town morals, wartime romances, the plight of unwed mothers. I’m still surprised the censors didn’t ruin this film; I’m betting it was because they couldn’t stop laughing.

6. Going My Way. Directed by Leo McCarey. Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald. Give McCarey credit here because he keeps this movie sentimental without ever crossing the line into maudlin. Crosby and Fitzgerald make a marvelous team. I'm betting this was a great recruiting film for the Catholic Church at this time.

7. Hail the Conquering Hero. Directed by Preston Sturges. Eddie Bracken, Helen Raines, William Demarest. Another marvelous satire from Sturges who this time lampoons American patriotism, the fathers and mothers of soldiers serving overseas, battle fatigue and the entire concept of heroism.

8. Since You Went Away. Directed by John Cromwell. Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead. Next to Umberto D, this is the all-time greatest tearjerker. Although this story of a typical family awaiting the breadwinner’s return from the war is almost three hours long, it really moves along quickly thanks to the crazy assortment of characters in the picture and a beautifully written script by David O. Selznick. It could have been soap opera, but these professionals keep it classy.

9. To Have and Have Not. Directed by Howard Hawks. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Hoagy Carmichael. This perfectly directed movie with sharp dialog came about because, during a fishing trip, Hawks bet Ernest Hemingway he could make a good movie from what Hawks considered the author’s worst story, which he did by completely abandoning the story, keeping only the title. Bogart plays Rick Blaine all over again in the film in which he met Bacall.

10. National Velvet. Directed by Clarence Brown. Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor’s fifth film and the one that made her a star (although she was not the first choice for the part — Katharine Hepburn, Shirley Temple and Margaret Sullavan turned it down). The picture features arguably the best horse-race scene ever filmed.