49th Parallel (1941)

A British war film directed by Michael Powell, starring Lawrence Olivier, Raymond Massey and Anton Walbrook.
A German submarine sinks near Canada. Six of the Germans are stuck in Canada and trying to get back to Europe. They meet trappers, pilgrims, settlers and an author studying native Americans among others.
Really really boring. The plot did not even suggest that I might care what happens. The characters did not offer the option of caring what happened to them. In fact, they were down to 3 guys before I realized the others were not there anymore. Black and white 4:3 video doesn't float my boat, but there were a few scenes with good camera placement. This military command center shot from above looks great (image). The audio was very much of the time. Everyone announced their lines and there was not much non-diegetic music. I rate this bad for being so boring. I would seriously advise against watching this.

That Hamilton Woman A.K.A. Lady Hamilton, The Enchantress (1941)

An American drama directed and produced by Alexander Korda, starring Laurence Olivier.
A young gold-digger woman marries an older man for his money, but falls in love with a navy admiral.
Absolutely antiquated. I'm watching Korda films because they did some good work in the fantasy adventure genre, but not everything they made is as wonderful as Junglebook Sabu and The Thief of Baghdad. This is a prime example of that fact. I was working on swapping parts on my guitar for most of the duration because it did not hold my attention in the least. Everything was shot wonderfully, another Korda fact. This time consistent through all of their movies. Overall, dull. I rate this poor.

Sheriff of Tombstone (1941)

An American western directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers and George "Gabby" Hayes.
A cowboy sheriff impersonates a corrupt sheriff to expose the leaders of a town as criminals.
This was pretty much what I've come to expect. Some vagueness of plot and few clearly defined characters, lo-fi audio and video that are still audible and can be seen. there were not many musical numbers in this one. Because it blends in with the crowd so well, I will rate it tolerable.

Invisible Ghost (1941)

An American horror mystery directed by Joseph H. Lewis, starring Bela Lugosi.
A rich man has a house where people keep getting murdered. His brother comes to visit and solve the crimes.
Boring. Everything was very standard for the early '40s and it failed to hold my attention. Bela Lugosi seemed type-cast into his role, but played it well. Seeing how this role was so similar to his role in Dracula, he was type-cast correctly. Restating the obvious, but you wouldn't beleive how boring this was. I rate it bad. Don't watch.

Zis Boom Bah A.K.A. College Sweethearts (1941)

An American musical directed by William Nigh.
A Vaudville star has been apart from her family for a long time, sending them her money to fund her son's education. She goes to visit her son who does not know her and finds the situation not to her liking. She then purchases the local diner where the college students hang out and turns it into a night club where the students perform.
The plot was vague, inconclusive and very lame. I didn't like the characters and the audio was horrible. I could hear loud dead air, pops and distortion in the sound. The music was old and hokey, but the bad audio prevented any enjoyment there. The waiter at the diner was comic relief and I didn't find him funny at all. In fact, there wasn't anything to like about this film. I rate it bad. You shouldn't watch it.

Topper Returns (1941)

An American comedy mystery directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Joan Blondell and Carole Landis.
A young woman and her friend move into a house owned by her family. They switch bedrooms and the wrong girl gets murdered. She goes to Mr. Topper for help solving the crime.
More time killer films. Ugh. The plot and characters were standard as well as audio and video. Eddie Anderson did his best Mantan Moreland impersonation for this film and fooled me. This character was the only part of the film that stood out to me or raised any interest. Otherwise, it was just standard standard standard. I rate it poor for being too mediocre.

Road Show (1941)

An American musical comedy directed and produced by Hal Roach, starring Carole Landis, John Hubbard, Patsy Kelly and Shemp Howard.
A millionaire who is about to be married fakes mental illness out of fear of marriage and hears his soon to be bride conspiring with her family on what to do with his money. They have him committed even though he is sane when he tells them he was faking and heard what they said. Together with the help of an older man with a wacky camera, he escapes the mental institution and ends up joining a circus/carnival. The millionaire falls in love with the woman running the circus.
This was actually good! The plot kept me interested, but the unique and memorable characters made it worth watching. Although stereotypical, the characters showed some depth and were developed to some degree. The older man with the camera and the woman who is mistaken for an Indian were my favorites. The style was very much '40s, but the humor was actually funny (very rare!). The audio and video quality were adequate to communicate what was going on and there were some special effects done with camera speed. Pacing was just fast enough to keep the plot moving, but not so quick as to deny enjoyment of individual scenes. Continuity and editing were both very good. I'm rating this good and would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate how well made it is.

Let's Go Collegiate (1941)

An American comedy directed by Jean Yarbrough, starring Mantan Moreland.
When the star rower on their boat team is drafted, college students grab a man off the street to impersonate the missing friend. They regret their decision.
Barely tolerable. The lame and predictable plot left much to be desired. The static and shallow characters did likewise. The style and production value were standard for 1941 and the pacing was as stock as it gets. Mantan Moreland was type-cast for comic relief and did his best, although he was not given much screen time. I watched it all the way through and it wasn't too bad. I rate it poor for being watchable, but nowhere near good. I would not advise viewing.

King of the Zombies (1941)

An American comedic horror directed by Jean Yarbrough.
An airplane carrying 3 men is lost and picks up a radio signal. They land the plane on an island where they find a mad scientist who employs a crew of zombies.
The plot was simple, yet effective and the characters were memorable. I was impressed with Mantan Moreland's character's dialogue. Moreland was a famous comedian in the '30s and '40s and I found his use of ebonics comical. The pacing was quick enough to hold most of my attention and the style and production value were pretty standard for the time, if not a cut above standard. I'm rating this adequate because I actually liked it. If you're looking for public domain comedic horror, this is a good one to watch.

Fiesta A.K.A. Gaiety (1941)

An American musical directed by LeRoy Prinz.
A small town in Mexico is ready to welcome a young woman back from a trip to Mexico City. Her fiancee is there and waiting. The woman arrives and produces a new fiancee from the car that delivered her.
44 minutes of annoying music. The audio was treble-heavy and a little too harsh. The video looked alright for color in '41. The plot seemed simple and the characters same. I turned it off after 19 minutes of pseudo-Mexican music with an American Broadway twist. I'm rating it bad because it's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but close. I would not recommend this, especially if one has a hangover (OUCH!).

Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941)

An American crime drama directed by Wallace Fox.
East Side Kids #6. While police and gangsters surround the lives of a group of young men in New York City, one of them tries to be a prize fighting boxer.
I thought the plot was minimal and most of the film turned out to be filler. There were also too many characters, which were necessitated by all of the filler sub-plots, but had no impact on the actual storyline. The style was very similar to the original East Side Kids film and the pacing was just as quick. The audio had some muffled sections and the video was a little blurry at spots, but I could hear and see everything that was going on. I rate this poor because it was alright technically, but I didn't really like it and thought there was too much filler. The original East Side Kids was much better and if you're interested in this kind of film, that is the one to watch.

Broadway Limited (1941)

An American comedic drama directed by Gordon Douglas.
An actress and her manager ask their secretary for a baby to perform a publicity stunt with. The secretary calls her ex who vents about this assignment in a cafe. A man nearby makes a phone call and says that he can help. The actress, manager, secretary and ex-boyfriend board a train with the baby and head for New York City. They then see newspapers declaring that a baby has been kidnapped and the actress meets a friend from school who is now a doctor. The rest of the film gets more complex as the doctor and manager feud over the actress and all of them alternate between trying to get rid of the baby and trying to find it.
Obviously the plot was complicated, but that didn't stop it from being clearly presented.
As I watch these old and unpopular films, I think about the difference between them and newer, more popular films. The difference is unbelievable. 70 years of experience in filmmaking has made the world stupider. We have gone from identifiable characters in clearly presented plots speaking audibly to special effects cluster-fucks in which dialogue cannot be heard and characters, plots and unique style are totally disregarded. I would say that 90% of these old public domain films are technical masterpieces compared to the shitpieces being produced today.
Everything in this film was communicated clearly. The style was a little on the standard side for the time that it was made, but the complex plot and good (yes, GOOD) characters make up for that. The actress gets female anatomy points for her costume in the later part of the film (pictured).
The pacing was a little quick, but very appropriate for the film, as it kept things moving along at a good clip like a train. I rate this good because of plot, characters and clarity. If you value substance and content in a film, this would be one to watch.

Underground Rustlers (1941)

An American western directed by S. Roy Luby.
A team of 3 true gunslingers is sent to a gold producing town to stop harriers from stealing gold.
Talk about remembering faces of fathers, these guys didn't even have to shoot! They rounded up the harriers (who were hidden among the townspeople) by playing it cool and using their brains. This included the playing of some trve kvlt honky tonk kovntry music. The audio and video were stylishly antiquated and the costumes were authentic. The plot and characters kept me sincerely interested for all 55 minutes of the duration. I will be watching this again sometime because it's a keeper. Overall, this is what old, hokey western films are all about. I rate it good.

Sundown (1941)

An American war film directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Gene Tierney and Bruce Cabot.
An English army camp in Africa is taken over by a new leader and news that the Africans are trafficking guns reaches the camp. Soon after, a white woman who runs a caravan in the area arrives in the camp as well and helps the military men to discover the details of the arms smuggling.
The plot was pretty simple, but the characters were very good. They were identifiable and easy to differentiate. All of them also came with back-stories to give them some depth. The audio, video and style were typical of the time period, but not bad. I thought that the pacing was a little drawn out in some parts and rushed just slightly in others. Although it pushed and pulled at "correct" time, this made it all that much more watchable. The hour and a half duration was just a little long for my tastes and what I think was needed to communicate and resolve the plot. Being a war film, I was expecting a higher level of propaganda, but this aspect was confined to a few quotes from a few characters (not taking into account any subliminals that I have no time to go into here). Gene Tierney earns the most basic and conservative of female anatomy points with her middle eastern clothing. Overall, it's an alright movie for those who don't mind it showing it's age. I rate it o.k.
As per the purpose of this blog, I'm trying to catch as many of the basic film elements as I can in my reviews. I had thought of putting bullet points for each element, but thought that this would make my writing seem too mechanical and dehumanizing.

Desperate Cargo (1941)

An American drama directed by William Beaudine.
A ladies' man, one of the flight crew, some female entertainers and a group of men planning to steal the vessel get ready to board an airplane together.
The setup for the film is going along great. Everyone has been introduced and they have histories outside the film. The plot is really coming together, but what's that? Only a few minutes left? Sure, we can end it as fast as you want!
That's how it seemed to me. The editing was sloppy and the pace deteriorated quickly. Despite the age of the film and the editing/pacing defects, it was going great until the end and then BLAM! it's done. I'm rating this poor for a botched ending.

Meet John Doe (1941)

An American drama directed by Frank Capra.
A newspaper woman gets "downsized" and before leaving, writes an article about a man who is upset with the state of things and is going to commit suicide. Her article is a hit and she manages to keep her job. The newspaper finds a man to pretend to be the writer of the letter and he becomes a celebrity. As he pretends to lead this movement, he realizes that he believes in it.
The plot and characters were great. If this had really happened in 1941, the world would not be in such a state as it is now. The production value was decent for the '40s. If you're into anti-new world order, anti-masonry and anti-illuminati reading material or speakers and documentaries, this would be a good one to watch. You can even download it for free because it's public domain. Traffic it to everyone and let's start our own "John Doe" clubs. I'm rating it awesome.

The Wolf Man (1941)

An American horror by George Waggner, starring Lon Chaney, Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi.
A man is trying to court an engaged woman and they go to a gypsy fortune teller. When the woman's friend leaves the fortune teller, she is attacked by a wolf. The man kills the wolf, getting bitten in the process. A man is found where the wolf was killed and the main character turns into a werewolf.
This was so hokey, as expected. The werewolf makeup involved the actor waking on tip-toe to simulate wolf feet and they just glued a bunch of hair on him. The plot was basic like the style and the characters were 2 dimensional. I'm rating it poor because it's not that great a film.

Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

A musical directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Judy Garland.
New showgirls are recruited by a famous Broadway show and have problems when their whole lives change because of the show.
The music was less than good, but Judy Garland (hot as ever) gave a great performance. One of the other girls who I'm nicknaming "tank girl" likes alcohol a little too much and serves as comic relief. She stumbles, falls and passes out on queue. I'm rating it poor because Judy didn't succeed in transmuting the silver screen to mercury on this one.

Citizen Kane (1941)

A mystery by Orson Welles.
A rich politician and newspaper man dies. A team is sent to find out the meaning of his last words. Relevant pieces of his life are shown between scenes of the investigation.
The audio was o.k. The video was in black and white and in full screen.
check out: The dissonant jazz band at the picnic.
I seriously didn't get it. I've watched much stranger movies and understood the main concept better than this. Maybe rosebud is an old folks joke that young folks like me don't get. If you like old movies that are supposedly "the best ever made" (as wikipedia claimed this was), then you'll probably like this.