My Top Ten Films of 1949

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I've been slowly making progress with the films of the 1940s.  This post is part of my ongoing project to create Top Ten movie lists for the years before I began this blog, working my way as far back as I can.  Below, find my Top Ten films for 1949, unranked.

Bitter Rice - A neorealist classic from the underseen director, Giuseppe De Santis follows a group of young women who work the rice fields in Northern Italy every year.  Featuring more melodrama than the average neorealist film, special attention is paid to the plight of the unlucky girls who are unable to obtain work permits, fall victim to the schemes of criminals, and are exploited by the system.    

Late Spring - One of Ozu's most beloved films stars Setsuko Hara as an unmarried young woman and Chishu Ryu as her loving, worried father.  Full of unhurried scenes of domestic life and gentle humanity, there is no real conflict in the film, or even a true dilemma.  Instead, "Late Spring" is a lovely chronicle of two people moving on from one stage of life to the next, and making peace with the changes that result.

I Was a Male War Bride - A charming Howard Hawks wartime comedy, where Cary Grant plays a soldier who finds himself in the unusual position of being an American military spouse in a time when most benefits and services for spouses were for women.  There's just the right mix of romance, slapstick, farce, and military hijinks as the newlyweds struggle to just be able to spend the night together.  

 

Manon - A Henri Georges Clouzot romantic drama about a pair of doomed lovers.  They don't make truly epic films like this anymore, following the characters through many years and many events in their lives, from fleeing accusations of collaborating with Nazis, to a life of wildly shifting fortunes in Paris, to an arduous trek across the desert.  Pointed social commentary only gives the tragedy more bite.

Adam's Rib - My favorite of the Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy romantic comedies.  In "Adam's Rib" they play a pair of married lawyers who end up in a contentious battle of the sexes.  The film is genuinely funny, even if its sexual politics are clearly out of date.  The performances of Hepburn, Tracy, and Judy Holliday as the would-be murderess are a delight, and the ridiculous legal battles are a riot.     

White Heat - Perhaps James Cagney's most famous role is as the brutal gangster Cody Jarrett.  He's so clearly one of the major templates for so many cinematic gangsters to follow, displaying disturbing psychological issues and a wildly entertaining theatricality to his criminal antics.  The prison scenes and the explosive finale help to make this one of the most memorable gangster pictures of all time.

The Third Man - I'm not as much of a fan of this influential film noir as most, but I can't resist the charisma of Orson Welles as the iconic Harry Lime, or the thrilling chase scenes through those wonderfully atmospheric Vienna sewer tunnels.  Alas, both of those things happen in the last third of the film, and are over and done with far too quickly.  At least the lively score is excellent throughout.  

Passport to Pimlico - One of the best of the Ealing comedies, and still a fantastic crowd-pleaser, is this British farce about a small London neighborhood that is able to declare itself an independent sovereign nation due to a newly discovered historical loophole.  Full of British character actors and wild plot twists, "Pimlico" delivers a great mix of satire and silliness.  And part of the magic is its total, utter Britishness.  

The Heiress - This is my favorite Olivia de Haviland role, where she plays the mousy daughter of a domineering rich man, who is courted by a man she views as a possible path to her salvation.  The transformation of the heroine from weak to strong, from open and loving to cold and hostile, is at the heart of a tragic, absorbing feature that shifts from hopeful romance to intense psychological drama.

The Silence of the Sea - A solemn, existential morality play about a German lieutenant, played by Howard Vernon, who is billetted in the home of a small French family during WWII.  This was Jean Pierre-Melville's feature debut, and heavily influenced by his experiences during the war.  Despite a tiny budget, only three actors, and limited sets, the film is as powerful as any other drama from this year.   

Honorable Mention: Little Miss Devil (Afrita Hanem)

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