Swamp Water (1941)

A place with a name like Okefenokee feels immanently American and this is an inherently American story though expatriate Jean Renoir feels sympathetic to these types of folks. He wasn’t a working-class filmmaker but in movies from his home country like Toni or La Bete Humaine, you see his con... Read full article

Man Hunt (1941)

I feel like few filmmakers understood the menace of the Nazis as well as Fritz Lang. Perhaps it’s because he had firsthand experience, and he knew their schemes and what they were capable of — at least to a degree. But he does not make them total fools nor distant adversaries. They are c... Read full article

British Pathe: Matchstick Models (1941)

British Pathe released a number of entertaining short pieces on arts and crafts and some of the best featured talented model-makers. One of these was Harold Gough, a 16-year-old (in 1941) whose hobby was building mansions made of matchsticks. The rainy season in England must indeed be long! Never mi... Read full article

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)

“Do you think he drinks?” “He didn’t get that nose from playing ping pong.” Self-reflexive metanarratives have the capacity of dissecting celebrity and playing with personas. Such a context is ripe with possibility and so when we find ourselves on a studio lot with W.C.... Read full article

Musical Monday: Let’s Go Collegiate (1941)

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: Let’s Go Collegiate (1... Read full article