BECK index
Movie Mirrors Index

More Movies from 1949

Movie Mirrors

by Sanderson Beck

Best Movies of 1949

Movie Mirrors Introduction

Abbreviations
 Title

Min.

c S M H P V En Ed
 Adventure in Baltimore 89   b  4  4  4      4  5
 Always Leave Them Laughing 116   b  5  5  5      5  5
 Any Number Can Play 103   b  6  4  5  6  5  5  4
 Barkleys of Broadway, The 109   c  6  6  5  5  6  5  4
 Border Incident 95   b  5  6  4      5  5
 Caught 88   b  6  6  5  5  6  5  5
 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A 107   c  6  5  5  5  5  5  4
 Criss Cross 87   b  7  6  5  5  6  5  4
 Dear Wife 88   b  6  5    4  5  5  4
 East Side, West Side 108   b  5  5  5  4  4  5  5
 Easy Living 77   b  6  6  4  6  5  5  5
 Flaxy Martin 86   b  4  5  4      5  4
 Great Sinner, The 110   b  4  5  5      5  5
 Hellfire 90   c  5  4  4  6    5  4
 It Happens Every Spring 87   b  6  7  4  6  7  5  4
 It's a Great Feeling 85   c  6  5  5  5  5  5  4
 John Loves Mary 96   b  5  5  4      5  4
 Judge Steps Out, The 91   b  5  5  5  6  5  5  5
 Lady Takes a Sailor, The 99   b  6  4  5      5  5
 Look for the Silver Lining 106   c  5  5  5  5  5  5  5
 Love Happy 85   b  5  5  5  3  5  5  4
 Malaya 95   b  5  5  5    5  5  5
 Mighty Joe Young 94   b  6  6  5  6  5  5  4
 My Dream Is Yours 101   c  6  5  4  5  5  5  4
 Red Danube, The 119   b  5  5  4      5  5
 Rope of Sand 104   b  5  6  5      5  4
 Scene of the Crime 94   b  6  4        5  4
 So Dear to My Heart 82   c  5  7  5  7  7  5  5
 Sorrowful Jones 88   b  5  5  4  5  4  5  4
 Task Force 116   b  6  5  4  4  5  5  5
 That Midnight Kiss 96   c  5  5  4  5  5  5  4
 Threat, The 66   b  6  6    6  5  5  4
 Tokyo Joe 88   b  4 5  4  4  3  5  5
 Yellow Sky 98   b  6  6  6      5  4

Abbreviations
b = black and white
c = color
S = Scheuer's rating
M = Maltin's rating
H = Halliwell's rating
P = Martin & Porter's rating
V = Videohound's rating
En = Beck's entertainment value
Ed = Beck's educational value

Adventure in Baltimore

(1949 b 89') En: 4 Ed: 5

In 1905 a tolerant minister (Robert Young) raises a liberated daughter (Shirley Temple) who likes to paint, but she has a knack for getting into trouble, especially with her best friend (John Agar).

This old-fashioned comedy explores various social issues related to sexism, prudery, and gossip.

Always Leave Them Laughing

(1949 b 116') En: 5 Ed: 5

An ambitious comedian (Milton Berle) struggles for success, falling in love with a chorus girl (Ruth Roman) before getting a break to work with a star comedian (Bert Lahr) and his wife (Virginia Mayo).

This exhausting portrayal of comedy shows the personal sacrifices and challenges of show business. The egotistic comedian can make jokes about himself, but he gradually learns that a good comedian needs heart and originality rather than imitation.

Any Number Can Play

(1949 b 103') En: 5 Ed: 4

Adapted from Edward Heth's novel, a gambling hall owner (Clark Gable) with a heart condition considers going away with his wife (Alexis Smith) and son (Darryl Hickman; but his brother-in-law (Wendell Corey) is cheating, Ben (Lewis Stone) is losing, and Jim (Frank Morgan) is winning.

The popular sport of gambling is explored while a middle-aged man comes to realize that with this challenging business he has been neglecting his wife and son.

The Barkleys of Broadway

(1949 c 109') En: 5 Ed: 4

Josh Barkley (Fred Astaire) and his wife Dinah (Ginger Rogers) are a successful musical comedy team, but Jacques (Jacques François) lures her into a dramatic role that separates them. Their friend Ezra (Oscar Levant) makes some attempts to get them back together.

This musical has more drama than comedy and reflects the interest of most for entertainment rather than serious theater. Couples that quarrel may find themselves vulnerable to being separated.

Border Incident

(1949 b 95') En: 5 Ed: 5

A Mexican agent (Ricardo Montalban) and a US agent (George Murphy) go undercover to try to capture a criminal gang that is led by Parkson (Howard Da Silva) who exploits the poor Mexicans sneaking into the US illegally even more than the limited bracero program itself.

Although narrated from the perspective of the governments, the violence and treachery of the criminals still makes this a thrilling film noir as it portrays the desperate circumstances of the Mexicans needing work.

Caught

(1949 b 88') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a novel by Libbie Block, Leonora (Barbara Bel Geddes) goes to charm school and marries a millionaire (Robert Ryan), but he is a selfish tyrant. So she leaves him and gets a job working for a physician (James Mason), who falls in love with her.

This melodrama shows that wealth is only one small part of happiness and that those who seek it ruthlessly may cause themselves and others much suffering.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

(1949 c 107') En: 5 Ed: 4

In this musical version of Mark Twain's fantasy novel, Hank Martin (Bing Crosby) finds himself captured by the knight Sagramore (William Bendix). Hank escapes execution by showing King Arthur (Cedric Hardwicke) that he is a wizard, and he is dubbed Sir Boss. Alisande (Rhonda Fleming) and Sagramore help Hank, but they are opposed by Merlin (Murvyn Vye) and jealous Lancelot (Henry Wilcoxon).

The songs and story imply that American inventiveness can improve on old British traditions.

Criss Cross

(1949 b 87') En: 5 Ed: 4

Adapted from Don Tracy's novel, Steve (Burt Lancaster) tries to get back together with his ex-wife Anna (Yvonne De Carlo), but she marries gangster Dundee (Dan Duryea) who treats her badly. Although he is warned by a police detective (Stephen McNally), Steve offers to be the inside man in an armored-car robbery.

In this film noir Steve seems to be fatally pulled toward crime and violence by his desire for Anna even though he knows they have trouble getting along.

Dear Wife

(1949 b 88') En: 5 Ed: 4

In this sequel to Dear Ruth, Miriam Wilkins (Mona Freeman) gets Bill Seacroft (William Holden) to run for the state senate in the primary against Judge Wilkins (Edward Arnold), leaving Ruth Seacroft (Joan Caulfield) caught between her husband and her father.

This comedy has fun with family conflicts and jealousy; but the disruptions are resolved rather absurdly.

East Side, West Side

(1949 b 108') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Marcia Davenport's novel, Brandon (James Mason) is married to Jessie (Barbara Stanwyck). He had an affair with Isabel (Ava Gardner), and she is back in town and wants him. Jessie quickly becomes friends with Mark (Van Heflin) and has to decide whether to forgive Brandon again.

This well-acted drama includes a murder mystery but is mostly about human relationships. The honesty and sensitivity of Mark helps Jessie to realize how foolish Brandon is.

Easy Living

(1949 b 77') En: 5 Ed: 5

Professional quarterback Pete (Victor Mature) learns he has a bad heart while his wife Liza (Lizabeth Scott) enjoys the night life as an aspiring interior decorator. The ambitious coach (Lloyd Nolan) complains Pete's playing has deteriorated, but his secretary (Lucille Ball) gives Pete kind understanding.

This drama reflects the early years of professional football when players made little money and had to face a major career adjustment after just a few years.

Flaxy Martin

(1949 b 87') En: 5 Ed: 4

A lawyer (Zachary Scott) for a gangster (Douglas Kennedy) lets himself be framed by the attractive blonde Flaxy (Virginia Mayo), but he escapes, is helped a more ethical brunette (Dorothy Malone), and fights off a thug (Elisha Cook Jr.).

This film noir entertains with unusual twists and turns in a dark underworld of crime; but the lawyer finds hope from two people who are kind and helpful.

The Great Sinner

(1949 b 110') En: 5 Ed: 5

A famous writer (Gregory Peck) is lured into gambling by beautiful Pauline Ostrovsky (Ava Gardner). He has beginner's luck but then loses like so many others including her father (Walter Huston), his mother (Ethel Barrymore), and Pitard (Frank Morgan).

This melodrama exposes how gamblers can ruin their lives because of their addiction to the intermittent reward of winning. Only by creating something of real value in his writing is he able to salvage his soul.

Hellfire

(1949 c 90') En: 5 Ed: 4

Card shark Zeb Smith promises a dying preacher (H. B. Warner) he will build his church. So he goes after the reward for the wanted criminal, Doll Brown (Marie Windsor), but his friend, Marshall Bucky McLean (Forrest Tucker) is also looking for her.

This religious western mixes the usual violence with a gunman's attempt to follow a Christian path, and he learns that "a man never starts killing until he stops thinking."

It Happens Every Spring

(1949 b 87') En: 5 Ed: 4

A chemistry professor (Ray Milland) lucks into a formula that repels wood and becomes a star baseball pitcher helped by his catcher (Paul Douglas) while trying to keep his fiancé (Jean Peters) and her father (Ray Collins) from finding out.

This escapist fantasy seems oblivious to the ethical issues that would eventually develop in sports as athletes take extraordinary measures to improve their skills in order to win and make money.

It's a Great Feeling

(1949 c 85') En: 5 Ed: 4

Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan satirize themselves while competing for the attention of a studio employee (Doris Day) they hope to make into a star.

In this musical comedy the Hollywood film business makes fun of itself with numerous cameo appearances while selling the dream that almost anyone can become a movie star.

John Loves Mary

(1949 b 96') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on Norman Krasna's play, the soldier John (Ronald Reagan) returns to his sweetheart Mary (Patricia Neal). He has married Lilly (Virginia Field) so that she could come to the United States, divorce him, and marry John's best friend (Jack Carson), but his wife is having a baby. They pay Victor (Wayne Morris) to play a lieutenant to fool Mary and her father (Edward Arnold).

This situation comedy is based on complications that arise from trying to get around immigration delays while keeping others from finding out. Underlying the tension is a marriage that has already been delayed four years by the war.

The Judge Steps Out

(1949 b 91') En: 5 Ed: 5

Judge Tom Bailey (Alexander Knox) in Boston sees a doctor (Whitford Cane) and follows his advice to leave his wife Evelyn (Frieda Inescourt). Tom gets a job in California as a cook working for Peggy (Ann Sothern), and they fall in love. He tries to help her get custody of an orphan. Tom goes back to Boston to try to reverse his own custody decision and to divorce his wife.

Giving up his profession, the judge found freedom and joy in a California lifestyle; but he finally realizes that he has to renounce that midlife affair to find a more realistic fulfillment as a higher judge.

The Lady Takes a Sailor

(1949 b 99') En: 5 Ed: 5

Jennifer Smith (Jane Wyman) is a high-powered executive given large grants to make scientific product endorsements, but she happens to discover Bill Craig (Dennis Morgan) in a secret submarine. He lies to her and takes her film, and her uncorroborated story ruins her credibility and career.

This screwball comedy is based on the US military using disinformation to protect secrets, reflecting the cold war and the national security state. Another theme satirizes the attempt to use truth to help consumers find good commercial products.

Look for the Silver Lining

(1949 c 106') En: 5 Ed: 5

This biography of musical star Marilyn Miller (June Haver) shows her relationship to her overbearing but comical father (Charles Ruggles), the dancer Jack Donahue (Ray Bolger) who helped her, and her husbands Frank Carter (Gordon MacRae) and Henry Doran (Dick Simmons).

This musical stays on the sunny side of her life by leaving out her marriages that ended in divorce with Jack Pickford and Jack Donohue, who was actually ten years younger than Marilyn. Miller was her stepfather's name, and she combined Mary Ellen into Marilyn, the name chosen by Norma Jeane to go with Monroe.

Love Happy

(1949 b 85') En: 5 Ed: 4

Narrated by detective Sam Grunnion (Groucho Marx), while a poor musical show hires Faustino the Great (Chico Marx), Harpo (Marx) steals from Throckmorton (Melville Cooper) a can of sardines containing valuable gems for which Madame Egelichi (Ilona Massey) has married eight times to get her hands on.

This last film of Marx brothers mayhem still has their inimitable style and farcical comedy that makes life seem sublimely ridiculous.

Malaya

(1949 b 95') En: 5 Ed: 5

A newspaper editor (Lionel Barrymore) in charge of getting rubber and an FBI agent (John Hodiak) arrange for reporter John Royer (James Stewart) and convicted smuggler Carnaghan (Spencer Tracy) to smuggle rubber out of Japanese-occupied Malaya with help from a saloon owner (Sydney Greenstreet), Romano (Gilbert Roland), and the US Navy.

This adventure reflects the importance of certain raw materials for the war machine and the use of any methods that will work to obtain them. Patriotism and greed for gold are used as motives to gain the result.

Mighty Joe Young

(1949 b 94') En: 5 Ed: 4

Producer Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) goes to Africa with cowboy Gregg (Ben Johnson), and they bring back the giant gorilla Joe Young, who has been raised to be tame by Jill Young (Terry Moore). Joe is presented in a nightclub, but Jill wants to take him home to Africa.

This fantasy reflects the desire to tame wild beasts, which represent the desire to be physically strong. This adventure story satirizes civilization that is fascinated by such shows while panicking when things go wrong.

My Dream Is Yours

(1949 c 102') En: 5 Ed: 4

Singer Gary Mitchell (Lee Bowman) dumps his agent Doug Blake (Jack Carson), who discovers singer Martha Gibson (Doris Day) and tries to promote her with help from Vivian (Eve Arden). Martha turns to Gary for romance, but his career recedes quickly because of his drinking.

This musical comedy shows the fine line between success and failure in radio singing and on the trivial things by which they may turn as seen by the devices the agent uses to get his client heard.

 

The Red Danube

(1949 b 119') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a novel by Bruce Marshall, in post-war Vienna, Col. Nicobar (Walter Pidgeon) and Major McPhimister (Peter Lawford) with help from a Mother Superior (Ethel Barrymore) try to keep from turning over ballerina Maria Buhlen (Janet Leigh) to Russian Col. Piniev (Louis Calhern) for repatriation to the Soviet Union.

This romantic drama challenges the policy of forcibly repatriating displaced nationals after the war and shows the responsibility of the western allies' capitulation as well as the tyranny of Soviet domination.

Rope of Sand

(1949 b 104') En: 5 Ed: 4

A sadistic commandant (Paul Henreid) tries to keep adventurers like Mike Davis (Burt Lancaster) away from a South African desert with diamonds while Martingale (Claude Rains) uses seductive Suzanne Renaud (Corinne Calvet) to try to find out where they are.

This adventure drama shows how people can be led astray and manipulated by greed, lust, and revenge.

Scene of the Crime

(1949 b 94') En: 5 Ed: 4

A police detective Mike (Van Johnson) with help from a veteran (John McIntire) and a rookie (Tom Drake) investigates an underworld murder of a moonlighting police detective and romances a suspect (Gloria DeHaven) while his loving wife (Arlene Dahl) worries.

This film noir portrays the excitement, dangers, and problems of police detectives trying to catch criminals.

So Dear to My Heart

(1949 c 82') En: 5 Ed: 5

A boy (Bobby Driscoll) raises a black lamb that gets into trouble. His grandma (Beulah Bondi) warns him about neglecting things of the Spirit to seek money and prizes, and his uncle (Burl Ives) helps him go to the county fair.

Music and limited animation highlight this Disney film that emphasizes spiritual values such as love, responsibility, and perseverance.

Sorrowful Jones

(1949 b 88') En: 5 Ed: 4

In this remake of Little Miss Marker (1934), Sorrowful (Bob Hope) takes care of the marker Martha Jane (Mary Jane Saunders) with help from singer Gladys (Lucille Ball) while trying to deal with the bullying tactics of Big Steve (Bruce Cabot).

Humor stems from the parsimonious Sorrowful and his insult contests with Gladys that puncture both their egos. Once again the innocence of a child makes a stark contrast to the adult underworld of crooked gamblers.

Task Force

(1949 b 116') En: 5 Ed: 5

Pilot Jonathan Scott (Gary Cooper) and air officer Pete Richard (Walter Brennan) spend their careers promoting naval aviation and aircraft carriers. Mary (Jane Wyatt) loses her husband but falls in love with Scott. The climax is the battle of Midway which was a key turning point in the war against Japan.

This dramatized history of aircraft carriers combining documentary film with a story of those selling naval aviation was supported by US Navy cooperation. The propaganda suggests that advances in ways to kill and destroy human enemies is an improvement; but if war-making outpaces peacemaking, what will the future be?

That Midnight Kiss

(1949 c 96') En: 5 Ed: 4

Wealthy Abigail Budell (Ethel Barrymore) starts an opera company for her talented granddaughter Prudence (Kathryn Grayson) with Jose Iturbi (himself). Prudence discovers truck-driver Johnny Donnetti (Mario Lanza) is a great tenor and falls in love with him.

This musical comedy includes opera, serenading, slapstick comedy, and romantic complications with the message that young talent may do better than an aging and egotistical star.

Threat, The

(1949 b 66') En: 5 Ed: 4

Kluger (Charles McGraw) escapes from prison and kidnaps the two men who had convicted him-the district attorney (Frank Conroy) and detective Ray Williams (Michael O'Shea). Kluger also takes Carol (Virginia Grey), whom he suspects took the money.

This suspenseful drama follows the cruel Kluger's attempt to get away with two accomplices with the usual result that shows the futility of violence.

Tokyo Joe

(1949 b 88') En: 5 Ed: 5

Joe (Humphrey Bogart) returns to Tokyo, where his nightclub has been put off limits by US occupation forces. He finds his wife Trina (Florence Marly) has divorced him and married Mark Landis (Alexander Knox). Joe stays to try to win her back, gets blackmailed into smuggling, and learns he has a daughter.

This unusual film noir reflects the despair in defeated Japan and the entangling bureaucracy by which a foreign military tries to run the government while in mortal dread of Communists.

Yellow Sky

(1949 b 98') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on W. R. Burnett's novel, six men led by Stretch (Gregory Peck) rob a bank, escape into the desert, and clash with a pretty woman (Anne Baxter) and her Grandpa (James Barton), who have a gold mine. Stretch agrees to share half, but Dude (Richard Widmark) and the others want all the gold.

This western combines the usual violence, greed, and lust. The woman was brought up by Apaches and is wild, but Stretch tries to tame her and suddenly shows unusual integrity in order to win her.

Copyright © 2006 by Sanderson Beck

Best Movies of 1949

1913-1926 1927-1929
1930
1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

Movie Mirrors Index
Sanderson Beck’s List of the 1,000 Greatest Movies of All Time
Sanderson Beck’s List of the 1,000 Greatest Movies in Alphabetical Order

BECK index