Great 1940's Movies DVD Rentals from Movies By Mail

A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) Certified U

It's night over Europe, the night of the 2nd of May 1945. A crippled Lancaster Bomber struggles home across the English Channel, all crew dead save for the young pilot desperately scanning the radio for signs of life. His prayers are answered. June (Hunter), a young radio operator, picks up his signal,

Adams Rib (1949) Certified U

Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam's Rib is a peerless comedy predicated on the double standard. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, a husband-and-wife attorney team, both drawn to a case of attempted murder. The defendant (Judy Holliday) had tearfully attempted

Brief Encounter (1945) Certified PG

Noel Coward’s sensitive portrayal of what happens when two happily married strangers, played by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, meet and their acquaintance deepens into affection and eventually into love. It is the story of two people, thrown together by the chance meeting of the title, helpless in

Casablanca (1943) Certified U

Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazi's most-wanted list. Atop that list is Czech Resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henried), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one... especially

Citizen Kane (1941) Certified 12

In the May of 1941, RKO radio Pictures released a controversial film by a 25 year-old, first-time director. That premiere of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane was to have a profound and lasting effect on the art of motion pictures. It has been hailed as the best American film ever made, and it’s as powerful

Double Indemnity (1944) Certified PG

From the Moment they met it was Murder!Director Billy Wilder and writer Raymond Chandler ('The Big Sleep') adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson

Gentlemans Agreement (1947) Certified U

Director Elia Kazan and producer Darryl F. Zanuck caused a sensation with "the most spellbinding story ever put on celluloid" (Hollywood Reporter), recipient of three Academy Awards including Best Picture. One of the first films to directly tackle racial prejudice, this acclaimed adaptation of Laura

His Girl Friday (1940) Certified U

This hilarious re-working of The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur sees Grant as the savage editor and, in a switch, the reporter played by scheming Rosalind Russell. This version adds the twin lures of sex and romance. The film moves at whirlwind speed, as Director Howard Hawks instructed

Its A Wonderful Life (1946) Certified U

The legendary James Stewart (HARVEY, VERTIGO) stars as George Bailey. George is a noble man who has spent much of his life on a crusade to stop shady local businessman Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore - TREASURE ISLAND, DUEL IN THE SUN) from taking over the picturesque town of Bedford Falls. However, on

Key Largo (1948) Certified PG

Richard Brooks and John Huston's screenplay for Huston's Key Largo eschews the lofty blank verse of Maxwell Anderson's original play, concentrating instead on the simmering tensions among the many characters. Humphrey Bogart plays Frank McCloud, an embittered war veteran who travels to Key Largo in Florida,

Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949) Certified U

Set in the stately Edwardian era, Robert Hamer's Kind Hearts And Coronets is black comedy at is best, with the most articulate and literate of all Ealing screenplays. Sir Alec Guinness gives a virtuoso performance in his Ealing comedy debut, playing all eight victims standing between a mass-murderer

Les Enfants Du Paradis (1945) Certified PG

Voted 'The Best French Film ever made' by the French Film Academy. Les Enfants du Paradis is a film of such dazzling proportions it has been labelled the French Gone With The Wind. Set amidst the glittering theatre world of 19th century Paris, the story revoles around the beautiful and free-spirted courtesan,

Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943) Certified U

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's much-lauded epic Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which satirizes British traditionalism, stirred up impassioned hostilities and indignations among the Brits when released in 1943. It so infuriated Winston Churchill, in fact, that he refused to allow its exportation

Maltese Falcon, The (1941) Certified PG

A gallery of high-living lowlifes will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) wants to find out why - and who's gonna take the fall. This third screen version of Dashiell Hammett's novel is a film of firsts: John Huston's directorial

Meet Me In St Louis (1944) Certified U

Vincente Minnelli's classic romantic musical about a well-off family, the Smiths, in 1903 St. Louis. As the two oldest girls fret about boys and love, a darker, more serious cloud appears on the horizon: their father is being transferred to a job in far-off New York City just as the World's Fair is coming

"Great 1940's Movies" Collection - (21 titles)