1944 Recap and 10 Favorite Films

I watched 80 films released in 1944, including some shorts, documentaries, and B movies reviewed only here.  I did not revisit the multi-Academy Award nominated Since You Went Away.  It was on “very long wait” status on Netflix throughout this exercise and the DVD is out of print.  I’ve gotten part way through it twice before and don’t feel missing it on this round impacted on my ten favorites ranking.

At different points in my viewing I got to thinking 1944 was a fairly weak year.  Now that I look back at it, I find that there were many standouts from the year.  Here are my ten favorite feature fiction films.  These are my favorites, which change from day to day, and not a list of the “best” or “greatest” films of the year.

10.  This Happy Breed (directed by David Lean)

9.  Henry V (directed by Laurence Olivier)

8.  The Suspect (directed by Robert Siodmak)

7.  Murder, My Sweet (directed by Edward Dmytryk)

6.  To Have and Have Not (directed by Howard Hawks)

5.  The Children Are Watching Us (directed by Vittorio De Sica)

4.  A Canterbury Tale (directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

3.  Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (directed by Preston Sturges)

2.  Meet Me in St. Louis (directed by Vincente Minnelli)

1.  Double Indemnity (directed  by Billy Wilder)

Special Mention:

One of the very best films I saw from 1944 was a short called Jammin the Blues. I don’t see how it possibly could have been any better.  It’s 10 minutes long and easily found on YouTube.  I only wish I could find a still that would do it justice.