The Year With THE Film

Jesse Walker now presents his film list from 1941.  I see it as the last year of the early talkie period.  Yes, things had changed since the late 20s, but it was a time when all the studios were operating at their peak, just before the U.S. entered the war and everything changed. (Everything had already changed in Europe, of course.)

It's also the year when the title that wins every poll for the greatest film ever came out, Citizen Kane.  Will Jesse put it up high?

To end the suspense, yes, it's number one. On the other hand, Jesse ignores the Oscar winner for the year, How Green Was My Valley. (I agree, though there are plenty of auteurists who wouldn't like that.)

Here's the list:

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Maltese Falcon
3. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
4. The Sea Wolf
5. Meet John Doe
6. Hellzapoppin'
7. Lambeth Walk—Nazi Style
8. The Wolf Man
9. Ball of Fire
10. The Lady Eve

Pretty solid list, and just about all Hollywood.

It's hard to think of Citizen Kane as a regular film anymore, it's become so deified, but it should be somewhere in the top ten.

The Maltese Falcon I've always considered overrated, but it made Bogie a big star and is certainly a decent version of the novel after two weaker attempts.  (I try to imagine how it would have come out if George Raft hadn't turned down the lead.)

The Fields film is great, and certainly surreal.  It's the kind of thing that makes you wish the Marx Brothers had gone to Universal instead of MGM.

The Sea Wolf is a bit high here, but it certainly manages a menacing mood.

Meet John Doe is a troubled classic from Frank Capra.  He didn't know how to end it and it shows. The Capra formula is straining a bit here, but it can still stand near his best.

Hellzapoppin' is an oddity among oddities.  I only wish the whole film could be as bizarre as its first ten minutes.  Of course, Hollywood would never allow that, as they must have known when the bought the property.

The Lambeth Walk is fun but as always I don't think shorts fit in these lists (except maybe the great comedy shorts in the silent days that competed with features for attention).

The Wolf Man is also a classic of its type, but not as special as the previous great titles in horror.

Ball Of Fire and Lady Eve had to be in the top ten. In fact, they should both be in the top five.  Maybe the top two.

Here are his honorable mentions:

11. Sullivan's Travels
12. Suspicion
13. Tortoise Beats Hare
14. Dumbo
15. The Devil and Daniel Webster
16. Among the Living
17. Hold Back the Dawn
18. Ladies in Retirement
19. The Iron Crown
20. The Devil and Miss Jones

Sullivan's Travels plays as an unusual film today as much as it did seventy years ago (which is why it was not a hit), but Sturges pulled off something special, with dramatic peaks as well as comic.

Suspicion is often considered a compromised film, but it's one of my favorite Hitchcock's with one of my favorite Cary Grant performances (even though his co-star won the Oscar).

#13 is another short.  Dumbo should be top ten--there's nothing like the early Disney animated features.  Just the "Pink Elephants" number alone shows how Disney can outdo the surrealists at their own game, (1941 turned out to be a high point for Hollywood surrealism.)

The Devil And Daniel Webster is okay but not great.  The Devil And Miss Jones, however, is an underappreciated gem (and a rare chance in early Hollywood to hear the Bill Of Rights defended).  Hold Back The Dawn is Brackett and Wilder showing yet again (they also wrote Ball Of Fire) that they were the best screenwriting team around, in comedy or drama.  The rest I haven't seen.

Other films that were highly regarded that year:

Sergeant York (the year's biggest hit and actually pretty good, but hasn't dated as well as other Hawks)

They Died With Their Boots On

A Yank In The RAF

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Babes On Broadway

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

High Sierra

The Little Foxes

Penny Serenade

That Hamilton Woman

Major Barbara

Here are some films that might have made my list:

Man Hunt (worth it just to see Lang imagining Hitler being shot at)

Road To Zanzibar (not their best Road picture, but still pretty good)

You'll Never Get Rich (any decent Astaire musical tends to make my list, and this is his first with his favorite partner)

Other films of interest.

All Through the Night, Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, The Big Store (a sad example of what MGM was doing to the Marx Brothers, but it's still the Marx Brothers), The Black Cat, The Bride Came C.O.D., Buck Privates (here's the hot new team that would rule the 40s), Charley's Aunt, The Farmer's Wife, The Flame of New Orleans,  Flying Blind, French Without Tears, Hold That Ghost, In the Navy, Kipps, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Manpower (the story behind the film is better), Million Dollar Baby, Mr. & Mrs. Smith,  Mr. Bug Goes To Town (a fascinating glimpse at feature animation without Disney), Mysterious Island, Penny Serenade (one of two Cary Grant performances to be Oscar-nominated), Playmates, Shadow of the Thin Man (the first Thin Man to drop greatly in quality), The Strawberry Blonde, Sun Valley Serenade, That Hamilton Woman, That Uncertain Feeling (an odd Lubitsch in between his two greatest films), Tobacco Road, Tom, Dick and Harry, Two-Faced Woman (the film that made Garbo give up), Western Union (Lang in color), When Ladies Meet ,You're in the Army Now, Ziegfeld Girl