During World War Two: 1940 Movie Recs

1939 gets all the buzz as the most successful year in film history, and rightly so, but 1940 sported quite a few gems of its own. As World War Two was now a thing, movies naturally included references to it in some way, although, as we’ve discussed in the past, studios tended to shy away from calling out the Nazis directly so as not to lose the European market. That all would change very quickly, of course.

Now on to my 1940 recs. There are so many good movies from 1940 that this is the short list, and some of these recs have reviews and some don’t. Onward…

The Shop Around the Corner (January 12)

The Shop Around the Corner is an utterly charming Ernst Lubitsch film about two combative Budapest shopworkers who are unaware that they’re each other’s pen pal. The humor in this movie is surprising and graceful with a little bit of bite. It’s also been remade into a Broadway musical called She Loves Me and the Nora Ephron classic, You’ve Got Mail. Read my review here.

His Girl Friday (January 18)

Oh, this one moves fast. Hilde Johnson stops by her former paper, where she tells her ex-husband, Walter Burns that she’s off to marry a guy named Bruce and live a normal life. Well, that’s what she thinks, but Hilde’s a born newswoman, and there’s a story afoot that she can’t resist. Poor Bruce will just have to wait.

The Mortal Storm (June 13)

Hollywood may have been tiptoeing around the whole Nazi problem, but The Mortal Storm gave it a sidelong glance. The movie follows the family of a respected college professor who finds himself on the outs with his school and many of his students because he isn’t Aryan. Two of his stepsons even turn against him. This movie is beautifully poignant and a remarkably strong calling-out even if it doesn’t get too specific. Read more about the film here.

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (July 5)

The Hardys are off to New York. Andy is especially excited because he’s got a huge crush on socialite Daphne Fowler and his old friend, the faithful Betsy Booth, just happens to be a friend of Daphne’s. Betsy really goes to bat for Andy in a big way, even risking her dad’s prized pearl tie pin. Andy is grateful, but not as much as he could be. Read my review here.

Pride and Prejudice (July 25)

Jane Austen’s seminal work has seen many adaptations, and this one sports a bevy of MGM stars and featured players. It also featured Victorian leg o’ mutton sleeves and voluminous skirts that would have made Ms. Austen’s eyes pop out. The performances are great, though, so that helps. Ann Rutherford always said she wished this movie had been filmed in color, but color film was at a premium because of Gone With the Wind the previous year. Oh well. Read my review here.

Strike Up the Band (September 25)

Jimmy Connors starts up a dance orchestra to play at the school dances, and when Paul Whiteman holds a contest for the best up-and-coming teenage bands, it’s all about getting everyone to Chicago for the competition. Strike Up the Band is one of my favorite Judy and Mickey movies because there’s so much to appreciate. Judy and Mickey put on a Victorian melodrama, there’s a lot of variety in the music, and of course there’s a heavy dash of patriotism. There’s even an orchestra made out of fruit.

Down Argentine Way (October 11)

Down Argentine Way is Betty Grable’s first big movie, as she won the role of Glenda Crawford after Alice Faye got sick. For that matter, it was also Carmen Miranda’s first American film, and she’s always heralded by someone hissing, “Shhhh…Carmen Miranda.” This movie is fun and goofy and completely improbable, but it’s Betty Grable and a musical so it doesn’t matter. Read my review here.

Escape (November 1)

One of Arch Oboler’s forays into screenwriting, and in my opinion, his best, Escape is based on an Ethel Vance novel of the same name and pretty gutsy for its time. Mark Preyser travels from America to his childhood home in the Bavarian Alps to rescue his mother, famous actress Emmy Ritter, who’s in a concentration camp for attempting to sell her house. Yeah. It’s fine for Emmy to emigrate to the United States, but selling her house is not to be borne. Make that make sense. Anyway, Escape was Norma Shearer’s third-to-last movie, after which she retired. Read my review here.

Little Nellie Kelly (November 22)

Based loosely on the George M. Cohan stage show, this movie is about an Irish American girl in New York who lives with her dad and grandfather. It’s unique in Judy’s filmography because it was the only time she played a dual role and the only time she had a death scene.  Other than that, it’s a tuneful, vigorous movie with a lot of familiar faces, including Douglas McPhail, Charles Winninger, and George Murphy.

The Philadelphia Story (December 5)

One of my all-time favorites, The Philadelphia Story is based on the stage play of the same name, and is famously the film that not only put Katharine Hepburn back on the map as a bankable star, but gave her new clout as a Hollywood figure. Philly socialite Tracy Lord is about to remarry, and her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven shows up with a photographer and a reporter from a notorious tabloid just to keep everything interesting. It doesn’t matter how many times I see this movie, it never gets old. Read my review here.

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What will 1941 bring? We’ll find out next month. 🙂

Another post is coming up a week from today. Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you then…

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The Shop Around the Corner (Blu-ray), His Girl Friday (DVD), The Mortal Storm (DVD and Blu-ray), Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (DVD), Pride and Prejudice (Blu-ray), Strike Up the Band (DVD and Blu-ray), Down Argentine Way (DVD), Escape (DVD), Little Nellie Kelly (DVD), and The Philadelphia Story (DVD and Blu-ray) are available to own from Amazon.

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