Bambi is a young deer when a band of hunters kills his mother. As Bambi grows up in the forest alone, he befriends the other animals and enjoys playing in the beautiful wilderness. But, when the hunters comeback, all of Bambi's painful memories return and he must lead his friends to safety in order to fulfill his destiny of becoming the Prince of the Forest. Directed by David Hand. Categories: Cult Classics, Animation, Family, Drama, Classic. Year: 1942.
1941 in Bambi
Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is an ex-soldier who owns a nightclub in Casablanca. When his old love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) comes into town, Rick learns that she is connected to underground leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a man the Germans are desperate to apprehend. A cynical, bitter man, Blaine must choose to help his former love escape or turn his back on her entirely. Directed by Michael Curtiz. With Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt and Sydney Greenstreet. Categories: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Classic. Year: 1942.
1941 in Casablanca
When Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies, he leaves a lifetime of public spectacle and private turmoil in his wake. His final word, "Rosebud,", inspires a newspaper to send out an agent to interview Kane's former wife Susan (Dorothy Comingore), business partner Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten) and others in an attempt to piece together his storied but distant life. Directed by Orson Welles. With Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins and Everett Sloane. Categories: Drama, Classic. Year: 1941.
1941 in Citizen Kane
Mrs. Jumbo, the star of a traveling circus, is horrified when the baby elephant Mr. Stork (Sterling Holloway) delivers comes out with enormous ears. Dubbed Dumbo by the other circus workers, he is humiliated into silence and forced to perform in ridiculous clown acts. Lonely and disheartened, it's up to his tiny friend Timothy Q. Mouse (Edward Brophy) to show Dumbo his true value. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen. With Jim Carmichael, Hall Johnson Choir and Verna Felton. Categories: Drama, Family, Animation, Music, Classic. Year: 1941.
1941 in Dumbo
After a lengthy prison term, gangster Roy "Mad Dog" Earle (Humphrey Bogart) is paroled with the help of an old associate who wants him to mastermid a heist a resort hotel in California. When things fall apart and a man is shot and killed, Earle is forced to flee and becomes a fugitive. Hhiding out from the police and the press, who are both out for his blood, Earle may be undone by two women he befriended before his life took its final turn for the worse. Directed by Raoul Walsh. With Alan Curtis, Joan Leslie, Barton MacLane, Henry Travers and Elisabeth Risdon. Categories: Drama, Thriller, Crime, Classic. Year: 1941.
1941 in High Sierra
When Frank (Humphrey Bogart) travels to Florida to visit Nora (Lauren Bacall), the wife of a friend who died in the war, he finds that the hotel she runs with her disabled father-in-law (Lionel Barrymore) has been taken over by a gangster named Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) and his gang of thugs. At first, Frank decides not to cause trouble, but, after witnessing the gangster's ruthlessness firsthand, Frank is convinced that Rocco must be stopped. Directed by John Huston. With Claire Trevor. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Classic. Year: 1948.
1941 in Key Largo
Mutrac (Humphrey Bogart), a French journalist and activist who opposed the Munich pact and was framed for murder, is sent to spend his miserable days on Devil's Island. After managing to escape with four other men and make it onto a ship bound for Marseille, his luck finally runs out. When France surrenders to Nazi Germany, fascist sympathizer Major Duval (Sydney Greenstreet) attempts to take over the ship for the Vichy French. Faced with death or capture, Mutrac must lead his friends in an attempt to regain control of the boat and his life. Directed by Michael Curtiz. With Michèle Morgan and Peter Lorre. Categories: Drama, Adventure, War, Classic, Based on a Novel. Year: 1944.
1941 in Passage to Marseille
Three American soldiers come home to Boone City after World War II and struggle to rebuild their shattered lives. Al Stephenson (Fredric March) lost three years of life with his wife (Myrna Loy) and children and must fight to regain their love even as Fred Derry (, his friend and fellow soldier (Dana Andrews) struggles with a failing marriage and a growing infatuation with Al's young daughter Peggy (Teresa Wright). Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) lost his hands in the war and can't return to his fiancee and loved ones. Directed by William Wyler. With Hoagy Carmichael. Categories: Drama, Romance, Classic. Year: 1946.
1941 in The Best Years of Our Lives
Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani), a struggling, unemployed father, gets work posting flyers in Rome, Italy during the depression that followed World War II. Trying to make ends meet for his wife and young son, Antonio buys his bike back from the pawn shop, only to have it stolen on the same day. The remainder of the film revolves around Antonio and his son searching for the bicycle in vain. Directed by Vittorio De Sica. Categories: Drama, Based on a Novel, Foreign Film. Year: 1948.
1941 in The Bicycle Thief
In his first film with dialogue, Charlie Chaplin also plays dual roles. One is a friendly Jewish barber with amnesia and the other is the anti-Semitic dictator of Tomania. After the barber and his old military buddy, Schultz (Reginald Gardiner), escape from a Concentration Camp, there is a mix-up that allows the barber to take Hynkel's place during a radio broadcast and give an impassioned speech for democracy to his country's people. Directed by Charlie Chaplin. With Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Classic. Year: 1940.
1941 in The Great Dictator
After his partner is killed while working a case, private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) discovers that the mysterious girl (Mary Astor) who hired them isn't who she says she is. As Sam uncovers more of the story, he learns of a plot to steal the Maltese Falcon, a priceless jewel-encrusted statue. Sam isn't a man to be messed with, and his rage over being manipulated by a bunch of criminals takes full force as he sets out to solve the case. Directed by John Huston. With Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. Categories: Mystery, Classic, Based on a Novel. Year: 1941.
1941 in The Maltese Falcon