BECK index
Movie Mirrors Index

More Movies from 1947

Movie Mirrors

by Sanderson Beck

Best Movies of 1947

Movie Mirrors Introduction

Abbreviations

 Title

Min.

c S M H P V En Ed
 Always Together 95   b  5  5  5      5  4
 Carnegie Hall 136   b  6  5  4    5  5  5
 Cass Timberlane 119   b  5  5  5  3  5  5  5
 Cynthia 98   b  4  3  4    5  5  5
 Daisy Kenyon 99   b  6  5  4      5  5
 Damned, The (Les Maudits) (French) 105   b  7          5  5
 Dark Delusion 90   b  5  4      3  5  5
 Dear Ruth 95   b  5  5  5      5  4
 Down to Earth 101   c  6  4  5    4  5  5
 Exile, The 95   b    6  5      5  5
 Fiesta 104   c  4  4  4  4  4  5  5
 Forever Amber 138   c  5  6  5  6  5  5  5
 Golden Earrings 95   b  5  5  5  7  5  5  5
 Good News 93   c  7  6  5  5  5  5  4
 Green Dolphin Street 140   b  4  5  4  3  5  5  5
 Heaven Only Knows 98   b  5  5  4      5  5
 High Wall 99   b  6  6  4    5  5  4
 Ideal Husband, An 93   c  5  6  4      5  5
 If Winter Comes 97   b  2  4  4      5  4
 It Happened on 5th Avenue 115   b  5  4  5    5  5  4
 Johnny O’Clock 96   b  5  5  4    4  5  5
 Killer McCoy 104   b  6  6  4      5  4
 Kiss of Death 98   b  6  6  6  8  6  5  4
 Lady in the Lake 103   b  7  5  5  5  5  5  4
 Little Mister Jim 92   b    4  4      5  5
 Living in a Big Way 104   b  7  4  4  3  4  5  4
 Lured 102   b  5  5  5    5  5  4
 Macomber Affair, The 89   b  7  7  5      5  5
 Magic Town 103   b  5  6  4  3  5  5  5
 Man I Love, The 90   b  5  6  4  6  6  5  4
 Mother Wore Tights 107   c  5  6  5  7  6  5  5
 New Orleans 90   b  5  5  5    5  5  5
 Nightmare Alley 110   b  7  7  6  7  5  5  5
 Odd Man Out 116   b  8  8  7  7  7  5  5
 Perils of Pauline, The 93   c  6  6  5  5  4  5  4
 Possessed 108   b  6  6  5  5  4  5  4
 Ride the Pink Horse 101   b  6  7  5    6  5  5
 Road to Rio 100   b  6  6  6  5  7  5  4
 Sea of Grass, The 123   b  5  5  4  4  4  5  5
 Shocking Miss Pilgrim, The 85   c  4  4  4      5  5
 Smash-up: The Story of a Woman 103   b  6  5  4  5  6  5  5
 So Well Remembered 114   b  5  6  5  5  6  5  5
 Suddenly, It’s Spring 87   b  3  4  4      5  4
 They Made Me a Fugitive 101   b    6  5    5  5  5
 They Won't Believe Me 80   b  7  7  5  6  6  5  4
 13 Rue Madeleine 95   b  6  5  5  5  6  5  5
 Tycoon 128   c  6  5  4  5  5  5  4
 Unfaithful, The 109   b  6  5  5      5  4
 Web, The 87   b  6  6  5      5  4

Abbreviations
b = black and white
c = color
S = Scheuer's rating
M = Maltin's rating
H = Halliwell's rating
P = Martin & Porter's rating
V = Videohound's rating
En = Beck's entertainment value
Ed = Beck's educational value

Always Together

(1947 b 78') En: 5 Ed: 4

Dying Jonathan Turner (Cecil Kellaway) instructs lawyer Timothy Bull (Ernest Truex) to give Jane Barker (Joyce Reynolds) one million dollars. She marries writer Donn Masters (Robert Hutton) without telling him. After he finds out, she is afraid her marriage will be ruined and sues for divorce.

This movie-type plot spoofs itself because the young couple are movie addicts and live in such fantasies. The double standard that a woman may live off a man's money but not the reverse is challenged.

Carnegie Hall

(1947 b 136’) En: 5 Ed: 5

The story of Carnegie Hall in New York is depicted through the life of Nora Ryan (Marsha Hunt) who as a child saw Tchaikovsky conduct there and became a cleaning woman. She marries pianist Tony Salerno (Hans Jaray) and brings up their son Tony Salerno Jr. (William Prince) to be an outstanding pianist. Musicians performing include Bruno Walter, Lily Pons, Gregor Piatagorsky, Arthur Rubinstein, Ezio Pinza, Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, and Harry James.

            This musical drama will appeal to those who love classical music and indicates the outstanding music performed at Carnegie since 1891.

 

Cass Timberlane

(1947 b 119') En: 5 Ed: 5

Adapted from the novel by Sinclair Lewis, an older judge (Spencer Tracy) marries the young and poor Virginia (Lana Turner). He allows postponements of a case involving his country-club friends while she falls in love with the firm's lawyer (Zachary Scott), who wants to take her to New York.

This drama explores issues of social class and compatibility but suggests that love and integrity can bridge a large age difference in marriage.

Cynthia

(1947 b 98') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a play by Viña Delmar, sickly Cynthia (Elizabeth Taylor) misses her chance to be in the high school play but gains a boyfriend (Jimmy Lydon) thanks to support from her mother (Mary Astor) and a change in her father (George Murphy).

This coming-of-age drama portrays parents who missed their dreams but are hoping to raise a child so that she can fulfill hers. These characters realize that they need to learn self-reliance and not be too influenced by other people.

Daisy Kenyon

(1947 b 99') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Elizabeth Janeway's novel, Daisy (Joan Crawford) is having an affair with the married lawyer Dan (Dana Andrews), but she marries the gentle veteran Peter (Henry Fonda), who is willing to give her a divorce when Dan decides to divorce his wife.

Peter is recovering from the deaths in the war and is undergoing psychological healing and reintegration into society while Dan outsmarts everyone including himself because he is willing to sacrifice his children's happiness for a new romance. Peter's detached and unconditional love proves to be lasting.

The Damned (Les Maudits)

(French 1947 b 105’) En: 5 Ed: 5

In April 1945 a group of Nazis led by General von Houser and industrialist Forster (Jo Dest) take a submarine to South America. After Hilda Garosi (Florence Marty) is injured, they stop and abduct the French doctor Guilbert (Henri Vidal). When they land, they have difficulty with their business agent Larga (Marcel Dallo).
      This plausible war drama portrays Nazi leaders who refuse to give up the war pitted against others who want the war to end with narration by the doctor who wants to escape.

Dark Delusion

(1947 b 90’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) loans young Dr. Tommy Coalt (James Craig) to replace a doctor on leave. Dr. Coalt, who sometimes has difficulty getting along with people, treats Cynthia Grace (Lucille Bremer) who is about to be committed to an insane asylum by her father Wyndham Grace (Lester Matthews) and Dr. Evans Biddle (Henry Stephenson). Dr. Coalt also gets help from Dr. Lee Wong How (Keye Luke) in getting Teddy Selkirk (Warner Anderson) to submit to a physical exam.

            This drama explores a case of psychosis that turns out to have been caused by a traumatic injury to the brain and shows how a doctor with skill and confidence can overcome the objections of those less who are less informed and try to use their power against him.

Dear Ruth

(1947 b 95') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on Norman Krasna's play, Bill (William Holden) returns from the war wanting to marry beautiful Ruth (Joan Caulfield); but the letters in her name were sent by her young sister Miriam (Mona Freeman), and Ruth is engaged to Albert (Billy De Wolfe).

This comedy reflects an effort to keep up the spirit of the men fighting abroad by offering them romantic hopes. The political activism of Miriam has effects beyond her getting her parents to give blood.

Down to Earth

(1947 c 101') En: 5 Ed: 5

The Muse Terpsichore (Rita Hayworth) sees a Broadway musical being made about her by Danny Miller (Larry Parks), and Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver) arranges for her to go down to Earth and get the part with Max Corkle (James Gleason) as her agent.

This musical fantasy explores the artistic dilemma of trying to combine inspired art with earthy entertainment, and for financial reasons the latter usually wins.

The Exile

(1947 b 95’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Adapted from Cosmo Hamilton’s novel, in 1660 Charles Stuart (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is in the Netherlands with a few Cavaliers hoping to return to England as Charles II after the Civil War against the Roundheads. Off alone he hides by working on the tulip farm of Katya (Paule Croset later Rita Corday), and they fall in love. He is visited by the French countess Arbela (Maria Montez), and the Roundhead Col. Ingram (Henry Daniell) tries to kill him.

            This fictional portrayal of the historical Charles II who was restored on the throne of England in May 1660 portrays him as a good fellow and hard worker who is tempted to give up his crown for the love a beautiful Dutch woman on a farm.

Fiesta

(1947 c 104’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Renowned matador Antonio Morales (Fortunio Bonanova) and Señora Morales (Mary Astor) have twins who both are taught to fight bulls by Chato (Akim Tamiroff). The son Mario Morales (Ricardo Montalban) is engaged to Conchita (Cy Charisse) and composes music, but his father wants him to be a matador. His sister Maria Morales (Esther Williams) is engaged to scientist Pepe Ortega (John Carroll) who shows Mario’s music to the famous conductor Maximino Contreras (Hugo Haas), but Pepe is jealous of Maria’s close relationship with her brother.

            This musical has drama and comedy as the proud father learns to let his son lead his own life. Bull-fighting is depicted, and the excellent music is instrumental.

Forever Amber

(1947 c 138') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Kathleen Winsor's popular novel, in London during the 1660s beautiful Amber (Linda Darnell) loves a privateer (Cornel Wilde) and has his child; but he rejects her, and she has numerous romantic adventures with pirates, rogues, a count (Richard Haydn), whom she marries, and even King Charles II (George Sanders).

A threatened boycott by the Catholic Legion of Decency caused major censorship even beyond the Production Code over issues of sexual morality, showing that puritanical beliefs were still socially influential.

Golden Earrings

(1947 b 95') En: 5 Ed: 5

Adapted from a novel by Yolanda Foldes, an English officer (Ray Milland) escapes from detention in Germany and is helped by a gypsy (Marlene Dietrich) to gain a secret poison-gas formula and flee the country as World War II is beginning.

This romantic drama explores the alternative lifestyle of the gypsies, many of whom were exterminated by the Nazis.

Good News

(1947 c 93') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on a play by Lew Brown and Laurence Schwab, a college football star (Peter Lawford) tries to woo a new sorority pledge (Patricia Marshall) but falls in love with a student (June Allyson) who works in the library.

This musical comedy celebrates the energy and vitality of college life with singing, dancing, and humor. With the GI Bill college life was becoming very important in the post-war era.

Green Dolphin Street

(1947 b 140') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Elizabeth Goudge's novel, William (Richard Hart) is the son of a doctor (Frank Morgan), who was in love with Sophie (Gladys Cooper), who married Octavius (Edmund Gwenn). Their daughters Marguerite (Donna Reed) and Marianne (Lana Turner) both fall in love with William. He has a problem with alcohol, deserts the British navy, loves Marguerite, but from New Zealand mistakenly writes that he wants to marry clever Marianne. Timothy (Van Heflin) has loved Marianne from a distance and knows the secret.

This melodrama suggests that marrying someone, who was not one's first choice, can grow into an even deeper love. Even when one does not have a physical partner, one can find spiritual love for God.

Heaven Only Knows

(1947 b 98’) En: 5 Ed: 5

In heaven Michael (Robert Cummings) learns he made a mistake and left a man without a soul. He is sent to Montana territory and works to help the boss Duke Byron (Brian Donlevy) to develop virtue during his conflict with Bill Plumber (Bill Goodwin). Ginger (Marjorie Reynolds) is Byron’s friend but falls in love with Michael while Drusilla Wainwright (Jorja Curtright), daughter of Reverend Wainwright (John Litel), opposes Byron. Sheriff Matt Bodine (Stuart Erwin) tries to get the two bosses to go against each other to save others in the town while Michael struggles to bring Byron and Drusilla together.

      This angel western is a spiritual fantasy that shows how a spiritually attuned person who does not fear death can help transform and teach others by his good example and kindness.

High Wall

(1947 b 99') En: 5 Ed: 4

War hero Steven Kenet (Robert Taylor) has a brain injury and is put in a psychiatric hospital for having confessed to strangling his wife; but he gets special help from Dr. Lorrison (Audrey Totter) and in bizarre ways tries to go after his wife's boss (Herbert Marshall).

This combination psychological thriller and murder mystery is about the strange consequences of a quick war-time marriage, reflecting peculiar consequences of the recent mass killings.

An Ideal Husband

(1947 c 93’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1895 play, English high society meets at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern (Hugh Williams) and Lady Gertrude Chiltern (Diana Wynyard). The Earl of Caversham (C. Aubrey Smith) lectures his son Viscount Arthur Goring (Michael Wilding) for being an idler. Mrs. Laura Cheveley (Paulette Goddard) is a surprise guest who does not get along with Gertrude. She has money and blackmails Robert by what he did illegally to gain his fortune so that she can make a fortune on an Argentine canal swindle. Gertrude thinks her husband is ideal and always honest, and Robert turns for help to his best friend Arthur who likes Miss Mabel Chiltern (Glynis Johns).
      This witty comedy satirizes Victorian English society and is charming throughout if one understands the sophisticated references to the period’s lifestyles and morals. The political crime of selling inside information is still current, and the moral point is made when the blackmailer is undone by a past crime also.

If Winter Comes

(1947 b 97') En: 5 Ed: 4

Adapted from A. S. M. Hutchinson's novel, author Mark (Walter Pidgeon) loves Nona (Deborah Kerr); but when she married a wealthy gambler, he married Mabel (Angela Lansbury). Nona comes back and says she loves Mark; but he can be fired only for a morals charge and does not stray. However, he takes in pregnant Effie (Janet Leigh), and she commits suicide. Mabel sues for divorce, and Mark is accused of corrupting Effie.

This romantic drama is uneven and unusual; but Mark's integrity shines forth in a world gone crazy as World War II begins.

It Happened on 5th Avenue

(1947 b 116’) En: 5 Ed: 4

Directed by Roy Del Ruth, during winter poor Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) lives in the mansion of the rich Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles). His daughter Trudy O’Connor (Gale Storm) arrives in a fur coat but does not tell evicted Jim Bullock (Don DeFore) who she is. Jim’s army buddy Whitey Temple (Alan Hale Jr.) and his wife Margie Temple (Dorothea Kent) stay there too. Even O’Connor and his ex-wife Mary (Ann Harding) come there to meet Trudy’s fiancé Jim. Even the policeman Cecil Felton (Edward Brophy) approves them of living there, and Mary persuades Michael not to buy that building. The poor people have a meeting and think Farrow (Grant Mitchell) is going to buy the building and tear it down, and they complain.

            This comedy satirizes the wealthy and shows how a clever homeless person can share an elegant mansion with his friends and acquaintances, and he persuades them to leave it as they found it.

Johnny O’Clock

(1947 b 96’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Robert Rossen wrote the screenplay and directed this murder mystery about Johnny O’Clock (Dick Powell) who is the junior partner in a gambling business with Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez). Hat-check girl Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch) has been going with policeman Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon) who has killed another man. Nelle (Ellen Drew) is the wife of Marchettis, but she likes Johnny better. Police inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb) investigates two murders, and Johnny falls in love with Harriet’s sister Nancy Hobson (Evelyn Keyes).
      This film noir depicts a tough guy who runs a gambling business without gambling himself with his own ethics while treating women honestly and well. Yet behind the scenes violence has crept into keeping the business going.

Killer McCoy

(1947 b 104') En: 5 Ed: 4

In this remake of the 1938 film The Crowd Roars, Tommy McCoy (Mickey Rooney) has an alcoholic father (James Dunn) and becomes a boxer, falling in love with the daughter (Ann Blyth) of the gambler (Brian Donlevy) who manages him.

Boxing, gambling, and alcohol are used to create an exciting drama with the theme that people will be much happier if these things are avoided.

Kiss of Death

(1947 b 98') En: 5 Ed: 4

Nick (Victor Mature) is caught in a jewelry robbery but refuses to tell the assistant district attorney (Brian Donlevy) who his accomplices are until he learns his wife committed suicide. Nick squeals on a sadistic criminal (Richard Widmark) and marries his children's babysitter (Coleen Gray).

The drama explores the web of criminals that threatens anyone who tells on the others while the police and prosecutors promise lesser sentences to achieve opposite goals.

Lady in the Lake

(1947 b 103') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on Raymond Chandler's novel and directed by Robert Montgomery, detective Philip Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) is hired by Adrienne Fromsett (Audrey Totter) and then her boss Derris Kingsby (Leon Ames) to find Kingsby's missing wife; but Marlowe gets caught in a web of murders involving a bad cop (Lloyd Nolan) and Mildred Haveland (Jayne Meadows).

This experimental detective story lets the audience see the action from the viewpoint of Philip Marlowe. Yet without seeing Marlowe and what happens to him the viewers may find it harder to identify with his suffering and understand his character, resulting in a peculiar detachment in a very violent story.

Little Mister Jim

(1947 b 92’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a novel by Tommy Wadelton and directed by Fred Zinneman, the boy Little Jim Tukker (Jackie “Butch” Jenkins) is happy with his loving mother Jean Tukker (Frances Gifford) and father Captain Big Jim Tukker (James Craig) and their wise cook Sui Jen (Ching Wah Lee); but when Jean dies in childbirth, they face a difficult crisis. Mrs. Starwell (Spring Byington) and the Army Chaplain (Henry O’Neill) try to help.

            This family melodrama depicts the value of a cultured Chinese man in a domestic situation in the United States just after World War II and reflects the increased militarism as a result of the massive war.

Living in a Big Way

(1947 b 104') En: 5 Ed: 4

Soldier Leo (Gene Kelly) marries Margaud (Marie McDonald) quickly during the war but comes home three years later to discover she is a wealthy model who wants to divorce him.

This musical drama explores the postwar difficulties of returning veterans and the adjustment of patriotic war romances.

Lured

(1947 b 102’) En: 5 Ed: 4

Directed by Douglas Sirk, in London after a series of women are murdered using personal ads, Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn) hires attractive and smart Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) as a detective to lure the killer into capture by the police. Suspects include Charles Van Druten (Boris Karloff), Nicholas Moryani (Joseph Calleia), Lyle Maxwell (Alan Mowbray), Robert Fleming (George Sanders), and his partner Julian Wade (Cedric Hardwicke).

            This mystery keeps the audience guessing as a beautiful woman risks her life while being protected by police nearby, and the Inspector uses his intelligence to figure out who had the motives to commit the crimes.

The Macomber Affair

(1947 b 89’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Adapted from a story by Ernest Hemingway, the story begins with Robert Wilson (Gregory Peck), a guide for big-game hunting in East Africa, and Margaret Macomber (Joan  Bennett) returning on a plane with the dead body of her husband Francis Macomber (Robert Preston). Wilson tells the Police Inspector (Reginald Denny) that Francis was shot in the back in a hunting accident involving a charging water buffalo. The rest of the movie shows the events leading up to this and their deciding how to face the jury investigating.

            This triangular drama depicts a failing marriage of a man who fears he is a coward and is intimidated by his wife and is made more complicated by the hunting guide falling in love with her and she with him. The story reflects the colonial situation in British East Africa before it was liberated and became Kenya and the brutality and mostly male sport of hunting dangerous animals with the different response most women have to that activity.

Magic Town

(1947 b 103') En: 5 Ed: 5

Pollster Rip Smith (James Stewart) goes to a town that statistically represents the nation. He fears change and fails to keep it a secret from newspaper editor Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman), whose news causes a boom and a bust, solved in Capraesque fashion by people helping each other.

This populist comedy explores the modern craze for polling in a democracy that not only reflects but also shapes public opinion.

The Man I Love

(1947 b 90') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on Maritta Wolff's novel, singer Petey (Ida Lupino) helps her sister Sally (Andrea King) and brother Joe (Warren Douglas) while fighting off wolfish Nicky (Robert Alda) and falling for a jazz pianist (Bruce Bennett) who is broken up over his divorce.

In this emotionally hard-hitting drama people are seeking love in various ways, but few are finding it.

Mother Wore Tights

(1947 c 107’) En: 5 Ed: 5

In the early 20th century Mother (Betty Grable) gets a job as a chorus girl in San Francisco and marries the star Daddy (Dan Dailey). They perform in Vaudeville together and raise their children Iris (Mona Freeman) and Mikie (Connie Marshal).

            This musical comedy entertains as a family steeped in show business finds a happy life and lifts the spirits of others with their music, dancing, and comedy.

New Orleans

(1947 b 90') En: 5 Ed: 5

Nick Duquesne (Arturo de Cordova) moves from running a gambling hall to sponsoring jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, and Endie (Billie Holiday). Wealthy Mrs. Smith (Irene Rich) discourages her daughter Miralee (Dorothy Patrick) from going with Nick in order to further her classical singing career.

This musical highlights the jazz born in New Orleans while exploring the social prejudices that delayed its acceptance in high-brow society.

Nightmare Alley

(1947 b 110’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a novel by William Lindsay Gresham and directed by Edmund Goulding, charismatic Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) works in a carnival with mentalist Zeena Krumbein (Joan Blondell) and alcoholic Pete Krumbein (Ian Keith). After marrying young Molly (Coleen Gray), Stan teams with her to work in nightclubs. He meets therapist Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker) who helps him contact people in high society.

            This drama explores the morality and difficulty of blurring psychism with entertainment in order to make money. The orphan Stan draws on his religious training to become somewhat evangelical; but like some preachers he is more of a con man, and his ambition and pride lead him to a dismal fall.

Odd Man Out

(1947 b 116’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Directed by Carol Reed, Irish nationalist Johnny McQueen (James Mason) in Belfast ignores the advice of colleagues and his friend Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan) and leads a robbery that leaves him wounded after he kills a man. Pat (Cyril Cusack) drives the get-away car and leaves Johnny behind. Two of the robbers are betrayed by Theresa O’Brien (Maureen Delaney), and efforts are made to help Johnny escape. Bird-seller Shell (F. J. McCormick) and painter Lukey (Robert Newton) try to exploit the wanted Johnny.
      This dark look at Irish criminal efforts for independence from England portrays some who seem more interested in drinking alcohol than anything else. The long and disjointed story depicts the futile efforts to use stealing and violence to try to gain political liberation.

The Perils of Pauline

(1947 c 93') En: 5 Ed: 4

In this fictionalized biography of Pearl White (Betty Hutton), she falls in love with a Shakespearean actor (John Lund); but she leaves the troupe to become a successful star working for a silent film director (William Demarest).

This entertaining comedy with some good music sentimentalizes the life of Pearl White, whose actual career and romantic life was even more tragic than is portrayed in this film.

Possessed

(1947 b 108') En: 5 Ed: 4

Louise (Joan Crawford) has become psychotic, and a doctor (Stanley Ridges) learns the story of her clinging attachment to independent David (Van Heflin), the suicide of the woman she had a job taking care of, and her marrying the surviving husband Dean (Raymond Massey), further complicated by Dean's daughter Carol (Geraldine Brooks) resenting Louise and falling in love with David, thus pushing Louise over her psychological cliff.

This melodrama suggests that modern civilization is producing numerous cases of maladjustment as people, especially women in this case, let their emotions overcome their sensibility.

Ride the Pink Horse

(1947 b 101') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, the veteran Gagin (Robert Montgomery) goes to a town in New Mexico to avenge the murder of his army buddy and to blackmail a crooked war profiteer (Fred Clark). Facing his gangsters alone, Gagin is helped by Pancho (Thomas Gomez), Pilar (Wanda Hendrix), and federal agent Retz (Art Smith).

This film noir explores the ruthless ways of organized crime amid the Mexican culture of the poor during a fiesta.

Road to Rio

(1947 b 100') En: 5 Ed: 4

Scat (Bing Crosby) and Hot Lips (Bob Hope) stow away on a boat to avoid female trouble but are mesmerized and confused by Lucia (Dorothy Lamour), who is being hypnotized by Catherine (Gale Sondergaard).

Hope and Crosby provide their usual mayhem of comedy, songs, dancing, and a ridiculous plot. The hypnotism theme implies that people can be manipulated subconsciously into doing irrational things.

The Sea of Grass

(1947 b 123') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Conrad Richter's novel, Lutie (Katharine Hepburn) from St. Louis marries cowman Col. Jim Brewton (Spencer Tracy), but she dislikes his values and is drawn to his rival, the lawyer and judge Brice Chamberlain (Melvyn Douglas). She finds support from the cook Jeff (Edgar Buchanan) and Doc Reid (Harry Carey), but she leaves Jim after having Brice's son Brock (Robert Walker), who grows up spoiled by his father but under a social cloud.

This sad drama exposes the ruthless pride of a cattle rancher who tries to reject the changes that farmers bring, resulting in his broken family.

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

(1947 c 85') En: 5 Ed: 5

In the 1870s Cynthia Pilgrim (Betty Grable) is one of the first to learn typewriting, and she gets a job in a Boston shipping company working for John Pritchard (Dick Haymes), who reluctantly hires her at the behest of his aunt (Ann Rovere). Then he falls in love with Cynthia despite her efforts in the woman suffrage movement.

This musical comedy with Gershwin songs depicts women's efforts for equal rights in modern society and shows that women deserve employment opportunities.

Smash-up: The Story of a Woman

(1947 b 103') En: 5 Ed: 5

Singer Angie (Susan Hayward) marries the crooner Ken Conway (Lee Bowman), who is a struggling song-writer with Steve (Eddie Albert). They have a daughter; but when Ken makes it big, Angie has nothing to do but drink and become jealous of the secretary Martha (Marsha Hunt), who takes care of Ken's every need.

This tragedy depicts alcoholism as a disease, and it reflects the life of Bing Crosby's first wife, Dixie Lee.

So Well Remembered

(1947 b 114') En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on James Hilton's novel, newspaper editor George Boswell (John Mills) works to help the poor, but he marries ambitious Olivia (Martha Scott). An alcoholic doctor (Trevor Howard) fights diphtheria. After Olivia's negligence causes her child to die, she divorces George; but her son Charles (Richard Carlson) falls in love with Julie (Patricia Roc), who was raised by the doctor.

This moral drama suggests that wars and misery are caused by selfish people who fight to get their special way while ignoring the needs and well being of others.

Suddenly, It’s Spring

(1947 b 87’) En: 5 Ed: 4

Directed by Mitchell Leisen, in 1945 law partners Peter Morley (Fred MacMurray) and Captain Mary Morley (Paulette  Goddard) are re-united in the United States after four years apart. Peter has promised Gloria Fay (Arleen Whelan) that his divorce will be immediate because Mary wants the divorce. However, Mary has excelled in the war helping marital relations and meets Peter’s best client Jack Lindsay (Macdonald Carey).

This romantic comedy shows a couple, separated by a war, falling in love with each other again.

They Made Me a Fugitive

(1947 b 101’) En: 5 Ed: 5

Based on Jackson Budd’s novel and directed by Cavalcanti, RAF veteran Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard) joins a gang of black marketers led by Narcy (Griffith Jones) and gets framed after their car kills a policeman. He escapes from prison and his helped by Sally Connor (Sally Gray) before escaping from police and going after Narcy in revenge.

            This film noir in postwar England depicts a man who was drinking heavily after the war and turned to a racket and had to escape from prison as he had during the war. Refusing to kill an alcoholic husband for a frustrated wife, he nonetheless sought to achieve his own personal justice for the wrong he suffered.

They Won't Believe Me

(1947 b 80') En: 5 Ed: 4

Larry (Robert Young) is on trial for murder. He plans to leave his wealthy wife Greta (Rita Johnson) to go off with Janice (Jane Greer) but instead goes with his wife to California for a better job she got him. There he falls in love with Verna (Susan Hayward) and plans to marry her, but a car accident spoils that.

This mystery drama portrays an unsympathetic womanizer who eventually feels guilt for his misadventures.

13 Rue Madeleine

(1947 b 95') En: 5 Ed: 5

Gibson (Walter Abel), Pappy (Melville Cooper), and Sharkey (James Cagney) train a group for an O.S.S. mission in France in 1944, but O'Connell (Richard Conte) is a German mole. Sharkey goes after him and gets help from a mayor (Sam Jaffe) in the French resistance.

This espionage war drama reflects the ruthless methods used by and against Nazis that are becoming part of cold-war tactics.

Tycoon

(1947 c 128') En: 5 Ed: 4

Based on a novel by C. E. Scoggins, engineer Johnny Monroe (John Wayne) is building a railroad in South America for Alexander (Cedric Hardwicke) and falls in love with his daughter Maura (Laraine Day).

This colorful drama shows a titanic clash between two strong males over the shifting affection of a young woman from her father to her husband.

The Unfaithful

(1947 b 109') En: 5 Ed: 4

Chris Hunter (Ann Sheridan) kills an intruder in her home, but her lawyer (Lew Ayres) and husband Bob (Zachary Scott) find out he was her lover while Bob was in the war.

This murder mystery becomes a drama of past marital infidelity that tests an otherwise happy marriage. Divorce is increasing, and wives with husbands abroad for so long faced loneliness and temptations.

The Web

(1947 b 87') En: 5 Ed: 4

The young lawyer Regan (Edmond O'Brien) is hired by millionaire Colby (Vincent Price) to protect him, but while romancing Colby's secretary Noel (Ella Raines), Regan becomes entangled in murder, which he and the homicide Lt. Damico (William Bendix) attempt to unravel.

This film noir has a lawyer trying to be a detective and digging himself deeper in a hole while the professional cop saves him by solving the case, thus reflecting the increasing competence of police work.

Copyright © 2006 by Sanderson Beck

Best Movies of 1947

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1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

Sanderson Beck’s List of the Greatest Movies of All Time
Sanderson Beck’s List of the Greatest Movies in Alphabetical Order

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