From Here to Eternity (1953) - 4 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An unpopular soldier falls in love while serving on an Hawaii army base in the days leading up to Pearl Harbor.

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra

Best of: Strong leading performances all around and a surprising supporting role from Frank Sinatra. Also, Donna Reed was pretty darn hot.

Worst of: The Pearl Harbor attack, though not key to the plot, is still underplayed.

Notable: It has long been rumored that the "horse head" scene in The Godfather was taken from similar mob tactics to help Sinatra land his role.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) - 2 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: We follow a traveling circus from town to town as various performers fall in and out of love with each other.

Starring: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart

Best of: It has its truly entertaining moments...mostly asurrounding its too often ignored central storyline. Also, the awesomely cheesy special effects during the train wreck scene.

Worst of: I'm not convinced Charlton Heston could act. It fills maybe an hour of its considerable length with slow, needless shots of circus performances. The movie pulls off what I previously thought impossible and offers a bland Jimmy Stewart performance. It took covering his face in full clown make-up the entire time, but they pulled it off. Also, the awesomely cheesy special effects during the train wreck scene.

I would have liked it better if: it hadn't pushed the "show must go on" theme quite so hard in the end. Really...no one is putting on a circus show hours after a disaster cripples or kills half the performers.

An American in Paris (1951) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An artist, a singer and a pianist break into spontaneous song and dance numbers around Paris; the Parisians seem to find this surprisingly normal.

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron

Best of: Gene Kelly...man, is he fun to watch dance.

Worst of: I'll never be able to fully embrace the musical genre...get on with the plot already, people. It gets saved, however, by the fact that it is more of a dancical than a musical.

Notable: The 17 minute dance sequence that ends the film cost $500,000 and took an entire month to film.

Also Nominated: A Streetcar Named Desire

All About Eve (1950) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An aging actress finds a new rival in a scheming superfan.

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Marilyn Monroe

Best of: Great script. Strong performances all around...especially from Betty Davis.

Worst of: I know of very, very few 140 minute films that wouldn't be better if they were 120 minutes.

Notable: In her first film appearance, Marilyn Monroe steals her short scene.

Also nominated: Sunset Boulevard

All The King's Men (1949) - 3 stars

One sentence plot summary: Candidate runs for Governor as a man of the people and falls in love with power once he is elected.

Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Mercedes McCambridge

Best of: Strong lead performance by Broderick Crawford. Engaging story.

Worst of: The script leaves me wanting more by the way of political subtleties and supporting character development.

Notable: John Wayne turned down the lead role, insisting that the script "smears the machinery of government for no purpose of humor or enlightenment" and insults "the American way of life."

Hamlet (1948) - 2 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: Everyone in Denmark dies.

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons

Best of: The extensive cuts to the play were necessary to make the film a watchable length. Some interesting, if occassionally distracting, camerawork.

Worst of: I've have seen/read this story too many times for it to possibly be fresh. Olivier didn't bring much to it that I hadn't seen before. Also, codpieces.

Notable: This was the third attempt to bring Shakespeare to the silver screen (1937's As You Like It was the first)

Also nominated: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Gentleman's Agreement (1947) - 3 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A magazine reporter pretends to be Jewish for 8 weeks in order to realize and report on the full impact of anti-sematism.

Starring: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, June Havoc, Dean Stockwell

Best of: Gregory Peck is superb.

Worst of: While it has an important message for 1947, it seems preachy today. Also, I couldn't help but think of 1986's Soul Man.

I would have liked it better if: I weren't so sick of watching really forced 1930s and 40s romances. I'd like some recognition that it takes more than just "hello" to fall in love.

Also nominated: Miracle on 34th Street

The Best Years of our Lives (1946) - 3 stars

One sentence plot summary: 3 men returning from WWII struggle to assimilate back into American life.

Starring: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell

Best of: Quite moving at times and surprisingly modern.

Worst of: Occasionally corny.

Notable: Best Supporting Actor winner Harold Russell was a real vet who had lost both of his hands in the war. Knowing this, it is hard not to find his performance powerful and memorable.

Also nominated: It's a Wonderful Life

The Lost Weekend (1945) - 2 stars

Plot summary: Alcoholic ruins his life and the life of those around him.

Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman

Best of: I suppose its message was particularly needed post WW2. Some interesting camera work.

Worst of: Extraordinarily overdramatic. Resembled an after school special more often than not.

I would have like it better if: I wasn't kind of rooting for the lead character's suicide.

Going My Way (1944) - 2 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A singing priest comes to save a struggling parish.

Starring: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald

Best of: Bing Crosby, Bing Crosby, Bing Crosby.

Worst of: The plot is wandering and nearly absent at times. Largely forgettable.

I would have liked it better if: it were just a Bing Crosby CD.