Best Movies of 1943
Here are the best movies of 1943.
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- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorHerman ShumlinHal MohrStarsBette DavisPaul LukasGeraldine FitzgeraldA German-born engineer, his American wife and their children travel from Mexico to the United States to visit her family, but a Romanian count complicates their plans.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTeresa WrightJoseph CottenMacdonald CareyA teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth HughesWhen a posse captures three men suspected of killing a local farmer, they become strongly divided over whether or not to lynch the men.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsJean ArthurJoel McCreaCharles CoburnDuring the World War II housing shortage in Washington, two men and a woman share a single apartment and the older man plays Cupid to the other two.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJennifer JonesCharles BickfordWilliam Eythe14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, living in a small town in the south of 1850s France, claims to have seen a divine vision, prompting extreme skepticism, concern from her family, and religious and political turmoil.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGene TierneyDon AmecheCharles CoburnAn old roué arrives in Hades to review his life with Satan, who will rule on his eligibility to enter the Underworld.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsClaudette ColbertPaulette GoddardVeronica LakeA group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraGeorge SandersA mild-mannered school teacher in a German-occupied town during World War II finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrian DonlevyWalter BrennanAnna LeeAfter the German administrator of Czechoslovakia is shot, his assassin tries to elude the Gestapo and struggles with his impulse to give himself up as hostages are executed.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFranchot ToneAnne BaxterAkim TamiroffIn the North African campaign a British straggler manages to pass himself off as a waiter at the hotel commandeered as Rommel's headquarters. He has thoughts of assassinating Rommel but his cover may have an even better use.
- DirectorNoël CowardStarsNoël CowardJohn MillsBernard MilesThis "story of a ship", the British destroyer H.M.S. Torrin, is told in flashbacks by survivors as they cling to a life raft.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsCary GrantJohn GarfieldAlan HaleIn order to provide information for the first air raid over Tokyo, a U.S. submarine sneaks into Tokyo Bay and places a spy team ashore.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliBusby BerkeleyStarsEthel WatersEddie 'Rochester' AndersonLena HorneA compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMonty WoolleyGracie FieldsLaird CregarFrom Arnold Bennett's novel "Buried Alive". An artist returning from years abroad takes the identity of his dead valet to escape the attentions of the press.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsEddie CantorDennis MorganHumphrey BogartTwo producers are putting together a wartime charity show with an all-star cast, but the egotism of radio personality Eddie Cantor disrupts their plans.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsMickey RooneyFrank MorganJames CraigTeenager Homer Macauley stays at home in small-town Ithaca to support his family while his older brother Marcus prepares to go to war.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyAlbert LewinStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonHenry TraversDespite himself, accomplished physicist and avowed bachelor Pierre Curie falls for brilliant student Marie, and together they embark on the discovery of radium.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn GarfieldJohn RidgelyGig YoungThe crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsRoddy McDowallDonald CrispMay WhittyAfter her destitute family is forced to sell her, a collie named Lassie escapes from her new owner and begins the long trek from Scotland to her Yorkshire home.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGary CooperIngrid BergmanAkim TamiroffDuring the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsCharles BoyerJoan FontaineBrenda MarshallThe daughter (Joan Fontaine) of a musical mentor (Montagu Love) is hopelessly in love with her cousin's husband (Charles Boyer), a handsome composer.
- DirectorLloyd BaconByron HaskinRaoul WalshStarsHumphrey BogartRaymond MasseyAlan HaleAn American tanker is sunk by a German U-boat, and the survivors spend 11 days at sea on a raft. Their next assignment - bound for Murmansk through the sub-stalked N. Atlantic.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsAlice FayeJohn PayneJack OakieIn turn-of-the-century San Francisco, an ambitious vaudevillian takes his quartet from a honky tonk to the big time, while spurning the love of his troupe's star singer for a selfish heiress.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsDon AmecheJanet BlairJack OakieFollowing three flops in a row, Broadway stage producer Willard Samson is told by wealthy divorcée Donna Davis that she will finance a show but only if she is the star. The fact she can neither sing, act nor dance does not deter Samson. His press agent, Ken Douglas, lives in a theatrical boarding house run by his friend from vaudeville, Larry Martin, where he meets Jeanie Maxwell, singing teacher and aspiring songwriter from, of course, Altoona, Pa., who has come to New York to sell her songs. Samson is not interested in her songs as much as he is her stage abilities, but he can't get rid of Donna. Ken is also plugging for Samson to use the vaudeville acts, living at the boarding house, who can't get work because there is no more vaudeville, despite the fact that some of the acts are examples of what killed vaudeville in the first place. The show appears to have potential, with the exception of Donna, when Ken convinces her she is the perfect "outdoorable girl" for a publicity campaign and takes her to the countryside. Samson frames them as being dangerous counterfeiters and they are arrested by the country sheriff, and Samson rushes Jeanie into the star role for the final dress rehearsal. But Donna is released from jail, returns to the show for opening night and it is a miserable flop. Jeanie returns to Altoona, Samson goes on a drunken binge and Ken tries to save the show by convincing Donna into quitting.
- DirectorNorman KrasnaStarsOlivia de HavillandRobert CummingsCharles CoburnA pilot falls in love with a woman he believes is heading cross country to become a maid, little suspecting that she's actually a princess.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaPhil BakerA soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.
- DirectorRichard RossonHoward HawksStarsRandolph ScottJames BrownElla RainesThe story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallA. Edward SutherlandStarsBing CrosbyBob HopeFred MacMurrayA Paramount Studios security guard who was a major actor during the silent film era must carry out the illusion that he is still a big deal when his sailor son comes to visit.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsPaul MuniAnna LeeLillian GishA gentle widower, enraged at German atrocities against his peaceful Norwegian fishing village, escapes to Britain and returns leading a commando force against the oppressors.
- DirectorAlbert LewinStarsGeorge SandersHerbert MarshallDoris DudleyLoosely inspired by Gauguin's life, the story of Charles Strickland, a middle-aged stockbrocker who abandons his middle-class life, his family, and his duties to start painting, as he has always wanted to do. He is from then on a awful human being, wholly devoted to his ideal: beauty.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCheryl WalkerWilliam TerryJudith AndersonA young soldier arrives in NYC and, before heading overseas to WWII, visits Stage Door Canteen, where famous actresses and entertainers volunteer to entertain soldiers.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsJohn GarfieldMaureen O'HaraWalter SlezakIn 1940, an American former Republican prisoner during the Spanish Civil War, John McKittrick, is determined to find the killer of NYPD Lieutenant Louie Lepetino, who had helped him escape.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneFriz FrelengStarsAdolphe MenjouMartha ScottPola NegriWhen the bride's mother is supposedly swindled out of her money by a spurned suitor, the groom's father orchestrates a scheme of his own to set things right. He is aided by a cabaret singer, while placating a jealous wife.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsBetty GrableGeorge MontgomeryCesar RomeroSet at the turn of the century, smooth talking con man Eddie Johnson weasels his way into a job at friend and rival Joe Rocco's Coney Island night spot. Eddie meets the club's star attraction (and Joe's love interest), Kate Farley, a brash singer with a penchant for flashy clothes. Eddie and Kate argue as he tries to soften her image. Eventually, Kate becomes the toast of Coney Island and the two fall in love. Joe then tries to sabotage their marriage plans.
- DirectorBruce ManningJean RenoirStarsDeanna DurbinEdmond O'BrienBarry FitzgeraldA missionary tries to outwit the U.S. government and smuggle Chinese orphans into the country.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsNelson EddySusanna FosterClaude RainsAn acid-scarred composer rises from the Paris sewers to boost his favorite opera understudy's career.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsTyrone PowerAnne BaxterDana AndrewsA submarine lieutenant and his commander fall in love with the same girl.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsRobert TaylorBrian DonlevyCharles LaughtonDuring WW2, two Navy officers take command of an obsolete, World War I-vintage, destroyer that is assigned to convoy-escort duty in the Japanese-controlled waters of the South Pacific.
- DirectorFrank RyanStarsDeanna DurbinJoseph CottenCharles WinningerThe third film in the "3 Smart Girls" trilogy starring Deanna Durbin as Penny Craig, the youngest sister in the Craig Family. Now all grown up, she goes to work in a munitions factory during World War II determined to do her bit for America whilst wanting to be close to a young pilot, Bill Morley (Joseph Cotten). He gets posted overseas leaving Penny to worry for his safety. One of the film's songs was nominated for an Academy award.
- DirectorWilliam K. HowardStarsJames CagneyGrace GeorgeMarjorie MainNewspaper man wanders about and helps older woman save her paper.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsKathryn GraysonGene KellyMary AstorAcrobat Eddie Marsh is in the army now. His first act is to become friendly with Kathryn Jones, the colonel's pretty daughter. Their romance hits a few snags, including disapproval from her father. Eddie's also plagued by fear of having an accident during his family's trapeze act in the army variety show, which also features a gallery of MGM stars.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsJohn WayneMartha ScottAlbert DekkerIn 1906, on Oklahoma's Indian lands, a cowboy fights for oil lease rights against a greedy oilman while a pretty schoolteacher steals both men's hearts.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckMichael O'SheaJ. Edward BrombergAfter one member of their group is murdered, the performers at a burlesque house must work together to find out who the killer is before he strikes again.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsFred AstaireJoan LeslieRobert BenchleyFred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days off.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonJack KinneyHamilton LuskeStarsFred ShieldsJosé OliveiraLee BlairDisney animators tour South America and present four animated shorts inspired by their trip.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsGeorge MurphyJoan LeslieGeorge TobiasA soldier wounded in the War (WWI) becomes a producer and stages a show for the forces.
- DirectorRichard WallaceLambert HillyerStarsPat O'BrienRandolph ScottAnne ShirleyMajor "Chick" Davis is convinced that high-level bombing will win the next war. He convinces the powers-that-be to set up a bombardier school. He efficiently sets about training the USAAF's first generation of high-level bombardiers.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsAnne BaxterDana AndrewsWalter HustonA Ukrainian village must suddenly contend with the German invasion of June 1941.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsRosalind RussellFred MacMurrayHerbert MarshallThe life of air pioneer Amelia Earhart is here given a fictionalized treatment, with a speculative conclusion.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsRichard DixJane WyattAlbert DekkerWounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He soon comes into conflict with the town banker, who controls everything in town and is squeezing the townspeople for every penny he can get out of them.
- DirectorRay McCareyStarsChester LauckNorris GoffAlan MowbrayLum and Abner go to Washington to aid in the war effort by giving the government what they think is a good substitute for rubber--Abner's homemade licorice.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsDorothy LamourDick PowellVictor MooreIn order to help her father get his silver mine running, a burlesque queen returns home to Arizona and gets a job as an enterainer at a dude ranch and runs into a romantic mining engineer and a counterfeiter.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsJohn CarrollSusan HaywardGail PatrickOne of the many films made at Republic with a year attached to the "Hit Parade" title, which came from the "Hit Parade" radio program sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes. On re-issue, all of the entries underwent a title change from "Hit Parade of 19??" to, usually, a title of a song contained in the film, as happened in the case of this film when it was reissued as "Change of Heart" in 1949. Not re-issuing the film under the original title of "Hit Parade of 1943" had a two-fold purpose; the audiences of that era were not much interested in seeing a film twice, and a changed title - even when the original title was clearly shown in (very) small print in the ads and on the posters---had a chance of being seen again by that segment of the ticket-buying public who didn't read the small print. The plot here is just a trifle---Susan Hayward ghost writes songs for composer John Carroll, whose charms evidently outweighed his song-writing ability---played in and around some great singing and dancing numbers by, for its time, a large number of black performers including Dorothy Dandridge, Count Basie, dancing by the great Jack Williams and the team of "Pops and Louie" (Albert Whitman and Louis Williams) and others, including Spanish dancer Chinita Marin, billed as Chinita. The song "Change of Heart", by Jule Styne and Harold Adamson, was Oscar-nominated, and also became the title of the film on 1949 re-issue. Walter Scharf also was Oscar-nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical. Republic seldom got two nominations in any single year, much less two in the same film.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWalter HustonAnn HardingOscar HomolkaAmbassador Joseph Davies is sent by FDR to Russia to learn about the Soviet system and returns to America as an advocate of Stalinism.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsRichard DixRussell WadeEdith BarrettThird Officer Tom Merriam accuses Captain Will Stone of being a homicidal maniac, but no one believes him.