1. Casablanca
Year of Release: 1942
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Romance
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Michael Curtiz
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Dooley Wilson
Plot: Set in Africa during the 1940s, Humphrey Bogart stars as a man with a past trying to hide the past. He meets his former lover at his own bar as things begin to complicate.
2. Citizen Kane
Year of Release: 1941
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Mystery
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Orson Welles
Actors: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane
Plot: A news conglomerate leader dies, leaving behind a mystery about his life, and how he became the man he was. News reporters interview his acquaintances to find some kind of resolution.
3. It's a Wonderful Life
Year of Release: 1946
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Family/Drama
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Frank Capra
Actors: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi
Plot: A down and out man is shown the light by an Angel who treats him to life on earth without himself.
4. Double Indemnity
Year of Release: 1944
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Mystery/Crime
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Tom Powers, Jean Heather
Plot: An insurance man allows himself to be drawn in to a someone who is able to convince him to commit murder and insurance fraud which qualifies for an investigation.
5. The Great Dictator
Year of Release: 1940
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Charles Chaplin
Actors: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Billy Gilbert, Henry Daniell
Plot: A poor barber is confused with the great Nazi dictator and is sent into his place, unknown to the dictator.
6. The Third Man
Year of Release: 1949
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Carol Reed
Actors: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, Ernst Deutsch
Plot: Supposedly, Harry Lime has died in a car accident. Previously he had invited one of his closest friends to join him. His friend now must find out if the story is true and the mystery behind it.
7. Bicycle Thieves ( Ladri di biciclette )
Year of Release: 1949
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Italian
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Actors: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci, Giulio Chiari
Plot: An unemployed man of 2 years is finally given a job which requires a bicycle. He pawns his way to receive a bicycle only to have it stolen on his first day of work.
8. The Grapes of Wrath
Year of Release: 1940
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: John Ford
Actors: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Dorris Bowdon, Eddie Quillan, John Qualen
Plot: During the Great Depression, a Midwest family struggles to make it as they make their way to California, only to find it is has the same economic depression.
9. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Year of Release: 1948
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Adventure/Drama
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: John Huston
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Bruce Bennett, Tim Holt, Arturo Soto Rangel
Plot: Two poor men meet up with a man in Mexico as he convinces them to search for gold. They all start off as friends, will they return home that way?
10. The Maltese Falcon
Year of Release: 1941
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Mystery/Crime
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: John Huston
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Sydney Greenstreet
Plot: A private detective gets mixed up in a hunt for a valuable item. As he searches for the loot, plot points are exposed.
