The Long Voyage Home (1940)

Nothing spectacular, but definitely a couple of poignant moments. There's no real through-plot, which makes sense when you consider the film is based off of four one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill. While John Wayne gets top billing, it's much more of an ensemble piece about men aboard a so-called tramp steamer. The movie doesn't clearly establish where this long voyage takes place to or from, but according to Wikipedia they're traveling from the West Indies to Baltimore to England. Ultimately, I suppose, that's not what matters. It's more about the men's lives and what's important to them as WWII is in its infancy.

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Blossoms in the Dust (1941)

This was a bit of a pleasant surprise just because I had very low expectations going in. It's a 6.9 on IMDb and a horrible 33% on RottenTomatoes (though with just nine critic reviews and the audience gives it a 72%). I'll admit it's far from special as a film, but I was very impressed with the story it tells of a woman I'd never heard of - Edna Gladney. She was a major advocate for children who might otherwise become neglected by the state. We also see in the film her fight to get the label "illegitimate" removed from birth certificates as the stigma could have negative effects that followed a person their whole life.

So, just an average film from the time, but a story everyone should familiarize themselves with.

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The Divorcee (1930)

Not knowing anything about this movie going in, my biggest takeaway was the strong performance by Norma Shearer in the lead. I found out afterward that she did indeed win best actress that year at the Oscars. Overall, the film is a mostly lighthearted relationship drama. It's shockingly progressive in dealing with extramarital affairs.

On their third anniversary, Norma's character learns her husband has been cheating on her. In her despair she cheats on him that same week while he's out of town on business. She confesses when he returns saying, "I've balanced our accounts." Her husband, in true 1930s fashion, doesn't seem as understanding about her indiscretion as he expected her to be about his. This leads to her becoming the titular divorcee.

Worth watching and just a brisk 82 minute film.

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Shanghai Express (1932)

A solid film set during the early years of the Chinese Civil War. All our main characters are making the long train ride from Peking (now Beijing) to Shanghai. While they hope it will be uneventful, they are twice stopped by the opposing factions of the war who want to search for their rivals.

I always find the pre-Hays Code films fascinating in that they didn't have to be as concerned with censorship. Marlene Dietrich stars as essentially a prostitute known as Shanghai Lily who stumbles across a former lover on the train. Their attempt to rekindle their relationship is butted up against his role in assisting one side of the civil war. It all holds up pretty well and is an impressive bit of filmmaking.

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The Pied Piper (1942)

Unlike the last couple I've watched recently, this film is pretty darned good. An elderly Englishman is tasked with escorting a couple children home to London as the Germans invade France. Along the way he keeps accumulating more children, hence the film's title. It's a bit of an odd mix of humor and the horrors of the war, but I definitely recommend it.

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The Human Comedy (1943)

Overall, this is just a slightly-below-average slice-of-life show filmed and set during WWII. There's no real through plot and just little vignettes that loosely tie together. I could have almost got on board with recommending it until I got to the ending which was so incredibly tone deaf I said, "What the f***" out loud. [Spoiler alert for a 77-year-old movie] So our main character learns via telegram that his brother has died in the war and goes home to tell his family. When he gets to the front porch he encounters his brother's best friend from the army whom the family has never met. He decides this is just as good as having his brother back and shouts up to the family that the soldier has returned home. Are you kidding me?

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Wilson (1944)

No real plot here, just an overview of Woodrow Wilson's career from president of Princeton University to the end of his tenure as President of the United States. The movie avoids any nuance and paints Wilson as a saint and almost a martyr for the causes of peace and prosperity. Ignoring, of course, the fact that he couldn't have cared less for the struggles of minorities in the country. Alexander Knox does give a very good performance as Wilson, but this film is entirely skippable.

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