The Wolf Man (1941, USA) – The thing I hate about these old horror movies is the part where the policemen and/or the dull hero and heroine look for rational explanations for those Mysterious Wounds on the victim’s neck. It goes on forever, as if that’s what the audience wants to see. No, it’s monsters, gypsies, and dramatic fog. Watched: 22 minutes. (Now compare this to a real masterpiece, The Devil and Daniel Webster, which never rationalizes, and is unreal from beginning to end.)

That Hamilton Woman (1941, UK) – Vivien Leigh plays Holly Golightly, a low-born beauty who becomes the lover of Lord Nelson. This is one of my favourite romantic dramas so far, full of perfect scenes, for which equal credit goes to Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the script. True to its time, the movie emphasizes the similarities between Napoleon and Hitler, and ends on a spectacularly patriotic note. Watched it all.

Gasbags (1941, UK) – The comedy group’s name, The Crazy Gang, isn’t promising, but this is actually very funny. A couple of no-good soldiers get accidentally lifted off by airship to Germany, (which they think is Ireland), along with their fish & chips store. Favourite line: A German soldier picks up a poster that fell off their store. Another asks, “what does it say?” “Fish is good for you.” “Well, it’s more English lies!” In another scene, the soldiers interpret their beating by concentration camp guards as an initiation ceremony, and proceed to beat up each other. Watched it all.