Meet John Doe (1941, USA) – Journalist Barbara Stanwyck invents John Doe, a man who plans to kill himself as a protest against the state of civilization. She hires Gary Cooper to play the part, and, this being a Frank Capra movie, Cooper’s speeches accidentally create a mass movement based on being nice to your neigbours. Watched it all.

Fiesta (1941, USA) – Fake Techni!Color! Mexicans, singing and dancing. Watched: 4 minutes.

Texas (1941, USA) – Two mischievous gunslingers walk in and out of sticky situations, eventually landing on different sides of the law in a cattle conflict. Contains the funniest boxing scene I’ve seen. Watched it all.

Man Made Monster (1941, USA) – Behold the power of electrical radioactivity! With this mysterious substance I shall create a race of superior men! “Black magic”, they called it. “Meddling with the forces of Creation” – bah! Cowards, my colleagues are all cowards! Watched: 25 minutes.

The Reluctant Dragon (1941, USA) – Robert Benchley gets a tour of the Disney studio, in this part self-promoting documentary, part comedy, and part cartoon. This was back when Disney was the greatest creative force in movies. Being the Disney version of itself, it’s way too idyllic. The real Disney Studio was about to enter a major strike at this time. But I just love it. Watched it all.

The Bad Man of Deadwood (1941, USA) – Not quite HBO. Watched: 2 minutes.

Ziegfeld Girl (1941, USA) – Everybody wants to be a Ziegfeld girl. Why? Watched: 15 minutes.