The Way to the Stars (1945, UK, Asquith) – RAF pilots are cheerful, dashing fellows with stiff upper lips, and American pilots are allright too.  Yet more proof that the best war movies were British.  Watched it all.

The Vampire’s Ghost (1945, USA, Selander) – “Africa, the dark land where voodoo drums beat in the night.  Africa, where men have not forgotten the evil they learned in the dawn of time.”  A vampire is loose in deepest, darkest Africa.  Luckily there are some white people around.  Watched: 5 minutes.

Divorce (1945, USA, Nigh) – Divorce is a terrible, terrible thing, but can usually be avoided with a few stern words from a wise old divorce judge.  Watched: 11 minutes.

The Lost Weekend (1945, USA, Wilder) – A cultured alcoholic tries hard to avoid having to stop drinking, despite the best efforts of his friends.  A bit didactic, but it’s nice to see alcoholism presented as a problem for once, not an amusing hobby, as in the Thin Man movies.  Also, the Miklos Rosza soundtrack contains one of the earliest uses of a theremin in a Hollywood movie, (woohoo!)  Watched it all.

The Spider (1945, USA, Webb) – Plots within plots, private detectives who use words like “dollface”, and comical, subservient black people.  And no giant man-eating spider.  Watched: 10 minutes.

The Bells of St. Mary (1945, USA, McCarey) – How many Father O’Malley’s are there in Hollywood?  Always ready to arrive as the fresh new face with new ideas and a gentle disposition.  I’m pretty sure there was one last year too.  Watched: 12 minutes.