MFB: November 1943

Introduction for newcomers

Monthly Film Bulletin

November 1943

Vol. 10 No. 119

Appointment in Berlin
USA - 1943 - 77m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Alfred E. Green

The Avalanche

Der ewige Traum

(aka: The Eternal Dream)

Germany - 1934 - 96m/80m - bw

New Realm (U)

D: Arnold Fanck
I could find no other contemporary references to The Avalanche besides a listing in this issue of MFB (no review) and the Kinematograph Yearbook 1944, both of which describe it as a Swiss film produced by the 'Swiss Cine-Alliance Co.', directed by 'Wally Clive', and starring 'Johan Savat' and 'Sonia Jenkin', none of whom appear to have been involved in any other production. To date, the few online references to The Avalanche provide nothing more than the same paltry details. Given that UK distributors New Realm specialised in 'low-brow' product, often retitled for the British market, I believe these details to be entirely bogus, and with good reason. The BFI's online entry provides a brief plot synopsis, as follows: "Story based on first ascent of Mont Blanc by peasant who had been considered a madman". The only film I could unearth prior to 1943 whose narrative tallies with that description is Der ewige Traum, directed by Arnold Fanck, who specialised in a series of mountaineering dramas throughout the 1920's and 30's. However, it would have been impossible to release a German film in UK cinemas in 1943, so New Realm appear to have hedged their bets by shortening the running time to 51 minutes (perhaps scrubbing away any tell-tale signs of the film's true origins) and issuing press materials which described it as a Swiss production, with attendant bogus credits. The film was originally produced in two separate versions, including a French-language edition (Rêve éternel), co-directed by Henri Chomette.

Baltic Deputy
Депутат Балтики
USSR - 1936 - 107m - bw
Soviet Film Agency (U)
D: Aleksandr Zarkhi, Iosif Kheifetz

Best Foot Forward
USA - 1943 - 94m - col
MGM (U)
D: Edward Buzzell

Crime Doctor
USA - 1943 - 66m - bw
Columbia (A)
D: Michael Gordon
Followed by: The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943, May/1944), Shadows in the Night (1944, Dec/1944), The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945, Jul/1945), The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945, Mar/1946), Just Before Dawn (1946, Jul/1946), Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946, Nov/1946), The Millerson Case (1947, Jul/1947), The Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947, Aug/1948), The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949, Apr/1949).

Deadlock
UK - 1943 - 59m - bw
International Film (A)
D: Ronald Haines

Destroyer
USA - 1943 - 99m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: William A. Seiter

The Devil's Price
The Lone Star Vigilantes
USA - 1942 - 58m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Wallace Fox
Series: Across the Sierras (1941, Mar/1945).

Divide and Conquer: Special Service Division Information Film #3
USA - 1943 - 57m - bw
Anglo-American (U)
D: Roger Q. Denny
Series: Prelude to War: Special Service Division Information Film #1 (1942).

The Fargo Kid
USA - 1940 - 63m - bw
RKO Radio (U)
D: Edward Killy

First Comes Courage
USA - 1943 - 88m - bw
Columbia (A)
D: Dorothy Arzner

Good Luck, Mr. Yates
USA - 1943 - 70m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Ray Enright

Headline
UK - 1943 - 75m - bw
Ealing (A)
D: John Harlow

Henry Haunts a House
Henry Aldrich Haunts a House
USA - 1943 - 73m - bw
Paramount (A)
D: Hugh Bennett
Series: What a Life (1939, Nov/1939).

Hitler - Dead or Alive
USA - 1942 - 70m - bw
International Film (A) (cut)
D: Nick Grinde

Hostages

Honeymoon Lodge
USA - 1943 - 63m - bw
General Film (A)
D: Edward C. Lilley

Hostages
USA - 1943 - 88m - bw
Paramount (A) (cut)
D: Frank Tuttle

The Hundred Pound Window
UK - 1943 - 84m - bw
Warner (U)
D: Brian Desmond Hurst

Journey Into Fear
USA - 1943 - 68m - bw
RKO Radio (A)
D: Norman Foster

Ladies' Day
USA - 1943 - 62m - bw
RKO Radio (U)
D: Leslie Goodwins

The Lamp Still Burns
UK - 1943 - 87m - bw
General Film (A) (cut)
D: Maurice Elvey

Lassie Come Home
USA - 1943 - 89m - col
MGM (U)
D: Fred M. Wilcox
Followed by: Son of Lassie (1945, Aug/1945), Courage of Lassie (1946, Jul/1946), Hills of Home (1948, Dec/1948), The Sun Comes Up (1948), Challenge to Lassie (1949, Jan-Feb/1950), The Painted Hills (1951, Jul/1951).

The Leopard Man
USA - 1943 - 65m - bw
RKO Radio (A)
D: Jacques Tourneur
Also reviewed: Jul 1981.

Let's Face It
USA - 1943 - 76m - bw
Paramount (U)
D: Sidney Lanfield

The Man From Down Under
USA - 1943 - 103m - bw
MGM (A)
D: Robert Z. Leonard

Rogue's Gallery
The Devil's Trail
USA - 1942 - 61m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Lambert Hillyer
Series: Across the Sierras (1941, Mar/1945).

The Sky's the Limit
USA - 1943 - 89m - bw
RKO Radio (U)
D: Edward H. Griffith

The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler
USA - 1943 - 74m - bw
General Film (A)
D: James P. Hogan

A Stranger in Town
USA - 1943 - 67m - bw
MGM (U)
D: Roy Rowland

Sweet Rosie O'Grady
USA - 1943 - 74m - col
20th Century Fox (U)
D: Irving Cummings

Tornado
USA - 1943 - 83m - bw
Paramount (A)
D: William Berke

True to Life
USA - 1943 - 94m - bw
Paramount (U)
D: George Marshall

Two Señoritas
Two Señoritas From Chicago
USA - 1943 - 68m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Frank Woodruff
Series: Two Latins From Manhattan (1941, Feb/1942).

Two Tickets to London
USA - 1943 - 78m - bw
General Film (U)
D: Edwin L. Marin

What's Buzzin', Cousin?
USA - 1943 - 75m - bw
Columbia (U)
D: Charles T. Barton

Wintertime
USA - 1943 - 82m - bw
20th Century Fox (U)
D: John Brahm

Wolf Call
USA - 1939 - 62m - bw
Pathé (U)
D: George Waggner