The Best B-Pictures Of The 1940s
This list is dedicated to those pictures that are not much talked about or sometimes even sneered at. Most of these movies were made on a small budget but can be very entertaining nevertheless. That is, if you generally dig B-pictures of the sci-fi or horror genre, for example. Some of the entries might be considered trash, but I assure you that you will find only the hilarious ones here. So, if you are in the mood for a somewhat different movie that does not necessarily follow mainstream rules, chances are that you will find here what you are looking for.
As usual, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
As usual, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
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- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsAlbert DekkerThomas ColeyJanice LoganA mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsCedric HardwickeVincent PriceNan GreyThe owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
- DirectorHal Roach Jr.Hal RoachStarsVictor MatureCarole LandisLon Chaney Jr.Tale of Prehistoric survival and love between a male and a female belonging to opposing tribes that happened to be at slightly different stages of evolution.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffRoger PryorJo Ann SayersA medical researcher visits the deserted home of a pioneer in cryogenic science who disappeared 10 years earlier and finds him frozen in ice but still alive.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiStanley RidgesDr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsBela LugosiSuzanne KaarenDave O'BrienA mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsDick ForanPeggy MoranWallace FordArchaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsVirginia BruceJohn BarrymoreJohn HowardAn attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
- DirectorJack HivelyStarsGeorge SandersHelene ReynoldsJonathan HaleAn enigmatic gang leader known as "The Boss," who is a dead-ringer for Simon, puts "The Saint" under suspicion of murder.
- DirectorJack HivelyStarsGeorge SandersWendy BarrieJonathan HaleInspector Fernack is framed by a cartel of five gangsters and Simon does his best to prove it before all the conspirators are murdered by a mysterious killer.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffEvelyn KeyesBruce BennettA physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment on a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly tests it on himself. He gets a pardon, but finds out he's become a Jekyll-&-Hyde.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsPeter LorreRochelle HudsonRobert WilcoxUndercover agent Mark Sheldon gets paroled to a remote tropical island with a diamond mine manned by slave labor run by sadistic Stephen Danel.
- DirectorRicardo CortezStarsLynn BariC. Aubrey SmithDonald WoodsTexas girl (Bari) goes to New York, becomes a newspaper reporter, and tries to get her gambler boyfriend (Woods) to come home.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsRalph BellamyMargaret LindsayJoseph SchildkrautMagazine photographer Ann Larkin is snapping photos at Mexico's National Museum when she sees Brod Williams steal a painting from its frame. Convinced that Brod is the notorious art thief known as "The Wildcat," Ann follows him into the street and accuses him of being the thief. Even though the police attest that Brod is a New York City police detective, Ann remains dubious and consequently follows Brod when he visits the Dumeray gallery. At the gallery, Brod asks Leon Dumeray to store a painting in his vault. Recognizing the canvas as stolen, Dumeray has Brod arrested. Her interest piqued, Ann visits Brod in jail where he asks her to bring him some fruit from Juan's fruit stand. Ann returns with a pineapple, in which a gun is concealed. Holding Ann at gunpoint, Brod demands that she switch clothing with him and, thus disguised, he blasts his way out of jail. After his escape, the police congratulate Brod on his clever ruse of staging a jail break in order to win the Wildcat's confidence. Pretending to seek refuge, Brod breaks into Dumeray's home where the art dealer reveals that he is the real Wildcat and recruits Brod to join his gang. Learning of a planned robbery at the museum the following night, Brod passes a message, coded in a bar of soap, warning the police. Meanwhile, Ann discovers that Brod really is a police detective, and when she sees him at Dumeray's house, she assumes that the two are working together and unintentionally lets Dumeray know who Brad is. Dumeray then takes Brod, Ann and her driver Max prisoner and ties them up in the power house near the museum. That night, as Dumeray tunnels into the museum, Brod breaks loose of his bonds and flashes an S-O-S signal over the power lines. He then hold the thieves at bay until the police arrive to meet the real Wildcat.
- DirectorJames P. HoganStarsRalph BellamyBlanche YurkaJ. Carrol NaishMobster Ma Webster rules her clan with an iron hand, taking charge of all their robberies despite the protests of George Frost, the only member of her gang who is not her son. On Christmas Eve, Ma, George, and her sons Eddie, Charlie, and Tom, rob the Centre City bank, but are warned to get out of town by her other son Bert, who disdains their criminal activity and is studying to be a lawyer. Ma and the gang go on a crime spree across the states, receiving $300,000 in ransom for kidnapping, and additional cash from various robberies. Aware that the serial numbers on the ransom money have been recorded by federal agents, they arrange with fellow crook Pan to trade the money $100,000 in unmarked bills, but take the bills and kill him instead, They are unaware, however, that the police have found a list of the serial numbers for all Pan's bills in his coat pocket. Federal agents Scott Langham and Ross Waring are put on the case, and trace the Websters to a Southern town, where Ma is posing as a socialite. The Websters elude the police, but are forced to live meagerly while hiding out in cheap hotels. By the next Christmas, Ma returns to Centre City to visit Bert's baby boy. While she is out, her boys hold up a store, but Charlie is killed and Tom is arrested. Bert represents Tom at his extradition trial, and convinces him to plead guilty and return willingly to the city of the kidnapping. When George wants to go his own way, Ma and Eddie kill him, then hire Stitch Torey to get Tom away from the police. Their attempt fails, however, and most of Torey's gang perish. After a year, Ma and Eddie have developed a low profile while Eddie works at a cannery to support them, and Ma becomes neighborly. Unknown to Ma, Eddie arranges a hideout for some robbers he hopes to join up with and gives them a case of canned food, but the criminals' car crashes and the police get Eddie's fingerprints from the cans. On Christmas Eve, federal agents attempt to arrest Ma and Eddie, who respond with gunfire. In the hail of bullets, Eddie is killed and Ma is finally arrested.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsWarren WilliamEric BloreJoan PerryDelia's father murdered and some very valuable jewelry stolen. She hires reformed thief Michael to find killer and jewels before police suspect him.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsWarren WilliamEric BloreJean MuirA hardworking secretary for a rich woman finds herself engaged to the woman's son and accused of a murder she didn't commit. Lanyard, the Lone Wolf, and Jamison set out to find the real killer.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsWarren WilliamFrances RobinsonBruce BennettComplicated plot involving missing stamp collection and kidnapped businessman, with the Lone Wolf keeping one step ahead of the police in Miami trying to solve the crime and make a profit.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsRalph BellamyMargaret LindsayCharley GrapewinFamed detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen solves a case involving the suspicious death of a rich man whose inheritors fight over his estate.
- DirectorAl ChristieStarsHeather AngelJohn 'Dusty' KingConstance CollierAlthough young and beautiful, schoolteacher Anne Gladden fears a dull future. She finally decides to take a walk on the wild side, splurging on some fashionable new clothes and setting off to find adventure. Her new confidence inspires her to flirt with complete strangers. When a gangster pays unwanted attention to her, she ditches him and flees in his car, unaware that there's a corpse in the backseat. Determined to recover his stolen vehicle and its incriminating cargo the thug begins a desperate search. The oblivious Anne, comes to the aid of a handsome young man stranded alongside the road. Romance blooms, but after the shocking discovery of a body in the trunk, the duo decide they have to return the car. The bickering lovebirds head back to the city, trailed by both the angry gangster and the cops, who suspect the young couple of murder.
- DirectorHarold HuthStarsJack BuchananGreta GyntSebastian ShawThe armaments production programme is being sabotaged by a gang of Germans. A few arrests are made but the destruction of a vital plant goes on. Test pilot 'Bulldog' Bill Watson plunges headlong into the mystery.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBarton MacLaneJohn LitelRochelle HudsonJohnny Adams arrives in a brutal prison under an assumed name after deliberately framing himself in order to kill White, a captain of the guards, because he had beaten Johnny's father to death. Rev. Thomas Stoner, also newly arrived, is the new prison chaplain, opposed by Schafer, the prison warden. Stoner learns of Johnny's intentions and dissuades him from following his plan, but when convict "Blackie" Drew kills White, Johnny is blamed.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsBoris KarloffAnne RevereAmanda DuffScientist becomes obsessed with the idea of communicating with his dead wife.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsBasil RathboneHugh HerbertBroderick CrawfordElderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsLionel AtwillLon Chaney Jr.Anne NagelA mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.