Dead of Night (1945)

Extremely unusual Ealing Studios curio.

It features a series of short stories framed within one wider narrative. Each of these tales deals with some kind of supernatural occurrence. The best of these, by some distance, is the one featuring Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist whose dummy takes on a life of its own. It's chilling and unnerving, unlike the other segments, which seem a little too mannered and silly to really work – with hammy acting that doesn't help. There's also a "comical" story about a deceased golfer who returns to haunt his rival.

You have to admire the ambition of this construction, even if not all of it works.

Spellbound (1945)

Alfred Hitchcock thriller that unfortunately doesn’t rank up there with his best work. 

The new head of Green Manors, a Vermont-based mental asylum (Gregory Peck) turns out to be an imposter and possibly a dangerous killer. But psychoanalyst Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) falls in love with him and wants to unpick the mysteries of his past to clear his name.

It’s stylish and visually intriguing, like all of Hitchcock’s work. There’s plenty of tension and excitement, too, but the plot suffers because it hinges – somewhat ridiculously – on the interpretation of a dream. The dream itself was devised by Salvador Dalí and is full of that artist’s familiar imagery. 

Peck seems a little wooden, but Bergman is terrific.

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) is shot dead in a beach house. His wife, Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford), is the prime suspect. But as she tells her story – shown in flashback – we learn what really happened.

This is both a noirish thriller and a family melodrama, examining Mildred’s intense relationship with her daughters – in particular the selfish social-climbing Veda (Ann Blyth).

Although the drama is expertly unwound and beautifully filmed, Mildred’s relationship with Veda didn’t quite ring true for this viewer. Yes, she was a doting mother, but she also seemed far too rational and well-adjusted to be so obsessive about her daughter.

Perhaps more compelling is the sad saga of a woman who is only ever manipulated or used by men, and who falls victim to a class prejudice that we are often told doesn’t exist in the USA.