Shadow Of a Doubt, USA, 1943, 108 min. Starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Macdonald Carey. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. One of the Master's personal favorites of his own work has an adolescent girl happy to have her favorite uncle come for a visit…until she begins to suspect that he may not be the man she thought him to be. Hitchcock whips up a terrific blend of small town life and nerve-wracking suspense.

Children Of Paradise, France, 1945, 195 min. Starring Jean-Louis Barrault, Arletty. Directed by Marcel Carné. It would be enough that the film, about drama amidst a group of theater performers, works its poetic magic as well as it does. But when you take into consideration the fact that it was made under the noses of the German invaders, well, the achievement becomes nothing less than utterly stunning.

Rome Open City, Italy, 1945, 105 min. Starring Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani. Directed by Roberto Rossellini. Achingly tragic look at the life of resistors in the title city during the occupation. Rossellini's politics are all over the screen as he blends neo-realism with symbolism to tell a story of catastrophic misfortune that nonetheless does leave room for hope.

Brief Encounter, UK, 1945, 85 min. Starring Trevor Howard, Celia Johnson. Directed by David Lean. Howard and Johnson play two people who strike up an extramarital affair only to find themselves drawn into love far more quickly and deeply than either expected. Noel Coward adapted his own play for this classic and classy romance.

The Lost Weekend, USA, 1945, 101 min. Starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman. Directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder and Charles Brackett's script broke new ground in its unflinching portrayal of chronic alcoholism, buoyed by Milland's courageous performance. This was the first film to use the Theremin on its soundtrack, an instrument usually associated with science fiction films.