A tree grows in Brooklyn 1945 - A deeply moving coming-of-age drama

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 8,2

Director: Elia Kazan
Main Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason, Ted Donaldson, Peggy Ann Garner

"Based on the best-selling novel by Betty Smith, the film relates the trials and tribulations of a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn tenement family. A tree grows in Brooklyn is a prototypical 'family values' film. Its coming-of-age motifs were perfectly suited for 1945 audiences looking for reassurance that American ideals would survive the tumult of World War II and the challenge of Communism.The performances are first-rate, particularly one-time movie song-and-dance man James Dunn who won an Academy Award for his 'comeback' performance, and Peggy Ann Garner, who won a special Oscar as 'Most Promising Juvenile Performer'. Dorothy McGuire provides a steady centerpiece, and the film is also a splendid recreation of New York circa 1900. A Tree Grows From Brooklyn was remade for TV in 1974, and also served as the basis of a Broadway musical." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

Bad girl 1931 - Rare Oscar winner is a forgotten treat

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021635/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Frank Borzage
Main Cast: Sally Eilers, James Dunn, Minna Gombell

"Modern audiences will likely be amazed to learn that Bad Girl (Based on a novel by Vina Delmar) was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (and won Oscars for its screenplay and direction). Terribly dated, Bad Girl is not a bad film, but it hardly seems worthy of such honors. Edwin H. Burke's screenplay is overly familiar in many places, but it does attempt to tell a fairly realistic story of two poor people struggling through the challenges of the Great Depression. There's some nice, tasty dialogue served up along the way, peppered with plenty of Depression-era slang, but these alternate with patches of stilted, unconvincing dialogue. Burke also can't keep his hands off a few contrived and jarring plot twists. Frank Borzage's direction is considerably better. This is the kind of "love conquers all" material that was Borzage's meat, and very few directors had such an affinity for romance and could put it on the screen in such a heartfelt manner. Yet it's still not Borzage's best work, surprisingly stiff in a few places and not as cohesively packaged as might have been expected. The acting is generally good, with Sally Eilers and James Dunn affecting and quite realistic. While not one of the great tearjerkers, Bad Girl is worth catching for fans of the genre and for fans of the director." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/bad-girl-v68588/

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