Heaven can wait 1943 - A charming nostalgic comedy from Lubitsch

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IMDB rating: 7,6

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Main Cast: Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Signe Hasso, Louis Calhern

"Based on Birthdays, a play by Laslo Bus-Fekete, Heaven Can Wait was Ernst Lubitsch's last great movie. The enduring classic came at the end of two decades of excellent work, which included such Hollywood masterpieces as Trouble in Paradise, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner and To Be or Not to Be. In this era, the 'Lubitsch Touch' became a marketable moniker which characterized his impact on the early sound days of Hollywood. Heaven is typical of the 'Touch': it's a perfect blend of sophistication, romance, wit and bittersweet sentiment. The benevolent story reveals Don Ameche's life to be as average as any man's, but Lubitsch's genuine tenderness elevates the tale to the majestic. Ameche and Gene Tierney deliver mature, convincing performances, appropriate to the subject matter. Heaven was nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography, and was a significant influence on director Frank Capra's beloved It's a Wonderful Life." - www.allmovie.com

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In old Chicago 1937 - Hollywood's version of the 1871 Chicago fire

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029047/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Alice Brady, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Phyllis Brooks

"In Old Chicago was 20th Century-Fox's spin on MGM's San Francisco - a personal saga played out against the backdrop of a famous 19th Century disaster. We have Tyrone Power and Brian Donlevy here as the primary antagonists who, in this case, battle to the near-death of their city. The movie benefits considerably from opulent production values and a solid supporting performance from Alice Faye as a woman who is convincingly vivacious enough to turn the heads of several key male characters; and Alice Brady adding a memorable turn as the well-intended but ill-fated Mrs. O'Leary, mother of two of the protagonists. Don Ameche also gives a rich, rounded performance as Power's straightarrow brother, and Andy Devine adds some comic grace notes while Rondo Hatton - with some lines of dialogue, no less - is hanging about in the background adding menace to the proceedings. And even several decades later, it seems as though no expense was spared on the climactic fire (a masterwork of special effects courtesy of 20th Century-Fox's Fred Sersen) or the depiction of its aftermath, which is as impressive a screen spectacle as anything seen before Gone With the Wind's burning of Atlanta." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/in-old-chicago-v96405/

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