Cinema: Current & Choice, Jan. 9, 1950

On the Town. A fast, exuberant song & dance show about three sailors on a 24-hour fling in Manhattan; with Gene Kelly (TIME, Jan. 2).

Samson and Delilah. A circus-lover’s romp through the Book of Judges under the gaudy guidance of Cecil B. DeMille; with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr (TIME, Dec. 26).

The Bicycle Thief. Italian Director Vittorio (Shoeshine) De Sica’s carefully made classic of a worker and his small child hopelessly scouring Rome for a stolen bicycle (TIME, Dec. 12).

All the King’s Men. The sensational rise & fall of a grass-roots demagogue; produced, directed and scripted by Robert Rossen (TIME, Dec. 5).

Battleground. The defense of Bastogne as seen by a squad of its defenders; with Van Johnson, John Hodiak and George Murphy (TIME, Nov. 14).

Passport to Pimlico. The British at their comic best, spoofing nationalism, bureaucracy and themselves (TIME, Oct. 31).

The Heiress. Producer-Director William Wyler’s highly polished film about a jilted wallflower; with Olivia de Havilland and Ralph Richardson (TIME, Oct. 24).

Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The dull spots in this doubleheader are enlivened by some fresh Walt Disney creations; with Bing Crosby and Basil Rathbone on the sound track (TIME, Oct. 17).

Germany Year Zero. Roberto Rossellini’s realistic camera turned loose on a twelve-year-old boy’s struggle for existence in postwar Berlin (TIME, Sept. 26).

The Fallen Idol. Author Graham Greene and Director Carol Reed wring suspense from the story of a small boy (Bobby Henrey) in a world of adult intrigues; with Ralph Richardson and Michele Morgan (TIME, April 4).