Cinema: Current & Choice, Dec. 12, 1949

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 double-header are enlivened by some fresh Walt Disney creations; with Bing Crosby and Basil Rathbone on the soundtrack (TIME, Oct. 17).

Pinky. The most skillful propaganda entertainment to come out of Hollywood’s current preoccupation with the plight of the U.S. Negro; starring Jeanne Grain (TIME, Oct. 10).

Task Force. Gary Cooper in a fictionalized history of U.S. naval aviation, generously bolstered by some bang-up combat films (TIME, Oct. 3).

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

White Heat. James Cagney returns to crime in a violent gangster melodrama with psychiatric trimmings (TIME, Sept. 19).

Jolson Sings Again. The Jolson Story brought up to date, with Larry Parks and the master’s voice (TIME, Sept. 5).

The Window. A boy’s-eye view of murder in a Manhattan tenement, with Bobby Driscoll (TIME, May 23).

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).