Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-12-05
Dilemma in December
By Jay Carm ody.

December can be naggine
month in the life OF the motion pic
ture commentator. Flooding along
behind the others, 1t suddenly ap-
pears one day on the calendar, and
the commentator knows that 1t is
time for summing up. There is no
law requiring him to choose the
years best pictures, but there is a
convention which has even more
force behind it. 1t Is one of the
things that critics do, like breathing
and shaving and hoping that CLAM
our girls some day will be as bright
as they are beautiful.
OF course, 1t is not necessary to
do anything final about it on the
frst Sunday in December. There are
four Sundays this year. the mini
mum. tThere will be five in 1915,
which shows how far ahead a man
can look when he wants to put off
a dutyo The fourth one is the one
when most critics, including this
one. will take their taste in their
hands and venture to name the 10
pictures of the year which they re-
gard as best. 1t is always 10 pictures
that are best in any given year. Not
nine or eleven. There is no rea-
son why it should be 10 except that
1t is a pretty round number, al
though not so round actually as 8.
30 or 300, which are completely
round as compared with the mere
half-roundness of TO- Zero Is the
roundest of all, of course, but un-
fortunately 1t is not a number.
tNote to editor: Yes, we know we
are on track and that there is a
shortage of newsprint, but we shall
get right back on)
Now, Where Are We?
How does critic go about picking
the 10 best pictures? Has he made
mental notes of them as he goes
along? Does he know which pic
lures are eligible for considera ton
and which are not?
The honest answer to both of those
questions is shy, embarrassed
negative. He wishes that he had
remembered or made notes, but if
he did not have list of the years
releases right before him, he prob
ably would choose Mrs. Miniver"
again, forgetting that that was last
year. The critic tells himself that
the confusion is inevitable, that he
sees so many pictures, that there are
70 many titles, and that there are
70 many Of both that are not worth
remembering. This is not strictly
true, but it is so much more COM
Portable than confessing to himself
that he is model of ineficiencv
and disordered thinking.
Besides, there always is available
that alphabetical list of releases
which will t1ll any gap, however
large.
The list to the critics credit. is
his second and last, not his first
resort.
Four Recommendables.
He flrst tries to remember those
pictures which inspired his most
exalted moments during the year,
which turned him from his char
acteristic melancholia into q man
hopeful for real art of the cinema
In casual retrospect, 1943 seems to
have been better than normal year
In that regard. There are DEFENDERS
when 1t is difficult to remember a
single picture which may be used
AS a starting point on the long judi
cial journey to total of 10. This
December is not like that.
Three or four titles come almost
instantly to mind. Not in that order
IN which they finally will be rated
on the fourth Sunday. remember
but in kind OF orderly tumble for
all that. Such title is This Is the
Army" for instance. Others are
The More the Merrier," JEANNE, -
and THE Human Comedy" They
all could be put on list with no
reservation beyond the usual dis
cialmer that the Judgment is purely
personal and that the critic is hui
man, the latter a point that arouses
contemptuous smiles in certain
quarters. They may not be COM
pietely defensible, but they are more
30 than, say, Love in Jalisco," "Jive
Junction and Revenge of the
zombies." Thinking of it that wav
the critic begins to feel better about