Kings Row (1942)

This love story was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture; Best Director (Sam Wood); and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. That said, it's probably best remembered for something else: a young Ronald Reagan putting on possibly the best performance in his acting career and certainly the first to gain him much attention. He's not quite the male lead, though, and I'm not sure he ever was.

Taking place from 1890 to 1900, the book-based film focuses primarily on one Parris Mitchell from childhood to early doctorhood (by which time he's played by Robert Cummings) but also considerably on his friend Drake McHugh (Reagan in adulthood), a less career-focused party animal. One thing they turn out to have in common, besides their upscale childhood neighborhood, is an interest in hard-to-get ladies, specifically the daughters of two local doctors. One doctor (Charles Coburn) doesn't see much potential in Drake; the other (Claude Rains) likes Parris well enough as a student but is beyond overprotective toward his daughter. You might or might not be surprised at how much drama ensues.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

Here I am already reviewing another mid-'40s war movie in which the objective is to blow up a bridge. One key difference is that this one takes place in the Spanish civil war. Which doesn't stop the protagonist, Robert "Roberto" Jordan (Gary Cooper, at Ernest Hemingway's insistence), from being an American, present only on principle. Nor does it stop most of the Spaniards from being played by members of other nationalities, including quite a few born in the Russian Empire.

Nowadays, the film may be best remembered for its accidental influence on a bigger classic. It was somewhat important to the plot that Maria (Ingrid Bergman, also at Hemingway's insistence) had unusually short hair, as she was recovering from a shave of shame. Because of this, it was too late to redo certain Casablanca scenes in a timely manner, so "As Time Goes By" didn't get cut as planned.