Best Family Movies of 1949

Washington Irving's tale of Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman is brought to life, narrated by Bing Crosby.

Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord Mass in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the civil war, the sisters: Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother - a very outspoken women for her time. The story is of how the sisters grow up, find love and find their place in the world.

The desert in the U.S. southwest is the natural habitat of the Road Runner, a high-octane, cartoon bird who runs so fast on the desert's roadways that he leaves a trail of flame or causes pavement to ripple, distort, or roll up like a carpet. This speedy bird is unrelentingly chased by a hungry coyote named Wile E., who, though believing himself to be a genius, repeatedly fails to catch the Road Runner with his endless supply of ACME Corporation gadgets, weapons, and other paraphernalia. Episodes of this television series contain three theatrical cartoons, one with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, one with Tweety Bird and Sylvester Cat, and one with other characters from Warner Brothers' cartoon classics.

Bugs Bunny vs. a famous opera singer at the Hollywood Bowl.

During yet another pursuit of Jerry, Tom ends up being killed when an upright piano slides down the stairs and slams into him. He meets a feline St. Peter at the gate of the Heavenly Express, but is initially turned away due to his constant torture. However, he will be allowed onto the train if he can have Jerry sign a letter of forgiveness within one hour. If not, it's Hell for Tom. Will he go up or down?

Yosemite Sam tries to force Bugs Bunny to do a high-diving act when the regular act cancels.

This was the debut for Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. It was also their only cartoon made in the 1940s. It set the template for the series, in which Wile E. Coyote (here given the ersatz Latin name Carnivorous Vulgaris) tries to catch Roadrunner (Accelleratii Incredibus) through many traps, plans and products, although in this first cartoon not all of the products are yet made by the Acme Corporation.

When Cholera takes the parents of Mary Lennox, she is shipped from India to England to live with her Uncle Craven. Mary changes the lives of those she encounters at her Uncle's remote estate.

While unwittingly trespassing in the royal gardens in search of carrots, Bugs runs afoul of the Sheriff of Nottingham, who tries to apprehend him for poaching. The royal grounds are, in fact, amply posted with "No Poaching" signs (one reads "Not even an egg"), but Bugs either didn't see or ignored them. Of course, Bugs sets out to endlessly turn the tables on the hapless sheriff, at one point talking him into building a six-room Tudor home in the middle of the King's gardens. The dueling pair are periodically interrupted by a fat, dopey Little John who proclaims, each time he appears, "Don't you worry never fear, Robin Hood will soon be here". In the end, the merriest of merry men does appear and it's...it's...oh, see it yourself. Bugs goes in disguise as the King, who then knights the Sheriff ("Arise, Sir Loin of Beef...").

Bugs rescues a penguin from an Inuit hunter at the South Pole and becomes obligated to it beyond his wildest dreams.

A baby woodpecker mistakes Jerry for his mother. The mouse rejects the newly hatched bird but soon finds himself protecting it against his feline nemesis, Tom.

It's October 7th and Chip is working industriously to store enough acorns in the tree for the winter. Dale would rather sleep in his matchbox, but an angry kick from Chip gets him working furiously. But there's only so much they can do. Their tree is nearly out of acorns. Luckily, the two semi-intelligible chipmunks happen to see the half-unintelligible Donald Duck, a park ranger, planting acorns. They immediately set to steal his bag of the precious nuts. Donald soon realizes what they are up to, and sets out a box propped up with a stick. It's a crude trap, with an acorn as bait; but it's not too crude to fool Dale, who upsets it and traps Chip. Soon, Donald finds he can have fun instigating a fight between these two quarrelsome chipmunks, but he underestimates their friendship and their ability to work as a team against a common enemy: in this case, a bad-tempered duck.

A bump on the head sends Hank Martin, 1912 mechanic, to Arthurian Britain, 528 A.D., where he is befriended by Sir Sagramore le Desirous and gains power by judicious use of technology. He and Alisande, the King's niece, fall in love at first sight, which draws unwelcome attention from her fiancée Sir Lancelot; but worse trouble befalls when Hank meddles in the kingdom's politics.

Bugs buys the homes of the three little pigs and the wolf starts blowing them down. Of course you know "this means war."

Mice Hubie and Bertie drive Claude the cat insane through an escalating series of head games.

A rabbit tries all he can to keep a hunting dog awake before tomorrow's big hunt.

Tex Avery's narrator shows us the amazing features of the ultra-modern House of Tomorrow.

Tom drowns in a lake and sinks to the bottom. There, he finds a mermouse, which he tries to capture and eat.

At the Hodge Podge Lodge, a crotchety, near-sighted Mister Magoo takes a banjo-playing bear to be his nephew, Waldo.

The wolf, the champion toreador, and Droopy, the challenger, are competing to see who is best in the bullring in the hopes of winning the hand of actress Lina Romay (who appears in a live action shot).

Baseball fan and would be-star Donald Duck enjoys listening to a World Series game on the radio and 'playing' the part of his favorite star Casey in his own yard. Unfortunately a melomanic apis melifera (Latin for honeybee) is as avid to listen on the same radio to a mellifluous symphony and play the director theatrically, waving a match as baton, instead of fertilizing his garden flowers. Donald first just turns the switch, then hides it, but the bee dials inside, so he tries to chase it, but is scared by the sting. The battle for channel choice gets worse, and vindictive.

A cat steals the headpiece of a dog to deceive the bulldog Spike and get a chance to eat the canary Spike is guarding.

Set in the rural south of the United States, a bereaved war widow learns to put aside her bitterness and grief as she grows to love a young orphan boy and his dog.

Pluto tries to bring in the mail, which gets more difficult when a package sprouts legs and tries to go swimming. Between the wandering turtle and the wind blowing the other mail around, Pluto's got quite a task ahead. And it's not made easier when both the letters and the turtle go off a large cliff.

Little Johnny Jones, to be born in the next year, is shown growing to a ripe, healthy old age, thanks to the efforts of his local public health officers. But without them, he might be one of the 5% or so that dies in the first year. The price for the public health service: about 3 cents a week.

The Talking Magpies, Heckle and Jackle, open a hot-dog concession stand in Hawaii. The first customer is a dumb dog who becomes the innocent victim of the merry, mischief-making magpies. Another dog, a tough one, is getting the same treatment but not for long. Written by Les Adams

Horse trainer Shawn O'Hara and his lovely niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the memory of an accident involving Margaret's brother, Danny. Working with thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Shawn takes a liking to a yearling named Seabiscuit, and fights to convince the horse's owner that the tiny horse with big knees will become a top-notch racehorse. Meanwhile, Margaret begins a tentative relationship with jockey Ted Knowles, but is haunted by her brother's death in a steeplechase spill. Written by Ray Hamel

When Lassie's master dies, an old friend tries to convince a judge that the dog's life should be spared.

Dinah Sheldon is a student at an exclusive girl's school who starts campaigning for women's rights. Her minister father and her boyfriend Tom Wade do not approve.

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short, narrator John Nesbitt tells the story of Scandinavian immigrant Annie Swenson, who worked as cook and housekeeper in his family's home while he was growing up.

An educational short: after Jim is caught vandalizing school property his principal instructs him on emotional maturity.

Barney has a dive mask and swim fins to help with his pursuit of fish. First, though, he needs to get the anchor set, despite an overly helpful little seal. The seal acts like an inept hunting dog, leading Barney to a cave with an angry lobster, then an unfortunate encounter with a shark.

A cat and her young owner get ready for School

This film, aimed at children of primary school age, presents the principles of good dental care. A narrator explains the basic steps to be followed in order to keep the teeth healthy as, in animation, a family of mother, father, sister, brother, and baby illustrates those steps.

Despite his tender age, four year old Melvin Beebe is an expert archer. At his family's farm on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, Melvin uses only props as target practice. These practices however are only a prelude to his first hunting experience in the forests around the farm one spring morning. The purpose is to bring home trophies to mount on his walls. The animals he encounters that day change the focus of what he ends up bringing home.

Henry Latham and town Mayor Colton continue their misadventures in Smalltown, America. This time, twelve-year-old David Latham is testifying at the trial of his father, Henry, who is accused of burning down the McCluskey bridge.

Old-timer Billy Slater organizes a rodeo for kids.