Best History Movies of 1949

In 1831, Irishman Charles Adare travels to Australia to start a new life with the help of his cousin who has just been appointed governor. When he arrives he meets powerful landowner and ex-convict, Sam Flusky, who wants to do a business deal with him. Whilst attending a dinner party at Flusky's house, Charles meets Flusky's wife Henrietta who he had known as a child back in Ireland. Henrietta is an alcoholic and seems to be on the verge of madness.

The French Revolution, 1794. The Marquis de Lafayette asks Charles D'Aubigny to infiltrate the Jacobin Party to overthrow Maximilian Robespierre, who, after gaining supreme power and establishing a reign of terror ruled by death, now intends to become the dictator of France.

In 1500, Duke Cesare Borgia hopes to marry his sister to the heir apparent of Ferrara, which impedes his conquest of central Italy. On this delicate mission he sends Andrea Orsini, his sister's lover and nearly as unscrupulous as himself. En route, Orsini meets Camilla Verano, wife of the count of Citta' del Monte, and sentiment threatens to turn him against his deadly master, whom no one betrays twice...

In Victorian London, young Adelaide is born into luxury, but marries starving artist Henry. His alcoholism and their lack of money lead to many quarrels. During one such fight, Henry slips down a flight of stairs and dies. A neighbor, Mrs. Mounsey, is the only witness, and she blackmails the young widow by threatening to tell the cops that Adelaide killed her husband. Luckily, lawyer Gilbert swoops in to help Adelaide.

This MGM Passing Parade series short presents how separate events led to the creation of three provisions - freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and prohibition of the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments - in the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights.

Spectacular account of the infamous Eureka Stockade, and the events leading up to it.

Historical short showing how Eli Whitney (best known for the invention of the cotton gin) played a significant role in the introduction of mass production techniques to the USA in the late 18th century.

A surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railroad must fight fur trappers who oppose the building of the railroad by stirring up Indian rebellion.

Shot at the same time as the inaugural chapter, The Story of Wong Fei-hung, Part Two is a continuation of the story. Solving the cliffhanger at the end of Part One and carrying on with a series of fights against a lineup of martial artists recruited by Master Wong's nemesis, Part Two culminates in a showdown with Grey Hair Fu, played by the great character actor Sek Kin, who is to appear as the archvillain in most of the following chapters, each time in a different guise.

This film is a compilation, with narration by Steve Allen, of comedies from the old Mack Sennett silent studio. Sennett, himself, appears in a cameo at the end of the film.

A French soldier in the Napoleonic Wars plots his escape after he's captured and imprisoned in a castle fortress in Edinburgh, Scotland. Director Philip Rosen's 1949 film, adapted from a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, stars Richard Ney, Vanessa Brown, Henry Daniell, John Dehner, Douglas Walton, Aubrey Mather, Jean Del Val, Luis Van Rooten, Maurice Marsac and Billy Bevan.